Following the Big Green Teams

BASKETBALL TEAM CONTINUES TO LEAD EASTERN COURT LEAGUE;SEXTET UPSETS HARVARD; SKIERS WIN CARNIVAL MEET

EVERY TIME that Chief of Police Dennis Hallisey blows his whistle at some errant automobile driver on Main Street these days, three quarters of the student body and all of the winter sports athletes—especially the members of the Indian basketball and hockey squadsjump to attention like buck privates instinctively smelling a general's uniform.

The reason for this unusual alertness to the signal of the Law could hardly be said to be a mass case of guilty conscience, but rather two of the knock-downest, drag-outest fights the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball and Quadrangular Hockey Leagues have experienced in many years have made Hanover action conscious at the mere sound of anything that resembles a referee's call to arms.

And who can blame followers of the Dartmouth quintet and sextet for having an overdose of nervousness when one considers that Dartmouth is spang dab in the middle of each of these League races, and when one takes heed of the fact that for the last month every League contest has been important enough to decide whether either the basketball or hockey teams, or both, shall win championship honors or stumble to the wayside in the hectic competition for top honors?

Taking first the basketball situation by virtue of its alphabetical priority, here's what Hanover court fans have been forced to put up with in the E. I. League to date.

Every one of the League entrantsPennsylvania, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Princeton and Dartmouth has continued to rate almost on a par with one another as the following brief outline of happenings will portray.

Harvard's five showed that it was a team to fear when the Big Green narrowly defeated the Crimson by one point, 43-42, in the opening contest of the campaign for both teams.

Yale, kicked around generally early in the campaign, came back to pin Columbia and Harvard, completely upsetting any normal condition of affairs.

Penn also demonstrated that it could dish it out as well as take it by giving Dartmouth a frightening experience in the first match between the two foes here on January 22 when the Philadelphians faded only in the closing minute to lose to the Green, 43-38. On February 5 at Philly, Penn reversed the previous decision by downing Coach Osborne Cowles' five, 40-38, in what could excusably be tabbed a thrilling contest that went into two time periods before the Indians admitted defeat.

Then at this point in the procedure when nearly everyone had counted Columbia's Lions out of the League race, the New Yorkers made a comeback by defeating Harvard and Penn.

Ahead of the Indian five stand contests with Columbia (two games), Cornell and Harvard. Not only is there little to go by in predicting the outcome of these three encounters, but there is also no knowing what the other teams in the League will do to one another in the way of deciding who shall be crowned king of the E. I. League roost for the season. Dartmouth, leading the League at this writing, would ordinarily be favored to go on to the championship, but the announcement that firststring center Roger (Moose) Dudis and his substitute Sophomore Bob White were declared ineligible following on the heels of the decision of Senior Bob Reno and Junior Jim Sullivan, both center material, to forego basketball for more extensive pursuit of their scholastic work, has raised real havoc with this position on the quintet. Fortunately the new rules eliminated the center jump, but there is still great need for the big men in the "bucket," both for the offense and the defense, and just how much the lack of this necessity will cripple Dartmouth in remaining games is something I wouldn't begin to guess.

overEven with the full squad available, the late rush of Columbia and the known ability of the Harvard five would make any prediction of the pennant for the Indians rest on the wave-swept sand.

With this quick resume of the basketball situation I trust some indications of the struggle can be appreciated by the reader.

To make matters even more electrifying on the campus, Coach Eddie Jeremiah's hockey stickmen have planted their collective nose into the Quadrangular League hockey championship pie, full slices of which were conceded to Harvard, Princeton and Yale before the season started and none of which was granted to Dartmouth unless it was a few crumbs of the crust.

The Indians of Coach Jeremiah first upset this partitioning of the pie when the Big Green sextet downed Yale, 6-2, on January 15 as already reported in this column. "Just a lucky night" said and wrote the hockey bigwigs. Tongues moved slower and the writers were more careful in their consideration of the Indian six when Dartmouth again defeated Yale at New Haven on February 5. This time the score was 5-1, leaving little doubt that Jeremiah "had something" besides sticks and skates up in Hanover.

Even with all this, however, Dartmouth was not too seriously considered over Harvard at Carnival time and the shock was heard from here to Seattle when Captain Dick Lewis shoved home a long shot in the first overtime period to vanquish the mighty Crimson, 3-2.

To say that the result was an upset is an understatement. Cambridge hockey fans were so surprised that Dartmouth won the contest that they began to search for facts as to what was the matter with the Crimson hockey forces.

