Evening star., 1938-11-19
Receiver frequently
Is Overlooked in
Dealing Laurel
HurIers Made to Look
Keen by Players Who
Snore Pieskin
BY GRANTLAND RICE,

Snore Pi9skIn
BY GRANTLAND RICE.
Special Correspondent Of The Star. -
NEW YORK, Nov. 19.-The crack
outf1elder of football is Don Hutson
Of the Green Bay Packers. I first
saw him against a great Stanford
team some years ago, and such
stars as Bobby Grayson and Bones
Hamilton were helpless against him.
Hutson may be q vital factor
tomorrow in the big pro game Of
the year between the Giants and
Packers at the Polo Grounds, a
game that may set a new pro at
tendance record. Hutson is a 10
second entry with pair OF grapnel
hands. If the Giants fall, this ex-
Alabama star Is sure to be one of
the reasons.
The Pass Receiver.
mot long ago." J. L. writes. you
had something to say about the
toward pass as the sharpest weapon
of modern football warfare-and
listed some of the great passers of
the day who carry a terrific threat
every minute they are on the field.
Swell! But did you ever hear there
had to be fellow on the other end
of the pass or it wouldn't be any
good?"
It's good point-and we'll taken
Too often the pass receiver is over
looked almost as widely as the
blocking back. The headlines
usually tell how Smiths brilliant
passing pulled the game out of the
fire for his team-but you have to
read pretty well down into the story
to find out that it was Jones who
caught Smiths passes and carried
the ball over the line for the touch
downs.
This isn't always so. of course
Sometimes it happens that the re-
ceiver has a stronger, more sharply
etched personality than the passer.
In that case, he gets the headlines,
as when Larry Kelley was playing
with Yale Kelley grabbing a pass
and going to town with it was the
story. You had to read a little
further to find out who threw the
pass.
He Takes Punishment.
But generally the receiver doesn't
get much attention-except from
the opposing players. He has to
find his way down the field and
know when to stop and turn to
take the ball and then go on from
there, outwitting and outmaneu-
vering the players who are trying to
beat him to the ball. OF course,
a passer frequently is roughed and
f1attened-the officials usually are
too busy watching the flight of the
ball to notice what happens to the
fellow who threw it-but in the
main the big hazards rest with the
fellow who is trying to catch it..
He's likely to take plenty of punish
ment.
There also is the matter of han
ding the ball. Some passers throw
a light ball, easy to catch and hold.
Others throw a ball that all but
tears the hands of the receiver.
Bullet passes are well named. I'm
less the receiver is quick and deft
and sets himself for them, they will
knock him down. The receivers
timing must be practically perfect.
too. He must be able to adjust It
to meet emergencies. A pass play
is timed to the dot in practice. But
in game. with the passer under
fire, lots of things can happen to
the perfectly timed play. The passer
can be harried. driven back, hurried
or delayed. But when he lets the
ball go, the receiver must be at the
appointed spot-or within a stride
of it.
Can Make the Passer.
The receiver, as a matter OF fact,
often makes the passer. The ac-
cepted measure Of a passer's eff
cheney is the number of completions
that the record shows at the end
OF game. This shows-but only
In part-how accurate he is. OBJ
viously it will avail him nothing, no
matter how accurate he Is, If the
fellow on the other end of the pass
doesn't hold the ball. A passer
may whip the ball right on the spot,
executing a perfect pass. But If 1t
bounces out of the receivers hands
or hits him on the head or the back
OF the neck-and I've seen that hap
pen-or If the receiver overruns the
ball or doesn't run far enough for
tit goes down in the book as an
incomplete pass.
The Lains, the O'Briens, the
Luckmans, the Sidat-Singhs, the
Baughs, the Danowskis and the rest
OF the outstanding passers all have
good receivers. They must have.
And, on the other hand, there must
be many kid around the country
who can pitch a football as we'll.
or almost as we'll, as they do. but
who doesn't click nearly as often
because he lacks a good receiver.
Benny Friedman, one of the great
passers Of all time. will tell you very
frankly that one of the main factors
In his success was that he had
Benny Oosterbaan on the receiving
end.
Rock Was an actor"
One of the first of the great pass
receivers was a fellow named Knute
Rockne. Gus Dorais. who threw the
passes that Rockne caught. was
talking not so long ago about Rocks
rare skill as receiver.
1T was more than sheer mechani-
cal SKILL" Gus said. Even at that
time, when the pass had not been
developed to a great extent and
many coaches heartily distrusted it,
there were pass receivers who could
run as fast as Rock and were just
as sure of catching the ball. But
there wasn't at that time-nor has