As to the two elevens, Brookline had a good nucleus to build upon. Morse, Hutchins, Aechtler, Gillespie, North, Lewis, and Cook are on deck, the latter as Captain. Hutchins, who was one of the best centres in the Junior League last fall, will play the same position this year. He is quick on his feet, snaps back quickly, and breaks through well. Gillespie, at right tackle, is another good man. He is quick in breaking through and smashing up the opponent's interference. North, who played end last year, has been moved up to left half-back, where he is winning new laurels by his fine running and dodging. For the position of full-back, Boyce, substitute on last year's eleven, has the best chance. He hits the line hard and low, and is good at punting. Two new men, both named Talbot, have secured the position of right and left guards. They are brothers, and know little about football, but since the beginning of hard practice they have developed wonderfully under careful coaching. Seaver and Parker are both trying to make quarter-back. Parker, though handicapped by his light weight, 118 pounds, has proved himself the best man for the place so far.
Newton's team, on the other hand, is badly handicapped by the loss of most of last season's players, and the new men do not seem to be built of the stuff that grabs championships. Captain Lee is beyond question the best man on the team. He is a veteran in his position of centre rush, and is an earnest and conscientious worker. He has been obtaining a lot of good coaching as a candidate for the Newton Athletic Club's eleven, and the points he has thus picked up he has taught his men. He is 5 feet 10 inches in height, and weighs 180 pounds. He is an aggressive player, and quick to take advantage of an opponent's weakness.
Of the new-comers he has got to lick into shape, Howard is the most promising candidate. He is trying for the position of right guard, the place left vacant by Paul, who was the star player of last year's team, and who is trying for a place in the line of the Newton Athletic Club this season. Howard, while rather slow on his feet, has the making of a good player. Van Voorhees will be found at left guard, and Brigham, who gained much experience on the Newton Athletic second eleven last year, will prove a formidable man at left tackle. He is quick in getting through the interference, and tackles hard and low.
The other tackle will probably be Johnson, who is pretty light for such a place, but his activity may make up for other deficiencies. Colbing will make right end a hard place to get a gain. Forssen, a new man, will go in at quarter, while the halves will be Chase and Burdon. Chase is the surest ground-gainer, and can be depended on to advance the ball every time it is given to him. Burdon is good for around-the-end plays, as he is a fast runner, good dodger, and uses his blockers to the best advantage. His chief fault is in not starting the second the ball is snapped. Bryant is pretty sure of full-back, as he is the best punter on the team. He runs low and hard, but is apt to fumble.
What has weakened the Newton team more than the lack of old material, however, is the preference the candidates for positions on the eleven have been showing for tennis. For the past ten days a tennis tournament has been in progress, and many of the football-players have been trying for the prizes there in preference to practicing with the eleven on the school grounds.
The interest in football and baseball has always been greater in the New England schools than in almost any other, as I have frequently found occasion to mention in these columns. An additional proof of this fact, if any such proof were needed, is that the Boston English High-School, besides putting a strong school team into the field, is supporting class teams. The class of '98 especially is doing good work in that direction, and intends to arrange games, if possible, with all the first-year classes in Boston. Such teams are bound to be a good thing for the institutions that have them, as there is no better way of developing material which will eventually prove of vast benefit to the first team.
The kicking game of the present will be taken advantage of by the Cambridge M.T.S. eleven, for Captain Murphy has among his new men as good a punter as there is on any team. This man is Yeager. Last year he made some reputation by returning for Brewer and Fairchild of the Harvard eleven in their practice before the Springfield game. After catching the longest punts he would return the ball by a punt of the entire distance. As a rusher Yeager has not such a good reputation, but with White and Thompson as side partners he will easily be brought up to the standard. Another good man that Captain Murphy may rely upon is Seaver, who used to go to Brown and Nichols'. He has of late been practising with C.H. and L., and will try for an end on the C.M.T.S. team. Last year he broke his arm at the first of the season, but his play improves daily. Brown, who tried for an end in '94, is out again for the same position. Francis and Young are other candidates for end. All these men are light, wiry fellows, but seem to have ability, which needs only careful coaching to bring it out.
The other men behind the line give promise of developing into clever players—Sawin especially. He did well at quarter-back a season ago, but his light weight makes him practically useless in interference, and easily stopped when running with the ball. But he is plucky, and that counts for much. White and Thompson will be the halves, the latter coming in from full-back, where Yeager's punting makes it necessary to keep him. White developed into a speedy rusher last year, and was always in place in the interference. He has a peculiar style of running, and when he strikes the line whirls around; but nevertheless he proved a ground-gainer in last season's games. Thompson is a veteran. He gains the most ground when figuring in centre plays, but this year he will be trained for runs around the end.
The players for the vacancies are an enterprising lot, who, with proper training, can be moulded into shape. The men for the forward positions are Hazen, Hayman, and Burns for centre, and Frye, Gray, and Whitney for guards. Hazen is a big fellow, but has never played much, while Burns, though eight pounds lighter, has played off and on for the last two years. Frye played full-back on the Salem High-School team last year, but is better qualified for a line position. He is a strongly built fellow, and weighs 168 pounds. Gray, a substitute in '94, will try for guard again this year. Whitney, another candidate, tips the scales at 162 pounds. This is a light team, take it all in all, but there are lots of good stuff in it, and with good coaching ought to carry the C.M.T.S. colors pretty well to the top by November.
The Graduate.