Milford chronicle., 1961-11-17
Benched Football
Wives Not Kicking
BY JOY MILLER
AP WOmen's Editor

AP W0men's Editor
Mrs. Estelle Olivar remarked the
other day:
"a long time ago / decided thai
as long as / was the wife of {
football coach, l would make the
best of it. The result has been Z
happy experience.
In her philosophical acceptance
of the demands of her husbands
career, the wife of Yale's Jordan
Olivar is typical of so-called foot
ball widows across the country.
They Wouldn't Change 1t
Some coaches wives are roaring
fans of the sport; others are re.
signed. Practically none feels sOr.
ry for herself.
Mrs. Dorothy Arlanson, wife OF
the Tufts College coach, says thai
once in while she'd like her hus.
band Harry to be in another pro-
fessiOn, what with the meals at
and the topsy-turvy world some
times. But l know that football is
his life and I know we'd all miss
it terribly"
California's Mary Levy is sc
busy he's a complete loss when il
comes to helping around the house
But Doro othy Levy says she
wouldn't want him to change jobs
'for anything in the world"
These are the unsung heroines
of the campus, the women who
spend a good three months of every
year cheerfully fitting their lives
| to the whims of an inflated oval
ball
What 1t Means
Here's what the brisk, colOrful
days of autumn mean to a foot
ball coach's wife:
Eating dinner late when he's in
town, eating it alone when he's
not
Planning for after-game enter
tanning at home and wondering If
| it will be a celebration or a wake
Attending games in a mood en-
thusiastic but calmly assured, try
ing to remember not to chew her
nails or worry about whether he'll
be borne home in triumph or
burned in effigy.
Trying to bolster his morale af-
ter a defeat or to keep him on the
ground after a victory, without
seeming the all-wise wife.
Keeping the youngsters fr o m
asking Daddy why he doesn't want
to play with them, since it's Sat
urday night and the games
Doesn't Travel With Him
81 wouldn't have it any other
way" says Mrs. Jack Mitchell
willowy blonde wife of the Univer-
sity of Kansas head coach. I'm
the one who told him to coach.
We both love it.
The mother of two sons, and
IL, Jeanne Mitchell never feels
neglected during the football sea-
son. I'm fact" she says, 'I see
more of him during the football
season than / do most of the year
In the off season there are too
many meetings and other things
related to football that keep him
on the road"
Jeanne adds:
"Jack gets a bit edgy at times
during the football season, but
really he's pretty good. If the
family needs anything he drops
everything. OF course none of the
family dares get sick during the
season. Football comes first with
me too, then"
She Babysits Now
Another coaching family named
Mitchell directs gridiron activities
at North Texas State. Petite silver
haired Rowena, who has b e n
married to Odus Mitchell for 80
years, says:
81 went to all of the ,out-of-
town and home games for num-
ber of years. / saw a lot of foot
ball" About five years ago she
found the excitement and tension
a little too much. Now she listens
to the games on radio while baby
sitting with her grandchildren.
She says that a few years after
she was married she thong h I
longingly of a change, but she got
over it. 81 wanted Mitch to go into
the other side of 1.-THE admins
trative side-but he likes to work
with the boys, so he has stayed
in coaching"
The Domestic Side
To the wife of Georgia's head
coach Johnny Griffith, football sea-
son means helter-skelter break
fasts, an empty chair often at
lunch and dinner, and missing
husband three or four days out
of the week
But every night the coach is
home, the routine is that of a we'll
knit family While Dorothy helps
Susan, 13, and Buzzy. 10, with
their lessons, Johnny sits in big
rocking chair, holding Ginger, 5,
and Georgia, 2. They watch tele-
vision. Then the father puts the
two little ones to bed
"Johnny's always goOd-natured
but can tell from the look on
his face whether it's been a good
or bad day." Dorothy says.
Coach Everett Grandelius OF
Colorado, called Sonny by wife
and friends, is more quiet than
usual, pensive-but not gloomy