Evening star., 1953-01-18
First Backward Step Taken
By Football in Killing PIotoons

passed that a player withdrawn
for substitute in any period
could return at the end of
subsequent period. That settled
down to where a player taken
out in the first half could re-
turn in the second, but one who
went out in the second half
couldn't come back. I
Major Revision in '32.
Another major revision of the
code in 1882 specified that a
player once withdrawn could re-
turn at any time except during
the same quarter.
established that an automatic
time out was provided every time
the ball changed hands to allow
for mass substitutions.
All these changes, in fact ev-
cry one since 1906, were made to-
refine and improve the game, !
not with the idea of altering the
basic principles. The 1853 action
was taken in consideration of
"the best interests of football
and its future" The rules MAX :,
ers were concerned more over
the colleges which had aban-
doned the game because of ris+
ing costs than the actual me-
chanics of playing.
Long before that change was
made. Notre Danes Knute
Rockne instituted his "shock
troops" system. playing his sec
ond-stringers through the first
quarter of a game to wear down
the opposition and then coming
in with his fresh regulars.
In 1941, the Rules Committee
threw the gates wide open with
rule which said: "A player may
be substituted for another at any
time, but such player may not be
withdrawn from, nor the out
going player returned to, the
game until one play has inter-
vened."
That stood while the rules
were frozen" during the war
and while coaches learned how
it could be exploited" At first
they merely sent in occasional
specialists. but introduction of
the platoons quickly showed the
value of mass substitutionS.
In 1947 the rule was amended
to allow free substitution while
the ball was dead but only one
player at a time could be sub
stituted while time was in and
the change had to be completed
before the ball was put in play.
Automatic Time Out.
In 1948 another amendment
was made to curb fake" injuries
by members of team which had
used up its times out but wanted
another to make mass substitu-
tions. BY last year the platoon
system had become so firmly
Only a few decisions since the
first rules makers decided to
adopt the Rugby Union Code in
1876 have been made on that
higher level.
When the "block game"
threatened to destroy interest in
the early 1905. the system Of
downs and yards to gain was
introduced. When the original
intercollegiate Football Associa-
ton broke up in 1894, the first
rules committee was formed. 1t
overhauled the game to a great
extent, shortening the time and
ruling out the mass momentum"
plays.
The latter change was con-
sidered so drastic that Harvard
and Pennsylvania wouldn't ac-
cept it and two sets of rules
were used during 1895.
Drastic Reforms Ordered.
The next blowof came in 1905
as the result of injuries caused
by the rugged close-order game
that approached the banned mass
momentum plays. Stanford and
California switched from Ameri-
can football to rugby. Columbia
abandoned the game entirely.
President Theodore Roosevelt de-
manded drastic reforms.
These were made by a new
rules committee. The forward
pass was introduced to open up
the game; severe penalties were
provided to curb roughness and
mass plays were ruled out by re-
quiring the offensive team to
have six men on the scrimmage
line at all times. Some of the
changes weren't received too
enthusiastically, but they formed
the basis of modern football.