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About Yale Alumni Magazine | View Entire Issue (Oct. 29, 1896)
THE WORK OF THE ELEVEN, Defensive Game the Weakest Point. Individual Criticism. After the two games of last week played on Wednesday and Saturday against Wesleyan and the Carlisle In- dian School respectively, it is not too much to assert that the Yale eleven must improve vastly in their defen- sive play in order to hold their po- sition among Hastern colleges. In the play of last week the rush line was broken again and again, even by the College team in practice games, and the tackling behind the line has been so weak as to allow many long runs to be made by the opposing halves. The great trouble with the whole line of forwards, Murphy excepted, is that they do not locate the ball soon enough in their opponent’s play. They devote not only their strength but their entire attention to breaking up the interference and thus lose sight of the runner. In this way the ends and tackles have been drawn in too often and the runner has been able to find open space outside. The center men, too, in meeting a play, go in too high, thus being shoved back more easily and in some cases losing the man en- tirely. “ Bde e RAW MATERIAL. These faults are partially explained by the fact that the material in the center is new and inexperienced and each man is too much occupied with his immediate opponent to follow the play as closely as he should... This brings the weight of each play more forcibly upon the stronger men in the line and these find that they have more work than they can attend to. The backs also show unmistakable lack of experience, and are not at all sure in their defensive work. Hinkey is now the best man of them all. Fincke has not yet played, except for very short periods, but at these times his presence and assistance to the team have been very conspicuous. It is perhaps improbable that the Car- lisle Indians would. have scored. their touchdown, had” Fincke”™ and Hinkey ~ been in their positions, but it would have required no great skill on the part of the forwards to have saved the score. In offensive work the general ten- dency of the backs is not to run hard enough, nor to continue the effort, es- pecially in bucking the center, and not to make the best use of the interfer- ence in end plays. The temptation to leave the interference and strike out across the field, with sole reliance up- on his 9wn ability to dodge and wrig- gle through the opposing team, has often proved too strong for the run- ner and has cost the team many yards. In last Saturday’s game it was no- ticeable that Yale’s backs were more easily downed than the Indians. Besides this general criticism of the team there is something to be said of the individual players and their faults and merits. THE INDIVIDUALS. John 8S. MacFarland, ’98S., of Buf- Talo, Nv: Xs BAG: Burr c Chamberlain, *97S., of Dalton, Mass., make _ the choice for center very close. The for- mer prepared at the Buffalo High School, where he captained the team two years, playing the position of guard; is 21 years old, 6 feet, 2 in- ches in height and weighs 206 pounds. The latter prepared at Andover, is 19 years of age, 5 feet 9 inches in height, and weighs 170 pounds. McFarland is thus 386 pounds heavier and is cor- respondingly stronger, but he does not get into the play enough, tackles high | and thinks that his work is accom- plished as soon as the ball is snapped. Chamberlain is too light for the po- sition, but comes very near to mak- ing up this deficiency by his superior activity, and determined style of play. THE GUARDS, Charles Chadwick, ’97, of Brooklyn, N. Y., is the leading candidate for left guard. He prepared at the Adelphi Academy, Brooklyn,' N. Y., where he played guard three years; is 21 years old, 6 feet, 1-2 inch in height and weighs 192 pounds. He played on the University team at this position last year and at the end of the season was YALE ALUN considered one of the best guards in the country, but he is now far below his last year’s form. He plays hard once in a while and then does well, but his work is of a very unsteady character. He is very careless and un- less he changes his present mode Of play he will continue to deteriorate. \ Lang Murray, ’97S., of Goshen, N. Y., is now playing at right guard. He played this position two years at An- dover and was substitute tackle On the University team last year. He is 22 years old, 6 feet in height and weighs 185 pounds. His chief fault is his lack of aggressiveness and like Mc- Farland, he does not generally know where the ball is or what play his Op- ponents are using. His position in play is too high. THE TACKLES. James O. Rodgers, ’98, of Toledo, O., prepared for college at Andover. He is 21 years old, 6 feet in height and weighs 180 pounds. He played tackle two years at Andover and last year on the University eleven. He is apt to be drawn in on defensive play and, in breaking up the opposing inter- ference, loses sight of the man with the ball, and misses his tackle. When given the ball for a run he can be de- pended