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AMERJCAN FOOTBALL WALTEI\ CAMP

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HECTOR COWAN.

Princeton,

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

BY

WALTER CAMP

WITH THIRTY-ONE PORTRAITS

NEW YORK

HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARB

189I

Copyright, 1891, by Harper & Brothers.

AU riyhtt rtterved.

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. VZ^ PAGE

-7^ 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 .... 91 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. \ Henry C. Lamar, p " 8 D. S. Dean", 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

VUl LIST OF PORTRAITS.

Ralph Warren, p Facing p. 88

John Corbett, h. . . . . . " 96 W. Bull, y " icxj

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 " 1.60

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, ^^ 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.

Priuceton.

ENGLISH AND AMERICAN RUGBV. 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

lO AMERICAN FOOTBALL.

game ; and the element of chance being

ehminated, 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 Hght man he was ahvays 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 ori

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. 1

3

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. 1

5

number of men held in reserve, as it were, behind the Hne, 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. 1

7

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

15 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 undesirabk 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 out^de. 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 interferer

break the force of his tackle. And

END RUSHER. 3

1

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 operandi 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 sufifi-

ciently, if he have any football blood in

him. The point towards which coaching

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

5© 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. 5

1

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

6o 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

•o

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-

7© 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. 7

1

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 Avork 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 ofi 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 v/hen

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

90 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

g4 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

g6 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

JUlI.N CORBETT.

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

agihty 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

lOO 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. lOI

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

I04 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

Io6 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 paft of

the foot it may snap downwards off the

I08 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. 1 09

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

no 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 among these is the

W. C. RHODES.

Yale.

THE HALF-BACK AND BACK. II3

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

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 sufificiently 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-

I20 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 difificulty

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. 1 23

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 m 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-ofT 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.

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148

SYSTEM OF JACKSON AND GODBOLD.

Breakfast.— Stale or whole -meal bread, or toast, a little butter, plenty of

marmalade if you like, but not jam. Ba-

con and eggs, or chops or steaks, with wa-

tercress if obtainable. To those who like

it, a basin of oatmeal porridge, properly

made, taken with pure milk about an hour

before breakfast, is an excellent thing,

and has a very beneficial effect upon

the stomach, but it should not be taken

every day. It is better to miss it ever)'

third day, or to take it regularly for a

fortnight and then omit it from the next

week's diet, as the too frequent use of

it is rather injurious to the skin of some

persons. Tea—not too strong—is better than coffee. Good ripe fruit is a cap-

150 AMERICAN FOOTBALL.

ital adjunct to the breakfast-table, and

is an excellent article of food.

Dinner.—Lamb, mutton, beef, fowl (tender and boiled), varied by fish, of

which haddock, whiting, and soles are

the best, with potatoes (well boiled, and

not much of them), and well -cooked

vegetables, followed by a small allow-

ance of light farinaceous pudding or

stewed fruit, will be a good, wholesome

diet. If you want bread, have it stale.

Never eat new bread. Avoid all sauces,

or made dishes, and adhere to plain food

only. One thing we would particular-

ly impress upon the reader, and that is

never to take his exercise immediately

before or after meals, nothing is more in-

jurious, or likely to produce indigestion,

and its concomitant evils. Some author-

ities abjure the use of sugar, but taken in

moderation it is not injurious. A well- known champion of our acquaintance,

C. O. GILL.

Yale.

TRAINING. 151

when in the pink of condition, was wont

to amuse himself by eating the contents

of a sugar basin, if one were inadvert-

ently left near him, and without feeling

any ill effects from so doing. Our read-

ers need not follow his example, for al-

though it might suit him, it probably

would not agree with them. We have said, take sugar in moderatiofi. Now, in

this last word lies all the lectures one

can give on this subject. Be moderate

in all things, one might say, but above

all things be moderate in the use of all

edibles not actually necessary to sup-

port the increased exertion which a man

in training is called upon to perform.

No liquid should be taken except with, or just after meals, but we would not

advise stinting the quantity too much.

In summer three or four pints, and in

winter two or three pints per diem

would be about the quantity. Never

152 AMERICAN FOOTBALL.

drink just before exercise, and it is bet-

ter not to drink just before going to

bed. In fact, the less one has to digest

when retiring for sleep the better, and

be sure not to drink tea late at night.

