THE GREEN FLIES HIGH

A Review of Recent, Record-Breaking Athletic Success

A REPORT OF THE accomplishments of its athletic teams since Dartmouth . became a Navy training college, where 90 percent of the undergraduates wear uniforms issued by Uncle Sam and march to chow three times daily, is almost a suitable subject for one of Bob Ripley's "Believe It or Not" sketches. The Indians have been so successful in intercollegiate competition since last July, in fact, that their achievements read more like fiction than fact.

The football team started the devastation of enemy sports units by scoring six direct hits and a damaging "near-miss" in seven gridiron battles with foreign foes. The cross-country team won all of its dual meets and concluded its season by winning, first, the Heptagonal League crown and, finally, the Eastern Intercollegiate title. The soccer team won four of its five contests.

During the winter, the hockey team was undefeated while winning the league title again and extending the number of contests in which Dartmouth sextets have participated without suffering a defeat to 41 conflicts; the basketball team won the Eastern League title for the seventh consecutive season while winning 19 of 21 games and missed winning the National Collegiate A. A. championship title by the width of a gnat's eye-brow when it was nosed out in an overtime period by Utah in the final of this nation-wide tournament; the track team won the 1.C.4A two-mile relay title while finishing third in this big meet and winning all except one of its dual meet competitions; the wrestling team won all of its five meets and the mythical New England A.A.U. title; and the winter sports team won recognition as the strongest unit in the East.

The track team was outscored by Army in a triangular meet at West Point which included Cornell. The basketball team was set back by a strong quintet of servicemen from Mitchel Field early in the winter and nosed out, 42 to 40, in a hair-raising national tournament final in New York by Utah. The football team was victimized, 7 to 6, by Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in a contest which saw the Green dominate the Red and Blue throughout most of the game. Those were the only major setbacks. And the decisiveness of most of the long string of victories which these teams hung up was enough to satisfy even the most nervous alumni witnesses.

Of course, it would have been more gratifying if Dartmouth had been the one to get the 7 points at Franklin Field last fall and had allowed Penn whatever satisfaction can be gained from dominating the play. Such an exchange of honors would have given the Green gridiron warriors not only a clean slate, but the undisputed Eastern title as well, which was awarded by the Lambert Trophy committee to Navy. And it would have been much nicer had just one of those shots which the Green operatives fired at that Madison Square Garden basket in the big tournament final with Utah and rolled off the rim had flopped into the net, because just one field goal, or even one successful foul shot in regulation time would have been sufficient to give the Indians the N.C.A.A. title for which they have strived four times in the last four years without success. But after all, I don't know where Bill McCarter would find room for two more trophies. He's got so many silver symbols of athletic accomplishment around the Davis Field House now that his budget is feeling the strain of paying the insurance premiums on the loot.

It wouldn't have taken much. Just a tiny, little encouragement from the hand of fate or even a cute, little smile from Dame Fortune would have added the Eastern football crown and the National Collegiate A.A. title to the Eastern cross-country, hockey, basketball and winter sports titles won by Dartmouth teams this past year.

In fact, I was sitting in a movie house recently and when, suddenly, the title of an educational short was flashed on the screen, I immediately replayed the Penn football game and the Utah basketball game in my mind. The title of the picture was "The Big Inch."

Instead of seeing the pipe lines on the screen which were spouting oil, I saw two passes slip off the fingers of Dartmouth receivers in Franklin Field's end zone, a cockeyed decision by an official give the Quakers six points, a flubbed placement kick wabble over the crossbar for the seventh point and a case of mental indigestion leave the pigskin on the wrong edge of the goal line where it died and was buried along with a gridiron championship crown. "The Big Inch" was a frequent factor in that Penn football game and the Utah basketball game as well. Let's hope the "nearmisses" we read about in the war reports daily are more damaging to the enemy. In sports, they leave the adversary unscarred and an indelible mark on the executioner.

It's not the purpose of this sports review, however, to either gloat over the countless victories of Dartmouth athletic teams or alibi for their occasional defeats. What I intended to do when I tackled the assignment was to tell vou something about the individuals who have been responsible for the outstanding record.

I'll tell you something about Mo Monahan for a starter because he played an important role in the success of both the football and basketball teams.

Mo is wearing the green in athletic competition no longer. The Commanding Officer at the Midshipmen's School at Plattsburg graciously loaned him to Coach Earl Brown for a week-end after he had left Hanover on March 1 so he was able to participate in the first two games of the N.C.A.A. tournament. But Monahan had to return to his new base after helping the Indians win the Eastern division title with victories over Catholic University and Ohio State. And his absence was a contributing cause for the defeat by Utah in the final of this championship tournament.

