“‘Mr. Wrenn’ (and I straightened, chucking out my chest and getting my hand ready for congratulations).  ’That was the ——­ ——­ piece of umpiring I ever saw in my life.’  I cannot describe my feelings.  I was standing there with my mouth open when he had got yards away.”

Dan Hurley, who was captain of the 1904 Harvard team, writes me, as follows: 

“Football rules are changed from year to year.  The causes of these changes are usually new points which have arisen the year previous during football games.  A good many rules are interpreted according to the judgment of each individual official.  I remember two points that arose in the Harvard-Penn’ game in 1904, at Soldiers’ Field.  In this year there was great rivalry between the players representing Harvard and Pennsylvania.  The contest was sharp and bitterly fought all the way through.  Both teams had complained frequently to Edwards, the Umpire.  Finally he caught two men red-handed, so to speak.  There was no argument.  Both men admitted it.  It so happened that both men were very valuable to their respective teams.  The loss of either man would be greatly felt.  Both captains cornered Edwards and both agreed that he was perfectly right in his contention that both men should have to leave the field, but—­and it was this that caused the new rule to be enforced the next year.  Both captains suggested that they were perfectly willing for both men to remain in the game despite the penalty, and with eager faces both captains watched Edwards’ face as he pondered whether he should or should not permit them to remain in the game.  He did, however, allow both to play.  Of course, this ruling was establishing a dangerous precedent; therefore, the next year the Rules Committee incorporated a new rule to the effect that two captains of opposing teams could not by mutual agreement permit a player who ought to be removed for committing a foul to remain in the game.”

Bill Crowell of Swarthmore, later a coach at Lafayette, is another official who has had curious experiences.

“In a Lehigh-Indian game a few years ago at South Bethlehem, in which I was acting as referee,” he says, “in the early part of the game Lehigh held Carlisle for four downs inside of the three-yard line, and when on the last try, Powell, the Indian back, failed to take it over, contrary to the opinion of Warner, their coach.  I called out, ‘Lehigh’s ball,’ and moved behind the Lehigh team which was forming to take the ball out of danger.  Just before the ball was snapped, and everything was quiet in the stands, Warner called across the field: 

“‘Hey!  Crowell! you’re the best defensive man Lehigh’s got.’”

Phil Draper, famous in Williams football, and without doubt one of the greatest halfbacks that ever played, also served his time as an official.  He says: 

“From my experience as an official, I believe that most of their troubles come from the coaches.  If things are not going as well with their team as they ought to go, they have a tendency to blame it on the officials in order to protect themselves.”