upon to gain his distance and is a hard man to stop. Fred T. Murphy, ’97, of Junction City, Kan., has played right tackle on | the University team three _ years, steadily improving each season. HF prepared at Andover, playing there one year; is 23 years old, 6 feet, 1 inch in height and weighs 170 pounds. He has been doing more than his share — of the work in all games so far, and as captain ought not to be given as much work as the other members of the eleven. He has no extra weight to take off and should be used sparingly. AT THE ENDS. Lyman M. Bass, ’97, of Denver, Col., now enters his second season at left end. He obtained his preparation at St. Paul’s School, is 20 years old, 5 feet,-10 1-2 inches in height and weighs 155 pounds. He has fallen off somewhat in his play during the past —~two- weeks, this being noticeable in is | failure at times to turn the runner in and to ‘nail’ the opposing back after a kick. He overran his man two or three times in this way in the Wes- leyan game last week. His play is nevertheless very steady and hard and he can always be depended upon to do his best. Josiah J. Hazen, °98, of Haddam, Conn., is the leading candidate for right end. He came to College after playing one year at Andover, is 24 years old, 5 feet, 10 inches in height and weighs 157 pounds. His faults are similar to those of Bass. He is slow in following a kick down the field and is apt to be drawn in on an end play, when on the defensive. He needs to increase his sprinting ability. THE QUARTER-BACK,. Clarence M. Fincke, °97, of Brook- lyn, N. Y., played quarter-back last year and is the best man for that po- sition now in College. He is from the Hill School, Pottstown, Pa., where he played two years; is 22 years old, 5 feet, 11 1-2 inches in height and Weighs 160 pounds. Whenever he has played this season he has shown good judg- ment in handling the team, but slow- ness in giving the signals. His tack- ling is strong and he is quick to see the opponents’ play. Morris U.-Ely, ’98, of Brooklyn, N. Y., has played quarter-back when Fincke was not able to be in his po- sition. He prepared at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute; is 20 years old, 5 feet, 6 inches in height and weighs 135 pounds. He gives his signals very quickly, but not with as much judg- ment as Fincke generally shows, and works very hard all the time. He is not considered quite fast enough and lacks experience of big games, but on the whole he fills his place in good style and thus far has been able to get more out of his team than Fincke. THE HALVES. There are four men at present prom- inent candidates for half-back, Paul D. Mills, ’97S., H. F. Benjamin, 98S., L. H. Van Every, ’97S., and A. S. Goodwin, 1900. The former’s greatest fault is that he does not play hard enough. IVY SEIS He can run well but dves not do his best work unless he is warmed up to exactly the right point. He prepared at St. Paul’s School where he played the position of fullback two years; is 20 years old, 5 feet, 10 1-2 inches in height, and weighs 168 pounds. Hamilton F. Benjamin, of Garrison- on-Hudson, N. Y., prepared at St. Mark’s, is 19 years old, 5 feet, 11 in- ches in height and weighs 158 pounds. He is apt to run back too far and does not follow his interference close- ly enough. Leonard H. Van Every, ’97S., of Brooklyn, N. Y., prepared at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, is 22 years old, 5 feet, 11 inches in height and weighs 174 pounds. He does not play with his whole heart and soul, as he did earlier in the season, and does not seem to be in very good con- dition. Arthur S. Goodwin, of Brooklyn, N. Y., prepared at Andover, where he played one year on the school team. He is 20 years oid, 5 feet, 7 inches in height and weighs 142 pounds. He Shows the best football head of any of the. backs, but owing to his light weight is not strong either in defense or interference. He makes very good use of his interference, and runs fast. HINKEY AT FULLBACK. Louis Hinkey, of Tonawanda, N. Y.., prepared at Andover, and since his entrance at Yale has played end. He is 22 years old, 5 feet, 11 inches in height and weighs 140 pounds. His strong points at fullback are his kick- ing, tackling and line breaking. He adapts himself very readily to his new position. His weakest point is in in- terfering for his companions. George S. Chauncey, ’98S., of Brook- lyn, N. Y., has been played at full back in several games. He prepared at the Brooklyn Latin School; is 20 years old, 5 feet, 11 inches in height and weighs 164 pounds. He has im- proved considerably since the opening of the season. He kicks well and is a fair runner in an open field. He, how- ever, does not follow his interference, _loses his speed in bucking the line and is not at all a sure tackler. OTHER CANDIDATES. Other men at the training table are the following: William B. Conner, ’99, of New AI- bany, Ind., end rusher, prepared at Hotchkiss School, where he played end for two years. He is 20 years old, | 5 feet, 10 inches in height and weighs 149 pounds. Joseph W. Alport, ’97, of Buffalo, N. Y., tackle, prepared