AMERICAN FOOTBALL BY WALTER CAMP LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF c/u i SA i' OF ". I HECTOR COWAN. Princeton. AMERICAN FOOTBALL WALTER CAMP WITH THIRTY-ONE PORTRAITS NEW YORK HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE 1891 Copyright, 1891, by HARPER & BROTHERS. All rijhta rtttntd. PREFACE. THE progress of the sport of football in this country, and a corresponding growth of inquiry as to the methods adopted by expe- rienced teams, have prompted the publica- tion of this book. Should any of the sug- gestions herein contained conduce to the further popularity of the game, the object of the writer will be attained. CONTENTS. v/- PAGK A- ENGLISH AND AMERICAN RUGBY . . i END RUSHER ..,...-.. 23 THE TACKLE 39 THE GUARD 53 THE CENTRE, OR SNAP-BACK, . . , 67 THE QUARTER-BACK 79 THE HALF-BACK AND BACK . . . . gi SIGNALS 115 TRAINING 131 A CHAPTER FOR SPECTATORS . . .165 LIST OF PORTRAITS. [P. stands for Princeton, Y. for Yale, and H. for Harvard.] HECTOR COWAN, P Frontispiece. HARRY W. BEECHER, Y. . . . Facing p. 4 HENRY C. LAMAR, P " 8 D. S. DEAN 1 , H 12 E. L. RICHARDS, JR., Y . . . . " 16 W. A. BROOKS, H " 20 R. S. CHANNING, P 28 L. K. HULL, Y " 32 E. A. POE, P 36 EVERETT J. LAKE, H 44 WYLLYS TERRY, Y " 48 B. W. TRAFFORD, H " 56 T. L. McCLUNG, Y ' 60 V. M. HARDING, H " 64 JESSE RIGGS, P. ...... " 72 W. H. CORBIN, Y " 76 ALEXANDER MOFFATT, P . . . " 84 Vlll LIST OF PORTRAITS. RALPH WARREN, P Facing p. 88 JOHN CORBETT, H. ..... " 96 W. BULL, Y " ioo KNOWLTON L. AMES, P . ... " 104 W. C. RHODES, Y " 112 P. D. TRAFFORD, H " 120 R. HODGE, P " 124 H. H. KNAPP, Y " 128 A. J. CUMNOCK, H " 136 JEREMIAH S. BLACK, P . . . " 140 C. O. GILL, Y " 150 E. C. PEACE, P " 156 W. HEFFELFINGER, Y " 160 R. M. APPLETON, H " 168 ENGLISH AND AMERICAN RUGBY AMERICAN FOOTBALL RUGBY football for it is from the Rugby Union Rules that our American Intercollegiate game was derived dates its present era of popularity from the formation in England, in 1871, of a union of some score of clubs. Nearly ten years before this there had been an attempt made to unite the vari- ous diverging football factions under a common set of laws ; but this proved a failure, and the styles of play became farther and farther apart. Of the Asso- ciation game one can say but little as regards its American following. It is 4 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. quite extensively played in this coun- try, but more by those who have them- selves played it in Great Britain than by native-born Americans. Its popu- larity is extending, and at some day it will very likely become as well under- stood in this country as the derived Rugby is to-day. Its essential charac- teristic is, that it is played with the feet, in distinction from the Rugby, in which the ball may be carried in the hands. To revert to the Rugby Union. Years before the formation of this as- sociation the game was played by sides almost unlimited in numbers. One of the favorite school matches was " Sixth form against all the rest of the school." Twenty on a side, however, became the ruling number; but this was, after a time, replaced by fifteens, as the days of twenties proved only shoving match- es. With the reduction in numbers HARRY W. BEECHER. Yale. ENGLISH AND AMERICAN RUGBY. 5 came increased running and an added interest. This change to fifteens was made in 1877, at the request of Scot- land. At once there followed a more open style of play, and before long short passing became common. In 1882 the Oxford team instituted the long low pass to the open, and by the use of it remained undefeated for three sea- sons. After the decrease to fifteen men the number of three-quarter-backs, who real- ly represent our American half-backs, was increased from one to two, and two full-backs were played. A little later British captains put another full-back up into the three-quarter line, playing with only one full-back. The Englishmen also play two men whom they call half-backs, but whose duties are like those of our quarter-back, for they seize the ball when it comes out 6 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. of the scrimmage and pass it to a three- quarter for a run. Nine men is the usual number for an English rush line, although a captain will sometimes take his ninth rusher back as a fourth three-quarter-back. There is much discussion as to when this should be done. The captain selects his men much as we do in America, and he is generally himself a player of some posi- tion behind the line, centre three-quarter being preferred. The opening play in an English Rugby game is, as a rule, a high kick well followed up. If one will bear in mind that the half backs are, like our quarter, the ones to seize the ball when it emerges from a scrimmage and pass it to the three-quarters, he will gain some idea of the character of the English method. He should understand, howev- er, that the English half-back is obliged to look out sharply for the ball, because ENGLISH AND AMERICAN RUGBY. 7 it comes out by chance and at random, and not directly as in our game, where the quarter can usually expect to re- ceive the ball without trouble from the snap-back. The forwards in an English match endeavor, when a scrimmage occurs, by kicking and pushing to drive the ball in the direction of their opponents' goal line, and they become extremely expert in the use of their feet. There are two umpires, whose duty it is to make claims (which they do by raising their flags), and a referee, who allows or disallows these claims. The penalty for fouls, which was at first only a down, is now in many cases a free kick. The American game, it must be re- membered, came from the Rugby Union in 1875, and not from the Rugby Union of to-day, although the changes in the English game have been by no manner 8 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. of means commensurate with those made on this side the water. Being bound by no traditions, and having seen no play, the American took the English rules for a starting-point, and almost immediately proceeded to add and subtract, according to what seemed his pressing needs. And they were many. A favored few, whose intercourse with Canadian players had given them some of the English ideas, were able to explain the knotty points to a small degree, but not enough to real- ly assist the mass of uninitiated play- ers to an understanding. Misinterpre- tations were so numerous as to render satisfactory rulings almost out of the question and explanatory legislation im- perative. In the autumn of 1876 the first game under Rugby rules between American colleges was played at New Haven, and before another was attempt- ed a convention had tried its hand at HENRY C. LAMAR. Princeton. ENGLISH AND AMERICAN RUGBY. 9 correcting the weak points, as they ap- peared to the minds of the legislators, in the Rugby Union Rules. The feature of the American game in distinction from the English is, just as it was within a year from the time of the adoption of the sport, the outlet of the scrimmage. In this lies the backbone to which the entire body of American football is at- tached. The English half-backs stand' outside the scrimmage, and when the ball pops out it is their duty to seize it and pass it out to a three-quarter, who runs with it. The American quarter -back stands behind the scrimmage and gives a signal, immediately after which he knows the ball will come directly into his hands to be passed for a run or a kick. What is, therefore, in the English game a matter of considerable chance is " cut -and -dried" in the American 10 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. game ; and the element of chance being eliminated, opportunity is given for the display in the latter game of far more skill in the development of brilliant plays and carefully planned manoeuvres. The Americans started with the Eng- lish scrimmage, kicked at the ball, and pushed and scrambled for a season, un- til it was discovered that a very clever manifestation of the play was to let the opponents do the kicking in fact, to leave an opening at the proper moment through which the ball would come, and a man a few feet behind this opening could always get the ball and pass it while the men who kicked it were still entangled in the scrimmage. After a little of this, no one was anxious to kick the ball through, and the rushers began to roll the ball sidewise along between the lines. Then almost immediately it was discovered that a man could snap ENGLISH AND AMERICAN RUGBY. II the ball backwards with his toe, and the American outlet was installed. At first the play was crude in the ex- treme, but even in its earliest stages it proved distinctly more satisfactory to both player and spectator than the kick- ing and shoving which marked the Eng- lish method. The same man did not always snap the ball back as he does now, but any one of the rushers would do it upon oc- casion. The men did not preserve their relative positions in the line, and any one of the men behind the line would act as a quarter-back. Such a condition of affairs could not, however, last long where intercollegiate rivalry proved such an incentive to the perfection of play, and the positions of centre-rush or snap- back and quarter-back became the most distinctive of any upon the field. The centre-rush at that time was selected 12 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. more for his agility, strange to say, than for his weight and strength ; but in case he was a light man he was always flanked by two heavy guards. One season's play convinced all captains that the centre section of the forward line must be heavy, and if any light-weights were to be used among the rushers they should be near the wings. Quarter-back has, from the very out- set, been a position in which a small man can be used to great advantage. The half- backs and backs have usually been men of speed coupled with skill as kickers. The number originally adopted for matches in this country was eleven on a side. From some silly notion that it would increase the skill displayed, this number was changed to fifteen, although the Englishmen were moving in the other direction by reducing their num- bers from twenties to fifteens. A year ENGLISH AND AMERICAN RUGBY. 13 or two of fifteen on a side drove the American players back to elevens, and there the number has rested. In the early days of the sport, while the players individually were coura- geous, the team play was cowardly ; that is, the tacticians were so taken up with a study of defence how to protect the goal that the attack was weak. The direct result of this was to place too few men in the forward line and too many behind it. If to-day we were to revert to fifteen on a side, there is little doubt that we should throw eleven of them up into the rush line, and upon occasion even twelve. We now realize that the best defence does not consist in plan- ning how to stop a man after he has ob- tained a fair start towards the goal, but in throwing all available force up against him before he can get free of the for- ward line. The only way to effectively 14 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. defeat this aggressive defence is by means of skilled kicking. It is possible with really good kickers to throw a team playing in this fashion into dis- order by well-placed and long punting, followed up most sharply, but it re- quires nerve and an unfailing accuracy of aim and judgment. It is only a few years ago that it re- quired considerable argument to con- vince a captain that he could with safe- ty send one of his halves up into the forward line when his opponents had the ball ; but it will take better kicking than is exhibited in most of the cham- pionship matches to frighten that half- back out of the line now. Even the quarter was wont upon occasion to drop back among the halves and assist; them rather than the rushers. All the tendency for the last two years has been towards diminishing the ENGLISH AND AMERICAN RUGBY. 15 number of men held in reserve, as it were, behind the line, and increasing by this^means the crushing force by which the forwards might check either runner or kicker before his play could be exe- cuted. Should the English ever adopt an outlet for their scrimmage, making the play as direct as is ours, their men would gravitate to the forward line as rapidly as have our players. Next to the difference in scrimmage outlet between our game and that of the British stands a much more recent development, which we call interference. This is the assistance given to a runner by a companion or companions who go before him and break a path for him or shoulder off would-be tacklers. This, to the Englishman, would be the most de- testable kind of off-side play, and not tolerated for an instant upon any field in the United Kingdom. l6 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. Even into this the Americans did not plunge suddenly, but rather little by lit- tle they stepped in, until it was neces- sary to do one of two things either legalize what was being tacitly consent- ed to, or penalize it heavily. The re- sult was that it was legalized. With this concession, though, there went a certain condition which gained a meas- ure of confidence for the new ruling. To understand just how this state of affairs above mentioned came about one should know that, in the attempt to block opponents when the quarter-back was receiving and passing the ball, the forwards fell into the habit of extend- ing their arms horizontally from the shoulder, as by this method each man could cover more space. For a number of years this went on without detriment to the sport in any way, but after a time there was more or less complaint E. L. RICHARDS. Yale. ENGLISH AND AMERICAN RUGBY. 