Evening star., 1936-06-15

IN
nj Heffelfinger has returned to
VI his home in Minneapolis after
4 a fortnight spent in New York,
New, Haven and other haunts Of his
youth.
Those haunts, by the way, have
changed more than Heff has. He. in
fact, has changed hardly at all from
the days when he was all-America
guard, 1889-90-9l. when he estab-
lished a reputation for strength, mo-
bility and drive which has endured
through all subsequent years and
which today defines him in the pub
lie mind as the greatest lineman,
ancient or modern, who ever played
foot ball.
Any Yale man who saw Heffelfinger
in his undergraduate days Al years
ago and had not seen him again, say.
until yesterday would have recog-
nized him instantly. His full head
Of hair is but little tinged by gray, his
waistline is S or 6 inches less around
than his chest and he walks with a
full, swinging stride.
Unlike Most Old Ones.
7 ISUALLY any foregathering OF old
gridiron warriors Is nothing less
than pathetic Their day long past,
they live on memories. Current gen.
erations of foot ballers and foot ball
followers do not know even the names
of most Of them. A name such as
that of Heffeltinger's is. of course. ia
miliar, but nine out OF ten foot ball
men at Yale would not in all prob
ability know his first name. or whether
he played right or left guard. or center
or tackle, or the years in which he
played.
In fact, these old timers. with their
quavering tales of the robustious days
of their youth, their efforts to pull in
waists of balloon rotundity and to ex-
pand sunken chests yield an impress
sion so melancholy that this sensitive
writer is inclined to avoid them when
it is possibly decent to do 50.
A striking exception to a picture
usually dispiriting was the group
which sat at table at a good-by dinner
to Pudge at a midtown hotel. There
was Frank Smith, Brown, a veritable
Woolworth tower of a man, who gave
Heff one of his most memorable bat
ties back in 1890. Franks mop Of
white hair is the only suggestion he
gives of advancing years.
Some Exceptions TO Rule.
RRUTE PONTIUS of Michigan
might still be an undergrad.
physically speaking, and Bill Lang
ford, secretary of the Rules Commit
tee. who as a Trinity back played
! against the mighty Fudge. has all
| the outline and resiliency of youth.
( Then there was Herman Suter Of
! Princeton, whom Heffelfinger could
put into his vest pocket. A mighty
atom indeed was Herman back in the
late nineties, and he weighs less now
than he did in college.
| The greatest lineman I ever en-
countered?" Pudge's brow wrinkled
thoughtfully. Hector Cowan. I
should say. Cowan of Princeton. I
knew all the best linemen Of my day
and every day since; I know all the
present Minnesota linemen. Cowan
| could make Bierman's present eleven
we're he still young. and any other
eleven that ever played foot ball.
Did guards use to pull out Of the
line in your day at Yale, Heff?"
Guards i'm Interference.
II DID. Don't get old foot ball
wrong. On all the good teams of
the early nineties the guard came
out into the interference" tHef ne
elected to say that they all did after
ne devised the scheme and showed
how to do it,
interference? OF course, We had
interference. If We did not get four
or five men ahead of the ball at Yale
We felt We were not playing foot ball.
There is q lot of trash written and
| talked about the difference between
new and old foot ball. Basically. in
fundamentals Of attack and defense,
there is not so much difference"
What did you do when an oppos-
ing guard pulled out of his position?"
Il followed him through. And !
| could do it today, too"
And no one seated with him had
any doubt about that.