Big Green Teams
Basketball Team Holds League Lead Despite Loss to Cornell; Hockey. Swimming and Ski Teams Have Busiest Month
A THRILLING EASTERN Intercollegiate Basketball League race which Dartmouth leads at the half-way mark with five victories and one defeat; a determined yet still unsuccessful attempt on the part of our swimming team to win an initial victory over Harvard; the fighting qualities of an Indian ice hockey sextet in Quadrangular League circles; the return of track to competition after months of inactivity; intercollegiate skiing's most interesting winter of all time; and the approach of spring sports—these were the headlines and sports dramas of Big Green teams during the first 15 days of the month of February.
After five consecutive court victories over Harvard, Cornell at Ithaca, Princeton, Pennsylvania and Yale, Dartmouth basketball fans were pretty much convinced that the Indians had their fourth E. I. L. title safely won. The basketball squad along with Coach Ossie Cowles realized that any such complacency was downright foolish, and it took only the Cornell game here in Alumni Gymnasium on the 15 th to show the its-all-in-the-sachel boys that this was, in reality, one of the closest races of recent years. For the Big Red of Ithaca defeated the Big Green of Hanover, 31-27, in one of the best contests ever played locally. Both fives were brilliant defensively. So much so that ten good players, any one of whom could pile up a sizable score individually if sloppily guarded, were held to a total of 58 points. And it was not until the last two minutes of play that Cornell clinched the verdict by virtue of a long shot and a foul conversion by sophomore Bill Stewart, thus handing Dartmouth its first League setback and its second League defeat in five years on the home floor.
Witnessing the game was the biggest crowd Dartmouth has ever had at a basketball contest. Spectators in the rush-seat sections were on hand an hour and a half before starting time. An hour before the starting whistle every reserve seat was sold. At game time late arrivals climbed up on the gym rafters, pushed and shoved one another into every bit of available space and more than over-taxed an outdated basketball seating capacity. For both the Columbia and Harvard tilts remaining, Alumni gymnasium will again be taxed to its limit of space. Which brings up the point that the one thing that is holding back basketball at Dartmouth is its inadequate facilities for the spectators. This generation of undergraduates has raised basketball to a lofty place in the sports picture. Captain Gus Broberg, outstanding in Indian court history, has had much to do with the rapid rise of the game's popularity here. Championship teams have also played important roles in capturing the interest of the sports public. But even after Broberg leaves and Dartmouth steps down from its No. 1 position in the League, basketball will remainor better yet—continue to grow as an exciting sport. But it will only be able to show its full popularity when there is available a gymnasium capable of taking care of the fans who want to attend. Director of Athletics Bill McCarter has in mind a temporary answer. He hopes within the summer months to remove the old second floor board track and construct bleachers from the court surface to the walls of the gym itself. Such a change would add approximately two hundred extra seats in a good position. The one lasting answer is a new field house which is beyond the present financial condition of the DCAC.
We have digressed from the point considerably, but only to show that basketball has come a long way at Dartmouth even since the late '30's. As for Dartmouth's chances of winning the championship this winter, the Indians must continue to fight off the challenge that both Columbia and Cornell are presenting, and Coach Cowles is convinced that nothing short of an 11- and-1 record will win outright possession of the title for Dartmouth. With two games left on the schedule with Columbia, a home contest with Harvard—conquerer of Cornell at Cambridge—and matches away with Princeton, Yale and Pennsylvania, it becomes apparent that the task ahead is extremely difficult. Perhaps, though, Dartmouth can count on some help from the League in cutting down Cornell and Columbia, for the Crimson five has already done a great service in upsetting Cornell, and basketball is truly an unpredictable game in which the underdog often hits upon the right answer.
As disappointing as was the defeat by Cornell on the home court, Dartmouth's burning ambition to defeat Harvard in swimming which turned out unsuccessfully last week-end was an even more bitter pill to swallow in many ways. First of all the natators under Coach Karl Michael have worked diligently and ambitiously to make 1941 a banner year for Indian swimming. Several tough blows including the withdrawal from college of George Liskow, ace sprinter, and a last-minute sickness to sophomore Rollie Higgins, 100-yard free styler, hurt Dartmouth's pre-meet chances seriously. However, the Indians, despite the setbacks experienced, battled the Crimson all the way and made a much closer fight of the meet than the 50-25 score would indicate. For example, in the 50- yard sprint Dick Martens of Dartmouth scored only a third place after the first three contestants finished almost in a dead heat. In the 150-yard backstroke Dartmouth again tallied only a third place when Jim O'Mara lost both first or second position by a flick of his wrist. The winning time was 1.41.8 and O'Mara was clocked as closely as possible under 1.42.
Winners for Dartmouth were Captain Dick Potter in the 200-yard breast stroke, John Carney in the high board diving, and the 300-yard medley relay trio of O'Mara, Potter and sophomore Larry Noble. Before the varsity meet the freshmen gave indications that next year might very well be the swimming season that Dartmouth looks forward to in its relationship with Harvard, for the Green yearlings trounced the Crimson, 47-28. This outcome, plus the fact that much of the Green's current strength lies in the sophomores and juniors,, gives rise to the hopes that the swimmers will soon accomplish their desire.
