Evening star., 1950-12-18

Pop said. Grantiand Rice.
when the new rules of that yea,
prevented you from showing o.
helping a runner, I saw at once
that a new form was needed. W.
needed something that would takt
care Of both the running game
and the new forward pass. Tht
single wing gave an offense the
chance for deception it hadn't
had before. Later on, around 1911
I brought out the double wing
an improvement on the single
Nov I'll tell you why thu
double wing is a big improvement
on the T. The forward pass to.
day is o big part of any soune
football attack. although it,
frequently overused. The forward
pass doesn't At in with the T.
T-Game Awkward for Passer.
IN the T. the quarterback O.
passer must run backward sew
eral yards. Then he must tur1
and look to find his target. Thil
ts awkward and battling. In thu
double wing, the passer is back
q trifle, but he's facing his field
He has a full view of all his re-
ceivers. He's ready for quick
action.
II see most of my games today
over television," the white-haired
veteran said. 81 view both col
lege and pro teams. 1t amazes me
to see how often the passer, turn
ing and running backward, is
thrown for a 10 or II yard loss.
That could never happen with the
single or double wing. It hap
pens frequently with the T, where
teams will often lose from 80 to
so yards while the passer is look
ing for a target.
THE single and double wing are
coming back again." Pop contin-
ued. such teams as Princeton,
UCLA and many others have
shown how effective nay old for
nations are against rivals stick
ing to the T and too often won
dering why their passing game
won't work"
Spiral Pass Came In Early.
Pop began his coaching career
at Georgia around 1895 after a
summer stint at Iowa.
I asked Pop who invented or
FIRST worked out the spiral pass.
II don't think anyone knows, +"
Pop said. 1.-THE pass came into
the game in 1906. It was easy to
see from the start that throwing
. football end over end was not
the best way. Many coaches and
passers began experimenting with
the spiral early in 1906. I only
know that Carlisle's Mount Pleas
ant was a fine spiral passer
around that time, That's almost
like saying somebody invented
Throwing or running.
I was but a youngster when
saw one of Pops teams play
against Vanderbilt in 1896. He
was then with the University of
Georgia. But he made and kept
his fame with other institutions
Carlisle, Pittsburgh and Stanford.
He later did well at Temple, where
his teams always were feared.
But it was really at Carlisle
where he had his greatest success
No other college had such bril-
liant backs as Thorpe, Calac
Guyon, Mount Pleasant and many
more who still are remembered
He also had great lines.
Indian a True Amateur.
"a funny thing about the
Indian" Pop said. "He was our
best amateur. He really played
the game only because he loved
1t. For example, on a rainy day
or a muddy field the Indians play
fell away badly. He didn't think
It was any fun to play in the
rain and he was playing for fun.
They were also more popular at
hotels than white teams-they
were better behaved. And they
had definite dignity that the
white race lacked"
Pop laughed at his comparison
Of Thorpe and Nevers. They
were both magnificent" he said.
Thorpe on the days he felt like
playing stood alone. He could
run, pass. kick, catch passes, block
and tackle. But Ernie always was
there for 60 minutes of the best
he had-and he had plenty.
81 would say Thorpe was the
best all-around back football evel
knew. I first saw Jim when HI
was q skinny kid around IA Of
IS. He didn't weigh 140 pounds
I never thought of him as foot.
ball star then. But whether i
was football or track, a littl'
later on you knew you had 3.
champion to call on. Thorp,
had speed, power. stamina. skill