Evening star., 1939-12-09
Kinnick, Iowa, Held
Great !!nspirationaI
Leader Of Team
Juniors Dominate Group
To Which South Gives
Four Star Players
By DILLON GRAHAM,

BY DILLON GRAHAM,
Sports Editor, A. P. Feature Service.
NEW YORK, Dec. 9.-There's a
gridiron adage which says college
players hit their competitive peak
in their junior year. They no
longer make the errors Of sopho-
mores and they have more spirit
and drive than seniors.
This football axiom was borne out
fully during the past thrill-packed
season for six players on the 18th
annual Associated Press All America
team, announced today on a basis
of nationwide survey Of expert
opinion, are juniors. The other five
are seniors.
In no other year, since the As
sociated Press began its all-star
selections in 1925, have juniors
ousted the more experienced seniors
for plurality of All-America berths.
Harmon Outstanding Junior.
Perhaps the most spectacular Of
the juniors who emerged to chal-
lenge and overtake their upper
class rivals was Michigan's Thom-
as Dudley Harmon, who put on
the most eye-fllling one-man show
the Middle West had seen since
Harold (Re6 Grange ran wild back
in the 2Os.
Another was the 210-pound full
back. John Alex Kimbrough, who
cracked opposing forward walls
wide open to lead the Texas Aggies
to their most fruitful season in
many years. Four stalwart linemen
complete the junior group: North
Carolina's Paul Vincent SEVERN at
end: Tulane's Harley Ray McCollum
and Cornells Nicholas Drahos at
the tackles, and Tennessee's Edward
Michael Molinski at guard.
Five Seniors Sparkle.
The five seniors who closed out
their intercollegiate careers by
gaining the accolade were 1owa's
sturdy iron man" back, Nile
Clarke Kinnick; Clemson's triple
threat, James Banks McFadden;
Southern CALIFORNIA; Harry Bur-
dette Smith at guard; Santa Clara's
John George Schiechl at center and
Notre Danes William Howard
(Bud) Kerr at end
The Old South, with probably
the greatest collection of football
talent it ever has produced, gar
nered more first team posts than
any other sector, four.
Three spots went to the Middle
West. two to the Far West, and one
each to the East and Southwest.
Great Backfield Combine.
The quartet of backs chosen pos
sessed every requisite. They were
tops for running, passing, kicking,
blocking and defensive play. Fur
thermore, they had speed and power,
and, even more important, brains.
Because Of his long downf1eld
runs, which caused many gridiron
followers to compare him favor
ably with Illinois famous "Gallop-
ing Ghost" Of a decade and q half
ago, Tom Harmon probably was the
most spectacular back of the year.
Not only did the 1o5-pound Gary,
Indiana. youngster run and pass
his rivals dizzy but he booted IS
extra points during the year and
kicked one field goal for good
measure.
Kinnick Is "Solid" Back.
The solid" man of the campaign
and likely the most inspirational
leader was Nile Kinnick, who keyed
his Iowa iron men" to such q
fighting pitch that they played their
hearts out every Saturday as the
Hawkeyes became the Big Tens big
gest sensation in many semesters.
Perhaps the best combination
punter-passer in college ranks,
Kinnick was scoring threat every
time he handled the pigskin.
McFadden, 6-foot-3 Clemson half
back, an exceptionally talented
passer and runner, stood out even
more as long distance, accurate
punter. Particularly adept at quick
kicking, McFadden repeatedly drove
rival teams to the ropes with sur
prise boots.
Kimbrough Fast, Strong.
,Kimbrough was so fast that he
was used on sweeps in addition to
the traditional plunging duties of
fullback. He apparently had no
weaknesses. A terrific blocker and
a Standout defensive ace on the
strong Texas Aggies team, KIM
brough was possibly the most pow
erful back in the country.
SEVERN and Kerr drew their end
nominations only by the slightest
of margins. They have all the re-
quisites.
The guards come from two of
the Nations best power teams,
Tennessee and Southern California.
Molinski of Tennessee, 1877
FOUNDER of Polish extraction, caught
the eye of Southern observers with
his alert and effective play. The
Trojans' Harry (Blackjack) Smith
was a standout on the coast.
McCollum South's Best.
Some observers ranked McCollum
as the best tackle in Southern his
tory, an effective giant on the
offense and defense.
Drahos, the only carryover vet
eran in Cornells strong young line,
was an aggressive worker all the
way.
The Far West contributed the
center in 220-pound Schiechl Of
Santa Clara, whose defensive ability
and strong downt1eld blocking may
be traced to his high school expert
ence as fullback. Schiechl played
in every game during his three-year
varsity career and finished with q
record Of never having made a bad