There was nothing the matter with the Harvard sextet, if anybody cares for my opinion on the matter. On the other hand, Dartmouth played a magnificently coached game that was thorough in every department of the game. Evidently the world at large has considered it hot steam from the cold north these last two months when Coach Jeremiah has gone on record repeatedly with the statement that his men would make trouble for any team that brought skaters onto the ice who did not completely outclass his Indians in speed. And so it has proven to be the case. Dartmouth has lost games to McGill, Queens, Toronto and Clarkson, all teams that represent speed deluxe.

Whether the Big Green six will go on to repeat the Harvard victory and to take the measure of Princeton, again I wouldn t dare to guess. To my mind it would be a gtting reward to the coaching genius of Eddie Jeremiah and to the unexcelled spirit and determination the stickmen themselves have shown this winter. On paper it is not a strong hockey aggregation. In fact, it looks like a misfit outfit in a strong League. Natural ability may be lacking, but fight certainly has not been, and the willingness of the boys to assimilate the smart hockey that Jeremiah has taught them has earned my deepest respect.

Nevertheless, all this hasn't made it any easier of the local fans, who visualize the Quad flag flying proudly over Davis rink, and the race to the finish line may well leave the sextet backers lying in a limp pile before the season closes.

One might go so far as to say that even the Dartmouth skiing team has been responsible for the anxiety that Hanover has known this winter. First of all the Outing Club invited a strong field of opposition for the 28th annual Carnival meet, and put Captain Dave Bradley and his mates of the "A" team, Dick Durrance, Warren Chivers, Howard Chivers, Eddie Wells, Ted Hunter and Johnny Litchfield right on the spot..

For the first time in my years in Hanover it was evident on the eve of the Carnival meet that the student body was worried over a possible defeat for their world-renowned undergraduate mates. Spirit even ran so high that the lads and lasses went out to the downhill and slalom events to cheer the skiers in Green to do their best.

When it was all over a great sigh of relief could be heard in Hanover and in addition much admiration for the ski teams perfect 500 point total for the meet was much in evidence.

The snowless ground looked whiter and whiter to Dartmouth men as first Dick Durrance won the downhill on Friday morning followed by Hunter in second place with Wells and Bradley finishing well up in seventh and eighth position respectively to garner 100 points for the Indian team.

When Durrance added the slalom race to his own laurels and Hunter once more pressed him in second place with Wells finishing in fourth place and Warren Chivers in sixth position.

Howard Chivers added one more first place to the Dartmouth standing in the langlauf race as Dave Bradley in second position and Howard Chivers and Litchfield placing high up in the time sheet to bring the coveted 100 points in the race to the Indians.

Nils Eie, Norway's great all around collegiate skier took first place in the jumping event but here again Dartmouth, led by Litchfield, won 100 more points for team score and the combined (langlauf and jumping) saw Dartmouth finish the meet tally sheet in a glorious triumph, Howard Chivers first, Dave Bradley second, Warren Chivers third, Litchfield fourth, the last man not counting in the team score but nonetheless a fine accomplishment for Litchfield.

Behind the Dartmouth team with 500 points came the University of Munich with 451-8 points, followed by McGill, University of New Hampshire, Harvard, Yale, Middlebury, Williams, Amherst, Maine, and the meet as a whole was considered by all to be the topmost skiing competition Hanover has ever had.

Thus ends the victory report of this months lesson, a month that may go into the books as one of the best 30 days or more that Dartmouth winter sports teams have enjoyed in "yars and yars."

On the defeat side of the ledger we must mention Princeton's one-sided team score over Coach Sid Hazelton's Dartmouth natators. Many of the races on Friday afternoon of Carnival week-end were very close. The Tigers, however, took every first place on the program and had far too much man power for the In- dian squad. Captain Eddie White, Art Ostrander, Bud Stein, Wayne Schrodes, Bob Cushman and one or two of the other Green swimmers have lived up to advance expectations. There work alone was not sufficient in quantity, though, to stem the tide of the Tigers. Harvard and Yale are also due to set back Dartmouth in the water this winter in meets remaining on the schedule.

Sometime in the near future Dartmouth may bob up with a strong swimming squad, although in the colleges where this sport is stressed a great deal more than it is here in Hanover there will likely be a continuance of their dominance over the Indians in this sport. Certainly Coach Hazelton has worked like a Trojan to bring the swimming team up a few notches and the men on hand have worked along with Sid to bring the water team up on a par with the other successful athletic teams. For them it has been a little discouraging to continue to face teams that are conceded the meet before the first gun is fired. Others who know the situation thoroughly realize with them that what can be done has been done, and that they have no reason as a team to be discouraged with their setbacks.

