The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-10-31
TODAY'S
 SPORT PARADE
BY HENRY McLEMORE United Press Staff Correspondent

Chicago, Oct. 31 = CU.P.) This would have been a much better story if I hadn't run across Lynn Waldorf, Northwestern football coach, while on the way to see Billy Decorrevont.
 I was all set an dprimed to pull out all the Horatio Alger stops on Billy. First was going to des- cribe what a flop he was as a soph- omore player, after getting the big gest build-up as high school boy and freshman in the history of football. You were going to get, and in full detail, how he couldn't do anything right last year, how his press notices begged him down, and how he appeared to be just an or dinary halfback.
 Then planned to paint the spir- it of a boy who, refusing to quit, swam gamely upstream to become one of the standout players in the big ten. That's what Decorrevont is today. He is the hottest thing in the conference with the possible excep- tion of Tommy Harmon, and has been largely responsible for North westerns undefeated record. He has put behind hin1-I planned to say - all the bitter memories of his failure of year ago, all the heart-aches of having been unable to live up to his publicity, and fought his way to the heights.
 Then I ran into Waldorf, the big, quiet, numbering fellow who coaches Billy.
 "The kids making whale of a showing after that bust of 1889, isn't he?" I said.
 That's what?" Waldorf asked.
 I repeated.
 Successful Flop
 "Who said Bill was a bust as a sopohomer?" Waldorf wanted to know. "Lissen if that boy was a flop I'd like to have a few more Hops around. Let me tell you what he meant to us last season. The first thing he did was to save the Notre Dame game, not once but twice. He nailed Hargraves when he was loose for a touchdown, and later he took care of two blockers in front of a loose runner to have another score. He was a fair de- fensive fellow on passes, too. There wasn't pass completed in his ter ritory all season. And his kicking was instrumental in our winning the Illinois anw Wisconsin games. He was fair passer himself, com- pleting A per cent of his tries. The only thing he wasn't absolutely tops in was running with the ball, yet it was his 61yard dash that beat Min nesota. Yes, he may have been a flop, but you figure out how"
 So far this year Decorrevont has been the Standout back on the club. He has carried the ball AT times for gain of 213 yards and an aver age of AZ yards. He got two touch downs against Syracuse, tallied the touchdown that licked Ohio State 6 to 3 and ran 50 yards against Wisconsin for touchdown. Now he's laid up from an ankle injury received in the Wisconsin game. found him stretched out on a rub ping table getting the treatment from the trainer.
 There isn't nicer boy in foot ball. Good looking, smart, modest and yet sure of himself, he told me he thought he was a better player this yea rthan last.
 That publicity I got was a little tough. It would have been tough on anyone. I tried not to pay any at- tention to 1t, but I couldn't help it. Billy said. After all. @ sophomore's sopohomre. You learn things as you go along. and now I've decided just to say as little as I have to play the best I can, and get all the fun there is out Of football. love to play It. I'd rather play It than dc anything else in the world"
 He Is, as Waldorf told me, "a boy Of solid character"
 1 still wish he had Topped last year, though, SO 1 could have gone to town on the rags to riches theme.