ile 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 con