UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 14, Page 1
December 9, 1993
New rules book is legacy of the late Dave Nelson

     One of the legacies left by the late David M. Nelson, former Delaware
football coach and first dean of the College of Physical Education,
Athletics and Recreation, is a forthcoming book, The Anatomy of a Game:
Football, the Rules and the Men Who Made the Game, to be published by the
University of Delaware Press.
     Mr. Nelson was eminently qualified to write the book, having served on
the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Football Rules
Committee from 1959 until his death in November 1991, longer than any other
athletic official. He also was secretary-editor of the committee for 29 of
those years.
     According to Elizabeth Reynolds, editor at the University of Delaware
Press, Mr. Nelson had finished the manuscript of the book, which had been
accepted for publication in June 1991. Documentation and editing had just
begun when Mr. Nelson died. It was a formidable task as the book is 600
pages, including illustrations, appendices, notes and citations. Mr. Nelson
had delivered three cartons of books he had used as references in writing
Anatomy of the Game to the Delaware Press office.
     A graduate student in English, Matthew Hershey, was given the
assignment of documentation and editing, under Reynolds' guidance. Mr.
Nelson's wife, Shirley, also gave invaluable assistance to the project,
which has taken two years. According to her, the book took five years to
write, and her husband felt a history of the game was important as it is
constantly changing and evolving.
     "A book about the rules of football sounds uninteresting unless you
are an official, coach or player, but this book is anything but dull,"
Reynolds said of Anatomy of the Game.
     "Dave Nelson had the advantage of being an insider and wrote in a
lively style with many anecdotes. The book is a history of how the game
evolved and also is valuable as a reference book, but at the same time, it
is witty and entertaining," she said.
     Mr. Nelson gave insights into what was happening that affected the
game and descriptions of legendary football coaches, such as Amos Alonzo
Stagg, "the coach of all coaches," and others so that anyone interested in
football will enjoy the book, she said.
     Arranged in chronological order, the book, like the game itself, is
divided into quarters. It begins when football was a sandlot proposition, a
pick-up game played by students in the mid-19th century. In 1869, Princeton
and Rutgers faced off, and, by 1872, a dozen rules had evolved. By
contrast, today 700 regulations govern football.
     Modern football began to emerge in the early 20th century, but it
could be a rough and brutal game. In 1909, for example, a midshipman from
the Naval Academy was paralyzed; Army's captain was fatally injured and a
University of Virginia halfback died. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt and
college presidents were concerned, and the safety of players became an
important issue.
     By 1929, another ongoing issue, the recruitment of American college
athletes, surfaced.
     Mr. Nelson describes when he was first appointed to the NCAA Football
Rules Committee, representing the Middle Atlantic states. The committee met
in 1958 in the lounge and bar of the Lago Mar Hotel in Fort Lauderdale,
Fla., the only room in the hotel large enough to house the committee. As he
wrote, his "introduction to the committee was in the bar...sitting in the
middle of the dance floor."
     He continued, "I had no idea what to expect at the meeting. The only
adequate preparation for a football rules meeting is 20 years of rules
experience and unlimited knowledge of the playing rules. I was not prepared
on either count."
     Further intimidation occurred when Columbia coach Lou Little arrived
with three wardrobe bags for a three-day meeting. As he later discovered,
not only was Little the 'best-dressed rules person in the history of the
game, but...he also made the most significant AFCA contributions."
     Mr. Nelson continued to serve on the committee becoming, in time, the
acknowledged and respected leading authority on football rules, and he was
the author of several books about the sport.
     He sums up his feelings about college football in the epilogue of his
book: "College football will survive because it is a total human experience
with faith and hope as its cornerstones and beauty, grace and excellence as
its driving forces. It is a ritual that transcends politics and
entertainment, an emotional experience that will live for many ages because
it is of the spirit. When all things pass, the spirit remains."
     The Anatomy of a Game is scheduled for publication in February and its
pre-publication price is $19.95. After publication it will be $25. For an
order form, call the University of Delaware Press at 831-1149.
                                                  -Sue Swyers Moncure