1951

My thanks to you classmates who answered my request for your memories of Dartmouth athletics for this issue devoted to sports. Your rich recollections are that winning was great, but the camaraderie with teammates, mentoring of caring coaches, and the highs of road trips (win or lose) meant much more. As Frank Bruch (swimming and soccer) wrote: "Wins and losses were important, but the comradeship was the real gold of the sports experience." Uppermost in the recall of soccer stalwart Dave Saxton is "the 'mud game' against Yale," even though "it ended our undefeated streak and our ranking of fifth or sixth in the nation. You take the bad with the good."

Joe Welch, tennis captain in freshman and senior years, mused, "I am struck by the realization that just a handful of tennis seasons could make for a lifetime of pleasant memories." A serious crimp in family finances almost kept "Mo" Monahan from returning for junior year. He'll never forget the heartfelt welcome when he showed up at football practice several days late and was "greeted by coaches, players, and trainers, like a lost son." Ed Isbey credits the simultaneous rigors of pre-med courses and varsity football with fostering "perseverance, time management, and a competitive spirit which has sustained me all my life."

John Clayton passed for two touchdowns in our red-letter 1949 upset of undefeated Cornell (16-7) but his letter put almost equal importance on "playing Michigan in Ann Arbor," a tough afternoon for our Ivy Leaguers. Pitcher Jack Sutton had good games, but he wrote (with great humor) only of giving up seven runs in the top of one unforgettable first inning "My first pitch sailed over the 30-foot-high backstop." Bob Hustek relishes having been basketball captain for new coach Doggie Julian, despite a disappointing team record. Dave Krivitsky anchored Dartmouth's winning mile relay team and won a Penn Relays watch, "something I had always wanted." Hurdler JimCulberson wrote, "I always envied Krivitsky's watch. He let me wear it once for an hour." Sophomore wrestling rookie FredBrown (167 pounds) suddenly found himself filling in against a 287-pound Penn bruiser (at least Fred threw him once). Varsity guard Pete Bogardus best remembers playing freshman football under coach Art Young 45s "a fabulous mentor." Tackle CraigMurphy is proudest that his son, also Craig, was wooed by many coaches, even if he did choose Army football over Dartmouth.

Skier Ed Post savors the memory of training and associating with Olympic-class teammates, including 'Sis Brooks Dodge and Dave Lawrence.

Rick Austin first played squash as a sophomore, lettered as a junior and senior, and went on playing for many years, winning Michigan singles and doubles championships. Jim Danaher was disappointed to lose out in soccer, but went on to thoroughly enjoy JV crew (oh, those Florida spring trips) and nowadays rows his own scull on a beautiful Sierra Lake. Howie Bissell thought the golf team was fine "no strict training, no fatiguing practice, and we could have a beer after the matches." Our hockey players will never forget senior Bill Dow scoring four goals (including the overtime winner) in a great Dartmouth 5-4 upset of Boston College. But both Bill and teammate Mike Choukas wax most eloquent about the 1949 (sophomore) season-end spree (four playoff games in six days), ending in the NCAA finals at Colorado Springs with a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to BC. "That was the week that was!" wrote Mike.

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Woody Klein '51 sticks his neck out, p. 32