Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-09-21
WIN, LOSE OR
DNAV By FRANCIS STANN
A Gentleman Named Lou

NEW YORK, SEPT 21-There will be pretty good
football coach at liberty they say, come December g.
That's when Lou Little of Columbia celebrates his 65th
birthday Celebrates and gets retired The only thing wrong
with the picture is that doesn't want to retire. Old
folks it is said, get that way.
Over the last 27 years there have been two ways to
look Lou Little born Luigi Pccolo One school of thought
felt the mans great talent wasted at Columbia per-
hapS the gheaded of all the Ives Another school,
whose students often coach in the Ulcer Leagues
thought Lou had snap.
He makes $1,000 maybe $2O6OO" one of these coaches
rallied land he doesn't have to In fact nobody expects
him to win"
1.-The year he stopped Army at 80 wins in a row Q94D
Coumba bgwgs hardly paid any attention to LOUIS 212O
victory one coach pointed out obviously A they Dragged
about that Columbas players unked only four OF
about $40 academic subjects that season"
Yet those who knew Lou Little, whether as coach at
Georgetown in the distant past or at Columbia realize that
the old tackle died little each week his Lions
far brainer than brawny, took their lickngs
A POPULAR CONCEPTION of Lou Little has been that
of benign profesSoriaype who proper glasses
above his sharply hooked spoke softly and built
character Those who held this belief not who
walked the SdelineS when Little was drilling his players
When he was coaching at Georgetown it a
voice that Little owned After finishing at Penn Q9161919
Lou played tackle for the old professional Philadelphia
Quakes and Frankfort Yellow Jackets Therefore he knew
all the fighting words and used them too AT Georgetown
where a coach expected to win, he did
Lou has speaking hoarsey-terally croaking-for
years The real because back in 1912 he
more than 10 per cent of his old voice.
He coaches with the vehemence of young enough
to be his On the day the story of his retirement broke
Lou up in Connecticut showing his neman how to pull
out and block OF late years he hasn't actually scrmmaged
but when 38 he emerged from Columbia scrmmage
with broken transverse process of cerebral vertebra
LOU LITTLE COULD HAVE fallen back on the I'M
deniabe truth that Columbia young talented
in football much than the time of the day He
did Walking into the Lions dressing room after tough
afto o0cf Nov ctartlin To
LOUIS players in the For football players they were
invariably underweght and young like high school kids
They embryo doctors and engineers outclassed
the field yet Little made the mistake of treating them
anything except football players Few really but
when Lou lucky and found passel of good oneshe
knew how to win.
In 1888 Princeton smacked down Columbia, 2O-O but
LtteS Lions the other seven games the schedule
and invited to the Rose Bowl to play Stanford Nobody
could much chance for the Fasteners Columbia had
IL good players but no depth.
What the experts forgot that Columbia had II good
players plus Lou Little That the Rose Bowl in
which Lou introduced his famous KF79 play In the
quarter if you remember Cliff Montgomery took the snap
from center followed with bit of hocuspocus and the
end result that Steve Barabas skipped down the side
lines for 10 yards and the only touchdown of the game
Columbia upsetng Stanford, TO
ASIDE FROM THAT SEASON Little had few units tc
complement his genius Individuals yes He developed the
likes of Sid Luckman and Paul Governa and
but he had squad that coach might find Notre
Once historians relate Little worriedy conded with
Ralph Furey director of athletics at Columbia Lou
cerned about taking big money for football coach and
losing many games.
Don't worry Furey assured Lou "If it question
of Winning losing, you'd have been gone long time ago
Lou never complacent about losing he APP
peared ouwardy once he tempted to leave Columbia
when the pro New York Yankees offered him $4,000
plus percentage of profits Once Branch Hickey when he
trying to get out from under general of the
football Dodgers said to have proffered nameyour
own-salary contract to Little.
YALE NEARLY UNHINGED Little in 1947 with an offel
which Lou considered highly hatterng" might have
accepted but brought to bear him. Ton
Dewey for talked Lou into staying at Columbia
there Coumbia's president fellow named Essen
hover who poured the words of advice into Le
So Lou stayed and hopelessly, he annually
his troops and did the best he could Once great while
Columbia would spring upset Mostly the Lions got the
pinned back
One of the good anecdotes concerning Little is credited
TO assistant trainer, who upset by New YorE
writer's criticism. In effect the writer suggested that Little
punished his boys in practice sessions whereas Lou
to bandly accept defeat Saturdays.
You got Lou all wrong!' the trainer shreked Ain
much Coach do about it, guess but that Lot
wants to win even if its only tin at crack"