SPOETS. 



565 



middle of each goal line stands the goal two up- 

 right posts, exceeding 20 feet high, and placed 18$ 

 feet apart, with a cross-bar 10 feet from the ground. 

 Every ball, to count in the score, must cross the 

 goal line. The value of each point in scoring is : 

 Goal from "touch down," 6 ; goal from "field kick," 

 5; " touch down" failing kick, 4 ; "safety," by op- 

 ponents, 2. 



The ball is of oval shape, inflatable, made of 

 India rubber, and cased in leather. A foot-ball team 

 consists of seven " rushers," known as centre rusher, 

 his right and left guards, and two end rushers ; one 

 quarter-back, two half-backs, and a full-back. The 

 captain is one of the eleven, and directs the move- 

 ments of his team. The main office of the rushers 

 is to keep their opponents away from the ball. The 

 centre rusher puts the ball in play, and should be a 

 man of weight and muscle. The quarter-back looks 

 after the disposition of the ball. The half-backs 

 must be wiry, swift, and deep-chested. The full- 

 back is the emergency man, and must be a good 

 kick and a sure " tackier." There is an umpire and 

 a referee : the umpire is judge for the players, and 

 his decisions are final regarding " fouls," i.e., 

 violations of rules and unfair tactics ; the referee 

 is judge for the ball, and his decision is final on all 

 points not covered by the umpire. The time of game 

 is usually 11 hour, each side playing 45 minutes 

 from each goal, with 10 minutes intermission between 

 the two halves. The game is decided by the score of 

 even halves. 



Foot-ball can be best illustrated by going through 

 and explaining the steps in an actual game. Let us 

 describe a contest between the Yale and Harvard 

 " elevens." 



The two captains toss up for choice of goal or 

 "kick off." (A "kick off" is a "place kick" from 

 the centre of the field of play and cannot secure a 

 goal, a "place kick" being made by kicking the 

 ball after it has been placed on the ground.) Yale 

 wins the toss, and the rival teams walk into the cen- 

 tre of the field. Here there are three lines, running 

 parallel with the goal lines, five yards apart. The 

 centre line is for the ball; the other two are for the 

 rival "rush lines," made np of the seven " rushers." 

 The rushers face each other, spreading out, with 

 their faces toward their opponents' goal. Behind 

 the centre rusher stands the quarter-back. Five 

 yards behind him, diagonally to his right and left, 

 stand the two half-backs, and ten or more yards be- 

 hind them, centrally, stands the full-back. "Between 

 the two lines of rushers, five yards directly in front 

 of the centre rusher, is placed the ball. 



The Game. All in readiness, the referee signals to 

 begin. The ball can be put in play only by the cen- 

 tre msher in one of two ways, as directed by the 

 captain : viz., either kick it strongly toward Harvard's 

 goal, a proper " kick off; "or lift it with his toe, 

 catch it as it rises, and pass it behind him to his 

 nearest man, a feint to " kick off." The latter is the 

 commonest and safest mode of opening. Yale's cap- 

 tain having signalled the centre rusher to feint, he 

 passes the ball quickly to a chosen man, generally a 

 Lalf-back. Yale's aim is to get the ball over Har- 

 vard's goal line, while Harvard's object is to prevent 

 such success. Accordingly the Yale man, with the 

 ball, darts for the coveted goal, while his colleagues 

 strive to block and keep away from him their oppo- 

 nents. He has hardly gone ten yards before a burly 

 Harvard man, bursting past every obstacle, seizes him 

 round the waist and drags him to the ground. This 

 is called a " tackle," and the man with the ball cries 

 "down," and is released. The scattered teams re- 

 form, or "line up," on the spot, facing each other as 

 before. As the Yale man clung to the ball, it goes 

 again to his centre rusher. It can now be put in 

 play either by a "kick off," by the centre rusher, or 



by being "snapped back," when it must touch at 

 least three persons. The first way is usually im- 

 practicable, so the centre rusher, at a signal from the 

 quarter-back, snaps the ball backward with his foot 

 toward the latter, who seizes it instantly and throws 

 it to a signalled half-back, who proceeds to dart be- 

 tween the enemy or out around them, while after 

 him rush the Harvards, harassed and impeded by 

 the Yale rushers. The man with the ball is sur- 

 rounded, but before he can be "held " he passes the 

 ball back to one of his men, who continues the dash, 

 and immediately becomes the object of attack. In 

 attempting to run round the enemy, he is forced be- 

 yond the limit line at the side. He must now stop 

 and come back to the point where he passed ' out- 

 side." The men "line up" as before, nud now tho 

 ball must be put in play by the end rusher nearest 

 the side line. He can do it in either of the ways 

 allowed the centre rusher, but he chooses to snap 

 it back, and the quarter-back passes it to the half- 

 back, who tries to force his way through the bat- 

 tling crowd. (The moment a "snap back" is 

 made, the Harvard rushers spring in and strive 

 to break through the Yale "rush line" and cap- 

 ture the ball. Here the heaviest fighting occurs. 

 The rules forbid the use of fists in fighting through 

 the crowd, under penalty of disqualification. But 

 the man with the ball can use his elbows, shoulders, 

 or open palm to throw off assailants. The ball is 

 always carried tightly under the arm opposite the 

 enemy.) The half-back makes an attempt to dive 

 between the men, but is caught suddenly and 

 thrown and "held," i.e., intercepted he is said to 

 be " down." If in four of these " downs " tho side 

 with the ball does not gain at least five yards, the 

 ball passes over to the other side. Tho possession 

 of the ball is a decided advantage. The Yales have 

 now three " downs," and must gain two yards to 

 keep the ball. The goal with the chance of scoring 

 is still 50 feet away. They " line up " quickly and the 

 ball is snapped back. The quarter-back throws it 

 to the half-back, who dashes gallantly through the 

 crowd, gains clear ground, and makes for the goal, 

 with the enemy at his heels. But he is too fleet for 

 them, and, dodging the full-back, he crosses the goal 

 line and touches the ball to the ground between tho 

 goal posts. This is called a "touch down," and 

 counts 4 points. When a "touch down" is mado 

 the ball is brought back into the field, to a point on 

 the " 25-yard-line limit of kick-out" opposite the 

 place where it touched the ground, and is held very 

 close to the ground (but never touching it). The 

 man thus holding the ball lies on his side and tries 

 to drop it just in time for some one of his team (the 

 most accurate kicker) to kick it through Harvard's 

 goal posts and over the cross-bar. If he succeeds it 

 is called a " goal from touch down," and counts 6 

 points. If he fail, Yale is credited with merely a 

 "touch down." He succeeds, and so increases the 

 score by 6 points. The ball is now placed in the 

 centre of the field, as at first, and the elevens resume 

 the positions they occupied at the beginning of the 

 game, with the difference that Harvard has the ball. 

 The game opens with a proper " kick off," and both 

 sides sweep after the ball. It falls near the Yale 

 goal line, and before Yale's full-back can return it, 

 i.e., kick or carry it back, the Harvards pounce on 

 him and have it " down." If, during the rush that 

 is about to take place, the ball be forced back across 

 Yale's goal line, or so near to it as to run the risk of 

 a " touch down," Yale is permitted the choice of a 

 fight or a concession. If the latter, they carry the 

 ball over their own goal line and themselves make a 

 "touch down," which is called a " safety " and counts 

 2 for Harvard. This is always a bitter resource. 

 But if they decide to fight, the ball is put in play 

 regularly and thrown to the full-back, who kicks it 



