Show S like 20 years ago or u close to that spot on the calendar chick meehan and NYU came up with one of the greatest football players the game has ever known slightly over 0 6 feet weighing pounds he was a brilliant ball carrier a smashing blocker a fine neej forward passer arid and above nil all ono one of the best kickers J that ever applied shoo shoe leather to a pigskin ills his name happens to be ken kene strong barring i possibly jim thorpe ken could do more things thing s well than any back I 1 ever saw in acs chandler tion when ken strong practically wrecked a fine carnegie tech team a terrin team that already had crushed notre dame judge halll steffens Ste flens frens carnegles Carne gies coach said to me that tha t night at last ive seen a back greater than willie heston eston II strong la Is the only back I 1 over ever saw who could run ov over er one of my best teams pass kick block and tackle ive never seen lila his equal it was about that time that coach gwine henry of missouri wired mel me ive got your all america this year dont bother any moro just ken icen strong forget the iho others recently I 1 ran into ken strong again ken la Is now around 40 his job well one of his jobs is playing for the new york giants ken running blo blocking elding or passing any more but I 1 ive e still bull got the toughest job in football he said like ike kicking an eel eav im kicking ken explained did you ever try to punt place kick or drop kick this cigar shaped ball they have today its a ball shaped entirely for or tho the passing game thin and long compared to the ball we used to kick 20 years ago it Is uka like kicking an eel the old football was much rounder it was easy to get your toe into it it was easier to punt or to drop kick or place kick it was tar far easier to kick off to tg drive one beyond the goal line but today you yott have a target to hit bit that Is about the size of a silver dollar and im having a tough time betting a kicking shoe that lias has the proper kicking space you need a square toed shoe that can drive into the limited space the modern football has to offer the kicker no wonder so many college teams have so BO much trouble getting anyone who can kick off or of place I 1 kick C I 1 c it and no wonder there thera are so few fine punters left either in the college or the pro game naturally the pros with their greater esperi ence have more good punters but I 1 can promise you its a tough job but I 1 still hope to got get a few over the crossbar cross or over the goal line on a kickoff klc koff its a good thing for me that I 1 havo have all these kicking years to call on ball made to throw ken strong Is quite close to being per cent right about the mod modern ern football it was arranged for the passer it Is long thin easy enough to throw but harder to kick than a hot dog or a pretzel ive asked at least 20 leading collego college coaches why they used so many varieties of action on the kickoff such as placing the ball sideways have no one who can kick oil off Is the usual answer ive asked them why they had no DO first class clasa punters theres fib n one who can kick this ball they tell you then we began looking back to the old days of football with its great kickers George brooke of pennsylvania of michigan of chicago brink thorne and bull of yale and one ot of the greatest kercheval of kentucky he ha was the best ot of all shipwreck kelly tells me GO 60 or 70 yards on a dime not bad kicking the old game was packed with fine kickers and one of these was spud chindler chandler of georgia long with the N Y yankees as a brilliant pitcher among modern group croup id name frank reagan of pennsylvania now with the giants and harry barry kipko of michigan hurry up yost was a great believer in the tha kicking game both as a form of attack and defense it was here his slogan came along A punt it a bassand pass pas sand and a prayer gaugh cart can kick too one 0 of f the best modern kickers is a lean thin somewhat aging texan known as sammy baugh formerly of and now with the red skins sammy has always been a great passer lie he has been just as good a kicker lie he la Is one of the masters ward cull cuff of marquette tho the giants and the packers is still an aa able marksman with the right toe the best allaround all around kicker I 1 eyer cyer saw was jim thorpe who could place kick and drop kick |