Since the last mid-May report rains instead of games were the order of the day in Hanover.
After successive victories over Amherst (7-6) and Colby (5-4), the Big Green baseball team had its league encounter with Penn washed out. A few days later the Indians blew a 2-run lead in the ninth inning to lose to the Equitable Life Insurance team 5-4, and in the final game of the season, a league contest with Cornell, the Big Green and the Big Red were tied at 2-all when the heavens opened up in the fifth inning to bring to a close one of the worst baseball seasons in recent years.
The over-all record shows six wins against 16 defeats and one tie, while in the Eastern Intercollegiate League the Indians wound up in ninth place, just ahead of Columbia, the cellar dweller. Dartmouth won a single league contest, lost five and tied one for a .214 percentage. The Indians placed no one among the leading hitters of the league and only pitcher Bob Feltman, who ranked sixth among Ivy hurlers, was mentioned. Feltman hurled three complete league games, turned in one shutout (against Army), had ten hits against him, walked 24 men, and struck out 21 to finish with a .333 percentage and an earned-run average of 1.82 in league competition. Over the entire season he pitched 60 innings, allowed 28 hits for 17 runs, walked 40 men, struck out 46 and turned in an earned-run average of 1.81. Feltman was the top hurler for the Indians and climaxed the season by being elected captain of the Dartmouth baseball team for next year.
The batting statistics reveal one of the major reasons for the poor showing this spring. The team members went to the plate a total of 664 times and collected only 132 hits for a team average of .199. No Dartmouth regular hit above .250. Shortstop Don Swanson led the regulars with a .250 average, followed by Captain Bob McGrath who collected 19 hits in 81 tries for a .235 average. Outfielder John Mansfield hit for .233, first-baseman Dave Conlan .197, and all the other regulars were below that average. The best average was turned in by pitcher Dick Major who collected two hits in six times at bat for a 333 total, while Hutchinson had .286 and Ruel an even .200.
Coach Tom Dent's varsity lacrosse team had a fair season winning eight and losing nine contests. Hampered early by a rather weak defense, the Indians turned loose at the end of the season to win successively over M.I.T., Middlebury and Williams. High scorer for Dartmouth during the season was attack man Ray Lenhard (30 goals) who was elected captain of the lacrosse team for next year. Dick Gates, this year's captain, was next with 23 goals, followed by Ron Campion with 20 and Tom Conlon and Tim Anderson with 14 each. The scoring does not reflect the over-all team play as the attack men in lacrosse do the bulk of the scoring but are set up by the play at midfield and in the defensive zone. Stearns Martin turned in some outstanding performances on defense along with sophomore Wally Pugh, while Clem Malin played a good game at goal.
The outstanding team at Dartmouth this spring was the golf squad, under Coach Tom Keane. The Indians defeated Vermont 20½ to 6½ and shut out Amherst 7-0 to round out their season with 16 wins against only four defeats. Next year's captain-elect Al Anderson also won the College golf tournament with a par 72.
As it turned out, the tennis season was over when the last report came out in the ALUMNI MAGAZINE. Since that time matches with Cornell and Middlebury have been rained out and a match with Williams was called because of rain after Williams was ahead 2-1. The Indians wound up in sixth place in the Eastern Intercollegiate Tennis Association with two wins and four losses. Next year's captain will be Dan Anzel of New York City, who ranked third on this year's team.
The varsity track team, under Coach Ellie Noyes, has had one dual meet since our last report. Competing against Harvard on rain-soaked Memorial Field, the Indians went down to a 93-47 defeat. Dartmouth took six first places with Captain Walt Clarkson winning the mile and 880-yard run, Bill Buchanan the pole vault, Dick Fairley the high jump, John Harlor the broad jump, and John Chapman the 120-yard low hurdles. Harlor, elected to captain the track team next year, was the only Big Green entry in the IC4A Meet in New York, but the competition proved too stiff for him and he did not reach the finals, although last winter he had won the indoor Pentagonal championship in this event.
This concludes the report on spring sports and now, for a moment, let's glance at what lies ahead for Dartmouth football when the opening whistle blows on September 25 and the Big Green faces Holy Cross at Memorial Field.
Bob Feltman, Big Green pitching ace, whowill captain the baseball team next year.
IVY LEAGUE FOOTBALL COACHES shown at their meeting at Cornell this sprinig.Left to right: Lefty James, Cornell; Charlie Caldwell, Princeton; Al Sebold, Penn; LouLittle, Columbia; Lloyd Jordan, Harvard; Tuss McLaughry, Dartmouth; Alva Kelley,Brown; and Jordan Olivar, Yale. Their new organization, with Lou Little as President,will seek to improve interest in and quality of the game as played within the Ivy group.