during the progress of the game.
The pulling of the visor of my cap was a kick signal. Everything that I
did with my left hand in touching different parts of my uniform on the
left side from collar to shoe lace meant a signal for a play at
different points on the left side of the line. Similar signals with my
right hand meant similar plays on the right side of the line. The system
worked perfectly and there was no case of missed signal. The next year
the use of numbers for signals began, and has continued until the
present date.
"The work of the Yale team during the season was very much retarded by
injuries to their best players. The papers were so filled with these
accounts that the general opinion of the public was that the team would
be in poor physical condition to meet Princeton. As luck would have it,
however, the invalids reached a convalescing stage in time to enter the
Wesleyan game on the Saturday before the one to be played with Princeton
in fairly good condition.
"Head Coach Camp and I attended the Princeton-Harvard game at Princeton
on that day. Upon our return to New York we received a telegram from
Mrs. Camp to the effect that the score made by Yale against Wesleyan was
105 to nothing. One of the graduate coaches was much impressed with the
opportunity to turn a few pennies and he requested that the information
be kept quiet until he could see a few Princeton men. The result was
that he negotiated the small end of several stakes at long odds against
Yale. When the news of the Wesleyan score was made public the next
morning, the opinion of the public changed somewhat as to the merit of
the team. It nevertheless went into the Princeton game as not being the
favorite and in the opinion of disinterested persons it was expected
that Princeton would win handsomely."
Cowan the great has this to say:
"I happened to be down on the grounds to watch the practice just a few
days before the Yale game. They did not have enough scrub to make a good
defense. Jim Robinson happened to see me there and asked me to play. He
had asked me before, and I had always refused, but this time for some
reason I accepted and he took me to the Club house.
"I got into my clothes. The shoes were about three sizes too small. That
day I played guard opposite Tracy Harris. I played well enough so that
they wanted me to come down the next day, as they said they wanted good
practice. The next day I was put against Captain Bird, who h
|