1940s abbreviations

[John Grasso]

I'm working on the next book in our series and came across these abbreviations
for starting lineups in a 1947 newspaper:
LER, LTR, LGR, C, RGl, RTL, REL, Q, LHR, RHL, F

It appears that the positions are left end, left tackle etc.
but why the extra letter? Is it left end right and right end left?

[ehaight]

Those are typically used when the team's lineups are listed side-by-side and one set of abbreviations runs between the columns. So, LER means left end for the team on the left and right end for the team on the right, and so on. I think the goal was to show which players would line up opposite each other back in single-platoon days, but that I'm not sure about. Presumably, it was also a space-saving device for newspapers.

[John Grasso]

Thanks - that makes sense.