17 of holding in the line, and it was ruled that a man must not change his position after the ball was snapped, nor bend his arms about an opponent at such a time. Unfortunately the referee (for at this stage of the game there was no umpire) could not watch the ball and the play- ers with sufficient care to enforce this ruling, and the temper of the players suffered accordingly. It is always the case when a rule is not enforced un- flinchingly, no matter from what cause, that both sides suffer, and the tendency always is towards devising additional in- fringements. The additional infringe- ment in this instance was even worse than could have been foreseen ; for, not content with simply blocking or even holding an opponent until the quarter should have passed the ball in safety, the players in the forward line saw an opportunity for going a step farther, 2 1 8 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. and actually began the practice of seiz- ing an opponent long after the ball had been played, and dragging him out of the way of the running half-back. In the thick of the rush line this was fre- quently possible without risk of discov- ery by the referee ; and, emboldened by successes of this kind, men would reach out even in the open, and drag back a struggling tackier just as he was about to lay his hands upon the runner. It was this state of affairs which brought up the question, " How much should a comrade be allowed to aid the run- ner?" American football legislators answered this question satisfactorily, after long discussion, by determining that the run- ner might be assisted to any extent, pro- vided the assistant did not use his hands or arms in performing this office. The first result of this was to lower the arms ENGLISH AND AMERICAN RUGBY. 19 of the rushers when lined up, and, in spite of some forebodings, this proved really a benefit to the game. The sec- ond result has been to perfect a system of flanking a runner by companions who form almost an impassable barrier at times to the would-be tacklers. At the same time with mention of the solution of this problem, one should also call attention to a menace which threatened American football far more seriously than did this ; and that, too, at a time when the sport was by no means so strong in years or popularity as when this later difficulty arose. I re- fer to the " block game." This method of play, which consisted in a succession of " downs " without advance and with- out allowing the opponents any chance of securing possession of the ball, proved a means by which a weak team could avoid defeat. The whole object of the 20 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. match was thus frustrated, the game re- sulting in no score. To meet this difficulty a rule was in- troduced making it incumbent upon a side to advance the ball five yards or re- treat with it ten in three "downs." If this advance or retreat were not accom- plished, the ball went at once into the possession of the opponents. Never did a rule in any sport work so immedi- ate and satisfactory a reform as did this five-yard rule. Within the last few years there has been no important change in the conduct of the American game, nor in the rules. Outside of the above-mentioned points of difference between it and the Eng- lish game, there is only that of the meth- ods of enforcing rules and determining differences. The English have a refe- ree and two umpires, although the um- pires are sometimes replaced by touch- W. A. BROOKS. Harvard. ENGLISH AND AMERICAN RUGBY. 21 judges. The umpires act, as did the judges in our game of ten years ago, as advocates for their respective sides, and it is this advocacy which is causing them to fall into disfavor there exactly as they did here. Touch-judges merely watch the lines of the field, and decide when and where the ball goes into touch. In cases where they are em- ployed, the referee renders all decisions upon claim of the -captains. In our method there is a division of labor, but along different lines. Our two officials, the umpire and referee, have their sepa- rate provinces, the former ruling upon the conduct of players as to off-side and other offences, while the latter deter- mines questions of fact as to when the ball is held or goes into touch, also whether a goal is kicked or not. As the rule has it, the umpire is judge for the players, and the referee for the ball. END RUSHER THE end rusher must get into condi- tion early. Unless he does, he cannot han- dle the work that must fall to his share, and the effect of a poor performance by the end is to produce disorder at once in the proportion of work as well as the quality of the work of the tackles and half-backs. This is not well understood by captains and coaches, but it is easy to see if one follows the play. A tired end rusher, even one who has expe- rience and a good idea of his place, will lope down the field under a kick, and by his lack of speed will allow a return ; and, against a running game, while he will, it is true, force his man in, he will do it so slowly that the runner is en- 26 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. abled to pass the tackle. The first will surely result in his own halves shortening their kicks, and the second in drawing his own tackle too widely from the guard. Both these results se- riously affect the value of the practice for halves and tackles ; consequently, the end must be put in condition early. The finer points of his position can be worked up gradually, but his endurance must be good at the outset, in order that the others may become accustomed to rely upon him for regular work. But it sometimes happens that the captain or coach has no chance to make sure of this. His candidates may be raw, and only appear upon the first day of fall practice. In that case there is a method which he can adopt to advantage, and which answers the purpose. It is to play his candidates for that position one after the other in rotation, insisting END RUSHER. 27 upon hard playing even if it be for only five minutes at a time. In this way not only will the tackle receive the proper support, but the ends themselves will improve far more rapidly than under the usual method. Eveiy player upon a team has to labor under two distinctly different sets of circumstances : one set arising from the possession of the ball by his opponents, and the other from the possession of the ball by his own side. Many an error in instruction or coaching arises from terming the tactics adopted under these two conditions de- fensive and offensive. It is no uncom- mon thing to see an end rusher, who has been told that such and such is his defensive play, so affected by the word defensive, as applied to his action, as to fail entirely to perform any aggressive work when his opponents have the ball. And a similarly undesirable state of af- 28 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. fairs is brought about by the term offen- sive when his own side have the ball. In this latter case, he seems inspired to become aggressive in his conduct tow- ards his opponent from the moment the men are lined up, and this very often leads him to make any interference of his so premature as to render it useless towards favoring his runner. One of the first things, therefore, for a coach to tell an end rusher is that the terms of- fensive and defensive, as applied to team work, have nothing to do with the ag- gressiveness of any individual. Then, as a matter of still better policy, let him avoid using these terms in individual coaching. When the opponents have the ball, the end rusher must, in the case of a kick, do his utmost to prevent his vis-h- vis from getting down the field early under the ball. That is the cardinal R. S. CHANNING. Princeton. END RUSHER. 29 point, and it is not necessary for him to do much thinking regarding anything else when he is facing a kicking game. When his opponents are about to make a run, the situation is much more in- volved. He must then consider himself as the sole guardian of that space of ground extending from his tackle to the edge of the field, and he must begin at the touch line and work in. That is, he must remember that, while on one side of him there is the tackle, who will do his utmost to help him out, there is on the other side that is, towards touch no one to assist him, and a run around the end means a free run for many yards. " Force the man in " is always a good motto for an end, and one he will do well to follow conscientiously. To force the man in does not mean, however, to stand with one foot on the touch line, and then reach in as far as 30 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. possible and watch the man go by, as nine out of every ten ends have been doing for two years. It means, go at the runner with the determination of getting him any way, but taking him always from the outside. An end cannot tackle as occasionally does a half-back or back, slowly and even waiting for his man, then meeting him low and strong. An end always has to face interference, and good interference will bowl over a wait- ing end with ease. An end must go up as far and fast as he dares to meet the runner, and when his moment comes which must be a selected moment he must shoot in at his man, reaching him, if possible, with his shoulder, and at the same time extending his arms as far around him as possible. Many times this reaching enables an end to grasp his man even though a clever interfcrer break the force of his tackle. And END RUSHER. 31 when his fingers touch the runner, he must grip with the tenacity of the bull- dog, and never let go. It seems almost unnecessary to say that a high tackier has no chance what- ever as an end rusher. He may play guard or centre, but before a man ever es- says the end he must have passed through all the rudimentary schooling in tackling, and be such an adept that to pass him without the assistance of the most clever interference is an impossibility. An end should be a good follower ; that is, if the runner make in towards the tackle, the end should run him down from behind when interference cuts off the tackle. This is one of the best points for cultivation, because it effect- ually prevents any dodging by the run- ner. If he fail to take his opening cleanly, a following end is sure of him. This is not a safe point, however, to 32 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. teach until the player has fairly mas- tered the ordinary end-work ; for the tendency is to leave his own position too soon, giving the runner an oppor- tunity to turn out behind him, and thus elude the tackle without difficulty. A few years ago there was quite a fashion for the man putting the ball in from touch to run with it along the edge of the field. For some unknown reason this play seems to have been abandoned, but it is likely at any time to be revived, and the end rusher should therefore be posted upon the modus opcrandi of it, as well as the best method of prevent- ing its success. The most popular execu- tion of this manoeuvre was the simplest ; that is, the man merely touched the ball to the ground and plunged ahead as far as he could until brought to earth or thrown out into touch. This was ac- companied by more or less helpful in- L. K. HULL. Yale. END RUSHER. 33 terferences upon the part of his own end and tackle. There were more in- tricate methods, however; and surely, with the amount of interference allowed in these days, it is odd that the side line has not been more fancied by those who have generalled the great games. There was one team a few years ago whose captain used to deliberately place the ball just inside the line on the ground, as though only thoughtlessly leaving it there, and then spring in, crowding the end rusher three or four feet from the touch line, while a run- ning half, who was well started, came tearing up the field, seized the ball, and usually made a long run before he was stopped by the astonished halves. Many also were the combination passes in which the ball was handed to the end rusher, who, turning suddenly with his back to the foes, would pass to his 3 34 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. quarter or running half. Of these close double passes at the edge of the field the most effective were those wherein the runner darted by just inside the touch line, and the weakest the ones wherein the attempt was made to ad- vance out into the field. For this rea- son there ought to be no particular necessity for coaching any but the end rusher and the tackle upon means to prevent advances of this nature. To the players in the centre of the line there is no apparent difference whether the ball be played from touch in any of these ways above mentioned, or through the more customary channel of the quarter-back. To the end and tackle, however, the difference is marked, be- cause the runner comes so much sooner and the play is so greatly condensed and focussed, as it were, directly upon them. END RUSHER. 35 The instructions to the end are to handle the ball as much as possible while the opponent is endeavoring to get it in, and thus make the work of that individual as difficult as possible; and, secondly, to plant one foot close to the touch line and the other as far out into the field as is consistent with stability, and to maintain that position until the play is over. He must neither try to go forward nor around, but, braced well forward, hold his ground. If he does this, no runner can pass within three feet of the touch line, and outside of that the tackle can take care of him. This player, like the end, should, when the ball is played from a fair, be very loath to plunge forward until the play is located, because in the present stage of development of the game one can be quite sure that the opponents will not play the ball from touch unless they 36 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. have some definite and usually decep- tive line of action. Without such it is by far the better policy to walk out the fifteen paces and have it down. The quarter-back also has work to do upon side-line plays, in assisting at the edge as much as possible. But to return to the end. When his own side have pos- session of the ball, his play, like that of any other man, must be governed by the character of the intended move, and the knowledge of wha.t this move will be is conveyed to him by the signal. The nearer the play is to his end, the greater is the assistance he can render. There is little need of coaching him to do his work when the run is along his line, nor, in fact, when it is upon his side of the centre. The knowledge of the prox- imity of the runner stirs him up suffi- ciently, if he have any football blood in him. The point towards which coaching E. A. POE. Princeton. END RUSHER. 