Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1922-11-16
WHAT COURAGE MEANS
fby united Freas.J


New York, Nov. 16.-Pepnsylvania
recently turned what seemed 70 be- q
sure defeat by the Navy eleven into
brilliant victory by q spectacular
showing in the second half
The change between team that had
been completely and decisively beaten
in the first half and the team that
came out in the scend half and ran
away from ore Of the best teams in
the east was startling.
The wand that brought about mag
ic transformation wassaid to be =
cutting remark and an Inference by
their coach, johnny Heisman, that
they were yellow.
After the first, half, Helsman, &C
cording to the story went into the
Penn club house and had the follow
ing in effect to say to the squad:
81 don't mind you losing, if you
lose like men with your heads up.
I've got long contract and Pm going
20 tear it up tonight and leave you
fiat, if you don't fight in the next nall"
They went out and fought so much
that they wonf and provided the big
gest upset of the season.
Many stories are told of such scath-
ing remarks made by coaches that
worked heart and fight in team and
many of them are not true.
Is s0ne told recently in New York con
cerned Tad Coy, one of the greatest
of all Yale backs.
Princeton several years back WIGS
leading at the first half 10 to and
the Yale eleven wasn't showing too
much fight They came out in the
second half and rolled up twelve
points for victory.
Nasty cutting words from the coach
es and charges that they lacked the
courage of boys was regarded as the
strategy that the Yale coaches worked
between halves to get the team on its
feet.
Several years later Coy was asked
what was said to them in the dressing
room and he replied:
Nothing that I know of. I was
asleep"
In one of the big eastern games
this year, one of the teams that had
been badly outplayed in the first half,
came back in the second half and by
almost superhuman efforts tied the
score.
"You must have told them plenty be-
tween halves" the coach Of the eleven
was asked after the game.
Didn't tell them thing" he re-
Piled. Wasn't even in the club house"
Sometimes it is a most effective
means of getting results from ntli-
letes to question their courage. II
you are big enough to get away with i
it is good strategy.
Two years ago Yale had crew that
was almost the joke of the east. Every
one took a turn in leaving the Blue
boat lengths behind and II ;ooked like
Harvard could leave three men out
of the Crimson shell and win in their
annual classic.
Guy Nickalls, the British coach OF
Yale, resigned and made the rather
sensational charges publicly that the
crew was yellow and that he couldn't
get results from weaklings.
E Another coach came and in two
weeks such a transformation came
that the Yale eight went on the
Thomas River, rowed the very heart
out of Harvard and won the race.
In one of the games of the 1921
worlds series, Smith, hard-boiled
young catcher Of the Giants, was be-
hind the plate when Bob Meusel, the
Yank outfelder came to the bat.
go on back to the bench. You're
yellow. You won't get around if you
do get on" Smith said, following RUE
4 of the catching code on getting a
batter's goat.
Words followed and Meusel poked
out a single. He got around to third
where Mike McNally was coaching.
go down and tell Smith I'm conf
ing in on the next pitch