The Question: How would you compare lacrosse to football?

F. MORRIS TOUCHSTONE
Lacrosse coach
U.S. Military Academy
West Point
Both appeal to the athlete who enjoys rugged competition. Both are highly developed team efforts, but the skills of the two differ. In football, the emphasis is on blocking and tackling. In lacrosse, ball handling with the stick, dodging and accurate shooting are vital.

JOHN J. THEOBALD
Deputy Mayor, N.Y.C.
President
Queens College
Although lacrosse is a wide open game, it is as rough and can be rougher than football. The great interest in football results from the coordination of the players and ball handling. Lacrosse must also have good team work, but the real skill is in passing the ball.

VICE-ADMIRAL C.T. DURGIN (ret.)
President
N.Y. State Maritime College
Lacrosse, originated by the American Indian, is new in most colleges but is building tremendous interest. The game seems a combination of soccer and basketball. Although it requires coordination and combative instinct, it is not as interesting to me as football.

RON BEAGLE
All-American end
U.S. Naval Academy
Annapolis
I was introduced to lacrosse at the Naval Academy. It's my belief that if lacrosse were as widely publicized as football, it would be as popular. Like football, it requires speed, skill, stamina and desire. It's interesting and exciting. There's never a dull moment.

ED BUCKLEY
Hotel Manager
New York
Lacrosse is tougher. I played both. Never was hurt in football, but was knocked for a loop in lacrosse. When a guy swings his stick at you, look out! At Penn we were called the suicide squad. The Indians played lacrosse long before white men. Many players today are wilder than the Indians.

CAPTAIN ROBERT J. STROH
Captain
U.S.S. Saratoga
World's largest warship
There's great similarity. Both are body contact sports requiring great physical vigor. Good team work is a prime requisite in each sport. In both games a good big man is better than a good little man. For me, a former baseball player, both have equal appeal.

FERRIS THOMSEN
Lacrosse coach
Princeton University
Unlike football, with its break between plays, lacrosse takes more stamina due to continuous running. Like in football, speed, general athletic skill and the ability to give and take punishment is important. Fans who know both games like lacrosse better because it's more open.

JIMMY BROWN
Football and lacrosse star
Syracuse University
I prefer to play football. It's a bit rougher and packed with more pressure, tension and excitement. However, playing a midfield spot in lacrosse takes more out of me than football. I'm enchanted, too, with the skillful stickwork required. Lacrosse has more originality.

TOM SCOTT
Defensive end
Philadelphia Eagles
In lacrosse, speed and skill are prime requisites. Brawn is secondary. It requires more agility, finesse and I footwork than football, with more quick stops, turns, backward steps, etc. Even though there isn't as much body contact, there are many head injuries from stickwork.

HOWARD MYERS Jr.
Lacrosse and football
coach
Hofstra College, N.Y.
Lacrosse helps develop speed and maneuverability and is every bit as exciting as football. Lacrosse practice sessions are more fun than football practice and therefore lacrosse comes off the favorite. Men who play both both sports prefer lacrosse almost unanimously.

ROBERT H. SCOTT
Lacrosse coach, Johns
Hopkins University
Baltimore, Md.
Lacrosse with its jarring blocks, long runs and passing, compares favorably with football in spectator appeal. But lacrosse requires more skill. A player must also know how to use a stick. Many college athletes now play both sports. Each offers the best in team work.

FRANK TAMBURELLO
Quarterback
University of Maryland
Football is a more thrilling sport, but lacrosse gives a true feeling of an enjoyable relaxing game. It can either be played with all the physical contact of football or with the finesse of basketball without violating the rules of the game. I prefer football but love to play lacrosse.

THIRTEEN PHOTOS

NEXT WEEK:

If all the countries of the world were to participate in a sports league, which sport should be chosen?