37 should be directed and where it is need- ed is in starting instantly to render assistance when the play is upon the other side of the line. There is no limit to the amount of work an end may perform in this direction. A good end can toss his man back so that he cannot interfere with the play, and then cross over so quickly as to perform effective interference even upon end runs. In " bucking the centre" he can come from behind with valuable weight and pressure. A coach should remem- ber, though, that it will not do to start an end into doing too much unless he is able to stand the work, for an end had better do the work well upon his own side than be only half way useful upon both ends. A tired-out end makes the opponents doubly strong. THE TACKLE THOSE teams upon which the work of end and tackle has been best devel- oped have, for the last few years, been markedly superior in the opposition of- fered to plays of their opponents. This fact in itself is an excellent guide to the style of play one ought to expect from these two positions. The four men oc- cupying them are the ones to meet nine tenths of the aggressive work of the op- ponents. The position of end has al- ready been dwelt upon at length. That of tackle, a position much later to reach the full stage of development than the end, has nevertheless now attained al- most an equal prominence. The tackle is an assistant to both end and guard, 42 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. while he has also duties of his own de- manding constant attention. When the opponents have the ball and are about to kick, the tackle is one of the most active components of the line. He may not be moving until the ball is snapped, but upon the instant that it is played he is at work. He may himself go through to prevent the pass or kick, or still oftener he may make a chance for a line half-back to do this. By a line half-back is meant that one who, upon his opponents' plays, comes up into the line and performs the duties of a rusher. This method has become so common of late that it is well understood. The play of this line half-back must dovetail into the work of the tackle so well as to make their system one of thoroughly mutual understanding. For this reason they should do plenty of talking and plan- THE TACKLE. 43 ning together off the field, and carry their plans into execution in daily prac- tice until they become in company a veritable terror to opponents, particu- larly to kicking halves. One of the very simple, yet clever and successful, combinations worked in this way has been for the line half to take his position outside the tackle, who immediately begins to edge out towards the end. This opens a gap be- tween the opposing tackle and guard, for the tackle will naturally follow his man. This line half simply watches the centre, and as he sees the ball played goes sharply behind the tackle and through the opening. This play can be greatly aided by cleverness on the part of the tackle, who, to perform it to perfection, should edge out most cau- tiously, and with an evident intention of going to the outside of his man. He 44 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. should also watch the centre play, and, most important of all, jump directly forward into his man when the ball is snapped. This will enable the half to take almost a direct line for the half, and with his flying start have more than a fair chance of spoiling the kick. The tackle must not be idle after his plunge, but should follow in sharply, because there will always be an opposing half protecting the kicker ; and if the line half be checked by this man, as is not unlikely, the following tackle has an ex- cellent opportunity by getting in rapidly. The tackle and half should alternate in their arrangement, neither one always going through first, and thus add to the anxiety and discomfort of the op- ponents. When the opponents are about to run instead of kick, the same combination of line half and tackle can be put in opera- EVERETT J. LAKE. Harvard. THE TACKLE. 45 tion, except that it will not do for these two to follow each other through with such freedom, as there is too much dan- ger of both being shunted off by a clever turn coupled with well-timed interfer- ence. The cardinal point to be remem- bered is, to be far enough apart so that a single dodge and one interference can- not possibly throw off both men. The tackle's duties towards the end have been partially described in dwell- ing upon the work of the latter, but there is plenty of detail to be studied. One of the first things to impress upon the tackle is, that he must watch the ball, not only upon the pass from the quarter, but also after it settles in the runner's arms, for the most successful double or combination passes are those which draw the tackle in towards the centre and give the second recipient of the ball only the end to pass. It has 46 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. been too common a mistake of coaches to caution a tackle who has been de- ceived by this double pass against " go- ing so hard." This is wrong. It soon results in making a slow man of the player, for he hangs back to see if the runner be not about to pass the ball, un- til he is too late to try for the man be- fore he reaches the rush line ; and, with the present system of interference and crowding a runner after he reaches the rush line, there is no chance to stop him short of three, and it may very likely be five, yards. The proper coaching is to send him through on the jump, with his eyes open for tricks. Let him take a step or two towards the runner, so that, if no second pass be made, the tackle will be sure to meet him before he reaches the rush line, and not after it. This method of coaching makes not only sharp tackles, but quick and THE TACKLE. 47 clever ones, with plenty of indepen- dence, which will be found a most ex- cellent quality. As regards the relations between the tackle and guard, they are best defined by saying that the guard expects to re- ceive the assistance of the tackle in all cases requiring agility, while in cases requiring weight the guard is equally ready to lend assistance to the tackle. When his own side has the ball, the tackle has far more than the end to do. In fact, the tackle has the most respon- sible work of any man along the line, having more openings to make, and at the same time the blocking he has to perform is more difficult. The ear- lier description of the work of a line half and the tackle in getting through is sufficient to indicate the difficulties which the opposing tackle must face in preventing this breaking through. 48 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. While blocking may not be the most important duty, it is certainly the one which will bear the most cultivation in the tackles of the present day, for the ones who are really adept in it are marked exceptions to the general run. It is no exaggeration to say that more than two thirds of the breaking through that does real damage comes between the end and guard, and therefore in the space sup- posed to be under the care of the tackle. By successful blocking is meant, not un- fair holding, which sooner or later will result in disaster, nor backing upon a runner or kicker as the charger advances, which is almost as bad as no blocking, but that clever and properly timed body- checking of the opponent which delays him just long enough to render his ef- fort to reach his man futile every time. This kind of blocking looks so easy, and is so difficult, that it is found only in a WYLLYS TERRY. Yale. THE TACKLE. 49 man who is willing to make a study of it. Coaching can but give any one wish- ing to acquire this a few points ; the real accomplishment depends upon the man's unflagging perseverance and study. The first thing to be noted is, that a really good forward cannot possibly be blocked every time in the same way. He soon becomes used to the method, and is able to avoid the attempt. Dashing violently against him just as he is starting may work once or twice, and then he will make a false start to draw this charge, and easily go by the man. Standing motionless, and then turning with a sharp swing back against him, will dis- concert his charge once in a while. Shoul- dering him in the side as he passes will throw him off his balance or against some other man, if well performed, oc- casionally. Falling down before him by a plunge will upset him even when 4 50 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. he has quite a clear space apparently, but it will not work if played too often. By a preconcerted plan he may be coaxed through upon a pretended snap, and then the ball played while he is guarded and five yards gained by his off-side play, but he will not be taken in again by the same method. These are but a few of the strategies which engage the study of the tackle. How soon to let the man through is also an important question. When the ball is to be punted, the tackle upon the kick- er's side must block long and hard, while the tackle upon the other end should block sharply, and then let his man through for the sake of getting down the field under the kick. When a drop is to be attempted, the blocking upon both sides must be close and long, much longer than for a punt. Moreover, it is by no means a bad policy to have the THE TACKLE. 51 blocking last until the ball is actually seen in the air in front of the line, be- cause then, if the kick be stopped, the tackles can go back to assist the backs in recovering the ball. The blocking for a kick, as a rule, should be close ; that is, every opponent must be matched from the centre out, leaving the free man or men on the ends. This rule has its exceptions, but when there is any doubt about the play it is safest to block close, and take the chances from the ends rather than through breaks in the line. In blocking for a run the case is very different, and depends upon the point of assault. If the run is to be made around the right end, for instance, by the left half-back, the right tackle must block very slowly and long. That is, he must not dash up to his man the in- stant the ball is snapped and butt him aside, for the runner will not be near 52 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. enough to derive any advantage from this, and the opponent will easily re- cover in time to tackle him. Rather should he avoid contact with his man until his runner makes headway, and then keep between the opponent and runner until the latter puts on steam to circle, when it is his duty to engage his man sharply, and thus let the runner pass. In blocking for an inside run upon his own side, he should turn his man out or in, as the case may be, just as the runner reaches the opening, be- ing particularly careful not to make the break too early, lest the opponent reach the runner before he comes to the opening. THE GUARD THE position of guard, while it re- quires less agility than that of tackle, can never be satisfactorily filled by a man who is slow. Many a coach makes this mistake and fails to see his error until too late to correct it. I remember once seeing upon a minor team a guard who weighed at least 190 pounds re- placed by a man of 155, and the latter actually filled the position greatly to my astonishment, I confess in excel- lent fashion. This does not at all go to prove that weight is of no value in a guard. On the contrary, it is a quality especially to be desired, and if one can find a heavy man who is not slow he is the choice by all means. But weight 56 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. must be given work to do, and that work demands practice, and slowness of execution cannot be tolerated. At the outset the coach must impress this fact upon the guards, and insist upon their doing their work quickly. It is really wonderful how much better the effect of that work will prove to be when per- formed with a snap and dash that are not difficult to acquire. When the opponents have the ball and are about to kick, the guard should have in his mind one persistent thought, and that is, to reach the quarter before the ball is away from his hand, but not to stop there. It is only once in a great while that fortune favors sufficiently to crown this attempt with success. When it does, so much the better; but the guard should take in the quarter only in a general sweep, making on for the kicker, and at the same time getting B. W. TRAFFORD. Harvard. THE GUARD. 57 his arms up in the air when he comes before him, so as to take every possible chance of stopping the ball. Just here it may be well to explain the confidence with which in these details of coaching the phrases are used "when the oppo- nents are about to kick" and "when the opponents are about to run." It is true that one cannot tell infallibly every time whether the play will be a kick or a run, but experienced players are really so seldom at fault in their judgment upon this point that it is safe to coach as though there never existed any doubt about the matter. To continue with the work of the guard when the opponents are about to attempt a run. One of the most im- portant features of the play in this po- sition is to guard against small wedges. If a guard simply stands still and straight he will be swept over like a 58 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. wisp of straw by any well -executed wedge play directed at him. An ex- perienced man knows this, and his chief thought is how to avoid it, and how, first, to prevent the formation ; second, to al- ter the direction, and, finally, to stop the progress, of this terror of centre work, the small wedge. There are as many ways of accomplishing these results as of performing the duties of tackle or end, and it rests with the individual player to study them out. To prevent the formation of small wedges, the most successful method is that of sudden and, if possible, disconcerting move- ments. Jostling, so far as it is allowed, sudden change of position, a pretended charge all these tend to break up the close formation. Once formed and started, the change of direction is usu- ally the most disarranging play pos- sible ; but this should not be attempted THE GUARD. 