The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-11-02


 I It was a hit that packed 'em in. But 1t succeeded too we'll too soon, and the climax was catastrophe. The producer, Mir Meehan, with drew,--bnt he Is now forming an- other company on Q nearby hill top in the New York city.
 Here's a sample of the story of Meehan's adventure at N. Y. U., as summed up in Collier's:(
 New oYrk University decided to go into the football business back in 1924, and to that end drafted from Syracuse at $f0,000 Q year the young but wideawake coach, Chick Meehan.
 No Convenlenccs "Meehan, with big-college background, was somewhat aghast when he discovered that the N. Y. U. field was little more than q pub lie playground and that the players used, for q dresslng-room, q ram shackle barn. He knew he had no high caliber players and no ready made following. Yet two major league ball parks were not far away, 100000 people lived within an easy nickle's ride and the school had 30,000 students.
 "Armed with scholarships, guar anteeing board, room, tuition, books and jobs good for spending money, he toured high schools and prep schools, gathering in broad shouldered young men. He made himself a popular after-dlnncr speaker and meeting attender.
 From Broadway musical shows he borrowed the idea of spectqc- ular costuming and rhythmic for. nations. And from the show world, again, he borrowed the time-hon- ored practice of papering the house.
 He assembled his crowds sclen. tihcally, sometimes handing and mailing, even to persons unknown, as many as 5000 tickets to con- test.
 And when he got that crowd assembled, he never once forgot 1t. He played upon 1t, catered to 1t and experimented with 1t just as any other maestro In any other field of art. He moved upon the premise that the audience was there for show, that 1t wanted to be enter- tainedw, and that 1t would come back only if 1t was entertained. Un- like other coaches who think In terms of the score, the team or the safety of their jobs, he was thinking in terms of customers.
 Color To
 "Spangling his muscular myrmi. dons in eye-catching regalia and schooling them in formations that made the crowds gasp were only the primer parts of 1t.
 game show that was almost worth something like the concert that used to follow the fashioned circus, only this one was put on be- for the main performance.
 Another thing Meehan figured, and all other coaches disregard, is that the crowd--any crowd-likes to see an even contest, q hard, thrilling fight down to the final yard with interest keenly suspend ed to the ultimate minute.
 with that in mnid. he never let his team run away with q ball game. He never let 1t deliberately pile up q score. Any time It got two wo-touchdown lead, 1t forsook safe football and went in for the wild, the spectacular, the thrilling but seldom successful. In short, It played for the crowd and not for the score. It deliberately put on a show.
 "rhe system worked into tre- mendous financial proposition. N. Y. U. was netting something like $200, 900 a year for herself. Every thing was booming, even other col- lege sports. struck tragedy. The Carnegie Foundation, having completed It's review of college athletics, made public it's evidence. It publicly de- i nounced recruiting, proselytizing commercializatlon, overemphasis, and called names and cited in- stances In fearles sand, in some cases, unfair fashion. The founda- | ton cited N. '. U. as one of tive horrible examples of football fanat- icism. Five professors on the ath- | letic board of control began to shudder. The student organs be- | gan to ring with note of reform.
 "The professorial committee, jit- ering badly from the castigations of the Carnegie Foundation, called MT Meehan upon the Administer and harrumphed the meeting to order. They wanted him, they said, to continue as coach but they wanted him to coach their way.
 "'All right" said the Chicken, what you needs another coach"
 And thus closed the most spec atcular architectural chapter in the history of Amerian football-for almost a couple of months. Then it was quietly announced, with no particular fanfare, that Mir Meehan had agreed to devote his spare time to the athletic for tunes of another college in Upper Manhattan-this time small in- stitution known as Manhattan Col lege.
 Again a smart college band is in process of formation. Again the lit- tie brass cannon that used to boom N. Y. U. glory is barking when a flying Manhattan halfback crosses | the line. Again a smartly dressed team of footballers is doing the "Meehan Military Shift And again a big league ball park-this time Ebbets Field over in Brook ivn--fa hainp sciaufifipaiiv na naDered