Teddy Roosevelt and Football

[signedbewildered]

The good things mentioned about TR are true, but he was also something of a racist and was loathed by Mark Twain for his imperialism, particularly in the Philippines. I'm with Twain on that part.

"Get your facts straight first, then you can distort them as you please" ~ Mark Twain

 

[IdaGriz01]

Here's another article that focuses on what TR actually did as far as pushing reform in football.
http://www.history.com/news/how-teddy-roosevelt-saved-football

The President first attempts were not very successful, but we learn

An intercollegiate conference, which would become the forerunner of the NCAA, approved radical rule changes for the 1906 season. They legalized the forward pass, abolished the dangerous mass formations, created a neutral zone between offense and defense and doubled the first-down distance to 10 yards, to be gained in three downs. The rule changes didn’t eliminate football’s dangers, but fatalities declined—to 11 per year in both 1906 and 1907—while injuries fell sharply. A spike in fatalities in 1909 led to another round of reforms that further eased restrictions on the forward pass and formed the foundation of the modern sport.

 

[Bluenoser]

Additional info on TR Jr.:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt,_Jr.#World_War_II_service_and_death" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;