59 by the player or players opposite the point of the wedge. At that spot the proper play is to check advance, even temporarily ; for the advance once checked, the wedge may be swung from the side so as to take off the pressure from behind. So it is the men at the side who must endeavor to turn the wedge and take off this pressure. Without the actual formation upon the field it is difficult to fully explain this turning of the wedge ; but if the prin- ciple cf the defence be borne in mind, it will not be found so hard to under- stand. Check the peak even for a mo- ment, and get the weight off from be- hind as speedily as possible. The men who are pushing must necessarily act blindly ; and if their force is not directly upon the men at the point of the V, they pass by the man with the ball and so become useless. Both guards must 60 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. keep their weight down low, close to the ground, so that the wedge, if di- rected at either, cannot throw that one at once off his balance backward. If this occurs, the wedge will always make its distance, perhaps go many yards. Lying down before the wedge is a prac- tice based upon this principle of keep- ing close to the ground, and is by no means an ineffectual way of stopping an advance, although it is not as strong a play as bringing about the same result without actually losing the power to straighten up if the wedge turns. More- over, the men in the front of a wedge are becoming so accustomed to meeting this flat defence that they not infre- quently succeed in getting over the prostrate man and regaining headway upon the other side. This, as one can readily see, must always yield a very considerable gain. When a run is at- T. L. McCLUNG. Yale. THE GUARD. 6 1 tempted at some other point in the line, it is the duty of the guards to get through hard and follow the runner into his opening, even if they cannot reach him before he comes into the line. In this class of play a guard should re- member that if he can lay a hand upon the runner before he reaches the line he can spoil the advance to a certainty, for no runner can drag a heavy guard up into and through an opening. It is like dragging a heavy and unwieldy anchor. A guard can afford to, and must some- times, tackle high. Not that he should, in the open, ever go at the shoulders, but in close quarters he often has no time to get down low, and must make the best of taking his man anywhere that the opportunity offers. He must always, however, throw him towards the opponent's goal. Another point for guards to bear in mind is, that in close 62 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. quarters it is often possible to deprive the runner of the ball before he says " down." A guard who always tries this will be surprised at the number of times he will find the referee giving him the ball. He will also be astonished at the way this attempt results in the run- ner saying " down " as soon as he finds some one tugging at the ball. A man gives up all thought of further advance the instant he finds the ball slipping at all in his grasp ; and when his attention is distracted from the idea of running, as it is when he is fearful of losing the ball, he can never make use of his op- portunities to good advantage. For this reason the coach should impress upon all the forwards the necessity of always trying to take away the ball ; but the men in and near the centre are likely to have the best opportunity for this play, because it is there that THE GUARD. 63 the runner encounters a number of men at once rather than a single individual. When his own side have the ball the guard must block sharply until the quarter has time for receiving the ball, and, at any rate, beginning the motion of the pass. It is safer, in the case of inex- perienced guards, to tell them to block until the quarter has time to get rid of the ball. The distinction is this : that an experienced guard sometimes likes to gain just that second of time be- tween the beginning of the pass and the completion of the swing, and utilize it in getting down the field or making an opening. So accustomed does he become to measuring the time correctly that he will let the opponent through just too late to reach the quarter, al- though it seems a very close call. It is not safe to let green guards attempt anything so close. They must be 64 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. taught to block securely until the ball is on its way to the runner or kicker. The blocking of a guard is much less exacting in its requirements than that of the tackle. Not that he must not block with equal certainty, but the act requires no such covering of two men as often happens in the case of a tackle. The guard forms closely towards the centre, and then follows his man out if he moves out, but only as far as he can go, and still be absolutely certain that the opponent cannot pass between him and the snap-back. To be drawn or coaxed out far enough to admit of an opponent's going through the centre shows woful ignorance in any guard. When a kick is to be made the blocking must be prolonged a little, and on a drop-kick (as mentioned earlier) it should last until the ball goes from the foot. When blocking for a run, of V. M. HARDING. Harvard. THE GUARD. 65 course much depends upon where the opening is to be made, and a guard must be governed accordingly. The method itself is, again, different in the guard from that exhibited in the tackle. A guard may not move about so freely and must face his man more squarely than a tackle, for the guard must pro- tect the quarter first, while the tackle considers the half only. If a guard al- lows his opponent to get a fair lunge with outstretched arm over or past his shoulder, he may reach the quarter's arm even though his body is checked, while such a reach at the point in the line occupied by the tackle would be of no value whatever. Previous to the snap-back's playing the ball it is the duty of the guards to see that their in- dividual opponents do not succeed in either kicking the ball out from the snap-back's hand or otherwise interfer- 5 66 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. ing with his play. This is quite an im- portant feature, and a centre should al- ways feel that he has upon either hand a steady and wide-awake assistant, who will neither be caught napping nor al- low any unfair advantage to be taken of him. The guard should bear in mind one fact, however, and that most clearly. It is that squabbling and gen- eral pushing about are far more liable to disconcert his own centre and quarter than to interfere with the work of the opponents. THE CENTRE, OR SNAP-BACK THE man who may be selected to fill the important position of centre -rush must be a man of sense and strength. Brain and brawn are here at their high- est premium. But there is another ele- ment of character without which both will be overthrown, and that is pa- tience. Practical experience has taught football coaches that none but a thor- oughly self-controlled man can make a success in football in any position, while in this particular one his disposition should be of the most equable nature. He will be called upon to face all kinds of petty annoyances, for his opponents will endeavor to make his play as dif- ficult as possible ; and never must he al- 70 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. low himself for one instant to lose sight of the fact that his entire attention must be devoted to his play, and none of it distracted by personal feeling. Moreover, while he must be able to play the ball quickly when called upon, he can never afford to be hurried by his opponents. With the present excellent rulings of umpires regarding interfer- ence with the ball before it is snapped, much of the most harassing kicking of the ball from under his hand has been stopped ; but, for all that, he is indeed a lucky centre who does not feel the ball knocked out from under his grasp sev- eral times during a game. In addition to this, every man who breaks through gives him a rub. Sometimes these knocks are intentional, often they are given purely by accident, and the latter are by no means the lightest. Then, too, a man is pushed into the snap-back THE CENTRE, OR SNAP-BACK. 71 just as the ball goes. It may be his own guard, but the blow hurts just as much; and a centre who is not amiable under such treatment soon loses his head and forgets that he should care for noth- ing except to accomplish gains for his own side. The object of placing so much stress upon this qualification is to impress upon a coach the almost in- estimable value of the quality of patience in any men he may be trying for this position. He can never say too much about it. As regards the duties of the place, they differ from those of any other po- sition in the line on account of the con- stant presence at that spot of the ball. The centre is either playing the ball himself or watching his antagonist play the ball at every down ; so that while he has all the other duties of a forward to execute, he has the special work besides. 72 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. Here is the weakness of so many cen- tres. They are snap-backs only or for- wards only, the former being by all odds the more common. A good criti- cal coach of experience will see nine out of every ten men whom he may watch in this position playing through day after day with no more idea of do- ing any forward work than if they were referees. Putting the ball in play at the right time, and properly, is a great achievement, but it does not free the centre-rush from all other obligations. He must protect his quarter; he must aid in making openings, and perform any interference that may be possible, as well as always assisting a runner of his own side with weight or protection. He must always get down the field un- der a kick, for it is by no means unusu- al for him to have the best opportunity in these days when end rushers are so JESSE RIGGS. Princeton. THE CENTRE, OR SNAP-BACK. 73 carefully watched. When the oppo- nents have the ball, he must not be con- tent with seeing that the opponent does not roll it to a guard, but must also see that there is no short, tricky passing in the scrimmage. Then he must be as ready as either guard to meet, stop, or turn a wedge. He must make openings for his comrades to get through, even when he himself may be blocked, and always be ready to reach out or throw himself before a coming runner to check the advance. The details of the special work of the centre are many, and thorough knowl- edge of them can only come from ex- perience. During his early progress a new snap-back usually sends the ball against his own legs, or, if he manages to keep them out of the way, is upset by his opponent for his pains. It is no child's play to hold a ball out at arm's- 74 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. length on the ground in front of one and roll it back so that it passes be- tween one's feet, and still preserve a good balance in spite of a sudden push of a hundred -and -eighty -pound oppo- nent. But that is just what a centre has to do every time the ball is down and belongs to his side. The first thing to teach a centre is to stand on his feet against any amount of jostling. Then he must learn to keep possession of the ball until ready to play it. Both of these acquirements take practice. The most finished and experienced centres have a way of playing the ball just as they are half straightening as though to meet a charge from in front. This insures their not being pushed over on to the quarter, and yet does not cause them to lean so far forward as to be pitched on their noses by a little assist- ance from the opposing centre. When THE CENTRE, OR SNAP-BACK. 75 a man stands so as to prevent a push in the chest from upsetting him, he natu- rally puts one foot back some distance as a support. When a centre does this he is apt to put that foot and leg in the path of the ball. A second objection to this way of standing is, that the cen- tre does not offer nearly as much oppo- sition to any one attempting to pass as he does when he stands more squarely faced about with a good spread of the legs. As to holding the ball, some cen- tres prefer to take it by the end, while others roll it on its side. It can be made to rise for the quarter if sent on end, whereas if played upon its side it lies closer to the ground. The quar- ter's preference has, therefore, some- thing to do with it. It requires longer practice and more skill to play the ball on its end, but it permits an umpire to see more clearly whether the ball be 76 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. actually put in play by the snap-back or played for him by the surreptitious kick of the opponent. It has also the advantage of sending the ball more nar- rowly upon a line, so that its course is less likely to be altered than when rolled upon its side. While the snap-back is seldom held to the very strictest con- formity to the rule about being on side when he puts the ball in play, it is nec- essary for him to practise with a view to this particular, because he is liable to be obliged to conform every time if the opponents insist. The reason for care- lessness in this respect is, there is no penalty for infringement except being obliged to return to the spot and put the ball in play properly. A certain laxity, therefore, is granted rather than to cause delays. But, as stated above, a centre must be able to put the ball in play when fairly on side, and must live W. H. CORBIN. Yale. THE CENTRE, OR SNAP-BACK. 77 up to this with some moderate degree of regularity, or else the umpire will call an off side and bring him back. A centre ought to practise putting the ball in play with either hand until he is fair- ly proficient with his left as well as his right. Not that he should use his hands alternately in a game, but that an in- jury to his right hand need not neces- sarily throw him out of the game. It is by no means an unrecognized fact that the greater amount of experience possessed by the regular centre is so valuable as to make it policy to keep him in his place so long as his legs are good, even though a hand be injured, rather than to replace him by the sub- stitute with whose methods the quarter- back is not so familiar. A coach should see to it that his centre has a variety of men to face, some big, some tricky, some ugly. If any old play- 78 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. ers come back to help the team in the way of coaching, and among them are some centre rushers, they can do no bet- ter work than by donning a uniform and playing against the " 'Varsity " centre. THE QUARTER-BACK THE quarter is, under the captain, the director of the game. With the excep- tion of one or two uncommon and rare plays, there is not one of any kind, his side having the ball, in which it does not pass through his hands. The impor- tance