Green Eleven Makes Gridiron History

"Fifth Down" Fiasco Ends With Cornell Concession That Indians Won, 3-0; Biggest Upset of Season and Greatest Victory in Dartmouth Football Annals

THE MOST IMPRESSIVE VICTORY in the history of Dartmouth football has been won. Dartmouth 3, Cornell o. From a contest that every first-line sports writer in the nation ignored has come perhaps the peatest grid story in the 71 years of the intercollegiate sport.

In fact, the Cornell-Dartmouth game of 1940 is three separate and unforgettable stories: (1) The No. 1 upset of this football sea-son.(2) The rebirth of Dartmouth's spiritfor its football team.(3) The famous "fifth down" blunder ofreferee "Red" Friesell.

Each of these stories is itself of such interest to the Dartmouth alumni that we will treat them separately.

I Let's go back to the opening kickoff of the contest.

A small crowd of 8000 people was gathered in Memorial Field to witness the 24th meeting between the elevens of Cornell and Dartmouth. The cement stands were almost filled, the wooden stands across the field empty except for the middle section. Scattered spectators were seated in the end-zone seats erected in the event that a capacity crowd should attend the game.

A light snowfall greeted the two squads as they appeared on the field for pregame warm-up practice. The drizzle of snow continued for the first moments of the encounter and only returned spasmodically during the tilt for brief periods. Any report that the game was played in a snowstorm is erroneous.

An hour before the opening whistle the huge canvas that had covered the playing surface for a week was removed. The footing was firm and sure by the say-so of both teams.

Lou Young Jr., Dartmouth's captain, and Walt Matuszczak, Cornell's leader, Walked to the center of the field to shake hands and waited for the referee's toss, Cornell won the toss and elected to kick off to the Big Green.

Sophomore Ray Wolfe received the kick off and from this Point on the most amazing performance a Dartmouth eleven ever maded unfolded itself before the spectators.

Wolfe took the kick-off on his own 10- yard line and raced back toward the Big Red goal line like an inspired man. Only one cornell defense man saved the Big Red from suflering a first-play disaster, for when Wolfe Was downed on the Cornell 45-yard line affer taking the ball back 45 yards,the Indian halfback, who received near-perfect, vicious blocking from his teammates, was in the clear.

This play not only set the tempo of what was to follow; it was the tempo. For the entire first quarter the Big Green's line smothered every offensive effort of the famed, and justly called great, Big Red attack. The Dartmouth line of Bob Krieger at left end, Stubby Pearson at left tackle, Captain Young at left guard, Dan Dacey at right guard, Monty Winship at right tackle, John Kelley at right end, backed up by Don Norton at defensive fullback and Remsen Crego at defensive center, outplayed the Big Red so successfully that the secondary was called upon but three times to assist in defensive work. And lest there be any confusion about the lineup as stated, Pearson did play defensive tackle and Crego defensive center, in a coaching masterpiece of getting the most out of the material available.

What Cornell's reaction to the fight that Dartmouth was putting up in that first quarter was, we haven't the slightest idea, but we do know that the Dartmouth stands were completely stunned while at the same time wild with glee over the events that were transpiring before their eyes.

When the Indians shifted their field at the end of the quarter it seemed downright impossible that 6000 Dartmouth rooters could cheer as loudly as they did. The cheers said, "Marvelous, marvelous, marvelous, " and "keep it up boys!"

And the Big Green proved that the first quarter was just a sample. Cornell was unable to work its way past its own 33- yard line during the entire first half. Had Dartmouth been routed in the second half, the first 30 minutes alone would have been worthy of a special page in Dartmouth's football record book.

The Big Green not only played defensive football worthy of all the accolades a writer could express, but even more surprising was Dartmouth's offensive challenge right into the teeth of a Cornell line that had yielded nary a touchdown to an Ivy League foe, and with the exception of the opening minutes of the Ohio State game, had blanketed every opponent's offense so thoroughly that Cornell's foes had found it next to hopeless to carry on sustained drives for scores.

In the first half of the game Wolfe's kick-off run came within a razor edge of going the distance. Three minutes later a Wolfe runback of a punt was again stopped by one last Cornellian. Marches through the Cornell line kept Dartmouth in almost constant scoring position. With Wolfe and Bud Kast running from the halfback positions, Ray Hall from the No. 3 fullback berth, and with Krieger a constant and valuable threat on end arounds, the Indians were worked by Quarterback Don Norton with a precision and smoothness that were truly magnificent to watch. No Dartmouth team of recent years ever used Coach Earl Blaik's attack more devastatingly, despite the fact that the speed of the Dartmouth runners looked snail-like compared to the Big Red's defensive speed. That the Indians made yardage, and plenty of it, without even threatening to loosen up the Cornell defense with a pass—only one was attempted the entire game—makes the Green's success with its running plays almost unbelievable.

And in a special paragraph by himself we reserve the right to single out little Ted Arico, 143 pounds of determination, for his part in sparking the Green's attack whenever the coaching staff was able to insert him into the backfield. Against Cornell Arico was, without qualification, the best little man—playing football on Saturday, November 16, on any gridiron in America.

