and first down. Consequently “fall forward,” “get your distance,” were slogans of the old game. End runs, though they might occasionally succeed brilliantly, were apt to lose precious distance that could not be regained. If a team won the toss and took the ball there was practically nothing but a fumble between them and a touchdown, and games between evenly matched teams were often really decided by the luck of the toss at the beginning of the game. For with even weight and particularly with a slight advantage of weight in the line, a safe, conservative game, straight ahead, slow but sure, tackle to tackle, hammer the weak spot, was sure to bring the ultimate touchdown. All sorts of ingenious formations were devised for massing power on the weak spot. The famous “guards back” of Pennsylvania, the “flying wedge” of Deland of Harvard, the “turtle back” wedge of others, the rolling mass on tackle and others of this type will bring a smile of reminiscence to “old-timers.” Men were pushed, dragged and hauled along by their team mates. Often special straps were attached to the uniform to facilitate this work, and even to make possible throwing a man bodily, feet first, over the prostrate lines.

Doubtless many men were severely injured by the splendid co-operative efforts of their own team mates in such activity. Such a game meant pounding—pure, unadulterated, gruelling pounding—until the selected spot, groggy and exhausted, gave way and the opponents swept through to victory or a substitute leaped in to fill the breach. Men came out of such games in those days bruised and exhausted, no definite injury but “dead,” “all in.” They were worse the next day and still worse the next, dragging back ready for another gruelling pummelling by the following Saturday. Internal injuries often developed and an unwarranted large number of deaths occurred. The game was too rough; dangerously rough; unnecessarily rough.

Closely linked with this aspect of the “old” game was the moral problem. Everything was hidden in the mass play. Spectators could see little of the real game, nothing of the “dirty work.” Much of it could not be seen even by the officials. Publicity is a great deferrent to unfairness. No man wants the spectators in the stands to see him “pull” any “raw stuff.” Close lines, petty irritations and difficulty of detection tempted many a man to foul play. We would like to think that the cleanness and high standard of sportsmanship of the new game is an indication of rising character and realization of ethical values of sport. Doubtless it is, but at the same time no small part of it is due to the openness of the new game; the fact that not only officials but spectators can see most of what happens. The brutality of the old game, the deaths and injuries from it, its moral effect, and finally even its lack of interest to spectators, led to a general outcry against football. There was a wide demand that it be abolished as an intercollegiate sport. In 1906 a conference was called in New York for this purpose. Representatives from approximately seventy colleges attended.

Fortunately for American youth there were in the conference men of vision who saw the real need of the hour. These men urged that the difficulty was not with football but with the way in which it was allowed to be played; that the college faculties were themselves responsible for the condition in that they had given no adequate supervision to athletics; that the game should not be abolished but revised. They contended that a new game should and could be produced that would be more open, less dangerous and more interesting than the old game. Their counsels ultimately prevailed and the conference that had met to abolish football formed what has become the National Collegiate Athletic Association, an organization that has done a wonderful work in raising the standards of sport in our American colleges. The conference appointed a football rules committee, which, amalgamating if possible with the old football rules committee, was to adopt rules that would revise the game of football—that would make it a new game.

What should be done to produce a more open, less dangerous, more interesting game of football? Remember that the old mass game had resulted from five yards in three downs. The first fundamental suggestion was the requirement of ten yards to gain. This could never be made by mass attack. Consequently the forward pass was given to the offense—practically the one great occasion of legislation favoring the offense. In 1912 a fourth down was added. With ten yards in four downs and the forward pass as the fundamentals the modern game of football has been developed. Other changes, often important and far-reaching in influence, followed, but they followed naturally, logically, almost unavoidably, once the fundamentals, ten yards and the forward pass, had been accepted.

CHAPTER II.

LEGAL RESTRICTIONS RELATING TO THE FORWARD PASS.

The first suggestion of a recognition by the football rules committee of any need of a more open game came in 1903. Between the twenty-five yard lines seven players of the offense were required on the line of scrimmage and the first man receiving the ball from the snapper-back might run with it provided he crossed the scrimmage line five yards out from center (Football Guide for 1903, pp. 127 and 142). Between the twenty-five-yard line and the goal, however, only five men were required on the line of scrimmage. In that case, however, restrictions were adopted requiring the men to be back five yards or outside the end men. In 1904 came the “checker board” field.

With 1906 came the great revolution and the adoption of the new game; two lines of scrimmage, six men regularly on the line of scrimmage, center trio back five yards if not on the line of scrimmage, ten yards in three downs and the Forward Pass. It is with the last that we are concerned. (Football Guide for 1906, pp. 95 and 121.)

At first one forward pass could be made by any player anywhere behind his line of scrimmage to any player on the end of the line or one yard back of it provided the pass crossed the line five yards out from center. It was completed if touched by any eligible player before it touched the ground. Any illegal pass went to the opponents at the spot from which the pass was made. A forward pass over the goal line became a touch back.

Naturally a period of intensive experimentation followed. In 1907 the loss of the ball on first and second down was changed to a loss of fifteen yards. (Football Guide for 1907, pp. 137 and 168.) In 1908 the recovery of the touched ball was restricted to the eligible man who had first touched it on penalty of going to the opponents at the spot. Also the penalty for ineligible men touching the ball was increased to loss of the ball at spot where the pass was made (Football Guide for 1908, pp. 181 and 214).

Nineteen ten and twelve brought the legal changes that largely completed the new game. In 1910 the four periods were adopted, the longitudinal lines were omitted, and a pass and kick were both required to be made from five yards behind the line of scrimmage. A twenty-yard zone beyond which the pass could not go was instituted. This was dropped again in 1912, the end zone was added so that a team could score on a pass, the field shortened to three hundred yards and the fourth down added. By many this was regarded as a direct blow to the forward pass as it was supposed that it would mean an attempt at and a possibility of making the distance by the old line bucking methods. This was regarded as in line with the restrictive action of 1911, by which a pass