BIG GREEN NOT YET A MAJOR TEAM

Coach Blaik Describes Rocky Road to Gloryin Second Interview of Season

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second of a series of monthly interviews with Earl Blaik which the MAGAZINE is publishing duringthe football season. Alumni readers are invited to send in questions which will be placed before Coach Blaik for the third andfinal interview next month.

"We haven't yet begun to look like a major football team."

That, in so many words, was Earl Blaik's estimation of the Big Green eleven the day after the Maine game. The Dartmouth coach was again playing host to the MAGAZINE interviewers, and since three early season games had been safely tucked away, the initial query was naturally one about the way in which the team was coming along.

To the layman, three preliminary victories, even though against admittedly inferior teams, had made the Indians look pretty good; but Earl Blaik's mind was made up decidedly to the contrary. "We haven't done anything yet that leads me to believe we're good," the Green coach opined. "We've used only a few simple plays in these early games, and we certainly haven't been called upon to do anything difficult.

"With possibly one or two exceptions, there are no natural football players on the present Dartmouth team. Everything that we accomplish this season will have to be accomplished by means of hard, dogged work. The coaching assignment here is one of the toughest in the country, but we intend to achieve everything that we set out to achieve. We don't know just how, but we do know that it's going to be done."

The Green coaches have become more emphatic in their handling of the varsity gridmen of late, and close followers of daily practice have detected among the staff some dissatisfaction with the rate at which things are progressing on Memorial Field. Slow, methodical building goes on, however, and in the face of combined determination all hindrances are eventually giving way. "Some players are running with drive for the first time in their lives," Coach Blaik declares; and the sight of some of the lightweight backs churning their legs for dear life while a bevy of husky tacklers attempt to bring them down is typical of the "do or die" spirit which now pervades daily practice.

Injuries have done more than their share to slow up developments in the Big Green camp, and the absence of Hill, Clark, Nairne and Erion since the start of the season has necessitated unusual attention to reserve men. Under the circumstances, the junior varsity squad has played an invaluable role thus far. "Pat" Holbrook's men have taken over the duties usually delegated to the third and fourth teams scrimmage, dummy scrimmage, skeleton work, and the like thus leaving the latter clubs free to learn their jobs as understudies.

This year's junior varsity squad, the first in the history of the College, numbers about 25 men, now that the usual shrinkage has ceased. "The members of the squad seem to be enthusiastic lovers of football," Coach Blaik declared, "and I believe that the idea is working out with fair success. The junior varsity isn't strong enough, however, to scrimmage the first two varsity teams, and we have been forced to rely upon the freshmen for this work."

Joe Pollard '23, team physician, examines a bumped nose (left); Harry Ellinger, vivacious line coach, takespart in a blocking drill (center); and Carl Ray, sophomore center, practices the kick-off (right), while AlButler, his understudy, looks on.

Silver satin pants glisten in the sun as the Green squad goes through an imaginary bicycle ride at the startof practice. At the right, Harry Ellinger's linemen work on a charge that is aimed to set the Big Greenopponents back on their heels.

George Gitsis (left) is the Big Green s most rabid supporter and rarely misses a, practice.

Dean Chamberlin(center) is the man behind the football headlines, and is here detected in the preparation of a bit ofpublic information.

President Hopkins, an almost daily visitor to Memorial Field, is snapped (right) withFergie Murch, faculty member of the Athletic Council.