Monahan excelled in both football and basketball in this, his junior year at Dartmouth. He was one of the three outstanding players on the freshman eleven in the fall of 1941. He won a regular berth at left end on the varsity football team of 1942 as a sophomore and played as a substitute on the basketball team that year.

HIT HIS STRIDE THIS YEAR

It wasn't until this year that he really blossomed into a star athlete, however. His improvement in both sports was noticeable. Should he have the good fortune to return to college for his final year of competition, he will unquestionably rate as an ALL-American end in football and an outstanding basketball player.

His performance on the gridiron last fall won him All-Eastern honors as an end. His defensive play was the talk of everyone who understands football. His long distance punting was sensational, at times, and always better than average. There were few better pass receivers in the country.

Following Dartmouth's lone defeat at Franklin Field, the Penn coaches were analyzing the movies to discover what had happened to their attack. It didn't take them long to note the fly in the ointment. It was Monahan.

"I've never seen a more devastating end," one of the Penn coaches told me. "I thought we'd had some good ends here in recent years but we've never had one who wrecked an opposing attack the way Monahan did in that game."

It was the same story in every contest. Mo was an eye-filling sight to close observers of the game. The majority of the spectators thrilled at his long punts and cheered his clever pass clutches. The hardbitten technical observers, who frequently fix their eyes along the scrimmage line and keep them there, enthused over his defensive feats.

Monahan and Captain Aud Brindley were the only returning basketball players to greet Coach Brown when he took off his moleskins and put on his sneakers following the gridiron campaign. Mo had seen very little action as a sophomore. He quickly won a regular berth on the quintet this vear, however, and his part in the success of the team was no small one.

He wasn't a high scorer. His usual contribution to the point total was a couple of baskets. The manner in which he grabbed rebounds off the board was something to see, however. He seldom missed, and anyone who understands the importance of grabbing these rebounds can appreciate why it was that the Indians weren't the same without him in that tournament final.

Brindley was as sensational offensively as Monahan was defensively. He had been a substitute as a sophomore. He was team captain as well as high scorer as a junior and a wonderful leader.

It was an unusual game when Aud didn't score 20 to 25 points. In the Ohio State game he had the large crowd at the Madison Square Garden in an uproar with his sensational shooting. He was hot that night. And when this tall, loose operative was having a good night he was unstoppable.

Coach Brown was an Ail-American basketball player at Notre Dame. During his three years of intercollegiate competition he played against the best players in the game. Thus, when Brown says that Brindley is one of the best pivot shots he has ever seen, it means something. And his own coach isn't the only one who had nice things to say about Aud.

Following the thrilling victory over Ohio State, the veteran coach of the Buckeyes said, "No coach likes to lose and I am no exception. When an individual gives such a performance as Brindley did tonight, however. there's nothing much anybody can do about it except take off his hat and acclaim him."

Yes, Brindley was terrific this winter. It was not surprising that he was awarded a trophy as the outstanding player in the eastern division tournament following his play against Ohio State. He had been equally as sensational several times during the regular season. His 13 field goals in that Ohio State game established a new record for X.C.A.A. tournament competition. He led the Eastern Intercollegiate League in scoring. And he was a real leader on and off the court.

NEW COLLEGE RECORD HOLDER

Bill Vessie was housed in a Dartmouth dormitory only a few months. His stay in Hanover was altogether too short. Harry Hillman will agree with this statement, I'm sure, because in that brief visit Vessie set a new College record for the high jump.

Dartmouth has had some talented jumpers over the years. Several of them have won intercollegiate titles. So it was no easy mark which Vessie was shooting at when the Marine Corps ordered him to Hanover.

Bill was no novice, of course. He had won the indoor intercollegiate tide while representing Columbia last year. He had leaped as high as six feet eight inches. Thus, it was no surprise when he jumped 6 feet 614 inches for a new Dartmouth record in the first indoor meet with Tufts and equalled the mark the next week in a meet with Holy Cross. In the Boston A.A. meet on February 12 he went still higher, to 6 feet 7 inches, which has recentlv been approved as the current Dartmouth record.

it was quite a sight, however, to see a lad who weighs 200 pounds scale such a height. It was also unusual to see an athlete combine shot-putting ability with high jumping talent. It is a rare combination.

Vessie was good for first place in both the high jump and shot put in each meet. Had the Marine Corps officials not hurried him off to Parris Island, he could have put Dartmouth in the thick of the point scramble at the indoor intercollegiates.

