The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 27

27 The Boston Globe Wednesday, November 18, 1964 Pass Craze Weakens Defense, Says. Mahan I BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW ml Harvard's Greatest Back Played 6 Complete Games vs. Yale Teams SPORT FANSI By Let Thompson Hara' football fact thatV I hard to belia, but it's trua' that tamotii championship qama in whon tha Chicaqo Baars beat- tha Washington Radskim 73-0? Well, although tha Red- stint vara outscored by 7J a points in tha worst defeat in, I pro football history, they ac- tually made MORE FIRST, i DOWNS than tha Bears did that dayl It seems im- possible, but here are the offi- I clal totals Tha Bears made 17 first dawns in that and tha Redskins made 18! Did you know that a touch-3 down in football was not aJ- I ways worth six capped him as a pass defender. He was almost always in the right spot but tall receivers could reach into the air and make the catch." "How do you rate Barry Wood?" "Unquestionably Harvard's best passer. He could throw the long bombs and was equally adept in flipping the short ones.

"Charley Buell was also a slick passer and as smart a play picker as any Harvard team ever had. He and George Owen formed a terrific 1-2 punch." His own best game? Mahan wouldn't commit himself but admitted he never played better than in the '14 tussle against the Blue. Eddie scored three points in that game compared with his record-breaking 29 the following year but he set up every Harvard tally except the 98-yard TD run by Jeff Coolidge following a Yale fumble. Mahan maintains that Yale's SQUADS were just as strong as Harvard's during his playing days. "But Harvard had four or five players better than any Yale could muster and was better coached." "Of the three Harvard teams on which you played which do you figure was the best?" he was asked.

"The 1914 team, although the 1913 outfit probably was just as good potentially. But in '13 'we relied on Brickley whenever we got into scoring territory. With Charley sidelined during most of '14, we had to develop a slashing, rushing attack that would score touchdowns and we did." By HOWELL STEVEN'S Fifty years have passed since Harvard christened Yale's Bowl with a whopping 36-0 victory. The Crimson's main agent of destruction in that Eli debacle was Eddie Mahan, who is universally acclaimed Harvard's greatest back. Whenever and wherever Harvard men gather to discuss the Crimson's football fortunes, Eddie's position at the top is unchallenged.

The only argument centers around who's the runnerup. Three illustrious seasons as a player and more than a dozen years of coaching enable him to speak with authority. "The Yale team of half a century ago was like most of the pro and college teams today. It had a flashy attack and a porous defense," said Mahan, back in his native Natick, scene of his first football successes, after residing in other places many years. "Unrestricted use of the forward pass allowed by the rules makers has transformed football into outdoor basketball," continued Eddie.

"Look at what's happened this Fall. George Blanda threw 68 passes in one American Football League game, yet they produced only 10 points and his team lost. Archie Roberts of Columbia has made countless tosses, but his Lions were slaughtered bv Cornell, 57-20, and outscored by Rutgers, 38-35. were close," said Eddie "and so was the Harvard-Yale Freshmen game. Thus it was sound football to keep me in.

But the varsity games 15-5, 36-0 and 41-0 were so onesided I never could understand why I wasn't taken out to give a sub his letter. I asked Haughton (coach Percy D. Haughton) about it, but all he would say was 'Oh, I like to see you Of course that was okay with me." Mahan was an assistant coach under Bob Fisher '19 (the Rose Bowl team), '21, '22, '23, '24 and '25. Later he coached at Newman School six years, at Hill School two and was in the Navy for six years. "I can't tell you much about Harvard football from '31 until '46," said Mahan, "because I was away." "Which do you consider Harvard's best team since the unbeaten units of '19 and '20?" he was asked.

"Of the teams I've seen, I'd rate '31 tops. It came from behind to beat a powerful Army team at the Point and never suffered defeat until edged by Yale on Albie Booth's field goal in the last two minutes of the season." "Yale men idolize Booth, but many Har-, vard men are skeptical about his ability be-' cause he was stopped by Crimson teams until that memorable field goal. How would you classify him?" "A fine performer for his size," Mahan shot back. "Albie had natural football savvy. He could punt and kick field goals.

He wasn't fast but was a tricky runner who could pivot on a dime. You had to watch him every split second. His lack of height naturally handi "What do they spell? Broken down defenses." Mahan blames the rules. "Just as baseball has done everything in its power to help the batter so football has moved heaven and earth to aid the passer. "Fortunately, defense is not neglected in all cases and it still pays dividends.

This year's Princeton team blanked opponents four weeks in a row and Notre Dame-was able to stop Pitt when the chips were down. "And once in a while you'll find a quarterback who resists the temptation to go pass-crazy. Jerry Whelchel of UMass is one of them. Although a talented passer, he throws only about 15 a game." Mahan and Tack Hardwick formed one of Harvard's foremost pass combinations, but like Willie Mays in baseball, they could perform other football chores superlatively. In addition to throwing and catching passes, Mahan could run, block, punt, drop-kick and defend against both line and air attacks.

Only Charley Brickley surpassed him as a producer of field goals and no Crimson performer since his day has equalled him as a punter. And, as for DURABILITY Eddie not only played every minute of the varsity games against Yale in 1913, 1914 and 1915, but was in for every second of two Andover-Yale Freshmen games and the Harvard-Yale Freshmen game of 1912. That adds up to 360 minutes of action against the men in Blue. "The two Andover-Yale Freshmen games Back at the turn of tha een tury. a TD counted for only I five Touchdowns werent I Here's an fiddity Can-: you imagine a major college football team going through I an entire season without scor- ing point? Has it ever happened? The answer 1 Last time was in 1923 whet) Villanova played eight-games and did not score a single point all season! I bet you didn't know tlyt it costs you very little to "live little" with a handsome haw Pontiac, thanks to eur easy bank financing.