Dartmouth in Hanover saw two terrific hockey games in Quad competition, the first on Saturday of Carnival week-end and the second on the following Monday. Yale, pre-season favorites to win the League title, provided the Carnival opposition and after 70 minutes of bitter struggle, the contest ended in a 0-0 tie. Goalie Ted Lapres took care of the very infrequent defensive lapses of his mates and a first line of Captain Fred Maloon, Johnny Kelley and Johnny Krol made things very uncomfortable for the Elis. Against Princeton, current League leaders after four straight onegoal victories, Dartmouth continued its fighting defensive hockey and went down to a 2-1 defeat only after an exciting and, at times, superb hockey encounter. Tempers flared several times during the three periods and rough hockey was the tempo set much of the time. At New Haven the Elis finally found the answer to the Indian defense. Yale took Dartmouth's measure, 5-2, mostly through a third-period surge when the Indians were trying desperately to hang on to a foe that had much the better of the match in speed and depth of material. Coach Eddie Jeremiah's team was dealt a smack on the puss when Krol was forced to forego hockey for the remainder of the season, but Jeremiah and his stickmen will continue to make League foes uncomfortable despite the fact that Dartmouth has scored only three goals.
Lapres in the nets, Pidge Hughes on defense, and Maloon and Kelley on the first line have proved to be the backbone of the 1941 hockey six.
Track, dormant in sports interest since its last appearance outdoors last spring, showed on Saturday the 15th that what track needs to keep Dartmouth's sports public track-minded is more meets. For there was certainly no lack of pre-meet interest prior to the Big Green's engagement with Bowdoin on the fastest-indoor-track- in-the-world, and the Big Green spikesters lived up to Coach Harry Hillman's prediction that his is a well-balanced squad. Paced by record breaking performances by sophomore Paul Hanlon in the 600-yd. run (1.13) and a 33.3 record in the 300-yd. dash by Dickinson of Bowdoin, the two teams staged an interesting and colorful meet that held the crowd to the very last event.
A clean sweep in the high jump by Captain Don Blount, Andy Hunter, and Andy Andrews—tie for first at 6 feet—and Sid Bull's 9 minute 57.2 second two-mile in which he completely lapped the rest of the field were other highlights of the meet. Field-event strength in the shot put also was apparent when Bob Nissen, George Rider and Maurice Dampier finished one-two-three with Nissen throwing the 16- pound shot 46 and a half feet. As this is going to press Dartmouth will be following the Bowdoin meet with a dual tilt with Harvard, which should give the track fans an even better Saturday afternoon's entertainment, and certainly those of us who are repeatedly criticized for not writing more about track are extremely grateful to the indoor meets for material around which we can bend a few words.
The month's top sports story belongs to Dartmouth's first defeat in its own Winter Carnival ski meet since 1935. Actually it was the Green's first major defeat under the present scoring system, and the first real blow to Dartmouth skiing prestige in the intercollegiate ski world. A week later Dartmouth bounced back at the Middlebury Carnival to take the measure of New Hampshire, but not until Dartmouth ski fans had had a whole week to go around town with long faces, the chins of which would have plowed the snow had there been any to be found. Actually it took some pretty tough breaks to force Dartmouth into second place in its own meet, and this should not detract from the Wildcats' well-deserved victory, for New Hampshire has a well-balanced team and a highly capable array of skiers. When Captain Charles McLane collapsed on the crosscountry course the victim of the flu and exhaustion, Green ski fans knew well enough that the Indians had their backs to the wall in unprecedented fashion. Not only was McLane a heavy favorite to win the langlauf race, but it placed Dartmouth in a precarious position in the combined (langlauf and jumping). Even at that Dartmouth might still have pulled the meet out of the fire had not two of the Green jumpers lost valuable points on falls Saturday afternoon in the final event of the program. McLane, after a few days spent at his home in Manchester, recovered from his illness and Dartmouth recovered from the shock of defeat quickly enough after realizing that once in awhile defeat comes even to the true champion and that it is good for any sport to have an upset now and then.
Without fanfare or hullabaloo, the spring sports of baseball and lacrosse started preliminary training drills around the middle of the month. Coach Jeff Tesreau limited his first call for candidates to pitchers and catchers. The mound staff that is expected to be strong had veterans George Sexton and Johnny Lendo on hand for practice, and sophomores Bill Graves and Johnny Koslowski made their first appearances as varsity prospects. Pidge Hughes, southpaw, will join the staff as soon as hockey ends. Hughes should prove to be the backbone of the mound corps, and Tesreau may be forced to use Lendo almost entirely at short stop this spring. Red O'Connor, peppy as usual and as competent as they come for his size, led the receivers who reported. Tommy Dent's stickmen have confined their workouts to date to meetings and blackboard talks and have hopes of rebuilding another championship Dartmouth team.
Football coach Tuss McLaughry, busy on a speaking tour and already making a big hit on his personal appearance swing of the east and mid-west, has not made his final decisions on his assistants. Tuss has interviewed many candidates including those whom he has driven to see in the south, east and mid-west, and is making a careful and deliberate choice in each case. On his last visit to Hanover he indicated that his field is narrowing down to a few men for each job, and the final staff should prove to be a lulu.
MAKING A VALIANT FIGHT AGAINST ODDS THIS SEASON Members of the Dartmouth varsity ski team, which dropped its Carnival title in a closemeet, are, left to right, Manager William E. Hotaling '41, Edward F. Little '41, Roger U.Simpter '42, Don F. Worden '41, James J. Page '41, Robert H. Meservey '43, John C.Tobin 42, Captain Charles B. McLane '41, H. Alexander Salm '41, and Coach WalterPrager.
Two NEWCOMERS TO REGULAR VARSITY LINE-UP Sophomore strength on the basketball team this year is a major reason for Dartmouth'sleague-leading performance. Shown above are Stan Skaug (left), sophomore guard fromClarkfield, Minn., and Jim Olsen, sophomore center from Lombard, Ill.
CARNIVAL STARSCaptain Charlie McLane of Dartmouth(above) shown in the langlauf, the eventwhich is his specialty but which he lostwhen he collapsed with a high temperalure; and (below) Doug Mann of McGill,who took top honors in the slalom.
