Natural Gas clean... fast... low cost... Serving an Ever-Increasing Number of Cut omen Since 1929 MOUNTAIN FUEL SUPPLY COMPANY MAJOR FOOTBALL RULES CHANGES IN 1950 by CHARLES W. TUCKER, Jr. as a result of the masterful job done by the Rules Committee of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in recodifying the Rules Book last year, there are comparatively few basic rules changes to be made this year. However, no matter how expert a group may be in writing football rules, there are always certain bugs that develop on the field of play and there is a constant effort on the part of the Committee to eradicate these bugs season by season. There are a few technical changes which will not be obvious from the spectator's point of view, but among the basic changes that will be most noticed this year are the following 1. The Fair Catch has been abolished. No longer will it be confusing to the opponent as well as to the official whether or not the safety man is calling for a fair catch or merely trying to shade his eyes from the sun; and no longer will he be called back after a nice run for a touchdown and penalized 15 yards for an invalid signal. The rule has been abolished and a player can no longer make a signal for a fair catch (one hand extended clearly above the head). On the other hand, a player of the receiving team who has an opportunity to make the catch must be given an unmolested opportunity to catch the ball and if he is interfered with by an opponent, he will be awarded a 15 yard penalty, plus the ball, whether he catches it or not. 2. Protection given holder of a place kick as well as kicker. The player kicking the ball has always been given protection and there is a 15 yard penalty for roughing the kicker. However, in the event of a place kick, the holder of a place kick was never specifically protected and in some cases took quite a beating. Under the new rule, the holder of a place kick is entitled to the same protection as the kicker and the penalty for roughing either is the same. 3. Offside fouls by opponents cancelled when snapper illegally moves the ball. After the snapper has assumed his position and adjusted the ball for the succeeding snap, he may neither move nor change the position of the ball until he snaps it. Any movement of this sort will result in a 5 yard penalty, whether or not the ball is snapped, and the penalty for any resultant offside by an opponent shall be cancelled. 4. Penalty for flying block and flying tackle deleted. Although few spectators were ever aware that there was such a rule, and even fewer officials ever inflicted the penalty, there was for many years a 5 yard penalty for a player making a flying block or flying tackle. This rule was primarily for the protection of the player making the flying block or flying tackle and, although the intent was good, the rule became practically inoperative through lack of use and has now been deleted. 5. Arms used in body block against opponent must be kept below shoulders of opponent throughout entire block. The rules permit the teammate of a runner to use his arms in supplementing a shoulder or chest block as long as his hands are kept in contact with his body throughout the block. However, last year considerable damage was done with elbows against the neck and face of an opponent. This year in an effort to eliminate this unnecessary punishment of an opponent, the rule stipulates that when the arms are used in a chest block, the hands must not only be kept in contact with the body but the opponent must not be blocked above the shoulders unless, of course, he should squat or duck at the time the block is made. 6. Fouls during successful try for point after touchdown shall be penalized on succeeding kickoff. Last year when the defensive team fouled on a try for point after touchdown, as long as the point was made, the foul was forgotten in lieu of taking the result of the play. This year, the offended team will not only get the point, if they make it, but will also receive the penalty against the offending team on the following kickoff. 7. New ruling on player being down in his own end zone after catching opponent's forward pass or kick in the field of play. If a player in catching an opponent's forward pass or kick in the field of play is involuntarily carried into his own end zone by his own momentum in making the catch, and if he falls to the ground or is tackled before being able to change his direction and come out of the end zone, the ball will be declared dead in his possession at the spot it was caught in the field of play. Last year this would have been ruled a safety because the player in possession of the ball had carried it into his end zone, even though it was involuntary. 8. Time-Outs and Substitutions. This year each team is entitled to five free time-outs during each half without penalty. This is one more time-out in each half than they were allowed under the old rules. Also, this year the referee shall start the clock as soon as the ball is ready for play, if it was stopped as a result of a free time-out; whereas last year the clock was not started until the ball was snapped. Under this year's rule, if Team "A" recovers its own kickoff, there is an automatic time-out, which is charged to the referee. Under last year's rule, it would have been necessary for Team "A" to use one of its free time-outs in order to get its offensive team back in the game. If a substitution is made this year while the game clock is running and before the ball is ready for play, the referee shall allow the team one of its five free timeouts for such substitution. Last year they would have been penalized 5 yards for illegal delay. If after a team's five legal time-outs are exhausted, and a substitute runs on the field while the clock is running, and before the ball is ready for play, his team will be penalized 5 yards for illegal delay, even though there is no delay apparent to the spectators, as this is a violation of the substitution rule and is penalized under illegal delay of the game.