The Ultimate Dartmouth Football Player

BIG GREEN VICTORIES HAVE BEEN HARD TO COME BY LATELY. IF ONLY COACH BUDDY TEEVENS '79 HAD THESE GUYS READY TO GO FOR THE COMING SEASON: COMBINED, THEIR BEST ATTRIBUTES ADD UP TO THE QUINTESSENTIAL DARTMOUTH GRIDIRON GREAT.

Mug Gus Zitrides '39. Few players anywhere ever looked more intimidating in a leather helmet than the two-time All-American lineman from Manchester, New Hampshire. (That's his face pictured at right.)

Nose (for the end zone) Mike Brown '57 The future owner of the Cincinnati Bengals scored 10 touchdowns as a quarterback in 1956, Between 1935 and 1970 only Bill King '63 crossed the goal line more times in a season (14 TDs in 1962).

Brain Willie Bogan '71. The All-Ivy defensive end was summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete, an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient, a Rhodes Scholar, an Academic All-American, a member of the GTE Academic All-America Hall of Fame, graduated from Stanford Law and, oh yeah, was a pretty dam good football player who was drafted by the Colts. passing in a game (419) and career (6,684), TD passes in a season (25) and career (58), and season completion percentage (64.1). The Bushnell Cup winner as the Ivy League Player of the Year in 1992 was named to the All-Ivy League first team twice before enjoying a long NFL career.

Attitude Casey Cramer '04. His Dartmouth teammates didn't like it any more than his NFL teammates a few years later, but when the All-America tight end blocked you, even in practice, he blocked you until the echo of the whistle. And then he blocked you some more.

Courage Meryll Frost '44. After suffering terrible burns to his face during WW II that required numerous surgeries, quarterback Frost captained the 1945 team (and later coached). The Philadelphia Sportswriters Association named him "The Most Courageous Athlete of 1945."

Hands Jack Daly '84 didn't have blazing speed. He wasn't the biggest or strongest receiver Dartmouth has ever had. But when the ball was anywhere near him it belonged to him. He still holds the school record for yards receiving in a game (219) and is third in receiving yards in a season (1,034).

Bill King '63. Bob Biackman called the All-Ivy League quarterback "a coach on the field" for his ability to see things others could not, a talent he honed prior to his senior season by meeting and learning from star NFL quarterbacks Johnny Unitas and Sonny Jurgenson, "More than improving my passing," he said, "they taught me to read films and to spot defense weaknesses." King led the 1962 team to a 9-0 record—the school's first unbeaten season since 1925—and starred at safety, where his field vision was invaluable.

Heari Murry Bowden '71. Longtime followers of the Ivy League still talk about the hurt the College Football Hall of Famer put on opponents playing as defensive rover despite a bum shoulder. His stated strategy: "Accelerate through impact." In 2003 he explained: "The equalizer was to be going faster than the other guy when you met, like swinging through a golf ball. I didn't want to hit them in the front of their chest but through the back of the front of their chest. It served me well."

Toughness Kevin Noone '03. Refusing to allow a medial collateral knee injury to keep him out of his final college game, Noone not only returned to action for the first time in almost a month but starred on the Dartmouth offensive line against Princeton. When the game was over Tigers coach Roger Hughes was left shaking his head and called the performance one of the most heroic things he'd ever seen on a football field.

Right Arm Jay Fiedler '94. The quarterback holds school records for yards

Left Arm Jon Aljancic '97 After he completed just 40.2 percent of his passes in 1995—the lowest rate of completion by a Dartmouth quarterback in 27 years—the talented scrambler insisted to his stunned position coach he was a passer. One year later the southpaw proved it, completing 60.4 percent of his throws, a mark surpassed only by Fiedler.

Right Foot Alex Ware '03. Ware set the single-season school punting record with a 42.9-yard average in 2001. When he was chosen to the All-Ivy League first team as a senior he became just the fourth player in Dartmouth history to achieve the distinction three times. Although his 73-yard punt against Columbia is the second longest in school history, his claim to fame was winning the team's "Hammer" award for a hard hit against Brown as a sophomore.

Left Foot Dave Regula '98. Regula tops the all-time Dartmouth list with 38 career field goals, but his real claim to fame came in 1997, when he scored a touchdown on his own kickoff, A Penn player fumbled the ball, Regula pulled it in and ran into the end zone for the score.

Forehead Caleb Moore '01. The two-time captain's forehead was battered and bruised all season, every season, for one very good reason. The offensive lineman used if as a weapon, headbutting defensive linemen into submission. His classic line after blocking a defender into his own bench: "Hey coach, I'm done with this one. Send in another."

Timing Adolph Youngstrom, class of 1918. In a 7-7 tie with Colgate in the 1919 Eastern Championship game, Youngstrom, a guard, blocked more than just a punt or two. He blocked four.

Nickname Carl "Mutt" Ray '37, When the standout center and linebacker was born, Ray's father said, "He's a funny-looking little mutt but I guess we may as well keep him."