And now it's time to say something about Dick Rondeau, the best college hockey player in the country. There hasn't been a stick-handler or play-maker like him in college ranks in years. It is possible there has never been his equal in these departments of the game. Some of the college coaches have that opinion, at least.

Few colleges were represented on the ice last winter. As a result, Dartmouth played only seven games. In that brief number of contests, Rondeau scored 31 goals and had 21 assists, however. In one game alone, a contest with Middlebury, he scored 12 goals and made 11 assists for an all-time scoring record.

Having a player of Rondeau's ability, experience and qualities of leadership on the ice was like having a coach in the midst of the competition. This past winter, with few experienced players around and several young freshmen on the team, Rondeau looked like a hen with a batch of chicks around him on the ice. That some of the newcomers fresh out of high school flashed so brilliantly was due partly to their own unusual talent but mostly to the fact that they were playing with a master who knew how to set up plays for them.

That the football team became a high scoring unit as the season progressed was unquestionably due to the rapid development of Don Kasprzak. This sparky, little quarterback had been a substitute at Columbia the previous season. He was rated no higher than third string during the summer practice sessions. His passing ability began to attract the attention of the coaches as the season approached, however. When it ended, he was being hailed all over the East as the best football pitcher in this section.

It was this passing ability of Kasprzak which made Dartmouth such an explosive gridiron unit the last half of the campaign. The Green was likely to score at any time from almost any spot on the field. In fact, it did.

Arthur Vorys is another worthy of mention. Here was one boy who got a big kick out of making a Dartmouth team. He had played football at Williams. He had played on a good team, too, but suddenly he found himself on a gridiron studded with highly publicized players with big college reputations. He was lighter than the other candidates for the tackle position. In a way, he was less experienced.

Vorys wasn't any less enthusiastic, however. Nor did he possess less ability. That was proved in daily scrimmage.

Bigger operatives from bigger colleges were placed ahead of him at first. But that didn't stop him.

In the end, he not only won a regular berth for himself on the team but his play stood out in the late games. If there was an individual star in the Cornell game, it was Vorys. It was his devastating tackle play in that game at Fenway Park which highlighted an otherwise rather drab contest.

Vorys didn't stop with the final whistle, either. He shifted from football to wrestling and did a bang-up job in the heavyweight division. And with it all he was a grand addition to the Dartmouth campus. Dartmouth would welcome more just like him.

There were other noteworthy contributions to the cause. Don Alvarez who had spent a year at Wisconsin developed into a splendid guard on the football team. Larry Baxter of St. John's, Harry Leggat of New York University, and Larry Killick of Vermont were tremendous assets to the basketball team during the regular schedule, as were Bob Gale of Cornell and Dick McGuire of St. John's in the N.C.A.A. tournament.

Charlie Grohsberger of N.Y.U. was a splendid sprinter and quarter-miler who contributed plenty of points for the track team. And there were a number of others.

Many of the top-notchers were legitimate Dartmouth students, too. I've already mentioned such standouts as Monahan, Brindley and Rondeau. A few others contributed almost as much to the success of the teams.

Take Joe Vancisin, for example. There's an unusual case for you. Joe entered Dartmouth from Bridgeport, Connecticut, four years ago as a promising basketball player. He had been a high school star. He was sensational on the freshman team.

A severe illness kept him off the court during his sophomore and junior years. As a junior, he filled in as coach of the freshman quintet.

When he came out for the team this year he was warned not to play more than a few minutes at a time. Coach Brown limited his activities to about 10 minutes in each half. But during the time he was on the court, Vancisin gave the game everything he had. And that was quite an eye-full.

Joe was a splendid floor man. He set up many of the scoring plays with his clever passing. In addition, he was a fine defensive player. It was nice that such an enthusiastic \lad could finally get in a year of varsity competition. He had been waiting years for the opportunity.

Then there was Clark Judge. I don't need to tell you about Don Burnham. You know what a talented miler he is. Well Judge developed so rapidly this year that he was giving the Dartmouth track captain plenty of competition. And that's quite an achievement, as you well know.

Then there was Alan Foster and Charley Bodley, two excellent defense men on the hockey team, and Norman Brown, Roger Antaya, Allen Russell, Hal Bowman, Jack Sayers and a few others on the football team. The boys who landed at Hanover from other institutions helped, without question. The unusually good record couldn't have been compiled without their assistance because the holdover material from other years provided quality but not sufficient quantity.