of his work it is therefore impos- sible to overrate. He must be, above all the qualifications of brains and agil- ity usually attributed to that position, of a hopeful or sanguine disposition. He must have confidence in his centre him- self, and, most of all, in the man to whom he passes the ball. He should always believe that the play will be a success. The coach can choose no more helpful course during the first few days, 6 82 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. as far as the quarter is concerned, than that of persuading him to repose confi- dence in his men. Many promising half- backs are ruined by the quarter. There is nothing that makes halves fumble so badly, get into such awkward positions, start so slowly, and withal play so half- heartedly, as the feeling that the quarter does not think much of them, does not trust them, or believe in their abilities. Every half-back can tell the same story how he is nerved up by the confidence of the quarter, and what an inspiration it is to good work to see that confident look in the eye of the man who is about to pass to him. But not alone in the work of the half does it make a great difference, but in that of the quarter himself. When he lacks confidence in his man, his passing is unsteady and er- ratic as well as slow. He allows the opponents a far better chance of reach- THE QUARTER-BACK. 83 ing the man before he can get started, both by irregular and slow passing, and also by a nervous looking at him before the ball is played. In practice, great stress should be laid on quick handling and sharp passing of the ball. A quarter can slow up in a game if advisable, but he can never do any faster work than that which he does in practice without throwing his men completely out. In order to make the play rapid, a quarter must be figuratively tied to the centre's coat, or rather jacket, tails. As soon as the centre reaches the ball after a down, he should know that the quarter is with him. Usually there is an understood signal between them, which not only shows the centre that the quarter is on hand, but also when he is ready to receive the ball. One of the most common of these signals has been placing the hand upon the centre's leg 84 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. or back. A pinch would let him know when to snap the ball. In spite of this method's having been used by oppo- nents to fool a centre, it has been, and still is, the most common. One of the best variations of it has been for the quarter to put his hand upon the centre and keep it there until he is ready for the ball, then take it off and let the centre snap the ball, not instantly, but at his convenience. Should anything occur making it advisable, for some rea- son, to stop the play, the quarter puts his hand upon the centre again at once, and until it is once more removed the snap-back understands that the quarter is not ready to have the ball come. Al- most any amount of variation can be made in the signal of the quarter to his centre ; but in arranging this it should be constantly borne in mind that the signal should not be such as to give the ALEXANDER MOFFATT. Princeton. THE QUARTER-BACK. 85 opponents the exact instant of the play, because it gives them too close an idea of the moment when they may start. The speed of a quarter's work de- pends upon his ability to take the ball close to the snap-back and in proper position for a pass. In merely handing the ball to a runner, one might suppose that there would be no particular posi- tion in which the ball should be held ; but in that he would be in error, for a ball so handed to a passing runner as not to settle properly in his arms or hands means in many instances a disas- trous fumble, or at best a slowing-up of the runner's speed. In giving the ball to a passing runner, it should be held free and clear of the quarter's body and slightly tilted, so that it can be taken against the body, and without the use of both hands for more than an instant, because the runner must almost imme- 86 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. diately have use for his arm in going into the line. It is impossible to give in print the exact angle and method of holding the ball for this purpose, but practice and the wishes of the runners, if consulted, will soon show the quarter just what is meant. When the ball is to be passed any considerable distance, it should be taken so that the end is well placed against the hand of the quarter, while the ball itself lies against the forearm, the wrist being bent sharp- ly. This will enable the quarter to send the ball swiftly and accurately almost any distance that it may be necessary to cover. Of course, in many cases the ball does not actually rest against the forearm of the quarter ; but this is the best way of conveying the idea of the proper position of the hand upon the point of the ball, and by practising in this way the correct motion for steady THE QUARTER-BACK. 87 passing is speedily acquired. In receiv- ing the ball, the right hand, or the hand with which the throw is made, should be placed upon the end of the ball, while the other hand stops its progress, and should be placed as nearly upon the opposite end of the ball as convenient. This is the theoretically proper way of receiving the ball ; practically, the hand- ling cannot be as accurately performed as this would indicate. If, however, the quarter will in practice be constantly aiming at receiving the ball so that his right hand grasps the end just as his left hand stops the ball, and settles it securely against his right, he will find that after a few weeks he can receive four out of five snap-backs in such a way as to make any great amount of ar- ranging the ball for his pass, after it is in his hands, quite unnecessary. After the preliminary weeks of practice, and when 88 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. in a game, he must bear in mind the fact that, in order of importance, his du- ties are, first, to secure the ball, no mat- ter how ; second, to convey it to his own man, no matter whether in good form or not. He must never pass the ball if he has fumbled it, unless he has a per- fectly clear field in which to do it % He must always have it down in preference to taking the slightest risk of losing it. Even though he receive it without a fumble, there may be a way through in that part of the line towards which his pass is to be delivered ; and here, again, he should hold the ball for another down rather than take any chance of the opponent's intercepting the pass. After letting the ball go, the quarter should follow his pass ; in fact, he should be almost on the run as the ball leaves his hand. No matter whether the ball be caught or fumbled, he is then RALPH WARREN. Princeton. THE QUARTER-BACK. 89 ready to lend assistance ; whereas if he stand still after his pass, he is of no use to the rest of the play. When the play is a run, he can do excellent work in in- terfering ; and when the play is a kick, he can take any opponent who gets through, and thus aid the half in pro- tecting the kicker. In either case, if his own man muff or fumble he is close at hand to lend assistance in an emergen- cy, which otherwise might prove most disastrous. When lining up the quarter should take a quick glance, not directly at the player he is to make the recipient of the ball, but covering the general po- sition of all the men. In doing this he locates his individual without making it apparent to the opponents which man is to receive the ball. Any amount of disguise may be practised in the way of taking a last glance at the wrong man, or calling out to some one who does not go AMERICAN FOOTBALL. enter into the play. The chief point, nevertheless, is to avoid that tell-tale glance at the right man which is so dif- ficult to omit. When the opponents have the ball, the quarter makes an extra man in or near the forward line, and, as a rule, he can by his shrewdness make it very un- comfortable for any point in the line which he chooses to assail. No law can govern his tactics in this respect, but he should be a law unto himself, and show by his cleverness that he is more valu- able than any man in the line whose position is fixed. One caution only is worth giving to the quarter in this line of play, and that is, to be less free of going forward sharply when the play is evidently to be a run than when a kick is to be attempted. In the latter case, a quarter can always be sent for his best. THE HALF-BACK AND BACK As the game is at present played, the back is more of a third half-back than a goal-tend, and so should be trained to half-back work. It has been well said that all that one can ask of the best rush line is to hold the ground their half-backs gain ; and when one follows carefully the progress of the play, he sees that this is the proper division of the work. The half-backs, then, must be the ground-gainers of the team. Such work calls for dash and fire that ability to suddenly concentrate all the bodily energy into an effort that must make way through anything. Every one has such half-backs in mind, but unfortu- nately many of those half-backs who 94 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. possess this type of character have not the necessary weight and strength to stand the amount of work required. Although a light man be occasionally found who is particularly muscular and wiry, the constant shock of going into a heavy line of forwards usually proves too exhausting for any but those of middle weight before the end of a sea- son be reached. It is not that the work of a single game proves too much for the light-weight half. It is that in both practice and games he is so overmatched by the weight of the forwards whom he must meet that every week finds -him less strong than the preceding, until his playing falls off so markedly that the captain or coach is at last convinced that there is something wrong, and the man is replaced by some one else, often too late to bring the substitute up to anything like the mark he might have THE HALF-BACK AND BACK. 95 reached had he been tried earlier in the season. Such thoughts as these will suggest themselves to the experienced coach when at the outset of a season he has placed before him a number of can- didates for the position of half-back, among whom very likely there may be two or three men of perhaps one hun- dred and forty pounds' weight. Likely enough, too, these men may be at that period easily superior to the middle or heavy weights. In such a case the very best advice that can be whispered in the ear of coach or captain is, to make quar- ters or ends of them, even though it be only substitute quarters and ends. It will leave the way open for the proper cultivation of half-backs better built to stand the wear and tear of a season. Almost equally to be deprecated is the waste of time often devoted to making half-backs of slow heavy weights. Only 96 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. a quick man can perform a half-back's duties successfully ; and although much can be left to practice, there must be some natural quickness to build upon. Slow men can be improved far more rapidly in the forward line than among the halves. All this regarding the weight of half-backs applies not only to Varsity teams, but school teams as well, if one will make the proper pro- portional changes in weight. That is, a Varsity player will be called upon to face a forward line averaging one hun- dred and seventy -five or thereabouts, and men of less than one hundred and thirty-five to one hundred and forty are too light to meet that weight. In school teams the rush line will be some twenty pounds lighter, and the halves can there- fore be selected from even one-hundred- and-twenty-five-pound men, if well built. In other words, a half-back ought not to JOHN COKBETT. Harvard. THE HALF-BACK AND BACK. 97 face over twenty-five pounds' difference in weight ; and the more that difference is reduced, supposing that speed and agility be retained, the more chance there is of turning out a thoroughly successful player. It is worth while to be thus particular upon the point of the early selection of candidates for the position of half-back, because, while no more work is demanded of them in a game than of others of their side, the quality of that work must be more uni- formly good. When a half-back has to tackle, he must be as sure as a steel- trap ; when a half-back has to catch, he must be a man to be relied upon ; when a half-back is called upon for a kick, it must be no fluke ; and, although no one expects a half-back to always make on his run the five yards, he must be a man who will not be denied when he is called upon for that last yard 7 98 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. which will enable his side to retain the ball. Almost the first thing to be critically noted by the coach is the way in which a half-back takes the ball from his quar- ter. The case in which he takes it di- rectly from the hands of this player has been already dwelt upon at some length under the head of the quarter's passing ; but when the ball is thrown or passed some little distance, it is just as impor- tant that it be properly received. Ex- cept when about to kick, the half-back should be moving when he receives the ball, and, more than that, the reception of it should have no perceptible effect upon his movements. In other words, he must take it as easily and as natu- rally as a batsman in a ball game drops his bat after he has hit the ball fairly. No batsman remembers that he has had the bat in his hands after the ball THE HALF-BACK AND BACK. 99 has been hit, and yet, when he is at first base, he has left his bat behind him at the plate. Thus a football half-back should so receive the ball as not to know the exact instant of taking it, but find that he has it as he comes up to the line. It will never do for a coach to suppose that an inexperienced half can be told that he must take the ball " without knowing it," but it is necessary to explain to a half that until he does take the ball naturally, and without having to stop and calculate about it, he can never come properly up to the line nor get his whole power on early. To acquire the habit of taking a pass easily, a half-back should spend a little time every day off the field in practising taking a sharp pass when on the run. By a sharp pass is not meant hurling the ball