at Buffalo High School where he played half-back for three years. He is 21 years old, 5 feet, 11 1-2 inches in height and weighs 177 pounds. Julian M. Gerard, ’97S., of New York City, quarter-back, prepared at Gro- ton, where he played fullback for two years. He is 21 years old, 5 feet, 9 1-2 inches in height and weighs 156 pounds. —_—___++—__—_ THE FEELING AT PRINCETON. A Wealth of Material—A View of the Candidates. The outlook at present for a suc- cessful football season is favorable. Although but tw) men were lost by graduation, since college opened neither of last year’s guard, Riggs and Rhodes, have returned, and Wentz, a substitute guard last year, has also left. These places have been hard to fill, and the success of the at- tempt is problematical. Armstrong, ’98, who played half- back last year, has been put in at right guard and has done fairly good work, holding his man well and break- ing through frequently. His experi- ence at half-back has been useful in running with the ball, but he is rath- er light for a guard, weighing only 185 pounds. Edwards, 1900, who play- ed on Lawrenceville’s team last year, and Tyler. ’97, a tackle last season, are the most promising candidates for the other guard. Edwards is slow and aataharinneet ———— Tighe, Laue, Wheeler & Paruhau, Attorneys at Law, 109-112 Manhattan Building, St. Paul, Minn. JOHN W. LANE. CHARLES W. FARNHAM. AMBROSE TIGHE. HOWARD WHEELER. and while he may be Tyler will prob- 1ather soft, worked into shape, ‘ably hold the position, because of his strength, activity and ability to run with the ball. His weigh is about that of Armstrong, and as Gailey, last year’s center, who is sure to play, weighs but 195 pounds, the middle of the line will be light, and it is feared that left guard will be the weak spot. At tackle Church, °97, of last year’s team, is sure of his place, has increas- ed his weight to 195 pounds and is playing a hard aggressive game. The other tackle is still uncertain, but will be filled by either Hillebrand, 1900, or Booth, 1900, who were guards on the Andover team last year. Each weighs about 170 pounds. Hith- er man is competent to take the po- sition, blocking and running well. Captain Cochran is playing well up to his usual standard at end, while Thompson, ’97, of last year’s team and Brokaw, ’97, are having a close con- test for the other end position. Bro- kaw has lately been having a little the best of the race, owing to his speed and hard tackling. WEALTH OF BACKS. Back of the line there is a wealth of material and no one is Sure of a place. Of last year’s team Kelly, Poe, Bannard, Rosengarten, Suter and Baird have come out. Wheeler, 1900, comes from St. Paul’s School with a reputation as a fullback. He is much the build of his brother, ‘‘Beef’’ Wheel- er, who is so well known as a guard, and weighs 167 pounds. Arthur Poe, 1900, another of the cele- brated football family, is trying for quarter and has shown up well in practice. N. Poe is laid up with a bad ankle and Smith, ’97, who has played as substitute end and quarter is the most promising man for quarter. He Weighs about 160 pounds, passes well, is very good in the interference, and is the hardest man on the team to down. At half Bannard, Kelly and Rosen- garten are playing well, and Reiter, 798, has done some good work in prac- tice. .Baird and. Wheeler are both punting well, Baird having improved in this respect over his last year’s work. Baird’s two goals from the field in the University of Virginia game were a feature of the game and demonstrated his ability in that line, as the distance in each case was fairly long. Owing to his larger experience and superior head-work, Baird will probably be the man selected to go in the big games, although his lightness, 155 pounds, is against him. Wheeler has also been tried at half with good effect. THE TEAM-WORK. The team-work has been rather ragged, but is improving. Line-buck- ing is this year as last, the strong point of Princeton’s backs. The end interference is fairly well developed, most of the backs running low and hard. Wheeler and Kelly are slow in starting and often ruin the interfer- ence by this slowness. Suter, who did some good work last year at quarter, has failed to keep up his form this year and has been transferred to the scrub. The line as a general thing holds well on kicks. The game with Lafayette on October 7 which resulted in a tie, 0-0, furnish- ed no real test of Princeton’s merits, since training table had been running but a week, the men were in poor con- dition, and Lafayette nad been pre- paring especially for this game. The game with the Carlisle Indians, how- eVer, was a better test for, after Car- lisle’s score on a fluke, Princeton played the best football seen here this year. The play has improved with every game and as the men get to- gether and into condition, further im- provement seems assured. The dan- ger seems to lie in the tendency of the players to take things too easily until roused by some desperate neces- Sity, when as in the game with the Indians, they played with good Spirit and dash. f
