[Ads-l] Antedating of face-off

[Dan Goncharoff]

Publication is accessible through the NYPL. Lacrosse is the game.

DanG

On Wed, Oct 14, 2015 at 4:12 PM, Joel Berson <berson at att.net> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Joel Berson <berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      Re: Antedating of face-off
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> What game is this?=C2=A0 Certainly not ice hockey, which doesn't have a
> "ba=
> ll"!=C2=A0 (Does it need its own antedating?)
>
> Lacrosse?=C2=A0 Likely, from the reference to the "best Canadian teams" in
> =
> the second quotation.
> Or field hockey?=C2=A0 But I'm suspicious of the "pairing" of opponents
> "al=
> l over the field".=C2=A0 In those games, are offensive players allowed
> into=
>  the defensive half of their opponents at the time of a "face-off"?
>
> I assume "fowls" in the second quotation is a typo ... unless the "best
> Can=
> adian teams" were composed of their geese.
>
> P.S.=C2=A0 These days the excellent Native American teams would not be
> slig=
> hted.
>
> Joel
>
>       From: Hugo <hugovk at GMAIL.COM>
>  To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU=20
>  Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2015 2:21 PM
>  Subject: [ADS-L] Antedating of face-off
>   =20
> face-off, n.
>
> OED: 1889
>
> I found several antedatings in 1886, the earliest from August 1886.
>
> First, **Harper's Young People** (24 August 1886, vol. 7, no. 856, p.684):
>
> > When the ball is started, all the players, with the exception of the
> goal=
> -keepers, should be paired off all over the =EF=AC=81eld, each man close
> to=
>  one of his opponents. If the possession of the ball is disputed by the
> two=
>  players who =E2=80=9Cface off,=E2=80=9D let the others approach near
> them,=
>  but not near enough to interfere with their movements. They will each
> seek=
>  to =E2=80=9C tip" the ball with his stick or foot to some friend who has
> t=
> hus approached, and he will have a much better chance of securing it than
> i=
> f he had blindly rushed in and entangled himself in a =E2=80=9Cscrimmage.=
> =E2=80=9D Of course a brilliant dash in between the two players will
> someti=
> mes secure the ball, but wait until you see the chance. Don=E2=80=99t
> fight=
>  for the ball blindly as if with your eyes shut. Use both eye to see and
> br=
> ain to calculate, and just at the right moment act with all the courage
> and=
>  strength that you have.
>
> http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=3Dinu.30000093600660;view=3D1up;seq=
> =3D700
>
> Interestingly, the second talks of a proposed rule change to replace
> the face-off.
>
> **Outing : Sport, Adventure, Travel, Fiction** (August 1886, vol .8,
> no. 5, p.581):
>
> > A new rule has been proposed in the United States Convention, which was
> r=
> eceived with some favor, and is worthy of consideration. At present, the
> op=
> ening play of a game, from the "face off" often results in an undesirable
> s=
> crim- mage. This is true even when the game is being played by the best
> Can=
> adian teams. It is a bad impression to give, as a first one, to an
> audience=
> . By abolishing it, the " face off" and all its finesse (for it has
> somethi=
> ng of skill in it), can be retained to be used in case of fowls, etc.,
> duri=
> ng the game.
>
> http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=3Dmdp.39015014669165;view=3D1up;seq=
> =3D593
>
> Hugo
>
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