with all possible force against a runner so that he is nearly 100 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. knocked over by it, and cannot by any possibility catch it except at the ex- pense of giving the catch his sole and undivided attention. Such passing in practice does far more harm than good. The ball should be passed with that easy swing which sends it rapidly, accu- rately, and evenly up to the runner with- out any great apparent force, for it is remarkable how much the appearance of force tends to rattle the runner, who easily handles fully as much speed prop- erly delivered. Daily practice of this nature between the quarter and halves accustoms each to the other, so that the regular work of the team on the field is not disorganized by loose passing and looser catching. While this passing is progressing, the coach should stand by the side of the half, and watch him closely, correcting any careless tenden- cies of receiving or stopping, and pay- THE HALF-BACK AND BACK. IOI ing particular attention to his going in a straight line that is, not running up to meet the ball and then sheering, off again. The best half-backs endeavor to receive the ball at approximately the same height relative to their bodies, no matter how it comes, and they will cor- rect quite a variation in the quarter's throw by a little stoop or a slight jump. A half-back must be taught to be uni- form in starting, and in reaching the spot where the ball is to meet him. The coach will have no great difficulty in teaching him this steady uniformity of pace, which will enable the quarter to throw the ball so as really to assist rather than retard his motion. There are two other things which the half-back must practise apart from his team-play. They are kicking and catching. The former is of sufficient importance to de- serve a separate chapter, but a few hints 102 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. under the half-back column will not be out of place. It is usually the case that of all three men behind the line, the two halves and the back, any one can do the kicking upon a pinch, but one of the three is, nine times out of ten, mani- festly superior to the other two. In this state of affairs there is altogether too great a tendency to slight the practice of the two inferior kickers, and rely al- most entirely upon the best man. It is quite proper to let the best man do all the kicking possible in an important game, but it is a very short-sighted pol- icy to neglect the practice of the other two during the preliminary games. Not only should they have the advantage to be gained in the length of their kicks by daily practice, but they should also have the steadying experience to be acquired only in games. It may happen at any moment in a most important game that THE HALF-BACK AND BACK. 103 the kicking will devolve upon them on account of an accident to the third man, and it is, indeed, a foolhardy captain or coach who has not taken sufficient fore- thought for this contingency. The prin- cipal reason why we develop so few really good kickers is, that coaches, captains, and players have given so lit- tle attention to the detail of that part of the work. Fully nine tenths of the men who do the kicking upon American teams are more natural kickers than practised ones. Let me explain this so as to be fully understood. As in box- ing one often sees a man who, having taken no lessons, and being therefore unable to make the most of himself, can yet more than hold his own against a more finished opponent on account of his natural quickness, strength, and apti- tude ; so in football one sees here and there a man who is able to do some fair 104 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. kicking without having devoted particu- lar attention to it. In boxing, however, when a teacher takes the natural hitter in hand, he begins by putting him at work upon the rudiments of guarding, holding himself upon his feet, hitting straight, and moving firmly. He never undertakes to make a first-class man of him by merely encouraging him to go in harder, and increase his power with- out regard to the proper methods. In football, coaches rarely teach the kick- ers the first principles, but instead urge upon them only the necessity of con- stant practice in their own way. For this reason our kickers show all manner of styles, and the only wonder is that they kick so well in such wretchedly bad form. While it is neither advisable nor nec- essary that a kicker be prevented from attempting to kick hard until he has KNOWLTON L. AMES. Princeton. THE HALF-BACK AND BACK. 105 mastered every detail of the swing and brought it to the same point of perfec- tion that a finished oarsman does his stroke, it certainly is best, in his prac- tice, to subordinate power to method until he acquire good form. The coach should take his man in hand by watching him make a half- dozen kicks in his own way. Then he should select the worst of his faults, and show him why it is a fault, and how to correct it. He should keep him upon this one point for a few days, until he is convinced that there will be no backsliding, and then begin upon the next. In this way a few weeks will serve to make a second-class man a good one, and open the way for his becom- ing something out of the ordinary run in another season. In judging the faults of a kicker, the coach should note just where he gets 106 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. his power on, what is the position of his leg and foot upon the swing, and what part of the foot strikes the ball. These are the principal points, and de- serve the first attention. Regarding the first of these, his power should be put on just as his foot has passed the lowest part of the arc in which it swings, and it should meet the ball in the up- ward sweep very soon after passing this point. The position of his leg and foot is to be next noted, and the " snap the whip " phrase is as good a one to convey the idea as any that can be adopted. As the leg begins to swing the knee is bent and the body pitched a little forward, so that the weight of the kick- seems to start from the hip and travel down the leg as it straight- ens, reaching the foot just as it meets the ball, as above mentioned. As for the third point, the ball, when punted, THE HALF-BACK AND BACK. 107 should be struck between the instep and the toe, impinging most upon the for- mer. In a drop-kick and a place-kick the ball is met by the toe, and the sweep is made with " a longer leg," as the ex- pression has it ; that is, the foot swings nearer in fact, almost along the ground. All these three points can be most clearly illustrated by noting the effect of departures from them. If the power is not put on as above described, the man will simply send the ball along the ground, or will hook it up, merely toss- ing it with his foot instead of driving it. These two are the extremes, of course ; but they illustrate where the power is lost or wasted. If the leg be not swung in proper position, the ball will be sim- ply spatted with the foot, the only force coming from the knee. Finally, if the ball be not met with the proper part of the foot it may snap downwards off the 108 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. toe, or be merely bunted by the ankle. There is still another thing to be watched, which, while not the kick proper, really belongs to it as much as the swing of the leg. It is the way in which the ball is dropped to the foot from the hand or hands. The usual tendency of beginners, and many half-backs who could hardly be classed in that category, is to toss the ball from the hand ; that is, to give it a motion up from thehand, which, however slight, causes much valuable time to be lost. The ball should always be dropped to the foot, the distance between the hand and foot being made as short as possible. The hand should be merely withdrawn just at the proper moment, and with practice it is not difficult to make the entire transfer from hand to foot so rap- id as to almost eliminate any danger of having the ball stopped or struck during that part of the play. In drop -kicking THE HALF-BACK AND BACK. 109 the fall is necessarily greater, but it should never be a toss even then. There has been no little argument as to wheth- er the ball should be held in one or both hands when about to kick, and such are the examples of good kickers arrayed on both sides that one cannot fairly say that either way is the only right way. If a player has become so accustomed to the two-hand method as to make him uncomfortable and inaccurate if forced to the one-hand way, it is hardly ad- visable to make the change. But any player who is taken early enough can be taught to drop the ball with one hand, to the great advantage of both his quickness and his ability to kick from tight quarters or around an opponent. The entire series of motions, there- fore, which go to make up a well-per- formed kick should be in the coach's mind just as the separate parts of an IIO AMERICAN FOOTBALL. oarsman's stroke are in the boating- man's mind when coaching a crew. The ball dropped, not tossed ; the leg well swung, the power coming from both leg and hip with all the advantage that the poise of the body may add ; the foot meeting the ball with the forward part of the instep on a punt, with the toe on a drop, and in either case just after passing the lowest point of the arc of swing, rather later on a punt than a drop, because the ground helps the lat- ter to rise, while the rise of the former must come entirely from the foot. The next step in the education of the kicker is the side swing. The ball cannot be kicked as far when met directly in front of the kicker his leg swinging straight, as it would in taking a step in running as it can be kicked by taking a side sweep with the leg and body, the hips acting as a sort of pivot. THE HALF-BACK AND BACK. Ill One of the most common false ideas regarding this side kick is, that it is not performed with the same part of the foot as the straight punt, but that the ball is struck by the side of the foot. Of course, this is all wrong. The foot meets the ball as fairly and directly as it does in the ordinary straight kick, and the ball impinges upon the top of the instep and toe just as before, the word "side" referring to. the swing of the leg and position of the body only. All the suggestions thus far have been applicable to both half-backs and back, but before bringing the chapter to an end it is well to note a few of the spe- cial features of the full-back's position. The place originally was that of a goal- tend, but with the increase of the ag- gressive system of defence his duties have become more those of a third half- back. Other things being equal, it is 112 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. eminently proper to select as a full-back an exceptionally strong tackier ; but as for placing tackling ability above that of kicking, that is a mistake which might have been made six years ago, but of which no coach or captain would to-day be guilty. The importance of the position is rap- idly growing, and there is no doubt that the time will come in another year, if it be not already here, when the selection of the three men behind the line will be after this fashion namely, picking out the three best half-backs, all things con- sidered, then selecting that one of the three whose kicking is the best, and making him the third half or full back. After the man has been in this way chosen there will devolve upon him certain duties which do not commonly fall to the lot of the other two half- backs. Chiefest amone these is the W. C. RHODES. Yale. THE HALF-BACK AND BACK. 113 duty of making a running return of a kick. The opponents have sent a punt down towards him, which he secures while the opponents are still some yards away from him, although they are com- ing down rapidly. In this case, a thor- oughly finished player will not only gain a few steps before he takes his kick, but he will take that kick on the run, some- times dodging the first man before tak- ing the kick. A full-back who can do this and never lose his kick is the great- est kind of a treasure for any team, and it is worth a captain's while to devote a good bit of attention to the full-back's perfecting this special feature of his play. He will also be likely to have the long place-kicking to do. In fact, it is prop- er to practise him at this, because, if he be the best punter among the men be- hind the line, he can be made the long- est place-kicker, and few realize the great 8 114 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. advantage of these long place-kicks to a team upon occasion of fair catches. Tackling, when it does fall to the lot of a full-back, comes with an importance the like of which no other player is ever called upon to face. It usually means a touch-down if he misses. For prac- tice of this kind it is well to play the Varsity back once in a while upon the scrub side. This is likely to improve the speed of his kicking also. SIGNALS WHEN Rugby football was first adopt- ed in this country, it was against a strong feeling that it would never make prog- ress against what had been known as the American game. This old-fashioned game was much more like the British Association in a rather demoralized state. Not only was there no such thing as off- side, but one of the chief features consist- ed in batting the ball with the fist, at which many became sufficiently expert to drive the ball almost as far as the ordinary punter now kicks it. There was very little division of players by name, although they strung out along the field, and one (known as the "pea- nutter" why, no one knows) played in Il8 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. the enemies' goal. Coming to players accustomed to this heterogeneous ming- ling, it is no great wonder that the first days of Rugby were characterized by even less system than that displayed in the old game. The first division of players was into rushers, half-backs, and a goal-tend. The rushers had but little regard for their rel- ative positions in the line ; and as for their duties, one can easily imagine how little they corresponded with those of the rush- er of to-day when it is said that it was by no means unusual for one of them to pick up the ball and punt it. The snap-back and quarter-back play soon defined these two positions, and shortly after the individual rush-line po- sitions became distinct, both as regards location and duties. All this was an era of development of general play with but few particular combinations or marks of SIGNALS. 