With Big Green Teams

This years' Dartmouth Pre-season football training camp was unusual in several respects. First, a good many of the 75 men invited back failed to show up for the opening day's practice on Sept. 2. Some were at ROTC camp, others had decided not to come out for football, one or two were sick, and several were just plain late. On the other hand, the roster was swelled by the arrival of several candidates who did not have invitations but decided to come back and give it "the old college try" on their own.

The 1953 captain-elect, Bayard Johnson of Grosse Pointe, Mich., returned and offered his resignation as captain. Johnson had been hurt in an auto accident last spring and the doctors advised him not to play this fall. But his teammates had other ideas. The second day of practice the lettermen voted unanimously to ask the Dartmouth Athletic Council to ignore Johnson's resignation and permit him to captain the team from the bench.

Enthusiasm ran high in the training sessions. Approximately half the squad (36 men) were sophomores and they pressed hard for all positions. The veterans had their own problems in trying to learn how to go both ways under the new limited substitution rule, and over all there was a feeling, although no one dared express it openly, that if things jelled right this could be a pretty good year for the Big Green on the gridiron.

With less than ten days remaining until the opening game with Holy Cross on Sept. 26, this optimistic note has been somewhat tempered by certain injuries to key players and by the hard fact that some of the important problems have yet to be solved satisfactorily. However, there is still every reason to believe that the 1953 team will come up with a better record than last fall's rather dismal 2-7 mark, and that, "if the ball bounces right," as the coaches are apt to say, the Indians might well win a majority of the contests on their tough nine-game slate.

Let's take a look at the squad as they go through a scrimmage down on Chase Field. That backfield now running the ball will, except for one man, probably start the Holy Cross game. At quarterback is Bill Beagle, a 6-foot, 160-pound sophomore from Danville, Pa. Bill is not the best passer on the team but he's a slick ball handler and good runner and his passing has improved. Also he can play defense which is an important consideration this year. He has beaten out last year's quarterback Jim Miller as well as another promising sophomore, Leo McKenna. But both Miller and McKenna will be around to take over if Beagle doesn't make the grade.

At left halfback is Lou Turner, a 170-pound redhead, who you may remember played safety for the Big Green last year as a sophomore. Turner has a lot of speed and drive and, of course, he'll play safety this fall on defense. Walt Anderson, Bernie Fulton and Bill Daley rank behind Turner, but all three are rated as good prospects and should see a lot of action. That's Doug Melville at the other halfback post, but Doug will probably be replaced by sophomore Frank Krol before the Holy Cross game. Krol was injured in scrimmage last week, but will be back in a few days. Krol was the outstanding halfback on the freshman team last fall. He's a compact 170-pounder with plenty of drive and one of the best prospects seen around these parts for some time. Don't discount Melville, though. He played at quarterback some last year but is looking even better at halfback. More important, Melville is a good defensive halfback. Bob Spencer and Pete Dromeshauser are also promising halfbacks while sophomore Tony Bruscino, now recovering from an appendectomy, may be of some help later in the season. That tall fellow there is Joe Kagle, a defensive end last fall. Kagle stands 6'3" and weighs 187 but is fast and shifty and they've decided to give him a crack at hallback. Looks like he might be pretty good.

The fullback who just crashed through the line is Dick Jennison, a 190-pound veteran from Dover, N. H. You may remember him from the 1951 season when he was the team's leading ground gainer. He was ineligible last fall, but he's back now and should be a big help to the Indian attack. Last week the other top fullback candidate, Bob Primo, was lost with a leg injury. Then on top of that, the coaches were thinking of shifting Ross Ellis, a 200-pounder who played quarterback and did most of the punting last fall, to fullback, but Ellis got his knee banged up badly in a scrimmage and will be out probably for the season. This leaves Stan Clark, a senior, and two sophomores Tom Holdorf and Jack Nicolette - as the only replacements for Jennison. Nicolette seems to be the most promising, but let's just hope that Jennison can go the season.

That's about how the backfield shapesup. The halfbacks are pretty light and defensively are generally inexperienced. But the Dartmouth offense will be improved. The passing attack will be better and the running should gain more for the Indians this fall. Beyond that, it is just a question of waiting to see how the sophomores and the others with only limited experience hold up under game competition. The key to this year's chances is in the backfield.

Now let's stroll over here and take a look at this line wearing the red practice jerseys. Some of them will be starters, others will not. The line situation is very much of a question mark in some positions.

That big fellow at left end is Dave Thielscher, one of the best ends in the East. He's the son of Karl Thielscher '17 and last fall was Dartmouth's top receiver. He'll go over 200 pounds and stands 6'2" - a real husky who has won letters in hockey and lacrosse as well. He should be one of the standouts on the team this fall. At the other end is Clark Murphy, another veteran. Murphy is tall (6'3") and heavy (190), but he's primarily a defensive player and will have trouble beating out Dave McLaughlin, who played offensive end last fall. Jon Anderson is a junior who looks good at this spot while Don Marriott and John Crowley are the best of the sophomores. Actually, the end squad is very strong even after they've shifted Joe Kagle to halfback and moved Dick Flagg over to center.

Robert Bull 'J/5 NON-PLAYING CAPTAIN: Bayard johnson '54 of Grosse Pointe, Mich., star center who is unable to play because of a serious automobile acc'dent last spring, resigned as captain of the 1953 Big Green eleven, but his teammates voted unanimously to have him as their leader even though he will be forced to spend the season on the bench.