During the intermission the stands paused for a moment to collect themselves and review the situation. Cornell, they knew, was playing football worthy of the reputation they brought with them to Hanover. Dartmouth, they knew, was playing even better football. They had seen the Big Green blocking with power, skill and coordination among all eleven players. They had seen the Dartmouth ends time after time knock down the Big Red's awesome interference to leave the paths clear for fellow teammates to make spine-rattling tackles. They had seen with their own eyes that the Dartmouth players were enjoying the game like no Dartmouth team they had ever watched. Only afterwards did they learn of the wise-cracking that was going on down on the field. Only after- wards did they learn that the Dartmouth coaching staff had devised a system of defense that was never before used in football. Twice they had seen the Dartmouth line stay off the line of scrimmage a full yard and a half while a Cornell team showed its amazement, and the fans knew that something different was taking place.

However, there was undoubtedly a feeling that the Dartmouths would be unable to keep up the gallant fight for another 30 minutes against overwhelming odds, although there was no sign of this when the Green returned to the field to continue the battle.

Those who knew what was happening technically when Dartmouth was on defense, held their breath when Cornell made its first plays in the second half. Had the key to the defense been discovered and the answer to the defense been given to the Cornell players during the rest period?

It was immediately apparent that the answer was no.

Faced with a baffling situation and stumped by their inability to walk over or around a team the experts said was three to four touchdowns worse than they, the Big Red did the only thing possible. Cornell took to the air.

And when this Cornell team takes to the air it is something to behold. In the first half they had no chance to pass because they were always deep in the shadow of their goal posts. In desperation they ignored danger and passed from their own 34-yard line to ignite an early second-half march that was ended only by a brilliant pass interception by Wolfe in the end zone. It looked like Dartmouth was about to be cracked open by an ever dangerous Cornell team.

No sooner had the game taken on a Cornell complexion than Dartmouth was on the verge of scoring a touchdown. A runback of a Cornell punt by Arico, a smashing attack carried by Hall, Arico, Kast and Krieger, put the Green on Cornell's 9 yard line in what seemed like only seconds after Cornell had made its first threat.

Dartmouth drove hard, it drove with an attitude that this time it could not be stopped. To say that the Cornell line put up a struggle worthy of one of the nation's best teams, is putting it mildly. It had to be a great Cornell line to stop Dartmouth.

In this situation Quarterback Norton called upon Krieger to kick a field goal from the 17-yard line with Arico holding. The kick was right through the middle of the uprights. Dartmouth 3, Cornell o.

This time Cornell struck back with all the fury and desperation expected of a team that was having an 18-game winning streak busted by an upstart Dartmouth team.

But the Indians were just as dogged as Cornell was desperate.

Kast ended the second Cornell threat by intercepting a pass on his own 15-yard line. Hall, who had been kicking as he had never before punted in his life, put Cornell back once more in its own territory with minutes left to play.

In six plays, one of them a penalty for pass interference, the Big Red was on the Dartmouth 6-yard line. Here football history was to take place.

Landsberg the Cornell fullback smashed to the Dartmouth 3-yard line. Scholl, Cornell fullback, carried to the Dartmouth 1-yard line. Landsberg again took the ball and was stopped cold by guard Dacey on the Dartmouth 1-foot line. Cornell's Matuszcak then asked for time out to stop the clock with 6 seconds remaining. This cost Cornell a 5-yard penalty for too many times out, and the ball was returned to a spot 5 yards and 1 foot from the Dartmouth goal line. Fourth down coming up. Scholl's pass into the Dartmouth end zone was knocked down by Norton. At this point the Dartmouth stands and the Dartmouth players went crazy with joy. The Big Green had stopped Cornell. Three seconds remained on the clock. The ball, thought everybody, would be placed on the Dartmouth 20, with time for one play remaining.

It was a stunned Dartmouth team and Dartmouth fandom that saw Referee "Red" Friesell take the ball away from head linesman Joe McKenney and return it to its fourth-down position. Lou Young, with all the sportsmanship any Dartmouth captain could possess, argued his point as is the right of a Dartmouth captain on the field. Friesell refused to listen to his plea. Young was told to get back into the ball game and play ball, and he did so. The pictures show that some of the Dartmouth players in the excitement weren't even in defensive position for the illegal fifth down. Furthermore, one has only to consider the mental letdown that took place in the Dartmouth ranks when a victory they know was theirs was being officially postponed. These two factors made it impossible for Dartmouth to make any normal attempt to stop the final Cornell play.

This writer makes no attempt to de scribe the feelings that were his when Dart mouth was asked to defend its goal line for the fifth time. It was so obvious So fundamental. So surprising and so unexpected.

Although there was momentary shock at what had taken place, there was, how ever, never any disappointment in the Dartmouth ranks that the game was lost The score of 7-3 was never put up on the Memorial Field score board.

This brings us to the second story of the game. In the memory of fans who have at tended Dartmouth games for more years than we can claim, Dartmouth's supporters never cheered as they did during the Cornell game. It was deafening. The new Dartmouth FIGHT cheer must have been heard in Lebanon. It was Dartmouth behind its team like Dartmouth had never been behind its representatives. We say to all those who claim greater spirit for the mid-western colleges, or for colleges here, there and everywhere, that nothing has ever surpassed Dartmouth's spirit at

MODERN AID TO SUCCESSFUL COACHING The answer to why a play did or didn't go is always found in the movies taken of eachvarsity game for the Green coaches. Evidently watching something less successful than theCornell game are (left to right) Head Coach Earl Blaik, End Coach Frank Moore, andBackfield Coach Andy Gustafson.