League Leader
It's a long way from Denver to Hanover and it might seem like stretching the truth to say football coach Bob Blackmail came to Dartmouth last year because he wanted to have end Monte Pascoe on his squad; but the facts support such a conclusion. Facts: 1. Bob Blackman is persistent. (His well-known persistence is one reason for his success as a coach.) 2. When he was coaching at Denver University, Bob made efforts to interest Monte in attending that institution. (They dined together, they talked about football, they saw football movies.) 3. Blackman's effort was unsuccessful. (Pascoe packed and headed for Hanover.) 4. Blackman followed. 5. Pascoe now plays for Blackman.
Denver and Dartmouth weren't the only institutions interested in Monte Pascoe. As an end in Denver's East High, Pascoe was no sleeper; he was well known and he had been a long time developing his talents. If you are a Denver boy and you want to play football, you don't waste time: Monte was in full uniform at eight as a blocking back in the Young America League. He played fine football at East High, "but according to tradition, he made the first team only in his senior year when he was voted all-city and all-state; and he played in the Ail-American high school game in Memphis in 1953, an event sponsored by a group called the Wigwam Wisemen — no Dartmouth connection.
But there were Dartmouth wisemen in the Denver area and they knew Monte Pascoe well. They helped him continue an interest in Dartmouth that started when fellow counselors at summer camp first told him about the College.
Monte's ability for catching things and running with them went well beyond football. He was an Eagle Scout and active in Denver Scouting. He was outstanding at East High in all respects. As a top-ranking student, and as a leader in school government. He won three varsity letters in basketball, ran the 440, and was anchor man on a relay team that won an all-state championship. In football, basketball, or track, Monte can warm the heart of any coach: he is a natural. He learns quickly, is fast on his feet, and knows how to take care of himself.
The only football game he ever missed because of injury was last year at Princeton. He had gone up after a pass in the Cornell game, was tackled in mid air, and flipped over onto his shoulder. Monte salvaged the Princeton weekend, however. His fiancee, Pat Hill, a senior at the University of Colorado, was in the East and, after a two-turkey Thanksgiving dinner at a friend's home, they finished the weekend in New York where they appeared on a TV quiz program, "Two for the Money." Although Monte claims to have been so nervous that he didn't know his own name, they did well enough to walk off with $526.00. The rest of that night was spent doing the town; cab drivers were tipped with packs of Old Golds, part of the loot.
During the 1955 season, Monte received 24 passes for 331 yards, making him the leader in the Ivy League and giving him sixth ranking nationally. He was picked for the Associated Press AllIvy League Team and also named to the All-Ivy League Scholastic Tearn composed of Ivy League regulars with a "B" average or better. This year, after the graduation of Bill Beagle, quarterback Mike Brown will be sending them Monte's way. Brown's pass, Monte explains, is a cross between Beagle's bullet and Leo McKenna's softer ball — a nice combination in any man's league.
Although Monte is a little underweight at the moment (his 176 at 6' 1" has put him on the training table's "thin man's diet"), he is fast and shifty enough to run well. On defense, he is quick in sizing up a play and can slant in quickly to break it up. End coach Elmer Lampe sums it up: "Pascoe is a lad who does everything right."
Monte will leave Dartmouth next spring with an outstanding record as a student-athlete. He has majored in government and, at the moment, plans to go either into law or foreign service.
It is a long way from Denver to Hanover, but we'll'wager that more than once this season, when Monte Pascoe grabs one and runs, Coach Bob Blackman will be glad he made the trip.
Monte Pascoe '57
