Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1930-12-11

(Copyrlght. 1929. By DICK Hylandl
THAT fifteen per cent was n rea-
sol Doc Foster had decided to
build Flash Hammond into a draw
ing card who would bring thousands
into the stadium to see him play. Doc
knew what the public wanted and what
they did not want. They did not want
perfect football. They wanted q star
and, above all, a flashy one. who broke
INTO the open for long, thrilling runs.
One who ran kickoffs back to touch
downs, who shot off tackle and swerved
by safety men, who nailed passes on
the dead run thirty yards down the
field.
After he had seen Flash Hammond
move about the field for two days he
knew that he had his star. There
was q dramatic quality about every
thing the boy did. And he knew. too,
that in Ted Desmond he had the means
to make his star shine. Good ball
carriers are many, but interference
runners, such as Ted Desmond turned
out TO be, came along but once in a
decade. When they do there is gen.
orally an all-American on their team
who is not the interference runner.
With infinite pains Doc Foster built
a system of plays around Flash's dane
ing speed and Desmond's unequaled
ability; plays which were perfectly safe
for the erratic Flash because Desmond
was doing all the york. Over night
Stanford had gained the reputation of
being a lone man" team. Flash Ham
mond was the man. The only times
he did not carry the ball was when
he was too tired from prancing down
the field at a l0.4 pace to call his
own signal.
What most of the grand stand
coaches and reporters overlooked was
the fact that every time Hammond car
ried the ball Desmond was just in front
Of him. They also failed to note that
whenever Flash was taken out of a
game, Ted followed him a play or SO
later; and they could have told when
Hammond was going to be put back
into the game by noticing when Des-
mond reentered, which was almost al
ways two plays before the advent of the
idol OF the stands. This juggling be-
cause a tired Desmond would have
done a fresh Hammond little good.
II Stanford was a n man team,
Doc Foster knew that Desmond was the
man, because any good ball packer
could have made yards through the
holes Desmond opened up. But Doc
pointed this out to no one-for the
simple reason that few people would
pay coin of the realm to see good in
reference running. 1t would have been
silly for him to have detracted from
Hammond's grandstanding character
istics which were SO thrilling to spec
tators.
This was why his conscience was a
little troubled after the last Big Game
in which his Incompatible combination
would play together and he realized
how little credit Desmond had been
given.
So he spoke the words which, being
remembered, took the burn out of Ted's
bitterness and caused him to get some
what gingerly out of bed and into his
clothes. In fact, while he dressed, he
decided to forget all about that angle
OF the thing, forget any soreness, physi-
cal or mental, and only remember what
fun it had been to play football.
He thought he had done it, too. But
when he got downstairs to the Bull
room, on his way to keep his Sunday
afternoon date with Doris, he found
that he had not. Several of the
brothers were slouched down on chairs
and sofas in positions which indicated
that not much ambition had been left
over from the night before. They were
talking about Flash Hammond. Ted
stood at the door and listened.
That birds just about hit the peak
said Tony Lindsay, shaking his head
Il guess he's had more publicity thar
any mar who ever played football. But
then, he's got it coming to him. Was
that a game he played yesterday"
HE certainly vas taking it big last
night" said Joyce Aldahl. Had
Jane with him from Burlingame. She
had on more diamonds than you car
see in a Paris jewelers. window. Wher
he came into the Mark Hopkins you'C
have thought the prince Of Wales hae
dropped in for a visit. I don't know
whether the mayor and the governor
were there to greet him, but a superior
court judge had an argument with the
president Of the Pacific Western bank
over whose table the prince would
honor with his presence"
"Yeh, I saw him. And he'll prob.
ably fall into some dough, too. PICK
himself an heiress who just dotes or
football players, or cash in on his pub
licity."
"Oh, l don't know" said a bespec.
tacled brother in the corner He
dumber than a gopher"
He'll cash in on his reputation
some way" repeated the other. "Yol
watch"
AS he walked up the row to Doris
sorority house, Ted Desmond's minc
was turning over that new phase witt
something like anger. Outside of foot
ball he thought with a steady slowness
and somehow he couldn't get this quite
Strengthened out. He wanted Flash t.
get a break. He did not envy him
But, in a way, it seemed SO damned