Evening star., 1919-12-01
DOB|E MAKES GOOD
IN FIRST BIG TEST
Annapolis Coach Gains Much
Prestige Through Defeat
of the Army Eleven.
BY ii. e.. BYRD.


NEW YORK, December LIN what
for him was his first great test in the
east, Gilmour Dobie has made good
as a coach at the Naval Academy. His
clear and clean-cut victory over the
Army Saturday-and it was his vic
tory because better material than rep
resented the Navy then has been sent
by the Navy to defeat against the
Army-gives him prestige among
eastern coaches he did not have be-
lore. Dobie may not use the softest
words in the English language in
handling his squad but he is good
football coach-that was proved Satur-
Gay to the satisfaction of officials.
forty-some thousands spectators and
the Army eleven
Dobie'S contract expires this year
at Annapolis, and there have been ru-
mors that he might not be retained,
but if the Navy desires to keep on
winning from the Army it will do we'll
10 get Dobie to place his name at the
bottom of contract just as soon as a
bottle of ink and a pen can be found.
And If somebody has an indelible PEN
ell it would be we'll to use that and
not wait.
Back in 1913 the writer. in telling
the story of an Army Navy game,
made the statement that the Navy
lever would beat the Army until it
changed its system of play-not as
long as Charley Daily remained at the
helm at West Point. Saturdays was the
hrst Navy victory since then. What
applied then to the Navy and DAILY
now applies to the Army and Dobie.
Likes to BE Ozark Horse"
Dobie is one of the few coaches
who really know how to coach indi-
NidualS in the line and in the back
field and also how to handle u squad
as whole in the development of
teamwork. His stronger defense, his
1r. f11t- Ir,r IL i
curate playing line and more versa
the offense defeated the Army just
it should defeat the Army next year
unless the Army considerably changes
and improves its play.
Dobie never seems to like anybody
to know just what his team can do.
He talks little about his men, but
when he does talk it is more along a
line of praise for his teams opponent
and of how impossible it is for his
players to win. That is Dobie's psy-
chology of foot ball, and, while every
body may not agree with it, Dobie's
record in winning games shows that
it is effective.
Personally Dobie has little of the
popular impression of what a foot ball
coach should be. II one player saw
Dobie before and were asked to guess
his profession, he would take just one
look at the tall spare figure, the
somber tactiturn expression and Say
preacher OF uHueTtdheT.
Ordinarily those that saw the Navy
team last week thought that only old
fashioned methods were used, tnat the
old-style line-plunging game predomi-
mated, but what they d.d not notice,
perhaps, was the well masked, yet pow
erful, attacks on places in the line
after threats against other spots, the
cunning interchange of backs from
place to place, and the splendid CO.
operation between backs and linemen
in assaults on the opposing defense, all
of which told story of master coach
ing.
Army's defense was entirely too
conservative to be very successful
against a well coached modern eleven
1t was based on the same principles
as Yale'S and SO much adverse criti-
cism has been written about that that
it hardly seems necessary to say any
thing else The square formation,
with the quarterback behind center,
and the usual plays from that, and a
kick formation on which the runner
started toward the ends in too much
of straight line to gain ground, con-
stituted the Army's weapons. There
are just two end runs from kick forma-
tion which work we'll; one is wide
sweeping run out around the ends, or
the start of just such a wide sweep
ing run with a cut back between tackle
and end. The Army had neither of
tneSe; II 1t had, 1t did not use them.
New Yorker Ranks Teams.
A writer in one of the New York
papers this morning picks Penn State
as the best eleven of the season. He
selects what in his Judgment are the
ranking fifteen teams, and Yale is
last in the list Here is the way the
teams are ranked:
Penn State. West Virginia, Dart
mouth, Syracuse, Colgate, Pittsburgh.
Washington and Jefferson, Pennsyl-
rania, Harvard. Princeton, Lafayette,
Navy, Georgetown, Lehigh and Yale.
This ranking is given for what it
is worth. OF comment about it-more
at another time.
A Maryland boy will captain the
Army team next fall. Glen Wilhide,
former Frederick High School player,
was elected to head the 1920 gridiron
squad Immediately upon arrival of
the cadets at West Point yesterday.
Army>take notice: Practically the
entire Navy squad will be back next
year.