OCR Text |
Show SPORTUGHT 1 Vetersn Coach Disparages the T ' By GRANTLAND RICE pOP WARNER not only invented the famous single and double wing in football but he insists they are a much better form of attack than the now-DODular T. I paid Fop a visit recently at his home in FalO Alto where one of f o o t b a 1 Ps greatest coaches coach-es still follows the game that he helped to make famous. from the start that throwing a football end over end was not the best way. Many coaches and passers pass-ers began experimenting with the spiral early in 1906. I only know that Mt. Pleasant was a fine spiral passer at Carlisle around that time. That's almost like saying somebody invented throwing or running." I was but a youngster when I first saw one of Pop's teams play against Vanderbilt In 1896. He was then with the University of Georgia. But he made and kept his fame with other institutions Carlisle, Pittsburgh and Stanford. He later did well at Temple where his teams were always feared. But it was really at Carlisle where he had bis greatest success. suc-cess. No other college bad such brilliant backs as Thorpe, Cayac, Guyon, Mt. Pleasant and many, many more who are still remembered. He also had great lines. "A funny thing about the Indian," Pop said, "he was our best amateur. ama-teur. He really played the game only because he loved it. For example, on a rainy day or on a muddy field the Indian's play fell away badly. He didn't think it was any fun to play in the rain and he was playing for fun. They were also more popular at hotels than white teams. They were better behaved. They had a definite dignity that the white race lacked. Pop laughed at his comparison of Thorpe and Nevers. "They were both magnificient," he said. "Thorpe on the days he felt like playing stood alone. He could run, pass, kick, catch passes, block and tackle. But Ernie was always there for 60 minutes of the best he had and he had plenty. "I would say Thorpe was the best all-around back of football." It Can Happen Quickly The midwest is still churned up over the Cleveland-Boudreau-Lopez' deal. Two years ago at this date, back in 1948, Lou Boudreau-Lopez was baseball's sweetheart. Only 32 years old he had just known his greatest year as a player and hi? best year as a winning manager. Then the axe fell as it has fallen fal-len so many times before. It's a tough life any pro game is when you are not winning. Boudreau took a drop from his 1948 average. Who can say whether Billy Meyer of Pittsburgh is a very good manager man-ager or just an ordinary leader? All you know is that Pittsburgh; had few big league ballplayers aboard. Branch Rickey has tack-1 led many tough jobs in his long' span, but his Pirate assignment is the toughest, in spite of all the money Pittsburgh owners have spent. But we have found few own-i ers who have made headway mere-i ly by firing first class managers. "" " "" "i invented t n e Grantland Rice single wing around 1906," Pop said. "When the new rules of that year prevented you from shoving or helping a runner, I saw at once that a new form was needed. We needed something that would take care both of the running run-ning game and the new forward pass. The single wing gave an offense of-fense the chance for deception that it hadn't had before. Later on around 1911, I brought out the double wing, an improvement on the single. "Now I'll tell you why the double wing is a big improvement on' the T. The forward pass today is a big part of any sound football attack, at-tack, although it Is frequently overused. over-used. The forward pass doesn't fit in with the T. In the T the quarterback quarter-back or passer must run backwards several yards. Then he must turn and look to find his target. This is awkward and baffling. In the double wing the passer is back a trifle but he Is facing his field. He has a full view of all his receivers. He is ready for quick action. "I see most of my games today to-day over television," the bushy white-haired veteran said. "I view both college and pro teams. It amazes me to see how often the passer, turning and running backwards, is thrown for a 10- or 12-yard loss. That could never happen with the single or double wing. It happens frequently with the T where teams will often lose from 30 to 50 yards while the passer is looking for a target. "The single and double wing are coming back again," Pop continued. contin-ued. "Such teams as Princeton, U.C.L.A., and many others have shown how effective my old formations forma-tions are against rivals sticking to the T and too often wondering why their passing game won't work." A Long Way Back Pop began his coaching career at Georgia around 1895 after a summer stint at Iowa. That embraces em-braces many, many yesterdays. I asked Pop who invented or first worked out the spiral pass. "I don't think anyone knows," Pop said. "The pass came into the game in 1906. It was easy to see |