"The Iron Major"

Athlete, coach, soldier, and family man—all these will be combined to make the film biography of Frank W. Cavanaugh '99, known to friends and admirers throughout the country as "Old Cav." Hollywood some time ago decided to make a movie about football's "Iron Major," and, according to present reports, work is under way, and it is expected that the picture will appear some time in the late summer or early fall with Pat O'Brien in the leading role. Cav is one of the most colorful figures in the parade of greats in American sports history, and as a football coach ranks with Knute Rockne, of Notre Dame, "Pop" Warner, of Stanford, and Andy Kerr, of Colgate. Perhaps not quite so well known to the general public is the soldier of Chateau Thierry and the Argonne, Major Frank Cavanaugh, whose bravery in action won him two citations, and whose modesty prevented him from applying for two decorations for which he was eligible. Many persons did not like Cav, many thought him stern, hard, even somewhat unscrupulous, but his famous Christmas letter to his son, David, written from France in 1917, is the expression of a man whose love and affection for home and family was deep, and whose belief in his ideals was enduring. The producers of the film story of Cav's life have spent considerable time and effort in research, and have interviewed a good many persons who knew Cav well, so it is to be hoped that those who knew the Iron Major will not be disappointed and those who did not know him will meet the man, Frank Cavanaugh, as he really was.