Evening star., 1942-12-05
Navy's Schools Make
Fine Record on Grid
Despite Handicaps
Come Is Only SideIine
To Men Already Worn
By Physical Routine
BY GRANTLAND RICE,

Some one should go out into the
deep-tangled wildwood and gather a
lew extra clusters of wild laurel for
these Navy Pre-Flight teams, or
Navy teams in general.
Under the direction of Comdr.
Tom Hamilton they have turned in
one of he great morale and training
jobs of the war.
Contrary to general opinion, these
Navy teams have drawn no out
side breaks. Football has been add
ed to their daily routine, the rough
est training schedule I've ever seen
In sport. 1t Is a man-making, bat
tering collision that starts at day
break and ends with darkness.
In addition to football it has
meant boxing, wrestling, jiujitsu,
country running, barricade
climbing, swimming under water
and every detail needed to make
fighting men.
When these men finish this course
they are ready for the toughest
sector war has to offer.
At their best these Navy teams
could have beaten any college team
in the country with something to
spare. But they were up against
two killing handicaps-the weari-
ness from overwork and the loss of
stars from week to week who were
sent into war action.
Midwest Teams Earn Laurels.
For example, Bernie Bierman,
coaching the Iowa Pre-Flight squad,
lost five men in one week-five of
his best.
The same thing has happened to
most of the others, who had to face
a physical schedule no college team
ever approached-or few could meet.
In scattering these laurel blossoms
I believe the largest sprigs should go
to the Midwest-Michigan, Mime
sofa, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Ohio
State, Iowa and others who made
this tough Navy schedule possible.
I also can add Harvard, Pennsyl-
vania, Fordham, l.. S. u, Alabama,
Boston College, Missouri and other
additions from the South and the
Far West-especially Missouri.
But the Midwest, mainly the Big
Ten, came through with the top job.
The Big Ten had killing schedules to
face-by all odds the hardest in the
country. They had no breathers-
no recess bell-no oasis in the desert
of live or die.
nxyo r,ln ia11
igan. Michigan had to meet Mich
igan State, Northwestern, Mime
sofa, Illinois, Harvard, Notre Dame,
Ohio State and Iowa. Yet Michigan
added Great Lakes and Iowa Navy
at its peak to this list. The same
was true of Northwestern and Wis
consin, among others.
More Tough Tests Today.
Missouri's team was almost wrecked
by Great Lakes and yet 1t still meets
Iowa Navy today.
Notre Dame. after smashing Iowa
Navy on an off day, still faces the
big game of the day against Great
Lakes, one of the best of the Navy
lot.
Notre Dame. facing terrific
schedule, still added two of the best
Navy training teams to it's schedule.
Another armful of wild laurel blooms
for South Bend.
1t was only natural that these
Navy training teams should have
their sudden form reversals.
For example, L. S. U. beat the
Georgia Pre-FQight team, "a to o.
Yet the Georgia Pre-Flight team l
saw against Pennsylvania was at
least two touchdowns better than
L. S. u. at its peak.
Notre Dame beat the Iowa Navy
team, % to 0. But the Iowa team
that crushed Michigan was far
above the best team Notre Dame had
to offer. Veteran football writer's
from the Midwest wrote me that the
Bernie Bierman Iowa Navy team
that ran over Michigan was the best
team in the country, barring only
the Chicago Bears.
AS it was, these Navy training
teams beat such opponents as Mich
igan, Alabama, Auburn, Minnesota,
Duke, Pennsylvania, Harvard, Iowa,
Marquette and many others rated
we'll up the list.
Faced Great Handicaps.
Don't forget that these Navy
training teams were up against two
wrecking handicaps-changing per-
sonnel and a physical grind no COL
lege team could meet-and still won
half their games.
The main idea was to train these
re-Flight and other Navy teams for
the toughest part of war-as rough
as any Commando ever faced.
Any one who knows anything
about football knows the Importance
of physical sharpness-of mental at
titude on the day of the game. This
was shown in Holy Cross against
Boston College-in Auburn against
Georgia-in Navy against Army-in
Georgia against Georgia Tech.
These Navy training teams had to
meet all these handicapsxsnd, in
my opinion, they gave us the finest
Job of this waning season.
(Relessed by North American Newspape