Tea, or SUPPER, should be taken at

least two hours before bedtime, and we

would allow a small chop, or some light

fish, bread, and very little butter, with

some ripe fruit. The best meal to take

before a race, and which should be taken

about two hours before starting-time, is

the lean of mutton-chops and a little

dry toast. We have said that no liquids should be taken except at meal-times;

but we do not intend to state that if a

man be very thirsty he may not touch

them. If he does so, it must be a very

small quantity. Thirst can often be as-

suaged by rinsing the mouth out with

cold water, and this is by far the better

plan if it is efificacious.

A COMMON-SENSE SYSTEM.

One author says : " Rise at six

;

bathe ; take about two ounces (a small

cup) of coffee with milk : this is really

a stimulating soup. Then light exer-

cise, chiefly devoted to lungs ; a little

rest ; the breakfast of meat, bread, or

oatmeal, vegetables, with no coffee ; an

hour's rest. Then the heaviest exer-

cise of the day. This is contrary to

rule ; but I believe the heaviest exer-

cise should be taken before the heav-

iest meal ; a rest before dinner. This

meal, if breakfast be taken at seven

or eight, should be at one or two,

not leaving a longer interval than five

hours between the meals. At din-

ner, again meat, vegetables, bread, per-

154 AMERICAN FOOTBALL.

haps a half -pint of malt liquor, no

sweets. Then a longer rest ; exercise

till five. Supper light — bread, milk, perhaps with an egg. Half an hour

later a cup of tea, and bed at nine."

J. B. O'REILLY.

Seven o'clock is a good time for an

athlete in training to rise. He ought to get a good dry- rubbing, and then

sponge his body with cold water, or

have a shower-bath, with a thorough

rubbing afterwards. He will then go out to exercise before breakfast, not to

run hard, as is commonly taught, but to

walk briskly for an hour, while exercis-

ing his lungs in deep-breathing. Before

this walk, an egg in a cup of tea, or

something of the kind, should be taken.

The breakfast need not always con-

sist of a broiled mutton-chop or cutlet

;

a broiled steak, broiled chicken, or

broiled fish, or some of each, may be

taken with tea or coffee.

156 AMERICAN FOOTBALL.

Dinner may be far more varied than is usually allowed by the trainer's " sys-

tem." Any kind of butcher's meat, plainly cooked, with a variety of fresh

vegetables, may be taken, with ordinary light puddings, stewed fruit, but no

pastry. A good time for dinner is one o'clock.

An American athlete, when thirsty, ought to have only one drink—water. The climate and the custom in England

favor the drinking of beer or claret;

but, beyond question, the best drink for

a man in training is pure water. After dinner, rest, but no dozing or siesta.

This sort of rest only spoils digestion,

and makes men feel slack and " limp."

Supper, at six o'clock, should not be

a second dinner; but neither should it

consist of " slops " or gruel. The ath- lete ought to be in bed by ten o'clock,

in a room with open window, and a

E. C. PEACE.

Princeton.

TRAINING. 157

draught through the room, if possible,

though not across the bed.

The American football captain or

coach should bear in mind, when read-

ing these various systems, that the use

of ale and port seems to be much bet-

ter borne by those who live in the Eng-

lish climate than upon this side the

water.

Also, that stiff exercise before break-

fast has not been proven advantageous

to our athletes except as a flesh-reducer,

and then only in exceptionally vigorous

constitutions.

Also, that tea is not as popular with

us as with the men who train in Eng-

land.

SLEEP AND CLEANLINESS.

To come to the third agent of health enumerated some pages back, Sleep.

As a rule, it is not a difficult matter to

see that members of a football team

take the requisite amount of sleep.

There are occasions, as in college, when

some society event of unusual impor-

tance tempts the men to sit up late, but with such exceptions as these there is

no great difficulty experienced in mak-

ing the majority of the men keep good hours. And this is growing more and more simple as athletics become more

general, for they take the place of much of the dissipation which was formerly

the only outlet for the superabundant

animal spirits of young men. In the

TRAINING. 159

case, however, of the occasional candi-

date for the team who comes under the

captain's eye as inchned to late hours,

there must be the strictest kind of dis-

cipline shown. Such a man is the very-

one whose stamina will be affected after

a while by lack of sleep, and that too at

a time when the rest of the men are near-

ing the perfection of condition. Thus he

will be found falling off at the very time

when it is a most serious matter very like-

ly to fill his position with a new man.

