1942

Sports and 1942 have been linked since 1938. You no doubt remember that we were in the stands in November 1940 when Dartmouth beat undefeated Cornell 3-0 in the famous 5th Down game. Well, let me take you back...

Our own Stubby Pearson, who died early in the war, became captain of both the football and basketball teams, perhaps the only time that has ever happened. Dr. JoeWilder, who has since gone on to fame as a surgeon and an artist as well, was not only captain of lacrosse for two years, but received All-America honors and for two years led the scoring in the Eastern Intercollegiate Lacrosse League. He is in the Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Joe kept his sports interest with his art book, Athletes, ThePaintings of Joe Wilder, M.D., and an exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in 1985, "Champions of American Sport," said to be the first major art show of sports paintings in a major American museum.

Sid Bull was captain of the cross-country team and broke the two-mile record, which had stood for 17 years. He writes about that: "This historic event is probably unknown to most sports intelligencia. It occurred four days after our accelerated graduation in May 1942...at the Heptagonal Track and Field Championship...An unnamed Yale runner who had never been defeated. We met three times in either the two-mile or the cross country my senior year. When we reached the 1 3/4-mile mark (in this my last race for Dartmouth) and, as usual, his rear end was taunting me, I just suddenly passed him...and I do believe he went into deep shock. End result, finally he was looking at my Maximus gluteus!" In his senior year Sid was awarded the Morrill Allen Gallagher Memorial Scholarship for combined abilities in scholarship and athletics. Sid confessed to being a confirmed sailor, skier, and "an average golfer" back 30 years ago; he still golfs and sails (and maybe skis) today.

Jim Rendall was captain of the 1941 soccer team. In those days he was a halfback, but was switched to fullback by Tommy Dent in his junior year. In baseball DickBurns captained the team in 1942 and was the leading batter with an over .400 average. Now he admits that he no longer does softball or tennis and concentrates on golf. We also ought to use this occasion to recognize the late Ted Lapres, one of Dartmouth's all-time hockey greats as captain and goalie, who also played lacrosse.

Coming back to 1998 the class is still in the forefront. We are one of 26 classes to be a Dartmouth athletic sponsor, and there are 28 individual classmates who also belong to that select group.

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