This is your year to drive a Wide-Tractr And this is your day I I I to see our extravaganza of '65 Pontiacs everything front' Mahovlich Out I rne new oonnevme, srar wniar, Grand Prix, Catalina, Le Mans to the GTO's and tha Tempests! Browns and Colts Prove Fumble Recovery Value TORONTO (AP) The To-! ronto Maple LeafsNvill be with- out the services of Frank Mah- ovlich for at least "a couple of i weeks," club physician Hugh NEW YORK (AP) fellow who once philosophized that "you can't score without Philadelphia 1200 1567 1271 1360 1327 76 840 151 990 882 1052 urn Smythe said Tuesday night. 1490 1771 1 Dr. Smythe said that al-1 jlU'though he had made a diagno-'J 2i7 sis of the concStion that has i Jf kept Mahovlich in the for a week it would not be i leosireleased to the public. I 294S Ft. I Norwood Telephone 769-1200 uie uaii, ixiicw vvnai, 11c Chicago San Francisco ....2902 talking about all right.

Pittsburgh 2847 and Detroit 2834 The Baltimore Colts Cleveland Browns, leaders in New York 2657 the National Football Western and Eastern Divi sions, have proven just how valuable possession of the pig skin can be. Baltimore's defense unit has "Yesterday taken control of the ball 29 times on recovered fumbles and interceptions this season I I vA' I I w. -i szte'ih-' I I "I 'i Vv 1 I 1 I i 1 I i fli i I i' 1 1 TEAM DEFENSE Odd Team Yds Push Green Bay 2320 1083 I smoked only cigarettes" Dallas ZS8 1086 New York 2733 1243 Detroit 2870 1185 St. Louis 2922 1295 Philadelphia ....2958 1190 Los Angeles 1025 Baltimore 3069 1337 Washington 3083 1337 Minnesota 3231 1239 San Francisco 3270 1267 Pittsburgh 3270 1662 Chicago 327B 1227 Cleveland 3406 1501 Wd fir- iw 1 2001 1 i A TEAM OFFENSE Team Yds Hush Baltimore 3535 1598 Green Bay 3252 1621 Cleveland 1609 CRIMSON GREATS CHARLEY BRICKLEY, TA CK HARDWICK, EDDIE MAHAN MAL LOGAN. 5 for 25c CHRISTM AS PARTY CHAIRMAN? II orrlrA about; Where to go? Menu? Decorations? Entertainment? CALL MISS YULE, 734-5400 Large and small parties excellent cuisine vr Snell Plans New Bid To Lower Mark Shortly 1" 4 W- I 4w Davies and Odlozil waged a thrilling battle down the stretch for second, the Czech getting ahead in the final 50 yards to take second by about two yards.

The 26-year-old Snell, who has held the world record since 1962, plans to return later this month to the Cooks AUCKLAND, New Zealand (UPD Double Olympic gold medalist Peter Snell of New Zealand ran the mile in three minutes 54.1 seconds Tuesday night to slice three-tenths of a second off his own world record. Josef Odlozil set a Czecho-Slovakian national record by finishing second in 3:56.4 with New Zealand's John Davies third in 3:56.8. The finishing order was the game as in the 1500 meters at the Tokyo Olympiad last month where Snell also won the 800 meters gold medal. A crowd of 20,000 fans saw Garden grass track at Wag anui, the scene of his early triumphs, where he will try to improve on his record. Snell, who has won three Olympic gold medals also holds world records at 880 yards and 800 and 1000 meters.

Long Island Booters the invitation race at the Western Springs Stadium. The To Play Coast Guard track was in excellent condi tion and the weather ideal. NEW YORK (UPD Long Snell was third after the Island University, the metro- first lap, covered in 56 sec- jpolitan soccer conference onds. He moved into the lead ichampion, will meet the Coast at the end of the second lap, Guard Academy in the fourth annual N.C.A.A. Atlantic coast regional soccer tournament at Tufts College.

1 Norwich University will face Washington and Lee in the other half of the tourney which will he held this Friday and Saturday in Medford, Mass. clocked in 1:50.0, and immediately opened a big gap on the rest of the field. The three-quarter distance was reached in 2:54.0 seconds and the pace began to tell on Snell during the final 50 yards. The winning margin, however, was a good 20 yards. If beer, Scotch, vodka aren't fun COLLINS (Continued from Page 25) "Who's got the got the guts.We're all nutsFor the Patriots!" She said, "We also have 'Mash 'em, smash 'em, crush 'cm into the ground" This did not sound very Cliffie.

Hollv was toy ins with one like "Let's score in Try the whisky torrents in memory of D. H. Lawrence." But she knew. you can live with! Seagram's V. O.

It does for you what no other whisky can. Defines smooth once and for all. Light? Of course. Seagram's Canadian VM that would be voted down by her teammates, we re trying our very hardest to be unintellectual, reverting to a teen-ager-hood we never knew. Most of us were too busy studying and reading to know about football and checrleading." Although she played field hockey at a place called Miss Lake's, a girls prep hangout in Cleveland, Holly says she didn't get an athletic grant-in-aid from Rad-ciifTe.

"I never even heard of the Patriots until this year. I've never seen a pro game, not even on TV no TV at home because it's anti-intellectual. Then I met this boy who told me about the Patriots." A young man in the investment business. "He was buying blocs of Patriot tickets on the 50 to sell scalpers. "Now I have this chance to see the game close up, meet players, to learn about it.

Wonderful; it's a slice of life." Do you suppose the gioup at Vasrar will demand Kitcwiiiii tn ni lite' vmi.tna.tit equal time? vrv.