The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1945-11-08
BEHIND
HOME PLATE
BY DOUG STEWART

day night, but also for the swell
Job he is doing as Director of Recrea-
ton at Fairchild's.
Getting back to the banquet for
a moment, it really was grand
affair. With Bruce Lightner as M.
c., things moved along at fast clip
and everyone had a swell time. The
head table was alive with notableS,
but, unlike so many banquets,
speechmaking was definitely out,
and the more than three hundred
guests who sat down to a turkey
dinner with all the trimmings, in
stead of being bored stiff with long
speeches, were kept in excellent
humor all evening, with brief -
and l do mean brief - talks, cram
med full of humor, by many of the
notables present.
The high spot of course, was the
presentation of prizes to the champi-
ons in the many phases of sport
that are carried on by the Fairchild
employees, and, as each winner came
forward to receive his, or her,
trophy, they were greeted with
rounds of applause.
Stewart Paxton has so balanced
the athletic program at the Fair
child plant, that there is something
going on all the time and, as Mark
McCloskey, director of the Office
of Community War Services, New
York City, so aptly put it: ''There is
no fear about the future of America,
as long as it remains a country
whose citizens are lovers of sports
and play the game Clearly"
=
Although I've always been a
strong supporter of Navy football
teams (and still ann, I'm glad that
their game with the Fighting Irish
of Notre Dame ended just the way
it did - in a 6-6 tie The game
brought together two teams as even
ly matched as it was possible to
get. With Notre Dame stronger on
offense and Navy unbeatable on de
Tense in the pinches, the game might
very well have ended in a scoreless
tie, but for two breaks in the game.
Notre Danes tally came as the
result of play, originated, if my
memory serves me right, by Van
derbilt University, Nashville, Ten
nessee, in the days when ''Vandy''
was one of the leading football teams
of the South - forward pass on
the first play of the game after the
kickoff.
l saw Vanderbilt score two touch
downs on this play, within seconds
of the opening kickoff - l also saw
the "Vols" of the University of
Tennessee intercept a Vanderbilt
pass, on the same play and run for
a touchdown
While it is true that Notre Dame
did not Immediately score on their
completed pass, it put the ball deep
in Navy territory and although the
defense of the lads from Annapolis
stiffened and they stopped attack
after attack, they finally were beat
en- down temporarily and Notre
Dame scored
The Middies score came on a break
too. An attempted Notre Dame pass
was diverted from the intended re-
ceiver's hands and ficked into the
waiting arms of Scott, who, alert
to the opportunity, was 'off to the
races"
The better offense of the Fighting
Irish got going again in the last few
minutes of the game, but it was
stopped inches short of the goal
line, by one of the greatest exhibi
tons of defensive football ever seen
on any gridiron. And talking about
those few thrill-packed seconds, Tn
sure glad that the moving pictures
of the play proved conclusively that
Notre Dame didn't score that dis
puted second touchdown.
P. S. l see where the sports
writers poll has dropped Navy down
to fourth place, while keeping Notre
Dame in the second spot. Oh well!
it's the same old story - Navy was
lucky, ETC." Gee! I wish l could be
lucky" as Navy when 1 put my
little old two bucks on some nag
at the races.
P. P. S. I'll take Lucky" Navy
over Michigan
Take a gander at the-report OF
the Hagerstown High Washington
Lee football game, elsewhere on
this page, written for the Globe-In
dependent by Joe Snyder, a mem
Der of the Class of Journalism at
Hagerstown High School. That lad
is sure in the right class, for he's
got the makings of real sports