But what I'm trying to say in a roundabout way is that the nucleus for all of these outstanding athletic teams was still furnished by undergraduates who had originally chosen Dartmouth as their college. The talent wasn't entirely herded into Hanover on transfers, as you can see.

In fact, several youthful freshmen, who entered Dartmouth voluntarily this year realizing that they had little chance to acquire a complete college education but desiring a quick, small dose of Dartmouth education, contributed in no small measure.

Bill West, Hal Clayton and Jack Young were definitely football assets. Dartmouth has had few more promising halfbacks enroll in recent years than West. Weighing about 190 pounds, packing a terrific straight arm and possessing unusual leg drive, West was an important factor in the last four football games. He was an exceptional blocker for a freshman and if, and when, he returns to Dartmouth following the war, you'll hear plenty about this Winchester boy.

Clayton encountered stiff opposition for a youngster fresh out of Andover Academy but he saw action in every game and was as good as the more experienced players he was competing against in the fullback berth. Young, brother of Lou Young, former Dartmouth captain, was a fine guard for a freshman and you'll unquestionably hear more about him later.

It was the same in hockey. Coach Hafey Arthur would have been in a bad way if it hadn't been for Bruce Mather and Bob Merriam, two brilliant freshmen.

Mather, 17 years old and weighing 135 pounds, contributed 16 goals and 17 assists to the hockey team's record while playing wing on the first line with Captain Rondeau. Merriam flashed at center on the second line and kept up the scoring pressure whenever Rondeau and his mates were taking a rest.

Yes, it was the combined effort of numerous \transfers from other colleges with a substantial nucleus of talented performers who were regular Dartmouth undergraduates which made this sensational athletic record possible. And, in closing, considerable credit must be handed to the members of the current coaching staff who handled this assortment of athletic personalities so capably.

It wasn't an easy assignment. True, each of the coaches was blessed with good material with which to work.. There's no denying that fact.

It must be remembered, however, that the various squads were studded with individuals who were either new to college competition or had learned their fundamentals elsewhere. There was neither the same incentive nor the usual practice time available. There were, in fact, countless coaching problems this past season which do not exist in normal times.

The members of the Dartmouth coaching staff adapted themselves to the changed conditions surprisingly well, however. Earl Brown got good cohesion out of a football squad which included representatives of 16 different colleges at the start. He developed smooth team play out of a basketball squad which included operatives who had played five different styles of basketball and then built almost a whole new team in the space of three weeks to compete in the N.C.A.A. tournament. Hafey Arthur built a high-scoring hockey combination around two veteran players, three or four transfers and a couple of freshmen.

Harry Hillman did his usual clever job of getting the most out of the material he found at his disposal. Two Chief Specialists, Ted Wilson and George Weekes, handled the wrestling team in capable fashion, and Tommy Dent did his usual efficient job with the soccer team.

None of the teams would have enjoyed such success had they not been so ably directed by these coaches. So if you feel like giving a WAH HOO WAH for the boys who produced the best athletic record a single eastern institution has compiled in the memory of close followers of sports, add at least a short cheer for the men who handled them during their contests and prepared them for competition. They deserve it.

CAPTAINS AND TROPHIES of the championship basketball and cross-country teams. Aud Brindley '46, USMCR, cool leader and ace scorer during the 1943-44 court season, stands at the left; and at the right is shown Don Burnham '44, Navy medical unit, who captained both the cross-country and track teams. Besides being collegiate mile champ, Burnham ran anchor on the Indians' national championship 2-mile relay team.

DOUBLE STAR in football and basketball was "Mo" Monahan '45, USNR, now training at Plattsburg. He rated Ail-American as end last fall and his value as basketball guard clearly showed in the result of the Utah game, which he missed.

ALL-TIME GREAT among college hockey players is Dick Rondeau '44, who paced the Green in its unprecedented 41-game streak.

WRESTLING LEADER during the past winter was Captain Pete Fuller, USMCR, who reported to the V-12 Unit from Harvard.

A TWO-MAN TEAM that never takes the field but still wins a lot of games for the Big Green is that of Coach Earl Brown (left), football and basketball mentor, and Director of Athletics William H. McCarter '19, shown in their conference corner at the Field House.

Arthur Sampson is known to hosts of Dartmouth men as sports columnist and football expert for The Boston Herald. Frequent visitor to Hanover and great and good friend of Dartmouth's, he took over last fall the job of publicizing Big Green teams through his newly established Boston office. No one at present knows more about the Dartmouth sports picture than he.