Football days : $b memories of the game and of the men behind the ballEdwards, William H. (William Hanford)
General
Football days : $b memories of the game and of the men behind the ball
Edwards, William H. (William Hanford)
Football
"Leo Leary had been giving the ends a talk on being 'cagey.' 'Cagey'
play is foxy--such as never getting in the same position on every play,
moving about, doing the unexpected. If you wish to put your tackle out,
play outside him, and draw him out, and then at the last moment hop in
close to your own tackle, and then charge your opponent. The reverse is
true as well. The unexpected and unusual make up 'cagey' play. Much
emphasis had been laid on this, and we were all thoroughly impressed,
especially Weatherhead, that year a substitute.
"Weatherhead's appearance and actions on the field were well adapted to
cagey play. Opponents could learn nothing by analyzing his expression.
It seldom varied. His walk had a sort of tip-toe roll to it, much
similar to the conventional stage villain, inspecting a room before
robbing a safe. In the course of the afternoon game, Weatherhead put his
coaching in practice.
"We had a habit--practically every team has--of shouting 'Signal'
whenever a player did not understand the orders of the quarterback. Mal
Logan had just snapped out his signals, when Al Weatherhead left his
position. Casting furtive glances at the opponents, and tip-toeing along
like an Indian scout at his best, the very personification of
'caginess,' Weatherhead approached Logan. Logan, thinking Al had
discovered some important weak spot in the defense, leaned forward
attentively. Weatherhead rolled up, and carefully shielding his mouth
with his hand, asked in a stage whisper 'Signal.'
"A piece of thoughtfulness that expressed the spirit of the man who did
it, and also the whole team, took place at the Algonquin Hotel at New
London, on the eve of the Harvard-Yale game in 1914. The Algonquin is
fundamentally a summer hotel, although it is open all the year. The
Harvard team had their headquarters there, and naturally the place was
packed with the squad and the numerous followers. Eddie Mahan and I
roomed together, and in the room adjoining were Watson and Swigert, two
substitute quarterbacks. Folding doors separated the rooms, and these
had been flung open. In the night, it turned cold, and the summer
bedding was insufficient. Swigert couldn't sleep, he was so chilled, so
he got up, and went in search of blankets. He examined all the closets
on that floor, without success; then he explored the floors above and
below, and finally went down to the night clerk, and demanded some
blankets of him. After considerable delay, he obtained two thin
blankets, and thoroughly chilled from his walk in his bare feet,
returned to the room. Passing our door, he spied Eddie curled up and
shivering, about half asleep. I was asleep, but a cold, uncomfortable
sleep that is no real rest. He walked in, and placing one blanket over
Eddie and one over me, went back to his own bed colder than ever.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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