He would say or do something to the man opposite him which would goad that individual to fury and then when retaliation was about to come in the shape of a blow, he would yell "Mr. Umpire," and in many instances the player would be ruled off the field.
Donnelly's line of conversation in a Yale game, addressed to Billy Rhodes who played opposite him, would be somewhat as follows:
"Ah, Mr. Rhodes, I see Mr. Gill is about to run with the ball."
Just then Gill would come tearing around from his position at tackle and Donnelly would remark:
"Well, excuse me, Mr. Rhodes, for a moment, I've got to tackle Mr. Gill."
He would then sidestep in such a manner as to elude Rhodes's manœuvres to prevent him breaking through, and stop Gill for a loss.
Hector Cowan, who was captain of the Princeton '88 team was another rough player. In those days the men in the heat of playing would indulge in exclamations hardly fit for a drawing room. In fact most of the time the words used would have been more in place among a lot of pirates.
Cowan was no exception to the rule so far as giving vent to his feelings was concerned, but he invariably used one phrase to do so. He was a fellow of sterling character and was studying for the ministry. Not even the excitement of the moment could make him forget himself to the extent of the other players, and where their language would have to be represented in print by a lot of dashes, Cowan's could be printed in the blackest face type without offending anyone.
It was amusing to see this big fellow, worked up to the point of explosion, wave his arms and exclaim: