The Washington times., 1911-11-26

run through Harvard's line for
longest individual gain.
To Navy went the victory, and to John
Patrick Dalton went the individual
honors.
In the span OF score of years. cover
ing the meetings Of the Midshipmen and
Cadets. 1t Is doubtful II there was ever
a player who more impressively asserted
his value to his team than did the An
napolis captain yesterday. This gooi-
looking. tall, athletic son OF Nebraskan
was ubiquitous yesterday on Franklin
Field, when the admirals OF the futu, e
vanquished the Army by to 0 in one
Of the most stubbornly fought battles
since the two academies inaugurated
this affair, which has become a gridiron
classic.
When Navy needed distance It was to
Dalton that the team looked. Hard
pressed and In the danger zone, It was
Dalton who was called upon to drive
the inflated pigskin out Of striking dis
tance of the goal line. When the An
napolis line had been punctured by the
dives of the Army backs and long gains
appeared likely. 1t was Dalton who
would plunge at the bottom OF the at
tack and drive 1t into the soggy grid
iron.
When the West Pointers. in despera-
tion In the closing moments of q game
that was replete with thrills. attempt
ed forward passes and short kicks in
the vain hope that something might
happen that would convert utter defeat
into great victory, II was again Dalton
who made their efforts futile by his
wonderful versatility on the defense.
Dalton Kicks Goal.
Then when the glittering opportunity
presented itself and Navy was in the
position for a goal from the field 1t was
Dalton who stepped back near the 30
yard line and sent the heavy-mud- Cow
cred ball spinning through the uprights
and changed 100 ordinarily sane Midship-
men in the north stand into a band of
| raving maniacs.
Before the battle at Trafalgar Nelson
gave the simple Instructions to his
fleet, England today expects every
man to do his duty" The result Of that
battle will never be forgotten as long
as history is written. On Franklin Field
yesterday, able to rise only through the
| greatest Of efforts and at the close alb
| solutely staggering around. depending
| upon his innate gameness to carry him
through the few minutes that seemed
| like SO many hours, Dalton saw on the
sidclines another man tearing up and
down the field preparing himself to en-
| ter the game. The Navy captain knew
what 1t meant. he probably felt that the
coaches realized that his superhuman
| efforts to bring victory to Annapolis
| had been too much for him to endure
| and they were about to send in a fresh
| man. But Dalton Is not the type who
will leave the field Of battle under these
conditions. He called his team back
| and in a few words reused q tired, weak
and tottertng but game team to fight in
siSie. " ' '' '''
What Dalton muttered to those play
| ers Will probably never be known out
| side the ten who stood around him, but
the closing incident demonstrated that
II there had been any question of the
| leadership of the one who had excelled
| in every other way, II was removed
| when he spoke to his men and his very
| words spurred them on in a manner that
| seemed impossible.
1t was Dalton, the line plunger; it
was Dalton, the punter; 1t was Dalton,
the defensive demon; II was Dalton, the
In short. 1t was John Patrick Dalton.
the hero Of the game. that gave the
! Navy the advantage over the Army in
over twenty years. Dalton is. indeed, a
| credit to the branch of the service
which is so fortunate as to count him
among its numbers.
looked upon as spectacular affair, with
the actual football a rather subordinate
proposition. But yesterday was an ex-
seption, for the quality Of play was OF
considered the championship team,
failed to beat Navy. so It is not surpris.
ing that the Midshipmen in philadelphia
idols as the title holders of the nation.
Play Great Football.
Both teams played great football, but,
strange to relate. the weakness of one
WAS reelected in the other-that was
in the handling of punts. Seldom in the
course of the afternoon did the men, far
back to receive the ball, play up to the
standard set In other features of the
game. The pair on each team would
either run together. let the spinning
pigskin escape them or else interfe.
with each other as they started to run
l them back. Navy was bad in this and
I Army worse. Whether II was fear OF
the wet ball is not known, but the fact
remains that many yard was lost TO
both sides by the rather mediocre per-
Torrance In this all-important feature
| of the modern game.
1t would be difficult to pick promi-
nent flaws I'm other departments OF
play. The wet grounds naturally slowed
up both sides, and while the Army may
lind some consolation in the belief that
a dry day would have changed the
issue. this hardly appeals to the un-
biased mind.
Army was beaten because it had no
player who could approach in general
excellence the scintillating fight put up
by the Navy captain. end to him directly
the Cadets may trace their downfall.
II was his well educated toe that caused