Teams that are about to begin their campaigns offer still another approach to this month's article. Coach Harry Hillman's track team will defend its Quadrangular Meet title on the 26th. To many observers the outcome of this meet shapes up as a matter of which of the quartet of teams entered can win a few valuable points in the unexpected column. The Big Green team led by Captain Jack Donovan, who will run in the 300, dash and broad jump, is a well-balanced Indian track team except in the weight events according to Coach Hillman. Much is hoped for from Jud Foster in the 600, Warren King in the sprints and broad jump, Stew Whitman in the mile, Fred Upton in the half mile, Hale Wonson in the same event, Dick Hawkes in the two mile, and Robin Hartmann and Bill Wat- son in the hurdles. On paper, Harvard, Cornell and Yale have approximately the same chance of taking Dartmouth s title away from Hanover, with Yale somewhat the favorite to win the meet.

Coach Jeff Tesreau also added a welcome note to the month's sports happenings when he called out his battery candidates for the year on February 14. Jeff, no one to be pessimistic if there is anything to be optimistic about, can not see too strong a Dartmouth nine this year for the Eastern Intercollegiate League.

The veteran mentor Tesreau has always been quoted as believing that this college league is won or lost by the pitching staff, and apparently Tesreau fails to see any pitchers on his staff who will be likely to burn up the League.

There is always this thought, though, in every Dartmouth baseball fan's mind. If there is any one to be discovered and brought along for the baseball team, Tesreau above all other Eastern college coaches is the man who will find the hidden talent, so perhaps Dartmouth will once more cut a handsome figure in the college baseball world this spring.

Just around the corner on the athletic calendar is the sound of pigskin thump. For those who believe, as many do, that there is nothing much to do on the gridiron next fall except field the best eleven men, I can only say nonsense.

Prospects for a great Dartmouth football eleven are bright, that is true. However, if the Big Green is to get by its major opposition next fall without defeat there is a tremendous amount of hard labor ahead of the returning gridsters.

At a meeting with the Boston sports writers during the month Coach Earl Blaik extended the following information: From the freshman squad of the class of 1941, he (Coach Blaik) hopes that halfback Bob Krieger, blocking back Sandy Courter and right guard Dan Dacey will be of real assistance to next year's varsity team. That his present plans call for a shift from fullback to left halfback for Bill Hutchinson if a capable replacement for fullback Colby Howe can be uncovered.

Returning to the Dartmouth lineup next fall are Captain Bob MacLeod at right halfback, Harry Gates at quarterback, Colby Howe at fullback, Whit Miller at left end, Larry Dilkes at left tackle Bob Gibson at center, and Gis Zitrides at right guard. Listed among the question marks of next fall's team are good men for left guard post (it is not known at this time whether Jim Feeley, who was injured in the Harvard game last fall and again in the first Brown hockey game this winter will be available for football); re- serve tackle strength at left tackle and a starting gridster for the right tackle hole left vacant by Pop Schildgen; a starting right end to replace Merrill Davis; and substitution strength at all of the posi- tions on the eleven. Thus the Indians will dig in with a will in spring practice while paying no attention whatever to the glowing words already being written about an eleven that hasn't as yet taken full shape.

CROSS COUNTRY Hard going in the six-mile langlauf, wonby Howard Chivers '39 over a slippery, icycourse in the Carnival meet.

AN EFFECTIVE HOCKEY COMBINATION Members of one of Dartmouth's two leading forward lines are, left to right, Dan Sullivan'40, Captain Dick Lewis '38, and Junie Merriam '39.

THE BAVARIAN SKIERS WHO TOOK SECOND PLACE IN CARNIVAL COMPETITION Pictured on the Hanover Inn's new skating rink at the rear of the hotel. Otto Schniebs,former Dartmouth winter sports team coach, is shown in center and also little FordySayre (Dartmouth '5B).

MARCH SPORTS BASKETBALL March 4 Tufts at Tufts. 5 Brown at Providence. 9 Harvard at Cambridge. HOCKEY March 5 Princeton at Princeton. TRACK March 5 Intercollegiates at New York. SWIMMING March a Springfield. 5 Brown. is Navy at Annapolis. 14 Columbia at New York. GYM March 12 M. I. T. at Cambridge. 19 Temple. 26 Intercollegiates at Annapolis. SQUASH March 5 M. I. T. at Cambridge. 10 Wesleyan at Middletown. 12 Princeton at Princeton. 19 M. I. T.