Evening star., 1948-10-26
Skins Farmer Star in Attack
After Long Term on Defense
By Lewis r. Atchison

IeUIse MdlSIldll WAS CIllTplnS
like the canary who had given the
cat bad case of indigestion. After
all, he had said the Redskins were
better than the Green Bay Pack
ers-said it right after the Tribe
was shellacked 45-0 by the same
Packers at Birmingham-and Sun
days game bore him out.
But that Tom Farmer" he said
with mock severity. That Farmer
missed Packer pass in his terri
tory"
Il didn't want to look too good on
defense" explained the blond half
back. L didn't want the coaches to
PIT me back on defense"
Farmer wasn't joking. Three years
he's waited patiently for a chance
to run the ball. One with the Los
Angeles Rams and two with the
Tribe since being traded for Steve
Bagarus at the end of the 1916
campaign, but no dice.
Il don't know how I got to be
defensive back exclusively" he told
us. In 1916 had a real good day
against the Packers at Green Bay,
but in Los Angeles the following
Sunday spent the entire afternoon
on the bench. I don't know why,
unless Adam Walsh Ram coach)
wanted to give the local boys
chance before the home town fans"
Tom was jack-of- all l-trades. He
could throw pass. Not as well as
Sammy Baugh, perhaps, but good
enough to be threat He could
punt. Not as well as Dick Poil,on,
but good enough to boot the team
out of tight scot. He could handle
the ball smartly enough in the T.
formation to take over if Baugh or
Tom Mont needed a breathing spell.
But Coach Turk Edwards didn't
have another man VINO could play
defensive right half as well as Far
mer, and that was his undoing.
Some of the good brethren thought
@. p. had drawn blank when he
swapped Steve Bagarus for Farmer
and Ralph Ruthstrom. Ruthstrom
quit in huff and Farmer seemed
to be only a $3.50 player. But Mar
shall figured he'd practically stolen
a star from Danny Reeves, but
couldn't prove it until Tom got a
shot at ball-carrying role.
I'VE knew he was a good runner"
Edwards agreed. Tom knows how
to pick his holes and drive for that
extra yard, but we were hard I'd
for defensive backs and needed him
mcre fer that $50. l,oW, with this
ncv system of PLAYING EN- both
ways, We can let him carry the ball
more than vas possible before"
Farmer turned down an assistant
coaching berth at Iowa to return
to the Tribe this year, but with the
understanding he would have more
active role on offense. For a while
it was the same old story, then came
the change in strategy. Now that
Toms got his chance he'll be more
difficult to bulge than a contrary
housewife. He likes to run the
ball too well.
Farmer is the quiet type, but has
q keen sense Of humor and rates
ace-high with his teammates. The
week before the Giants game, one
team, with Farmer playing the role
OF New York's Charley Conerly,
was using Giants plays to familiarize
the Skins with Giants strategy.
Farmer cut the wrong way on a
certain play End Backfeld Coach
Wilbur Moore corrected him.
Sir" rc7l'ed Tom, you are ad-
dressing a $4,000 ball player"
He's worth lot more than that
to the Redskins at the moment.
EXTRA POINTS Although less
than $4,000 fans turned out for the
Packer-Redskin game, it was fnan-
cially profitable. The Packers
have 20,000-season ticket sale and
their price is $4.80 per seat. COM
pared to the $3.50 charged here.
The bruised and swollen Tribe line
men were astonished to read abou