Then, in October, one person announced he would head a notable coalition to reform football. He was Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States.

Roosevelt was a proponent of "rough and tumble sports," passing this model of masculinity on to his sons. Theodore Roosevelt, Junior, was Harvard Class of 1908, who played Freshman football. In one game in 1905, his nose was broken, his face bloodied. The father in the White House experienced first-hand the sport's violence on a badly injured son.

The Summit in D.C.

Roosevelt realized that action was immediately required and took the extraordinary presidential decision to invite college representatives from the IFA's Big Three to Washington. The list included Walter Camp from Yale, Arthur Hildebrand from Princeton, Bill Reid from Harvard, the heads of these colleges' alumni associations, and, finally, Elihu Root, Secretary of State. T.R.'s message to the group was clear: Reform the sport. He required three actions:

1. A demand to play football in a fair and honorable manner; 

2. To curb "gratuitous violence" and "underhanded plays"; and, 

3. To set an example for the nation as spokespersons of the premier collegiate teams.

An official media statement vouchsafed that the three universities would follow the rules of the game, principally, regarding roughness and foul play. A few weeks after the announcement, the IAAUS committee published a list of new rules for the 1906 season.  A grateful nation bestowed its thanks on the president. For the rest of that year, the press wrote often about the welcome prospect of football's reform, and less about football’s brutality.

The Roosevelt Myths

Two myths emerged from Roosevelt's proactive participation.  Although both have undergone revisionist examination over the years, the fiction persists to this day.

1. Roosevelt threatened to ban football: Quite simply, the U.S. Constitution provides no power or provision allowing a president to do this. He could only have cancelled the sport at West Point and Annapolis, the miliary academies under his command.

2. Roosevelt saw a newspaper photograph of a battered  player: This is reputed to be of Robert "Tiny" Maxwell, Swarthmore’s All-American lineman taken after the Penn game. No photo exists in a Philadelphia newspaper. It does not exist in the college's archive. 

The "banning" legend sought to validate T.R.'s determination to bend the committee to his will. To depict a former Rough Rider, he of the "bully pulpit "and the "big stick", as powerful and resolute. Was Maxwell a symbolic but falsely created photo opportunity a substitute image of the injured Teddy Junior?

Colleges That Abandoned Football

Some colleges decided to cease playing football. The game, even with new reforms, was still considered to represent possible severe physical injury. An ancillary reason, disconnected from the brutality question, was the distraction football affected on the student body. The football season featured rallies, pre-game bonfires, parades, post-game parties, and other, on campus activities that detracted from the academic purpose of the institution. These college cancellations occurred across the nation. The list follows:

Arizona 1906-1907, Arizona State 1907-1913, Baylor 1906, Boston University 1898- 1904 and 1906-1916, California 1906-1914, Cincinnati 1907, Columbia 1906-1914, Detroit 1905 and 1908, Duke 1895-1919, Furman 1903-1912, Kansas 1899, Northwestern 1906-1907, San Jose State 1903-1920, South Carolina 1906, Stanford 1906-1918, Tulsa 1903-1911, and Wake Forest 1896-1907

Introduction of The Forward Pass

The adaptation of the legal forward pass in 1906 proved disappointing as most elevens rejected the play with its many punitive restrictions. One college that prospered from perfecting the pass was St. Lois University whose coach, Eddie Cochems, realized its potential. He developed an "air attack"; employing a spiral throw that the team debuted in the first game against Carroll University (WI). Throughout the season, the Billikens dominated all opponents via 11 wins and no losses with nine shutouts. It led the nation in total scoring, going 407-11. Many polls placed St. Louis number one in the nation.

 The Outcome of Reforms

As the 1906 gridiron season came to a close, the nation waited for the final total of deaths. Had the reforms from MacCracken's committee reduced the sport's violence? The number who died tallied 11, a seven player reduction from 1905. America breathed a sigh of relief. The joy was short lived when, in 1909, total college and high school deaths spiked to a shocking 26. Nine-year data follows:

Final Note

In effect, the nation endured football's fatalities. Another attempt at reform occurred in 1914 under the aegis of President Woodrow Wilson, who had been the manager of the Princeton eleven. A fourth down was added to make ten-yards. Most forward pass restrictions were abandoned, opening up the game to less violence. And, importantly, new equipment like leather helmets were encouraged.