Evening star., 1942-07-29
Condition, Discipline
Needed on Gridiron
Taught 10 Masses
Emphasis on Come Part
Of Plan Already Under
Way in Army, Navy
By GRANTLAND RICE,

Turning back the pages of, many
many calendars, your correspondent
still recalls the thrill that came
when the first breath OF early fall
came along and the dog days were
over. That meant football We
began practising around September
Is and the season came to an abrupt
fnish on Thanksgiving Day.
It's all different now. Football
already is at full swing in many
colleges and many camps. The
steamy summer air is rife with the
crash Of bodies, and if all the drip
ping perspiration could be parked in
one spot there would be an excellent
reproduction of Niagara Falls.
The major part of football now
belongs to war-today, tomorrow
and possibly many tomorrows.
Yale, for example, one of the most
conservative of all the universities,
has gone all out-not so much to
develop a single outstanding team,
but to have hundreds trained in the
matter of condition and discipline
that football demands. Certainly
no university is doing a finer job.
! also could mention Maryland and
many others who belong in this
class.
Look to Mass More Than Class.
These teams want and will work
for winners. But beyond that more
attention will be paid to mass than
to class.
Students who never thought of
football before now will be shown
the feeling OF hard body contact, of
increased speed, OF improved stami-
m, OF quicker reactions in competi-
ton. In the universities, the colleges
and the prep schools there will be at
least five, or possibly ten, football
players in training against one for
other seasons.
why" some one has asked,
shouldn't these men be in active
war service?"
The main answer is that the War
Department wants it this way.
First, because most of these men
also are taking war training. Sec
ond. because the War Department
wants its coming replacements and
reserves to be the best soldiers in
the world, trained and conditioned
tor what is to come later on.
Every university and college of any
standing In the country is doing its
best to comply with the demands or
requests that come from the top.
Naval Cadet Camps Busy.
Football already is under full
swing at the naval cadet camps To-
Gated at the Universities OF Georgia,
North Carolina. Iowa and st. Marys.
War" as the late Gen. Sherman
said, lis hell" But football in
Georgia and North Carolina through
August Is no part of q picnic.
No one yet knows Just how such |
coaches as Bernie Bierman and
Jimmy Crowley will be able to get
winning teams with squads that
come and go, with almost no stars
from the pros or from the colleges.
The odds are all against them. But
football Is big part Of their train
ing, and this happens to be the main
idea.
These four naval cadet camps have
over 10 games scheduled with the
stronger university teams, facing one
Of the roughest schedules OF the
year.
In the meanwhile, the pros and
the Army squad both are on their
way to camp, to many camps, for
the eight games scheduled this
month and through early Septem-
Der.
Big Job for Army Division
This Army division, under Bob
NeylAnd and Wallace Wade, will set
1T least one football record. 1t will
finish up its schedule by September
20. just about the spot when most of
the others are swinging into action.
Coaches Neyland and Wade have
the rush act" to handle. They
have the material-many OF the
great football players of recent
years-but the job Of whipping these
men into q football machine in q
short while is no simple job.
You can gamble that the Wash
ington Redskins, the New York
Giants. the Green Bay Packers, the
Brooklyn Dodgers and others will be
something to shove around despite
the fact they have lost close to a
hundred star men to the services.
Messrs. Steve Owen, Curly Lambeau,
George Halas and others still have
enough good material left to keep
any team busy, no matter how many
stars may be working against them.
They also are out to win.
And these games will play a big
IA ri for rrax, roliaf r,l,nu aro :.