Doing the Dirty Work

The College's head athletics groundskeeper explains how chickens, streakers and mysterious 22-yard lines are all in a day's work

TALK ABOUT A UTILITY PLAYER: HEAD athletics groundskeeper Gordon Barnes has been working at Dartmouth for 24 years, doing everything from painting the football field to driving the Zamboni, among other things. DAM caught up with him at Thompson Arena recently during a rare break.

Are there any tricks groundskeepershave that provide a Big Green home fieldadvantage?

Oh, yes. Especially in baseball. If there's a good bunter on the team who is really fast I may chalk that third base line one extra time to build it higher so if he bunts down the line it may hit the chalk and kick fair versus rolling foul. I've been thanked a few times by a certain individual for doing that. There's also a set height for a pitcher's mound, but when Mike Remlinger '88 was here—he's in the pros now—he always asked us to keep raising the mound another inch or two. He felt he was more dominating if he fell off that mound a little higher. You could also soften the ground in front of home plate if you've got a sinkerball pitcher who forces batters to hit a lot of ground balls. This will help deaden the ball and keep it in the infield.

What about in football?

You hear different stories about grass height. Let's say a team is coming to play here and they've got a real fast back- some people think if we let the grass grow maybe the taller grass will slow him down. I don't personally see how it does, but maybe it does. We've had some really quick runners here in the pastshon Page '90 comes to mind—and I know at that time they wanted the grass kept short. But I wonder if it has any effect.

How long does it take to paint the football field?

We paint the field on Thursdays, and it takes five or six guys all day. All your hash marks and the numbers are the most time consuming. It normally takes two guys about four hours to paint "Dartmouth" in the end zones. Normally we try not to paint after Thursday because the teams like to go out and practice and you've got to have a lot of drying time before they can. As it gets later in the season it doesn't really dry—it'll freeze and the paint stays wet—and we'll hear complaints from the equipment room that there's paint all over the uniforms.

Do the end zones ever get any fanciertreatment?

We've done diamonds, and we've done diagonal lines through the end zone, but the "Dartmouth" is the look that's wanted. I think that goes back to the days when Buddy Teevens '79 was football coach the first time. The last two years we've also put a big "D" in the center of the field.

Have you ever made mistakes paintingthe field?

Screwups have happened. One day a 22- yard line got put in, all the way across the field instead of just a hash mark. So we were out there with a bucket of water and a broom to get rid of it.

Why do you water the artificial turf atthe Scully-Fahey lacrosse field?

It keeps the ball from hopping as muchit'll track much better on the turf. We use hoses and cannons to do the job, as much as two hours before a game. It keeps the field a little cooler, too.This is an idea that comes out of the South. It s a game preparation thing, not a maintenance thing.

What's it like to drive the Zamboni?

The first year or two it's a lot of fun. After that—and I've been doing it 24 years— it becomes just a job. But the kids and the crowd love it. If you know what you are doing it's not difficult. You just have to remember to regulate your speed on turns and remember that you are driving on ice out there.

The fans at hockey games get a littlewild sometimes. Does that ever createmore work for you?

Oh yeah, different things have happened at Thompson, you know, like the time a live chicken was thrown on the ice. Some students sneaked it in. I have no idea how—maybe under a coat. When Dartmouth scored a goal they threw the chick- en out on the ice. That was a few years ago. There was also the time a streaker ran across the ice.

Was the streaker at least wearing socksto keep his feet warm?

Well, he was wearing one sock, but not on his feet! It was all set up very nicely one night when a guy came through the back door wearing nothing but that sock and streaked across the ice and then back out the door. They never got the person. He scooted out the door into a waiting getaway vehicle. Some people don't care for that sort of thing, but I think it's great for the crowd.

Does the blame for losing ever trickledown to the groundskeepers?

Oh yeah, lots. It's not as bad now as it used to be. The ice used to be a real big issue with coaches. When the hockey teams were going bad, it was either too thick, too thin, too soft, too hard—it was always something.

Yet most of the time your good workgoes unheralded.

In fact, most of the time. I don't think people realize what goes on before a game actually takes place. People think the grass is naturally pretty and green and short and those lines are just there. They don't realize a lot of hours went into making it look like that.

When you watch professional sports, doyou find yourself paying a little extra attention to the field as well as the game?

Well, when I go to Fenway Park, I'm looking at their lines, the grass, everything. I think I look at that stuff more than the game.

What's your favorite field here?

The baseball field is my favorite. I put a lot of time into that. Changing it in the spring from a quagmire to a tabletop is quite an accomplishment. And I work closely with the players. They take pride in their field, and so do I.

Paint by Number On Thursdays during football season, a crew equipped withstencils and paint machines transforms Memorial Field into a gridiron masterpiece.

High on the Hill One former pitcher, nowin the majors, begged groundskeepers tobuild up the mound to illegal heights.