WITH THE BIG GREEN TEAMS
LATE NEWS: All the "ifs" about Dartmouth's undefeated football season are over. In a high-scoring thriller, Bill King, Tom Spangenberg, Don McKinnon, and company defeated Princeton, 38-27, to make a clean sweep of nine major games this fall.
NOT since the era of Swede Oberlander, Death Dooley, Dutch Diehl and George Tully, the 1925 national champions, has Dartmouth had an undefeated, untied football team. As this column is written, the 1962 Big Green is only one game away from a perfect season, a record it richly deserves.
It has already wrapped up the Ivy League championship; it stands as the number one team in the nation on scoring defense, with only 30 points allowed in eight games; and it is one of three major unbeaten teams left in the country.
All these honors point to one fact, that the 1962 team is among the finest ever to wear the Dartmouth Green. When the final game is over, win or lose, there will be words of praise for a job well done.
There will also be names to add to the record book where the men of '62 will take their place beside Dartmouth "greats" of other years. The first by right should be that of Bill King, captain of this year's varsity and one of the finest quarterbacks in the East.
Another who deserves to share the spotlight is center and linebacker Don McKinnon, whose bruising tackles and alert play were a prime reason for the Green's national defensive ranking. We could also list a number of other players who have added that certain spark which any championship team must have. There is halfback Tom Spangenberg, whose running against Holy Cross and Cornell was brilliant; fullback Tom Parkinson, who could run as well as block in the V formation offense; and a pair of ends, Scott Creelman and Charlie Greer, who were adept at catching King passes.
And while we are handing out words of praise, we should reserve special mention for the job done by Coach Bob Blackman and his entire staff. Their ability to keep the team up for every game, to give the team the plays and defenses with which to work, and to scout each opponent with the precision of the pros, is worthy of our highest acclaim.
