Political Football (1938)

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   OED has 1971.
   From the NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE, 4 October 1938, pg. 8, col. 3:

_Use of Prison Boards_
   _As "Footballs" Decried_
--------------------------
_Major Younell Assails Politics_
   _And Lack of Planning_
   St. Paul, Oct. 3 (AP).--Lack of planning in American penal institutions and the use of prison administrative boards and officials as "political footballs" were decried tonight by Major Rice M. Youell, of Richmond, Va., president of the American Prison Association, as factors contributing to unsuccessful penal programs.
   Major Youell, superintendent at the penitentiary at Richamond, spoke before the sixty-eighth annual convention of the American Prison Congress.
   "I am convinced," Major Youell said, "that the main reason why our programs have not been more successful is because administrative boards and officials have been used for political footballs.  These officials should be carefully selected for their efficiency on merit and then maintained in office so long as they properly perform the tasks of their respective offices."