American Football quotes

Unfortunately the referee (for at this stage of the game there was no umpire) could not watch the ball and the players 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 unflinchingly, no matter from what cause, that both sides suffer, and the tendency always is towards devising additional infringements.

The additional infringement in this instance was even worse than could have been foreseen;

If this advance or retreat were not accomplished, the ball went at once into the possession of the opponents.

Never did a rule in any sport work so immediate 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.

… referee, have their separate provinces, the former ruling upon the conduct of players as to off-side and other offences, while the latter determines 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.

The end rusher must get into condition early.

Many times this reaching enables an end to grasp his man even though a clever interferer break the force of his tackle.

And 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 tackler has no chance whatever as an end rusher.

… remember, 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.

Those teams upon which the work of end and tackle has been best developed have, for the last few years, been markedly superior in the opposition offered to plays of their opponents.

To continue with the work of the guard when the opponents are about to attempt a run. One of the most important features of the play in this position is to guard against small wedges.

If a guard simply stands still and straight he will be swept over like a wisp of straw by any well-executed wedge play directed at him.

An experienced man knows this, and his chief thought is how to avoid it, and how, first, to prevent the formation; second, to alter the direction, and, finally, to stop the progress, of this terror of centre work, the small wedge.

… this class of play a guard should remember 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 sometimes, tackle high.

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 highest premium.

But there is another element of character without which both will be overthrown, and that is patience.

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 comprehend without difficulty and without mistake.

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.

A touch-down is obtained by touching the ball to the ground behind 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 struggles 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.