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14
Sporting ^Around with
IN THE TIGER’S PAW
could no longer struggle to their feet and run again.
Penalties were slapped on players who “piled on” in the
pile ups. Groups like the f ederation of High School and
College Athletic Associations drew up specifications for
injury-proof equipment, and national manufacturers met
the standards.
But the grim spectre of tragedy refused to be compro
mised.
38 boys and young men died in 1932, 44 in 1933, 36 in
1934, 48 in 1935, and 45 last season.
The report of the N. Y.U. Doctors shows that most of
the deaths and heavy injuries occurred in the first and
fourth quarters of the game, which means that the dis
asters were based partly on overzealous activity by play
ers just entering the game, and partly on fatigue. Inju
ries to the head caused half the deaths, with abdominal
injuries next. The heaviest toll was among halfbacks, and
the most dangerous department of the game is tackling.
In the face of their grim findings the N. Y. U. Doctors
make the following constructive recommendations:
1. A full time physician, especially trained in athletic
matters, to take charge of the team. A daily check-up of
the team’s physical condition.
2. Coaches who have been college players and who
have had a theory and practice in safety procedures in
physical education.
3. More training for halfbacks on the technique of
tackling and blocking.
4. A good headgear.
5. Removal of players from the game at the first sign
of fatigue.
Since football is an indispensable extra-curricular ac
tivity in most of our prep schools and colleges, the doc
tors might have pointed a stern finger at schools which
tolerate oratorical coaches who place victory above a
player’s life. And they might have denounced schools
which ask their football teams to practice on fields that
are little better than rock piles, and utilize youngsters who
should be playing nothing more strenuous than marbles.
Perhaps you have wondered why some of Morehouse’s
stellar players have been kept on the bench this year?
Well, the coaches do not place victory above a player’s
limb. For this reason, and perhaps others. Bulldog Ellis,
Hoodlum LaMar, John Lewis, Lilburn Dawson, and sev
eral of our unsung heroes have been withheld from cru
cial games.
Notwithstanding the fact that for a goodly number of
years the administrators have been aware of a dire need
for a better practice field, it took until the year of 1937
for the players to reap the happiness of a newly reno
vated field. Under the direction of Coach Vernon “Red”
Smith, our athletic field has undergone many changes.
Probably those of you who are here for the first time
cannot appreciate the changes that have been made on
our practice gridiron—but just ask a few of the older
heads about the hectic battles that have been fought out
on the “Old Red Rock Pile.”
MOREHOUSE AND KNOXVILLE IN SCORELESS TIE
A fighting Knoxville eleven caught the Maroon Tigers
having an “off” day on Saturday, November 13, at Ponce
de Leon Park and marred what would have otherwise
been a perfect Maroon and White Homecoming.
After having lost to the “mad-magicians” of LeMoyne
on the previous Saturday, the Tigers were scheduled for
a rebound against the Knoxville Bulldogs. For the most
part of the first half of the game, the Tigers played deep
in Bulldog territory. Three times, the Tigers made sus
tained drives to within the shadow of pay-off ground,
only to be thwarted by the doings of Fate. Five yards
from the goal-line, a bad pass from center caused a fum
ble that cost the Tigers the loss of the ball and a chance
to score. A pass from Cooksey to Allen across the goal
line a few minutes later, was juggled and finally drop
ped to send Tiger hopes down another fifty degrees.
Again in the first half when the Tigers found themselves
in scoring position, a penalty of fifteen yards proved too
costly to overcome.
Injuries occurring early in the game, forced substitu
tions that brought several unseasoned men to the fray,
but who gave good account of themselves. Morris Speed
and Alvin Swartz, halfbacks; “Snuffy” Smith, quarter
back and King Peterson, guard, were gallant in their
offensive and defensive play.
Knoxville’s scoring threat came late in the third quar
ter when Captain Horton, center for the Bulldogs, blocked
Wilson’s punt on the 20-yard line. Three line plunges
failed to gain and the ball went over on downs. Again
in the last period the Bulldogs threatened when an at
tempted triple lateral by the Tigers was called down
when a receiver’s knee touched the ground. Knoxville
took the ball and attempted a field goal that was wide.
The game ended with neither team having successfully
crossed the double stripe.
With a knowledge of a few—a very few, of the many
obstacles confronting both coaches and players, the spec
tators should not be quite so severe in their criticisms.
Remember, Morehouse is the most crippled aggregation
in the Southern Conference. From the captain on down
to the co-captain—I say on down to the co-captain, be
cause of the fact that he has been disabled for the re
mainder of the season—there isn’t a player on the squad
who can boast of a complete limb. All of them have
minor injuries of some type.
If the Maroon and White board of strategy is a bit
reluctant in playing these crippled men, perhaps
when accusations are made at the end of the 1937 sea
son, and, when the world once again stops to mourn the
dead and seriously injured of football, Morehouse will
not be accused of having deliberately used an injured
player for the sole purpose of winning a game.
LET’S START TALKING ANNUAL TALK.