Evening star., 1940-09-03
Last Year,
Capitol Hill School
Now Eyeing Crown
Few Veterans Are Back,
But New ToIent Out
Is Highly Rated
BY GEORGE HUBER.

BY GEORGE HUBER.
Back in 1887 Eastern won it's first
and only high school football title.
Otherwise for more than a third
of a century it mostly was either
Central of Tech in first place. These
two schools dominated the scholas-
tic gridiron wars, leaving Eastern,
Western and Business, now Roose-
welt, to pick up such crumbs as they
might in other sports.
Eastern did the best it could.
winning more basket ball titles in
recent years than any other school.
taking almost as many baseball
championships and occasionally
bobbing up with a good track team
to add spice
But 1887 was the only time the
win the crown most important to
high school students. The team had
been built by Coach Artie Boyd for
one great effort and the following
year it fell apart at the seams, VIM
ming only one game to finish in a
flfth-place tie.
Kelley Dean of Coaches.
Now the, Fasteners are sensing
another football championship. Last
year Coach Mike Kelley took over
again when Boyd was transferred
to Roosevelt, and not particularly
because of that change, but because
things just worked out that way
Eastern stepped up to second place
1t came within an ace of winning
the title. taking the eastern divi-
sion crown and losing to Western
by the margin of one touchdown in
the city playoffs.
Kelley. his bald spot growing and
about 10 pounds heavier after a
summer of toughening in the New
Hampshire woods. again will be at /,
the helm. This will be his twenty |
first year in the public high school |
system and his sixteenth as a foot |
ball coach, making him the oldest in
point of service in the city. As
sisting him will be Phil Fox, for
mer Central High athlete. who for !
several years has been picking up
football coaching experience by
handling good sandlot teams around .
town.
Won at Central in 1925.
1t was in 1920 that Kelley coached .
his first football team at the old
Business High on Rhode Island ave-
nue. where they had no field. After |
four years there he transferred to .
Central, remaining through the
1927 season. Then he went over to
Eastern. where he has been coach |
ing ever since, except for five years .
as cadet instructor. during which .
time Boyd led the Fasteners.
In Is years Kelley-coaChed teams f.
have taken only one undisputed .
football crown. That was in 1925 at !
Central. In '27 his Central outfit .
was in a three-way tie at the top
with Tech and Eastern. Now. how |
ever, hopes are high for another |
victory for Kelley and Eastern.
Last years second-place team has
been shot in many places by gradu-
alton and the age limit, but fair
crop of experienced boys was to
turn out today for first practice, and !,
good outfit is in prospect. Among
the missing are II of last years let
ter men, leaving only four for this
season.
Good Nucleus for Team
Vance Vaniglio, all-high tackle last |
year. probably will be the most |
sorely missed. Most of Kelleys ends
are gone-Bob Custer, Bob Byers,
Wiggie Kidwell and Jim Dracos. /
Letter men in the line who have .
gone are Bob Kirk, Puddin Lovette .
and jim Petro, with the backfield .
robbed of Buddy Yocum, Ray 500,
Paul Cohill and Francis Hallama.
That might make another coach F.
gloomy, but the Eastern team still
has some of last years players and
bunch of good young talent re-
turning. Letter men who ONCE again
will sport the light blue and white
are Bob Pierre, tackle who was good
enough to make The Stars all-high
team in his sophomore year: Paul
De Megllo. center: Harry Burdow.
guard, and Eddie league, back. Moe
Schulman and Neal Craig are other
experienced backfeld men who will
be out this year. while in the line
there will be Paul Manillo. Fats .
Moore and Buddy Kent Others
were expected to arrive today when
practice officially opens
Kelley's main problem will be
finding four or five good ends. Kent
has shown some aptitude in that .
position and may be shifted there, .
leaving Moore as the starting center |
One break that favors Eastern in
the school series this season is its |
schedule, which, while not the |
easiest, is far from being a killer.
1t opens with Roosevelt on October |
4. takes on Central ina night game
on October II. Anacostia on No
vember l and Tech on November 8.
After that, if all goes well, comes |
the playoff game against the west
ern division winner on November %.