Football

It is now time to look ahead some two months and appraise Dartmouth's 1956 football team which returns to the campus on September 1 for nearly a month of intensive practice before the opening game with the University of New Hampshire on Saturday, September 29.

Next fall Dartmouth begins its first year as a member of the Ivy Football League and consequently will play the seven other Ivy schools (see schedule elsewhere). The other two teams being met are the University of New Hampshire, a new addition to the schedule, and Dartmouth's traditional independent rival - Holy Cross. At first blush it might appear as though this were a fairly easy schedule, and there is little doubt that it is a considerable improvement over those schedules which had the Big Green meeting Army and Navy.

It must be pointed out immediately that the 1956 schedule is a long and tough slate for any Dartmouth team to face. The U.N.H. opener is a toss-up, with the Wildcats improving each year and benefiting from a month's spring practice. Penn, after several disastrous years, is rebuilding under Steve Sebo and will be out to win the Ivy League title now that they have moved back in. The other Ivy teams are all rated as "improved over 1955," with Yale mustering virtually its entire 1955 squad and favored to capture first place. Cornell will have an all-veteran backfield plus some very promising sophomores, while Princeton and Harvard both look stronger and more experienced for next fall. Brown and Columbia are not quite as strong as the above teams but always play well against Dartmouth, and Holy Cross, of course, ranks consistently among the top independent teams in the East.

Against this opposition Dartmouth's Coach Bob Blackman expects to field a fairly experienced team, one which has had a full season now under the V-formation, but a team which will lack real depth and will be hampered to some extent by major replacement problems. As he looks toward the coming season — his second at Dartmouth - Coach Blackman is neither optimistic nor pessimistic. "You may say I'm realistic," Blackman reported. "We should be a little better than last year even though we've had some personnel losses. The important thing to keep in mind is that the schedule is really a pretty tough one with most all of our opponents fielding better teams than they had a year ago. We will have, I think, a fairly strong first team, but beyond that we'll be relatively weak in depth and this may pose some acute problems, particularly in the backfield. Frankly, I'm a lot more optimistic about our freshman team this next fall." The freshman football team which reports next fall will, of course, be the first to which Coach Blackman and his staff have had the chance to sell Dartmouth.

Let's return to the varsity, however. At end, Dartmouth has lost Bud Roth, Don Gray and Don Marriott. Tackles Tom Bechler, George Bixby and George Krosnowski will be missing, along with the Klapper twins, Larry Karacki and Pete Conroy at guard. Quarterbacks Bill Beagle and Leo McKenna, perhaps the two best passers in Hanover since John Clayton, have been graduated, as has halfback Jack Nicolette. Tom Hall, Bob Charman and Tom Trainor will also be missed in the backfield.

Returning lettermen in 1956 number fifteen, five of whom are in the backfield and ten in the line. Beyond these men are a number of players who saw limited action last fall plus some promising sophomores. Generally Dartmouth's 1956 team should be adequately manned at the end and center positions, weaker at guard and tackle. In the backfield, the all-important quarterback spot is a major problem, while the halfback and fullback slots are okay on a first team basis but lack depth. The team will probably be better on the ground this year, somewhat weaker through the air and possibly improved defensively.

At the ends, veterans Monte Pascoe and Ron Fraser, two outstanding first-team men, return, but depth is a problem here with only junior Dave Moss looking like a real replacement.

Tackles are also a problem with only veterans Wayne Kakela and Al Gazzaniga along with sophomore Steve Margolis looking like real varsity prospects.

The Big Green has been hard hit at guard. Joe Palermo and Jim Riffle have both seen action at this post, as has John Donnelly. Sophomore Ted Eck looks ready to make a bid for a starting berth, but here again depth is a problem.

Dartmouth is better fixed at center, with Bob Adelizzi, who did such an outstanding job last year, returning. He will be backed up by juniors Bernie McAdams and Walt Fogarty.

Moving into the backfield, we find a major replacement problem at quarterback. Mike Brown, who has spelled both Beagle and McKenna for the past two seasons, looks like he'll win the starting nod. Brown is an able field general and a fair runner, but he can't punt or place kick too well and his passes, while accurate, are never long. No strong freshman quarterbacks were unearthed last fall, so replacements will come from reserves like Dave Bradley and Doug Fusonie.

The halfback situation looks fairly decent with both Lou Rovero and Ed Nelson returning and some help expected from the sophomore ranks where Jim Burke, Dave Bell and Joe Graham could step into a varsity berth. At fullback Captain Bob Rex, who played practically every minute last year, may have to duplicate this feat in 1956. Dave Pratt and Gary Finerty, however, may come along in time to give Rex some rest as the season goes along.

In summary, Dartmouth will have a fairly strong first team in 1956 but will be shallow at most positions. The kicking game will be a problem with most of the Big Green's punters and place kickers gone. Sophomores will help in some spots and reserves may develop to plug other gaps. At this stage it's impossible to go beyond this brief report. It is to say, however, that after the marvelous job Coach Blackman and his staff did last fall, their first year on the job, Dartmouth alumni can be confident that the Big Green team will put up a 60-minute battle in each of next fall's nine games. So check the schedule, send in your reservations early, and come on out to cheer the "Team in Green."

Dartmouth's four-man crew without coxswain competed in the U. S. Olympic trials at Syracuse,N. Y., on June 28. Left to right: Fred Pitzner '58, Curt Jones '56, Gene Vance '56 and Tom Fead '56. After the picture was taken, Vance moved to stroke and Tim Rich '59 became No. 2.

Also competing in the Olympic trials was a four-man crew with cox. The oarsmen (left to right) are Ted Jennings '57, John Phillips '58, John Rosenberger '56, Dick Abrams '56.