Snuffy's Ball Returns

IN THE AFTERMATH OF the most famous football game in Dartmouth history, the "fifth-down" game against Cornell in 1940 (see page 70 for more on the game), team manager Irving "Snuffy" Smith '41 confronted officials and claimed they had made a mistake. They brushed him off but eventually figured out that Cornell had been erroneously awarded ed an extra play, which led to its victory.

After Cornell conceded the game two days later, Dartmouth players awarded Smith the game ball. The manager went on to serve as associate director of Dartmouth athletics; he died in April 2005. Last year, during the class of 1941 reunion, Smiths daughter Tracey presented the ball (above) to President Jim Wright. "My dad had the ball all these years in a closet," she explains. "I took it out after he died and thought it would be a nice gesture to give it back to Dartmouth in my dad's memory."

The ball will join other football memorabilia being collected for display in the new Floren Varsity House.