119 strategy. If a man made a run, he made it for the most part wherever he saw the best chance after receiving the ball, and he made it unaided to any degree by his comrades. If the ball was kicked, it was at the option of the man receiv- ing it, and the forwards did not know whether he would kick or run. It was at this point that the demand for signals first showed itself. The rush- ers began to insist upon it that they must be told in some way whether the play was to be a kick or a run. They main- tained quite stoutly and correctly that there was no reason in their chasing down the field when the half-backs did not kick. As a matter of fact, the for- wards even went so far as to contend that the running-game should be en- tirely dropped in favor of one based upon long kicks well followed up. Fail- ing to establish this opinion, they nev- 120 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. ertheless brought it about that they should be told by some signal what the play was to be, and so be spared useless running. This was probably the first of the present complicated system of sig- nals, although at about the same time some teams took up the play of making a rather unsatisfactory opening for a runner in the line, and made use of a signal to indicate the occasions when this was to be done. The signalling of the quarter to the centre-rush as to when the ball should be played antedated this somewhat, but can hardly be classed with signals for the direction of the play itself. To-day the teams which meet to de- cide the championship are brought up to the execution of at least twenty-five different plays, each of which is called for by a certain distinct signal of its own. The first signals given were " word P. D. TRAFFORD. Harvard. SIGNALS. 121 signals ;" that is, a word or a sentence called out so that the entire team might hear it and understand whether a kick or a run was to be made. Then, when signals became more general, "sign sig- nals" (that is, some motion of the hand or arm to indicate the play) were brought in and became for a time more popular than the word signals, particularly upon fields where the audience pressed close upon the lines, and their enthusiastic cheering at times interfered with hear- ing word signals. Of late years nu- merical combinations have become most popular, and as the crowd is kept at such a distance from the side lines as to make it possible for teams to hear those signals, they have proven highly satis- factory. The numerical system, while it can be readily understood by the side giving the signal, because they know the key, is far more difficult for the 122 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. opponents to solve than either the old word signals or signs. Still, the inge- nuity of captains is generally taxed to devise systems that shall so operate as never to confuse their own men and yet completely mystify the opponents throughout the game. Clever forwards almost always succeed in interpreting correctly one or two of the signals most frequently used, in spite of the difficulty apparent in the solution of such prob- lems. The question as to who should give the signals is still a disputed one, although the general opinion is that the quarter-back should perform this duty. There is no question as to the propriety of the signals emanating from that point, but the discussion is as to whether the captain or the quarter should direct the play. Of course all is settled if the captain is himself a quarter- back, but even when he is not he ought SIGNALS. 123 to be able to so direct his quarter pre- vious to the actual conflict as to make it perfectly satisfactory to have the signals come from the same place as the ball. It is in that direction that the eyes and attention of every player are more or less turned, and hence signals there given are far more certain to be ob- served. Moreover, it is sometimes, and by no means infrequently, necessary to change a play even after the signal has been given. This, if the quarter be giving the signals, is not at all difficult, but is decidedly confusing when coming from some other point in the line. The important fact to be remembered in selecting a system of signals is that it is far more demoralizing to confuse your own team than to mystify your opponents. A captain must therefore choose such a set of signals as he can be sure of making his own team com- 124 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. prehend without difficulty and without mistake. When he is sure of that, he can think how far it is possible for him to disguise these from his opponents. Among the teams which contest for championship honors it is unusual to find any which are not prepared for emergencies by the possession either of two sets of signals, or of such changes in the manner of giving them as to make it amount to the same thing. Considering the way the game is played at the present time, this preparation is advisable, for one can hardly overesti- mate the demoralizing effect it would have upon any team to find their oppo- nents in possession of a complete under- standing of the signals which were di- recting the play against them. While it is well for the captain or coach to arrange in his own mind early in the season such a basis for a code of SIGNALS. 125 signals as to render it adaptable to al- most indefinite increase in the number of plays, it is by no means necessary to have the team at the outset understand this basis. In fact, it is just as well to start them off very modestly upon two or three signals which they should learn, and of which they should make use un- til the captain sees fit to advance them a peg. If, for instance, the captain decides to make use of a numerical system, he cannot do better to accustom his men to listening and following instruc- tions than to give them three signals, something like this: One-two-three, to indicate that the ball is to be passed to the right half-back, who will endeavor to run around the left end ; four-five-six, that the left half will try to run around the right end ; and seven-eight-nine, that the back will kick. The scrub side 126 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. will probably " get on" to these signals in short order, and will make it pleasant at the ends for the half-backs ; but this will be the best kind of practice in team work, and will do no harm. After a day or two of this it will be time to make changes in the combination of numbers, not only with an idea of deceiving the scrub side, but also to quicken the wits of the 'Varsity team. Taking the same signals as a basis, the first, or signal for the right half-back to try on the left end, was one-two-three the sum of these numbers is six. Take that, then, as the key to this signal, and any numbers the sum of which equals six will be a signal for this play. For instance, three-three, or four-two, two- three-one any of these would serve to designate this play. Similarly, as the sig- nal for the left half at the right end was four-five-six, or a total of fifteen, any SIGNALS. 127 numbers which added make fifteen as six-six-three, seven-eight, or five-four- six would be interpreted in this way. Finally, the signal for a kick having been seven-eight-nine, or a sum of twenty-four, any numbers aggregating that total would answer equally well. A few days of this practice will fit the men for any further developments upon the same lines, and accustom them to listening and thinking at the same time. The greatest difficulty experienced by both captains and coaches since the sig- nals and plays became so complicated has been to teach green players not to stop playing while they listen to and think out a signal. By the end of the season players are so accustomed to the signals that all this hesitation dis- appears, and the signal is so familiar as to amount to a description of the play in so many words. 128 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. The other two methods of signalling by the use of words rather than numbers, and signs given by certain movements, although they have now given way in most teams to numbers, are still made use of, and have merit enough to deserve a line or two. The word-signal was usually given in the form of a sentence, the whole or any part of which would indicate the play. As, for instance, to indicate a kick, the sentence " Play up sharp, Charlie." If the quarter, or who- ever gave the signals, should call out, " Play up," or " Play up sharp," or " Play," or " Charlie," he would in each instance be giving the signal for a kick. Sign-signals are more difficult to dis- guise, but are none the less very effec- tive, especially where there is a great amount of noise close to the ropes. A good example of the sign-signal is the touching of some part of the body with H. H. KNAPP. Yale. SIGNALS. 129 the hand. For instance, half-back run- ning would be denoted by placing the hand on the hip, the right hip for the left half, and the left hip for the right half. A kick would be indicated by placing the hand upon the neck. Par- ticular care should be exercised when sign-signals are to be used that the ones selected, while similar to the acts per- formed naturally by the quarter in stooping over to receive the ball, are never exactly identical with these mo- tions, else there will likely enough be confusion. No matter what method of signalling be used, there is one important feature to be regarded, and that is, some means of altering the play after a signal has been given. This is, of course, a very simple thing, and the usual plan is to have some word which means that the signal already given is to be considered 9 130 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. void, and a new signal will be given in its place. There should also be some way of advising the team of a change from one set of signals to another, should such a move become necessary. It is very unwise not to be prepared for such an emergency, because if a captain is obliged to have time called and person- ally advise his team one by one of such a change, the opponents are quite sure to see it and to gain confidence from the fact that they have been clever enough to make such a move necessary. TRAINING AT the present advanced athletic era there are very few who do not under- stand that a certain amount of prepa- ration is absolutely essential to success in any physical effort requiring strength and endurance. The matter of detail is, however, not faced until one actually becomes a captain or a coach, and, as such, responsible for the condition, not of himself alone, but of a team of fif- teen or twenty men. Experience regarding his own needs will have taught him the value of care and work in this line ; but, unless he differs greatly from the ordinary captain upon first assuming the duties of that position, his knowledge of training will 134 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. be confined to an understanding of his own requirements, coupled with the handed-down traditions of the preced- ing captains and teams. When he finds himself in this position and considers what lines of training he shall lay down for his team, unless he be an inordinate- ly conceited man he will wish he had made more of a study of this art of preparation, especially in the direction most suited to the requirements of his own particular sport. Many inquiries from men about to undertake the training of a team have led me to believe that, even at the expense of going over old ground, it will be well in this book to map out a few of the important features of a course of training. It should go without say- ing that there are infinite variations in systems of this kind ; but if a man will carry in mind the reasons rather than TRAINING. 135 the rules, he has always a test to apply which will enable him to make the most of whatever system he adopts. He should remember that training ought to be a preparation by means of which his men will at a certain time arrive at the best limits of their mus- cular strength and activity, at the same time preserving that equilibrium most conducive to normal health. Such a preparation can be accomplished by the judicious use of the ordinary agents of well-being exercise, diet, sleep, and cleanliness. One can follow out the reasons for or against any particular point in a system rather better if he cares to see why these agents act towards health and strength. Exercise is a prime requisite, because the human mechanism, unlike 'the inani- mate machine, gains strength from use. Muscular movement causes disintegra- 136 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. tion and death of substance, but at the same time there is an increased flow of blood to the part, and that means an in- creased supply of nourishment and in- creased activity in rebuilding. As Mac- Laren has expressed it, strength means newness of the muscle. The amount and quality of this exercise will be treat- ed of later in this chapter. In considering the matter of Diet, a captain or coach should think of this question not according to the tradition of his club, nor according to his own idiosyncrasies. He should regard the general principle of not depriving a man of anything to which he is accustomed and which agrees with him. Of course, it is advisable to do without such arti- cles of food as would be injurious to the majority of the men, even though there might be one or two to whom they would do no harm. Men should enjoy A. J. CUMNOCK. Harvard. TRAINING. 