Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-11-10

nous Iron Men" squad COM
posed of IA players. Even in those
days big colleges were experiment.
ing with shock troops and first
string teams and Crum's little band
caught the fancy of the Nation
after upsetting the Fordham Rams
Is to 0. BY this victory, marked
by the use of only IL G. w. players
the Colonials moved into the ranks
of ranking Eastern teams.
Even many of the younger foot
ball followers will remember some
of the Iron Men" Henry Clapp
was a crack forward pass, and Ivan
Stehman and Babe Clapper were
all-around backield stars. The line
which included Athey, Hartzog
Walker, Carey and Allshouse, not
only was rugged and logged, but
it had ability.
But the Catholic U. jinx, which
lowered over the Colonials, reared
its head and the Cards, underdogs
before the game, won another typi-
cal game, % to 81. The next year
injuries and graduation crippled
Crum's team and it won only one
game and lost seven.
PixIee Era.
1t was in 1929 that yet another
new era, the most spectacular of
all. started at G.. w. Possibly the
football history of the Colonials
could be divided into eras. There
were the teams of so years ago. There
was the justly famous and well re-
membered 1908 team which won
the South Atlantic championship
There were the Iron Men, And
into Washington in 1929 walked a
heavy-set, bespectacled man named
Jim Pixlee. This was the start
of the Pixlee era.
College football by this time had
come long way. 1t had become
a big business. Only professional
baseball, operating six months as
against two for football, was big
ger. People gladly paid s4.40 and
$3.50 for a single seat Huge stadia
were erected. Rare was the we'll
known college coach who did not
make more money than the college
president. Hypocrisy ran high
PROSECUTING was the common thing
but everybody went around and
pointed fingers at the fellow next
to him.
Lost to A. U.
There was no way of knowing
at the outset, what Pixlee intended
to accomplish, which was, briefly, to
give George Washington a first-class
football team. There was no way
of knowing because during Pixlee' S
first year. 1929, G. WIS fortunes fell
to new low. Little American Uni
versity was among the eight teams
to beat the Colonial that season
Not a victory was scored.
But behind the scenes Pixlee was
working. He was concentrating on
freshmen. His varsity was without
talent and he knew 1t. But his
freshmen, some of them transfer
students and most of them imported
from Missouri and Texas and other
far-of regions, had promise.
In 1880 the Colonials were on
the march. His sophomore team
only broke even, winning four. los
ing four and tying one, but one OF
the triumphs was over Catholic Uni
versity. The Cards promptly were
dropped after this game. Pixlee had
other things in mind. He was going
to bring intersectional football to
Washington. He was going to offer
gaudy guarantees and show the Ma
TONS Capital the best that football
had to offer.
Showmanship.
Pixlee was a little-known gradu-
ate of Missouri, who had coached
at little Westminster College, Full
ton, Mo-, before taking over the
reins at G. w. AS a coach there
have been many better, but as an
organizer and Snowman he was first
class. He hired gifted newspaper
man, Jack Espey, to beat the drums
He attired his team in spectacularly
shiny silk uniforms, red, white anc