Football
While it is still a good three months until the start of the football season, it might be well at this point to cast a pre-season glance at Dartmouth's football hopes in 1953. The next issue of the MAGAZINE will not be out until October and by that time the Big Green gridiron warriors will already have encountered Holy Cross (Sept. 26).
The Dartmouth football squad, numbering in the vicinity of 65 to 75 men, will return to Hanover on September 2 to begin their intensive twice-a-day workouts. And once again the Dartmouth coaching staff of Messrs. McLaughry, Piepul, Dell Isola, Lampe and Julian will have a lot of problems to solve before the Holy Cross opener. For the second straight year the Ivy Group has banned spring football practice and this move places the Dartmouth coaching staff under a handicap at the very outset for the first three opponents faced by Dartmouth Holy Cross, Navy and Army —have all had the benefit of spring practice sessions. Another serious obstacle faced by the Dartmouth coaches will be the transition from the twoplatoon style of football to the new limited substitution style of play occasioned by this year's rules changes.
Beyond these two major obstacles, there are, of course, the usual replacement problems and the routine, though by no means easy, task of whipping a squad of some 70 men into physical and mental shape for a game little more than three weeks away.
On paper at this time the Dartmouth squad appears more promising than it has in the past two seasons. Graduation losses removed some top players, but less than usual, and for a change a few outstanding candidates are moving up from the freshman squad.
Missing from the 1953 team will be 19 lettermen including such outstanding players as Captain Pete Reich and Tom Bloomer at guard, George Rambour and Gene Gabianelli at the tackles, defensive end Fred Fedeli, and halfbacks Dick Collins, Russ Smale and Rog Warner.
There are 23 lettermen returning next fall, but already one of these, Captain Bayard Johnson, center and one of the top linebackers in the East, has been injured and is not likely to be able to play. The top returnees include end Dave Thielscher, center and linebacker Mike Papantones, fullback Dick Jennison (top ground gainer in 1951 but ineligible last year) and Lou Turner, who played safety as a sophomore during the '52 season. The top sophomore prospects appear to be halfback Francis Krol, brother of Dartmouth football star John Krol '43, Bill Beagle and Leo McKenna, T-quarterbacks, halfback Tony Bruscine, and Stu Klapper, a guard.
Other returning lettermen include Dick Flagg, Joe Kagle and Dave McLaughlin at ends; Parker Caswell, Jim Mannion and Emery Pierson at tackle; Clint Gaylord, Jack Godfrey, Irv Levy, Joe Mesics, and Jerry Samuelson at the guard posts; Paul Mackey and Tom Malcolm at center; and Stan Clark, Jim Donohue, Ross Ellis, Bernie Fulton, Jim Miller, Doug Melville and Bob Primo in the backfield.
In the line, the end and center posts are well manned, guard is a little weak and the tackle post will present problems. As far as the backfield goes, the halfbacks should be better, fullback is improved but lacks depth and quarterback is very much of a problem with three veterans Jim Miller, Ross Ellis and Doug Melville - battling with two sophomore prospects Bill Beagle and Leo McKenna for the wideopen berth.
The nine-game schedule is as rough as any faced in recent years by Dartmouth teams and the opening three games Holy Cross, Navy and Army will be crucial ones for Dartmouth. The prevalent feeling is that if Dartmouth makes a good showing in these first three contests they will do well in the regular Ivy group schedule.
