Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1940-11-14


Grantland Rice the leading average
'"The best team l ever had at
Dartmouth" Jess Hawley writes
me, twas practically all Phi Beta
Kappa. This 1924 team was quite
unusual. They were certainly not
noted for their man power, but they
went through the season unbeaten.
That year 1 could put a team on the
field, no man playing out Of position,
no man under a secOnd-string, and
every one a Phi Beta Kappa rating.
Scholarly Warriors
''The varsity team included in the
backfield, Dooley, Oberlander, Hall
and Leavitt; ends, Bjorkman, Kelly
and Sage; line, Whitaker, Hardy,
Deal, Parker and Smith. Any sane
coach wants a good type of student.
Any sane coach knows how much
intelligence counts for. Tramp ath-
letes are rarely helpful, especially in
hard games. 1 like hard, fast
running back and also good block
ers and rugged tacklers. But I'd
like to see them all Phi Beta Kap-
pas. Smartness also counts
Just as the letter from Jess Haw-
ley came in we stepped into the
quicksands of this football debate.
"Tell me this,'' writes H. L. F.
''Why shouldn't team composed of
Is Carnegie unit men be better
and smarter team than one COM
posed of many who can't pass four
Carnegie units. (The Carnegie unit
is a scholastic entrance rating.)
why shouldn't a team that de-
mands high scholarship standards
be better than one that doesn't both
er about that side of the college
fence? That's something I can't fig
ure out, if football is supposed to
demand brains as well as physical
speed or power"
Brains and Braun
In the first place, you'll find among
many of the leading teams today
such as Cornell, Michigan, Mime
sofa, Pennsylvania, Stanford, Wash
ington, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame
and others-that only good students
get by. don't mean Phi Beta Kap-
pas. I mean good, average grades.
But there is another side. 1t is
almost impossible for teams that
carry the higher entrance or class
room units to 60 in for the proselyt-
ing-pay combination. They can't get
the men in, and they can't keep
them in, either, if they happen to
slip by.
Teams that have lighter entrance
standards, easier classroom work,
can shoot at the field and get stars
others could never hope to get. I
could name you 20 men who tried
to get into certain colleges, couldn't
make the grade, and then came
back on rival teams to beat those
colleges.
Is that what you call "a fair field
and no favor?"
The main trouble in college foot
ball today is the scout pursuit and
the offers made to high school and
prep school stars. You might be
surprised to know how many of
these have told me of the offers they
were made, and I've discovered they
usually accepted the best offer
which is none too good for the kid.
You know that.
Here is another angle. The chief
trouble comes from the demand of
alumni for winning team, and
from the pressure put on coaches to
get winning team or get fired.
Not Universal
This is not universal. Also you
might remember that a big change
for the better is under way. Some
universities are developing brains.
Indiana gave Bo McMillin TO-
year contract, win, lose, draw or
anything else. Texas has given Dana
Bible 10-year contract and Matty
Bell has about the same arrange
ment at S. M. U. Bill Alexander of
Georgia Tech runs for life.
Who ever heard of Latin, Greek
or English prof hired on a one-year
contract? Make 'em Homers or Vir-
gils or Shelleys-0r get fired!
l recall the time that Georgia
alumni were demanding the scalp
of Harry Mehre in the middle of a
tough season. Mehre had led Geor-
gia to five consecutive victories over
Yale, better then than Yale would
rate today.
I was in the middle of that
morass. l know Nal Stevens, Lou
Little and other leading coaches rat
ed Mehre among the leaders. So
Georgia let him 60 to Mississippi,
then well down in the list. Check
on the comparative showings of
Georgia and Mississippi since Mehre
left Athens.