The ball used in this game is shaped somewhat like a lemon, or two cones joined at their bases. From the middle the angle of slope must be the same to the two ends.
The cover is of leather, and enclosed in this is an inflated bladder or an inflated rubber ball of the same shape. The work of inflating is done through a nozzle or opening as in a rubber tire and it is closed in much the same way. This is done before the cover is put on.
The football field is not hard to mark out; as in baseball, the flatter and smoother the better. The field is rectangular, one hundred and sixty feet wide by three hundred and thirty feet long. For convenience in telling the position of the ball, lines, indicated by whitewash as in tennis, are drawn across the field, fifteen feet apart.
In laying out, measure eighty feet from one corner along the line and mark the point. On the opposite end mark in the same way. The end lines being one hundred and sixty feet long, the points indicated will mark the center of the lines. Next measure nine feet three inches to the right, and the same to the left of the center points on the end lines, and place four goal posts, two at each end of the field. This will leave the proper space, eighteen feet, six inches between the posts. On these posts, and ten feet from the ground, the cross bars should be placed. The uprights should extend above the cross bar just ten feet.
THE TEAM
The teams in football consist of eleven men each, but where boys are out for practice, they need not be bound by the regular rules.
The eleven men are classified into "rushes" and "backs." There is a quarter back, two half backs and a full back. The first seven are line men, further known as center, right guard, right tackle, right end, left guard, left tackle and left end. Each player is given a number to designate him and this number is known to the captain only.
The kicks have special names.
Drop-kick, when the ball is dropped from the hand and kicked the instant it touches the ground; the
Place-kick, made by kicking the ball after it has been placed on the ground; the Punt, made by kicking the ball as it falls from the hands and before it reaches the ground; the