It behooves every team to make the most of the first five minutes of play.  Every coach in the country will tell his team to get the charge on their opponents from the start.  A good start usually means a good ending.

From the side lines we see the men put their shoulders to their work, charging and pushing their opponents aside to make a hole in the line, through which the man with the ball may gain his distance; or we may see a man on the defensive, full of grim determination to meet the oncoming charges of his opponent.  As we glance at the accompanying picture of a Yale-West Point game, we will observe the earnest effort that is being made in the great game of football—­the crash of conflict.

One particularly amusing story is told about a former Lehigh player in a Princeton game several years ago.

“After the match had been in progress twenty minutes or more,” says a Princeton man who played, “we began to show a large number of bruises on our faces.  This was especially the case with House Janeway, whose opponent, at tackle, was a big husky Lehigh player.  Janeway finally became suspicious of the big husky, whose arms often struck him during the scrimmage.

“‘What have you got on your arm?’ shouted Janeway at his adversary.

“‘Never you mind.  I’m playing my game,’ was the big tackle’s retort.

“Janeway insisted that the game be stopped temporarily for an inspection.  The Lehigh tackle demurred.  Hector Cowan, whose face had suffered, backed up Janeway’s demand.

“‘Have you anything on your arm?’ demanded the referee of the Lehigh player.

“‘My sleeve,’ was the curt reply.

“‘Well, turn up your sleeve then.’

“The big tackle was forced to comply with the official’s request, and disclosed a silver bracelet.

“‘Either take that off or go out of the game,’ was the referee’s orders.

“‘But I promised a girl friend that I would wear it through the match,’ protested Lehigh’s tackle.  ’I can’t take it off.  Don’t you understand—­it was wished on!’

“‘Well!  I “wish” it off,’ the referee replied.  ’This is no society affair.’

“The big tackle objected to this, declaring he would sooner quit the game than be disloyal to the girl.

“‘Then you will quit,’ was the command of the umpire, and the big tackle left the field, a substitute taking his place.”

Lueder, a Cornell tackle, one of the best in his day, mentions a personal affair that occurred in the Penn game in 1900, between Blondy Wallace and himself.

Blondy’s friends when they read this will think he had an off day in his general football courtesy.  Lueder states: 

“When I was trying to take advantage of my opponent, I was outwitted and was told to play on the square.  I took Wallace’s advice and never played a nicer game of football in my life.  Just this little reprimand, from an older player, taught me a lot of football.”