Eight or nine hours sleep should be in-

sisted upon, and that sleep should be

taken with regularity. In fact, not only

the sleep, but the meals and the exercise,

should all be made as nearly regular, re-

garding hours, as possible. Men should have separate rooms, and particularly

when off upon trips they should not

sleep together. Plenty of fresh air

should be admitted to the sleeping-

l6o AMERICAN FOOTBALL.

room, but draughts are to be avoided.

This is not because every time the air

blows upon a man he is liable to con-

tract a severe cold, for the chances are

against this, but because there are times

when he is particularly prone to such

an accident, and if he is in the habit of

sleeping without regard to draughts it

is not likely that he will take precau-

tions then. If a man has, for instance,

played an especially stiff game and

upon a muggy and exhausting day, he

will undoubtedly turn in thoroughly

tired out, and perhaps still somewhat

heated. Now if he, when in that state, sleeps in a draught, he will probably

find himself very lame in the morning,

even though he escape other more seri-

ous consequences. Just one more word

of caution regarding sleep, and that is

in the matter of obtaining a good

night's rest just before the important

W. HEFFELFINGER,

Yale.

TRAINING. l6l

match of the season. To insure J^is is to do much towards securing the best work of which the men are capable from the team upon the. following day.

First and foremost, they should not be

allowed to talk about the game or the

signals or anything connected with foot-

ball during that evening. If possible,

they should do something to entirely

divert their minds from all thought of

the game. Nor should they be hustled

off to bed an hour or two earlier than

usual. Rather ought it to be a half-hour

later, for then the chances are that the

men drop off to sleep immediately in-

stead of tossing about, thinking of the

exciting event of the morrow.

Finally, as to overtrained men, and

that restlessness and inability to sleep

that almost always comes with the

worst cases of this kind. There is but

one thing to do with a man when he

II

1 62 AMERICAN FOOTBALL.

''goes fine" to this extent, and that is

to sever his connection with the team

for a time. If it is early in the season,

there is some chance of his recuperating

rapidly enough to still become service-

able. If it is late, there is no hope of

this. In either case he must neither

play, eat, nor spend his time with the

members of the team. He can do al- most anything else ; he can go and

watch the crew row or the ball nine

play ; he can study or read ; he can, and

in fact should, do everything possible

to disassociate himself from football

and violent exercise for a time, and, un-

less the trouble has gone too far, it will

only be a couple of weeks before he

will find himself coming out of it all

right, and among the first signs will be

good, refreshing sleep.

To pass now to the fourth of our agents for health, Cleanliness. It is fort-

TRAINING. 163

unately seldom necessary to argue the

advantages of the "tub" or "sponge

bath " to our football players, because

they are usually accustomed to it. A daily splashing has been their ordinary

habit. It is well to mention also that a

fortnightly warm bath may be indulged

in to advantage. But with the present

understanding of all these advantages,

the wisest remarks that can be made

are cautions as to indiscretions in the

use of baths. In the first place, one

bath a day is enough, and any other

should be a mere sponging and rub-

bing. Men who indulge in a tub in

the morning and then spend another

fifteen minutes in a plunge after prac-

tice in the afternoon get too much of it.

Again, the habit of spending a long time

under the shower every day is a mis-

take. It feels so refreshing after a hard

practice that a man is tempted to stay

164 AMERICAN FOOTBALL.

too long, and it does him no good. The

best and safest plan is to take a light,

quick sponge bath in the morning imme-

diately upon rising, and then, after prac-

tice in the afternoon, to take just a mo-

ment under the shower, and follow it by

a good rubbing. This, with the fort-

nightly warm bath, will be all that a

man may do to advantage.

A CHAPTER FOR SPECTATORS

To those who have never played the game of football, but who chance to

open the covers of this book, a short ex-

planation of the divisions and duties of

the players will not be out of place. For

these this chapter is added.

The game is played by two teams, of

eleven men each, upon a field 330 feet

long and 160 feet wide, at either end of

which are goal-posts with a cross-bar.

The ball, which is like a large leather

egg, is placed in the centre of this field,

and each team endeavors to drive it in

the direction of the opponents' goal-line,

where any scoring must be done. Goals

and touch-downs are the only points

which count, and these can be made

only as follows

:

1 68 AMERICAN FOOTBALL.

A goal can be obtained by kicking the ball in any way except a punt (a certain

kind of kick where the ball is dropped

by a player and kicked before touching

the ground) over the cross-bar of the op-

ponents' goal. A touch-down is obtained by touching the ball to the ground be-

hind the line of the goal. So, in either

case, the ball must cross the end of the

field in some way to make any score.

