Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-11


University of Pennsylvania. both OF
which teams State College defeated. Mill
err was midget compared to MS rival
quarterback, but he had so much speed
and WAS such a wonderful judge of pace
that he was possibly the most dangerous
quarterback of the year running in an
open field.
Wendell at Halfback.
In spite of the fact that his playing was
not I'D to the standard he set year ago
Wendell of Harvard was the unanimous
choice for one Of the halfbaoks. He was
always an exceptional line breaker and
powerful defensive player. He was prac-
tically the only man on the Harvar- team
who could gain ground consistently
against either Princeton or Yale by
straight line plunging- In fact. with the
exception of Thorpe Of the Carlisle Indl-
ans, Wendell was about the only consist
ent line plunger on the eastern srld1ron.
There was a different opinion among
the critics as to what man deserved to
be Wendell's running mate. Dalton or
the Navy gets the position because OF the
wonderful work he did IN the game
against the Army An explanation should
be made here as to why Thorpe of the Car.
Isle Indians is not selected. The fact OF
the matter is that good many or the
critics neglected to consider the Indians
because of their non-academic standing.
BY no stretch of the imagination can the
Indians be considered college or uni
versity, though the ages of their players
are practically the same as the college
men and all their games are with the
colleges. Some critics even decline to con-
slider such colleges as Brown and Penn
sylvania State for the reason that these
two institutions do not observe the same
eligibility code that is in force at nearly
every self-respecting institution. Most of
the colleges. for instance. permit their
students to play professional base ball
and still to represent them on the grid
iron. If the Indians had been properly
considered eligible, there is no doubt that
Thorpe would have won the position by
unanimous vote. He certainly was more
valuable man to the team than Wendell.
for he could plunge through the line, run
the end and drop and place kick with
wonderful accuracy. Undeniably he was
the greatest halfback of the year.
Mercer of Pennsylvania was by far the
most popular man for the fullback posi-
ton. He was handicapped by injuries
that he received at the beginning OF the
season and by being on an unusually poor
team the rest of the season. Mercer did
his greatest individual work in the Mich
igan and Cornell games and those who
saw his performances in these two con-
tests were unanimous in picking him as
the greatest backfield player Of the year.
He received twenty-one of the twenty-five
votes cast for fullback. the other players
considered being Philbin of Yale. Pendle-
ton OF Princeton and keyes of the Army.
1t should be stated that this team does
not pretend to be an AN-American COM
bination. Not only could no individual
pick such a team. but even group OF
twenty-five critics would find it hope
less task to do justice to all sections of
the country. 1t is merely an All-Eastern
team. in which not even the University
of Michigan has been considered. Michi-
gan. because of games played with Penn
Sylvania, Cornell and Syracuse has some
claim upon this team, but the majority
n hA cd To MI
with the middle western universities
There still remains one duty before dis
missing this review Of the season. That
Is the ranking of the leading teams, which
not infrequently is quite as unsatisfactory
as attempting to pick an All-American
team Primarily no one can question the
right OF Princeton to be ranked first. The
Tigers have been given this place because
they defeated Harvard, Dartmouth and
Yale In their three championship games,
and were not defeated once themselves.
1t Is true that they were held to 90
tie by the Navy, but the Middies played
four such games and did not meet the
same class of opponents that the Tigers
did.
There are great man critics. including
the writer, who insist that either Har-
ward or Yale. as these institutions played
In November, were superior to the Army
and the Navy. But in ranking the teams
for the season it is necessary to take into
consideration the actual scores they made,
fact remains that the Navy was not
beaten once, and that the Army lost only
a single game. that being to the Navy.
Also 1t should be remembered that the
Army defeated Yale and that Yale and
Harvard played each other to a stand
still. Bearing these facts in mind it is
necessary to place the Navy second and
the Army third.
1t then becomes a matter of opinion
whether Yale should be ranked above
Harvard or vice versa Yale is given the
position solely because the Ellis gained
more ground and had more opportunities
to score In tho Harvard game than the
Crimson. With Yale ranked fourth and
Harvard fifth Dartmouth must be placed
sixth.
The Carlisle Indians ought to come
next, followed by State College and
Brown. After them should come the Uni
versity Of Pennsylvania and Cornell. The
ranking Of the other teams Is a hopeless
task. Comparative scores are dangerous
things from which to draw conclusions.