137 their food, and it should be properly served. I remember once being asked my opinion regarding a certain team at the time in training, and I expressed the conviction that something was wrong with their diet. The team, as a whole, were not seriously affected, but some three or four were manifestly out of sorts. I heard the coach go over the bill of fare, and it sounded all right. I then decided to take dinner with them and see if I could discover the trouble. One meal was sufficient, for it was a meal! The beef and an excellent roast it was, too was literally served in junks, such as one might throw to a dog. The dishes were dirty, so was the cloth. Vegetables were dumped on to the plates in a mess, and each one grabbed for what he wanted. Some of the men might have been brought up to eat at such a table, still others were not suffi- 138 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. ciently sensitive to have their appetites greatly impaired by anything, but the three or four who were " off" were boys whose home life had accustomed them to a different way of dining, and their natures revolted. So, too, did their ap- petites. As it was then too late to cor- rect the manners of the mess, I simply advised sending these men elsewhere to board, and they speedily came into shape. I cannot too strongly advocate good service at a training table. The men should enjoy their dinners, should eat them slowly, and should be encour- aged to be as long about it as they will. As food is to repair the waste, it should be generous i-n quantity and taken when the man will not, from being over-tired, have lost his appetite. Sometimes a team is not overworked, but worked too late in the day, so that the men rush to the table almost directly from the field, TRAINING. 139 and fail to feel hungry, while within an hour they would have eaten with a zest. This course persevered in for several days will show its folly in a general fall- ing-off in the strength as well as the weight of the men. To train a football team should be, in the matter of the diet at least, the simplest matter com- pared with training for other sports, be- cause the season of the year is so favor- able to good condition. Crews and ball nines have oftentimes the trial of exceptionally hot and ex- hausting weather to face, while a foot- ball team, after the few warm days of September are passed, enjoy the very best of bracing weather weather which will give almost any man who spends his time in out-door work a healthy, hearty appetite. In order that any captain or coach reading this book may feel that, while it offers several courses 140 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. of diet, it would emphatically present the fact that there is no hard-and-fast system of diet that must be religiously followed, I submit a variety of tables, showing some old as well as new school diets. None of them are very bad, sev- eral are excellent ; and I don't think that a captain or coach would be called upon to draw his pencil through very many of the items enumerated. JEREMIAH S. BLACK. Princeton. '55 t! " ' C J / i " 3JS d T3 __ X 11 a ri* "" ' ^ T: 3 SJ "rt *- .2_>, S "e "S' ^O W -. iS B ' 5 tn o nj ^'S O (Summer Races.) KING.* So as to be in chapel; b not compulsory. Not compulsory (walk onl The crust only recommeni As little as possible recom 3 ill! 3 d^.^S-O ^ l i.si si IKIJ 2 -a B | J ^ -, ^o S-s ^ Sj- 8-1,3.33. ^ ^ -"^ o cj i2 3. S3 2 * 20 g u^ C ' O '. v v '^ S3 C -S S W CQ pf ' H . : c T3 i_. O _-i C rt S ' o>^ 2 to ? '. "" o ** *J Q tf 2 1*1 J3 C ^! C "5^2 ^ .2 ^ "!> 1/1 U7 O <; 73 v-. o g -a ^ 5 1 J -6 cj " "2, PH M > D " ^ -~ -g S g 'P 1) ^ D st c3 2 X ** MB *-4 ^ .s s^ & T3 PH W PQ W Q W C/3 P5 141 to H O 142 o -g e 4J > H _4J mm S o a ta*- S -S , be *ss fall e^ a, a _0) rt i- _ o - CD CO 1-1 VI I '.n'o 'o **-" i2 -3 ^38 w i) e tjo 2 o rt training a casionally. 3 'C <5 ^ men get out f ; rowing back. o *tj cx-ij rt o tj 1^3 j_, J-H ~*~ S 'S w 42 S c '3 ; "" W) H ^q H *-* J 1^ C5 D CJ yj I> .p-t sg'c t; 45 oj 5 h 03 w | ^ ^ O C* O * J 'c ii 8 S | s - ^'^ t/3 o t! <" P* > 8 jj 3 S o 2 * J **" *S 0) <^ ^ 2 S - -^ S 5 H g"g i H c5 Q si s <5 ^ t5 J! 1 f.S 2 j, ^ .. CO |1 Q g 3 J* 3 2 g JQ 9 t! S e j | irfiif IB, 6*1 f I'BI g (" Jj ^{H l ^S >Q < c S H o : o pi w g C CO U a h 00 O "3 o ^ N^^ a *^ 4> C/3 dj c! aJ 11 3 'S s D C C | Q X P4 W n ^ Q W PQ 143 >-i O ^t-t O JD S rt 5 HH ^ ^H c - 2g c eu ^ i~> o h O "S g.S JJ '5 >-% '53,3 ^ C - t/jrt c -a ^^ ^ 2^g = . Sc, ^g |il|3| ^^ - Sill S ,5j S^c . .y 5 "^ c 11 sis i5ii?e ^^b ^^SS^^I 3 i3|ei B .i^-iSii < s 5"^ c 3 ^J f a< 8. isjg5 II^JB-SB-iJ SsiS^. J^llMi W * 0.8 >^ o c 5 i'ai' 8 '!*'! P-a & c3 ^* .5 . ^ ^^3 r^ ^ ^d e ^ "^ .^ M*a;T3 W>t/lD'E/3rt o.ti S S'S 3 c'S jj is f 1*1 -tf^Soz t^^D'OC.^C... >-t->O "-'J' C ' Q g.^ S S-3 * J^f " "2 S^S^gga^P i*'8|a8^3jfl8SJ6 )HP4 Sw <^ : Q> CO : O -i U) j. p rO- 2 "o 8 - *J ^ L. C . i-*i "3 W H 144 & ^ j %~-~ aj c3 O 'O Q M ^ <- rt flj Cj ca o to f ^ - *"* cyi *aj o 4) ai 3 t O - ^3 K &s o ^^ *U 4> it3 a * rt O ^ UH * O T3 o g s *d bo" 3 rS O sr Amateurs. y s ! ^2 "8 Sg. 1 5 H Or; ^ +3 d C "*"* *- I 15 u S rt U, 1 sl fefb u rt ^3 *o P5 "> >-< c3 O 1 . U! - ;o alteration accord! roast or boiled th cleanliness are the *g J s j8 g d-S 11JI \~ In "& ll H-4 ^ 2 " o '53 ^ STEM. TRAIN 33 r- "e rt ^ S rt ^ CL,''? S , 1 - 1 J ^ S c -| .S - O = 5.^-Q c . c ^1^*8; sift 3 "^ ^g n ^ -3 M " >< ^a pu k, i ^.ja ^-S^ " i g>| || rt !E|f! CQ <$ J Q 3 w U w M y- ' v ' / lljjP'E Hill u C <" iii| H a iT o Tl S-^- -S 02 r c! *!> U ^_, >,j: a H U u S.~3% g ^ 3 ^ '. rQ s Isl rt 01 ^~v ^ ti OJ S 0. D o c c y S c O -^ i^-> <- o c <, .s U cj . o c '-3 ' ^ a) D B S ii "*- n 'J5 * s i < . ^ pj vS T ^S O 1) *, S 8 N f/i H h 09 " e ^ . *o r^ rt rt 6 'g S 'g g V ex * ? 55 a * >< c 0) p, "^ T3 T3 2 w H H S X 3 M rt rt "2 10 US o o bOt> :*3 CJ ^^ -( ,T, *- rr-1 . tH a _cn fcJj2 o ^ *^ 00 1) O * J in .s.s >v= - "o i-l 3 ^T $ O r> t/i 1S12.1 G /< r^, JH> 1 ^ o b M tti A ~ , ni QJ MCLAREN'S SYSTEM. A DAY'S TRAINING. ass of cold water recommended.) ; crew meet at 7, walk and run for i ractice, quick run of two miles, sh and dress. 11 1* Ctf t-i --^<2 ITS * X ,0 C ^- D ^S __aj 1" ^(U T3 "rt rt reakfast." oking allowed (conditionally). "S ere also a man's habits are to be tal f training in match-boats are usually custom of smoking so inveterate a: ensable to the body's internal func uently so in older men. After brea 3 the pipe." :f sandwich with half a pint of beer, :uit and glass of sherry, or egg in sh< 2.30 go out to row, and row over th< ether depends on the state of the cr ^' _CJ "rt 3 'E, _0 c 7 et *^ -~f- _- | w W 146 e 'T; (J TO .- en C3 t JJ in ^ . ^ en .J^ *~ cj O P -1 C o ~'3'b c!- '5 (Jc! <, IU "S - rt r- 3 S o " P a -4-> tn > f ^f ^ffs 8 il 1 8 b , t -* 3 3 gj _Q ^ jj w VM ^ S >-> > o *g ^ "v S S 2 -^ o 2> "vS*""* r ^.^^^ ^ ^''-^ t/5 *7"? ^ S 5J * *C oJ* "t^ S *O S *-> ^ | S | 8 "S O d 1 '^^ CU ' r^ ^-^ fa O 4-1 ^ CJ u'B ^ ^ g Si f* flllo | O l> C "rt "rt " 'S .2 ^ ^ ilf!ti!i 1 en D bO ^4 a< cs i- c .2 fc rt *r^ C ^ 2 J2 g 0,^ ^ c '3p'^ .b i * g e^ 2 & .s ^^OOO^O' '^C**-* *"r^ C-.'Q "*-' TJ "*5 O D , w a 02 ^ " ^ 6,^ it; S 2 -S 2' :3 rt 8 x il : i >1 SB 5rf- ^ :/> *- O rt ^j ^fj-e ^S< g^ W ll^ll-f- lsi'^1^ 25 o S i-c C^Cx- t/3/5 ^ " rt v-' u S s > 5 in wi ..ti *J wi C i> ' "y^ssjjiugpq x > ^ **" '3 > J? tV K i> pq .^ O ft O 1) a 'S o s "Si 'S ci a> ts ^ M cn ^ a CL, c S B 1> 147 lie c'o ~ 3 .2 Gog rt S . u ' l , C^"^2 "^ fe O rt " ?" L ^ c o > i J 7 ? i JM.T OMVJ. ?Z a J " I nvoo KII -ij- O 9 1 N CHAPTER FOR SPECTATORS. 173 The penalty .for fouls and violation of rules, except otherwise provided, is a down for the other side ; or, if the side making the foul has not the ball, five yards to the opponents. The following is the value of each point in the scoring : Goal obtained by touch-down, . 6 Goal from field kick, .... 5 Touch-down failing goal, ... 4 Safety by opponents, .... 2 The rules which bear most directly upon the play are : The time of a game is an hour and a half, each side playing forty-five minutes from each goal. There is ten minutes' intermis- sion between the two halves, and the game is decided by the score of even halves. The ball is kicked off at the beginning of each half; and whenever a goal has been obtained, the side which has lost it shall kick off. 174 AMERICAN FOOTBALL. A player may throw or pass the ball in any direction except towards opponents' goal. If the ball be batted or thrown for- ward, it shall go down on the spot to oppo- nents. If a player having the ball be tackled and the ball fairly held, the man so tackling shall cry "held," the one so tackled must cry " down," and some player of his side put it down for a scrimmage. If, in three con- secutive fairs and downs, unless the ball cross the goal-line, a team shall not have advanced the ball five or taken it back twenty yards, it shall go to the opponents on spot of fourth. If the ball goes into touch, whether it bounds back or not, a player on the side which touches it down must bring it to the spot where the line was crossed, and there either bound the ball in the field of play, or touch it in with both hands, at right angles to the touch-line, and then run with it, kick it, or throw it back ; or throw it out at right CHAPTER FOR SPECTATORS. 175 angles to the touch-line ; or walk out with it at right angles to touch-line, any distance not less than five nor more than fifteen yards, and there put it down. A side which has made a touch-down in their opponents' goal must try at goal. THE END. BLAIKIE'S HOW TO GET STRONG. How to Get Strong, and How to Stay So. By WILLIAM BLAIKIE. Illus- trated. i6mo, Cloth, $i oo. Mr. Blaikie has treated his theme in a practical common-sense way that appeals at once to the judgment and the understanding. A complete and healthful system of exercise is given for boys and girls ; instructions are set down for the development of every indi- vidual class of muscles, and there is sound advice for daily exercise for children, young men and women, business men and con- sumptives. There are instructions for home gymnastics, and an easy routine of practice laid out. Saturday Evening Gazette, Boston. Every word of it has been tested and con- firmed by the author's own experience. It may be read with interest and profit by all. Christian Instructor, Chicago. A successful performance, everything in the line of gymnastic exercise receiving co- pious illustrations by pen and pencil. The authors aim is genuinely philanthropic, in the right sense of the word, and his work is a useful contribution to the cause of physical culture. Christian Register, Boston. Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, NewTork E3P" The above work -will it sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States, Canadti, or Mexico, on receipt of the price. BLAIKIE'S SOUND BODIES. Sound Bodies for our Boys and Girls. By WILLIAM BLAIKIE. With Illus- trations. i6mo, Cloth, 40 cents. 'A manual of safe and simple exercises for developing the physical system. Mr. William Blaikie's new manual cannot fail to receive a warm welcome from parents and teachers, and should be introduced as a working text-book into thousands of schools throughout the country. Boston Herald. A book which ought to be placed at the elbow of every school-teacher. Springfield Union. The directions are so simple and sensible that they appeal to the reason of every par- ent and teacher. Philadelphia Press. The influence of judicious exercise upon mind as well as body cannot be overesti- mated, and this will be a safe -guide to this end, requiring no costume nor expensive apparatus. Presbyterian, Philadelphia. Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, NewYork. 5I3P" The above work will be sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of tJie United States, Canada, or Mexico, on receipt of the price. BOOKS FOR ANGLERS. Fly-Rods and Ffy-Tackle. Suggestions as to their Manufacture and Use. By HENRY P. WELLS. Illustrated. Square 8vo, Cloth, $2 50. The book is one of great value, and will take its place as a standard authority, and we cannot com- mend it too highly. Forest and Stream, New York. An illustrated volume, elegantly presented, that will make all anglers jealous of possession until upon their shelf or centre-table. Boston Common-wealth. Mr. Wells's competence to expound the somewhat intricate principles and delicate processes of fly-fish- ing will be plain to any reader who himself has some practical acquaintance with the art discussed. The value of the author's instructions and suggestions is signally enhanced by their minuteness and lucidity. N. Y. Sun. The American Salmon-Fisherman. By HENRY P. WELLS. Ill'd. Square 8 vo, Cloth, $i oo. The success of Mr. Wells's "Fly-Rods and Fly- Tackle " has made his name familiar to thousands of American anglers. ' ' The American Salmon-Fisher- man," like the former work, is the fruit of the au- thor's long experience and practical knowledge of this subject. The text is illustrated throughout. Boston Traveller. A practical, interesting guide to the sport of salm- on-fishing. The tyro will read it through profitably; the old hand will not be offended by it as too ele- mentary. The author is alert and companionable. Atlantic Monthly, Boston. Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, NewTork. itlur of the above works will be sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States, Canada, or Mex- ico, on receipt of tlie price. Or. C. C. ABBOTT'S WORKS. Upland and Meadow. A Poaetquissings Chronicle. By CHARLES C. ABBOTT, M.D. i2mo, Cloth, $i 50. Delightful reading for students and lovers of out- door nature .... Here the author discourses with the greatest charm of style about wood and stream, marsh- wrens, the spade-foot toad, summer, winter, trumpet- creepers and ruby throats, September sunshine, a col- ony of grakles, the queer little dwellers in the water, and countless other things that the ordinary eye passes without notice .... The book may be heartily com- mended to every reader of taste, and to every admirer of graceful and nervous English. Saturday Evening Gazette, Boston. Waste-Land Wanderings. By CHARLES C. ABBOTT, M.D. i2mo, Cloth, $i 50. There is a freshness about his anecdotes of fishes and birds, and his descriptions of unfamiliar scenery, that must make the book delightful to every lover of similar sports. To those who have not the leisure nor the enterprise for similar expeditions the reading of it will charm many an idle hour, besides imparting in the most agreeable manner possible a large fund of interesting information. St. Louis Republican. It is a charming book, introducing the reader to the interesting guests and dwellers in the forests, upon the downs, and by the river-side. All lovers of nat- ure will find an abundant source of instruction and pleasure in it. Zton's Herald, Boston. Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, NewTork. t3F" Either of the above works will be sent by mail, post- age prepaid, to any part of the United States, Canada, or Mexico, on receipt of the Price. University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. WTRAL UNVF n S! UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL III A 000808113 5