The sole object, then, of all the strug-

gles which take place in the field is

to advance the ball to a position such

that scoring is possible. A firm grasp of this idea usually simplifies matters

very much for the casual spectator.

The object of the white lines which

cross the field at every five yards is

merely to assist the referee in determin-

ing how far the ball moves at a time

;

for there is a rule which states that a

team must advance the ball five yards

R. M. APPLETON.

Harvard.

CHAPTER FOR SPECTATORS. 1 69

in three attempts or retreat with it

twenty. If they do not succeed in do-

ing this, the other side take possession

of the ball, and in their turn try to ad-

vance it.

There are certain rules which govern

the methods of making these advances,

any infringement of which constitutes

what is called a foul, and entails a pen-

alty upon the side making it.

Any player can run with the ball or kick it if, when he receives it, he is " on

side "—that is, between the ball and his own goal-line. He may not take the ball if he is "off side" —that is, be- tween the ball and his opponents' goal-

line — until an adversary has touched the ball.

Whenever a player running with the

ball is held, he must cry " down," and a

man of his side then places the ball on the ground and snaps it back. This

170 AMERICAN FOOTBALL.

puts it in play, and is called a scrimmage,

and this scrimmage is the most com-

monly recurring feature of the game.

For the purposes of advancing the

ball or repelling the attack of the op-

ponents it has proved advisable for a

captain to divide his eleven men into

two general divisions: the forwards and

backs. The forwards, of whom there are seven, are usually called rushers, and

they make practically a straight line

across the field when the ball is put in

play on a " down." Next behind them

is the quarter-back, who does the pass-

ing of the ball to one or another of

the players, while just behind him are

the two half-backs and the back, usually

in something of a triangle in arrange-

ment, with the last named nearest the

goal which his team is defending.

The following definitions will also aid

the spectator in understanding many of

CHAPTER FOR SPECTATORS. 171

the expressions used by the devotees of

the sport:

A drop-kick is made by letting the ball fall from the hands, and kicking it at the

very instant it rises.

A place-kick is made by kicking the ball after it has been placed on the ground.

K punt is made by letting the ball fall from the hands, and kicking it before it

touches the ground.

Kick-off is a place-kick from the centre

of the field of play.

Kick-out is a drop-kick, or place-kick, by

a player of the side which has touched the

ball down in their own goal, or into whose

touch-in-goal the ball has gone.

In touch means out of bounds.

Afair is putting the ball in play, from touch.

Afoul is any violation of a rule.

172 AMERICAN FOOTBALL.

A touch-down is made when the ball is carried, kicked, or passed across the goal-

line and there held, either in goal or touch-

in-goal.

A safety is made when a player, guarding his goal, receives the ball from a player of

his own side, and touches it down behind his

goal-line, or carries the ball across his own

goal-line and touches it down, or puts the

ball into his own touch-in-goal.

A touch -hack is made when a player touches the ball to the ground behind his

own goal, the impetus which sent the ball

across the line having been received from

an opponent.

Kfair catch is a catch made direct from a

kick by one of the opponents, provided the

catcher made a mark with his heel at the

spot where he made the catch.

Interference is using the hands or arms

in any way to obstruct or hold a player who

has not the ball.

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CHAPTER FOR SPECTATORS. 1 73

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 w^hich 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. 1 75

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 6ET STRONG.

How to Get Strong, and How to Stay So. By William Blaikie. Illus- trated, i6mo, Cloth, Si 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 author's 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 HAEPER & BEOTHERS, NewTorL |^p°* The above work will be sent by mail, postage prepaid,

to any part ofthe United States, Canada, or Mexico, on receipt

ofthe 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.

Pubhshed by HARPER & BROTHERS, NewYork. JE^^ The above work will be scut by mail, postage prepaid,

to any part ofthe United States, Canada, or Mexico, on receipt

ofthe 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 Commonwealth. 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 8vo, Cloth, $1 00. 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 Ti-aveller.

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 HAEPEE & BEOTHEES, UewYork. |It^°" Eitlur 0/ the above works will be sent by mail, postage

prepaid, to any part of the United States, Canada, or Mex- ico, on receipt of tlte price.

Dr. C. C. ABBOTT'S WORKS.

Upland and Meadow, A Poaetquissings Chronicle. By Charles C. Abbott, M.D. i2mo, Cloth, $1 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, $1 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.

—

Zions Herald, Boston.

PubKshed by HAKPEE & BEOTHEES, NewTork. ^S^ Either of the above works will be sent by mail, post-

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