Evening star., 1951-12-14
By Lewis F. Atchison

nOlOgy IN recent brochure, DICK
McCann had an item that may
have to be revised after Sundays
lfadeout against the Pittsburgh
Steelers. 1t read:
December 8, 1938-Best player
draft in Redskins history: Dick
Todd, Wilbur Moore, Dick Far
man. Clyde Shugart and Steve
Slivinski plucked from annual
grabbag at same time"
McCann's statement was cor
rect a couple of years ago. but
when he sits down to pound out
the 1852 booklet-the theme of
which probably will be, "we1l
come through in '52"-he may
have to make the line read ONE
of the best player drafts, etc,
because the Redskins rookie catch
this year certainly has been one
of the clubs finest.
Rockies Deserve Credit.
Around the league it was COM
mon talk that the club had picked
some f1rst-rate material, and rival
coaches were puzzled by the Red
skins failure to click. When the
attack did catch fire, it was the
rockies who applied the spark and
they'll deserve a lot of the credit
If the team beats the Steelers
for its sixth victory and a 500
average for the year.
The Redskins coaches honestly
believe Gene Brito. rookie end,
would have been an outstanding
candidate for rockies of -the-year
honors If he had been given a
pass-catching. offensive role at
the beginning of the year. Even
now, they rank him with the
best. although Halfback Jack
Christensen of the Detroit Lions,
End Bob Walston of the Philadel-
Iphia Eagles and Fullback John
Dottley of the Chicago Bears
have received much more at
tention in the way of press notices.
Brito set up Bill Dudley's win
ming field goal against the
Cardinals in Chicago last week
with scintillating catch of a
pass from Sammy Baugh, good
for % yeads. Another sparkling
catch paved the way for the first
touchdown against the Steelers
in Pittsburgh. and still another
pulled the Redskins out of a bad
hole in the first game against the
Eagles. which the Redskins won.
Penalty Nullified Catch.
Gene latched onto another
thrilling pass against the Bears
that would have put the ball
on the Chicagoans' four yard
line. only to have the play nulli-
fed by a penalty. Several of his
catches were made with couple
of defensive backs draped around
his neck.
Gene hasn't caught any touch
down passes and that's the only
thing that has kept him from get
ting the headlines" observed Line
Coach Orville Tuttle.
"But for an all-around end"
chimed in End Coach Larry Ca
brelli, "Ill match him against any
rookie in the league. He's got a
lot of drive-real good legpower.
I think he has more power than
any end on the squad and we've
got couple of pretty good boys
there"
All-Around Athlete.
| Brito snags passes like a base
ball player spearing line drives.
He's got more bounce per ounce
than any man the team has had
since the days of Steve Bagarus
and he's a deadly tackler. He
also plays rough.
/ Brito, who is 6-foot-1 and
weighs 210 pounds. was an all
around athlete at Loyola of Los
Angeles, but had to forego base
ball because of spring football
practice. He comes by his athletic
ability honestly enough, his father
having been a professional fighter
in his younger days. Brito served
three years in the paratroopers as
a staff sergeant. making combat
Jump on the Negros Island in the
Pacific.
i Gene holds a bachelor of arts
1 degree and his quiet, easy going
WAY and ready smile make him a
great favorite with youngsters.
During the off season he works as
Ia playground director in Los An
lgeles. The dark, handsome, 26-
llyear-old Brito is married to the
former June De Laura of Los
Angeles, his childhood sweetheart
i YOwarsky Has Makings.
i Walt Yowarsky at the other
end, was another outstanding
/ draftee whose only sin has been
happy-go-lucky attitude. When
he ex-Kentucky star decides to
20 after a back, he's assswift as a
thoroughbred and as deadly as a
cobra. When it's too much effort
le merely joins in the parade, and
i .ags along behind. But Cabrelli