Evening star., 1938-11-10
Looks as if Irish
Will Beat Figure
SET for Pros
470, 900 Estimated for
Paid Champs, 4S0, 900
For CoIIeeions
BY GRANTLAND RICE,
Special Correspondent Of The Star

! Dy UNhlN i LAND n1SL,
Special Correspondent Of The Star.
NEW YORK, Nov. 10.-My prac-
tically silent but flne-feathered
friend by the name of George Pres
ton Marshall, owner of the profess
sional Washington Redskins, tells
me his team will break all records
for football attendance this fall.
Mandarin Marshall admits that he
has the advantage in II games
against nine. He figures his at
! tendance mark for these IL pro
games will be around 470,OO0 souls
If Mr.. Marshall doesn't mind, I'D
like to do little checking on these
figures and subpoena Notre Dame
Notre Dame played to $4,000
against Kansas, $4,000 against
Georgia Tech, with many turned
away; 10000 against Illinois, 10000
against Carnegie Tech, 10000 against
Army and $1,000 against Navy. This
seems to total $4,000.
Now We'll move to South Bend and
Minnesota this week. The Notre
Dame capacity is $4,000 and that is
what 1t will be. This brings the
count to $4,000.
From South Bend we move to Ev-
anston and Northwestern, where
capacity is around $1,000. This
leaves us U'm cutting myself in) at
1896, 900.
Big Pickup on Coast.
From Evanston Notre Dame moves
along to the immense stadium at
Los Angeles, where I have seen a
collection of 100000 file in. South
'ern California drew $4,000 against
California. Unless something of a
definitely morbid nature happens to
Notre Dame and Southern Califor-
MIA In the November interim I be-
lleve this game, on December 3, will
draw at least $4,000, lifting the Notre
Dame total to 100000 through the
nine games.
The amazing thing is that pro
football has come along with such
a rush-Witfout taking ANYTHING
away from college crowds, which this
season must be cracking all past
records.
! Southern California may reach
100000, and if you add the Rose
Bowl there will be 5000 more. U.C
L. A. and Notre Dame, U. S. C.'s last
two opponents, won't draw many less
than 10000 between them.
Two, Three and Four Deep.
A rasping noise, somewhat between
snarl and a howl, has gone up
lately about small squads facing
teams that are two and three deep
What chance the cry goes out
mas the average team with IA or
10 pretty good men facing some of
these modern squads with 30, IS or
even 40 men? These big squads
don't win by greater skill, finer
courage or better football. They
win by superior battering power
the killing advantage of fresh troops
over those who can just about get
off the ground.
! This debate has been going on for
years. The fact is that most mod
ern schedules demand more reserves
and requirements than most teams
carry. Columbia, Yale, Harvard
Army, Princeton and many Others
haven't the manpower needed to
lace atough game week after week.
Even Pittsburgh wasn't equipped
this fall to handle her assignment,
A big squad is needed to keep too
many football players from being
battered up
It's Battle of Squads.
For some years I advocated a
varsity squad of % men to give all
an equal chance Two tired teams
can't do the damage that a fresh
team can impose on weary one. No
one can play modern schedule
without being two or three deep
The lure of big gate receipts has
been entirely too pronounced. II
isn't cheerful sight for II worn
tired players to turn and face sud-
oenly II fresh men trotting out to
meet them. But modern football
isn't team strength, it is squad
strength. 1t is the football resources
OF one university against the foot
ball resources of rival.
These things change from year to
year. Last fall Pittsburgh had the
strongest all-around squad on any
field-about 80 high-class men. This
fall Pittsburgh had only 13 or IA as
Notre Dame, T. c. u, Carnegie
Tech, Holy Cross and Southern Cali.
fornia took the lead in squad
strength. And these five teams have
lost only three games combined.
Cornell and Dartmouth.
Here we have a battle between two
rested teams, who also have squad
strength. Dartmouth had a walk
over last Saturday and Cornell had
complete rest The same is true
of Tennessee and Duke, the two
stronger Southern teams, facing
Vanderbilt and Syracuse. But there
has been no resting spot for Yale
and Princeton, who must shoot it
out with the best they have left.
(copyright. 1889