Evening star., 1956-08-31
WIN, LOSE OR
6NAV By FRANCIS sTANN
When Liqhthorse Harry Rode

IN THE EARLY DAYS of broadcasting football games
there few called out that excited generation
more than Lighthouse Harry" Wilson of Army the same Col
Harry Wilson who retired today at the Mitchell Air Force
Base The pioneer radio reporters of the meTed HuSng
and Graham MacNamee-rolled the of Lighthouse
Harry off their tongues and often not in connection
with successful West Point maneuver.
To this day there still question in the minds of old
Army men as to the greatest of all Cadet backelds Until
Glenn Davis, Doc Blanchard, Tom McWniams and Arnold
Tucker along during the years problem
The all time Army best had to be the backed of 1926
Lighthouse Harry Chris eagle, Chick Harding and John
Murrell
Just Ed Deehanty the batting championship of
both the National and American Leagues in baseball Light
horse Harry AAmerican for two schools First
State and then West Point And every time Wilson opposed
Navy regardless of the uniform he he spelled bad
for the Midshipmen. :
Altogether he played games against Navy was
the losing side only This 1922 when
State lost to the Mdde IA to defeat sandwiched be-
tween victories in 21 and %.
NAVY LOST THREE of the four years that Wilson was
Armys right halfback, although Annapolis gained
rabe 221 tie when probably beyond doubt the two finest
backeds in service game cashed in 1926 at Chi
cago For Army Wilson, eagle, Harding and Murrel
For Navy it was Tom Hamilton Allen Shapley Howard Cad
well and Whitley Lloyd
This a game that lives At Soldier Field Army made
the mistake of starting its team and Navy drove
14O lead Then Lighthouse Harry Co. swung into action
and there never service game quite like it, At the fin
ish 1t dark that observers differed how the classic
wound up The New York Times had Wilson missing last
minute goal the Z5-yard line. PuQge Henelnnger
contends that it eagle who tried the field goal.
Nobody could tell whether eagle had made good his
final field goal attempt-not the officials" Hefenger
wrote in his book, "ThiS Was Football" after such wild
struggle it seemed only fair to settle for 21-21 tie"
Fritz CrSer, whose word bears weight always
tended the Davis Blanchard Tucker McWiams backheld
was the best he So quoted has Red Bk
taciturn who coached them Maybe the Chicago
professional backeld of 1885, with Osmansk Luckman
Afee and Nothing SUPERIOR Blak said but I'd still
take my Cadet combination helped the Army back
field of 1926 They good but this bunch in 1946 had
more all-around ability"
WHEN WILSON WAS PERFORMING for Army in 1924
1927 the Cadets broke with Notre four games
The Irish hadn't lost to West Point since 1916
Cadets clobbered Notre Dame 270 which the worst de-
feat ever administered Knue Rockne- e-coached team
Notre Dame won in 26 by TO score, but Army bounced
back in Lighthouse Harrys final Che capain
won, 10 to o.
1t was glorious at West Point, with Wilson, Rosy
ODonnell Cage Harding, Murrell Tiny Hewitt shining
brightly. Actually neither Wilson nor eagle looked much
like athletes Before he became Cadet Lighthouse Harry
was stricken with inlammatory rheumatism after
shing his last at Penn State he spent
most of the winter of 1923-24 in bed recuperating
The i-starred eagle really WELL physically
although Navy Noe Dame and other opponents found this
difficult to believe
1T WAS SAID OF LIGHTHOUSE HARRY that he tipped
OF his signal Nore Dame claimed anyway in 1926 after
the Irish scouts had returned to South with that
Wilson "blusher"
When Harding calls his signal" they repeatedly told
Coach Rockne. Wilson bushes nervously This gives us
chance to bottle Murrell and on Gayle"
You can believe this tale you WISH his sixth sea-
son as varsity STAR and twice AAmercan Lighthouse
Harry was oushng because his signal was called? Please