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Show HOW BIG a part does "instinct" play in sport? Glenn Davis, Army's star all-around back, gav I one answer against Pennsylvania in j the third period. In his day and time Davis has made his share of long runs, thrown ! and caught his share of passes, while also ranking high among t h e blockers, tacklers and kickers. But on this play in par-Ucular par-Ucular Davis ran j 40 yards and then, from a swirl oi ! Red and Blue) tacklers, complete- ! ly surrounded, the ; Glenn Davis Army back tossed sudden lateral to j Tavzel, a tackle. Tavzel then ran 40-odd yards for a touchdown. After the game we asked Davis bow he managed to find an opening OB that bewildering lateral play. "What lateral play?" Davis asked. "I don't remember any lateral lat-eral play. "As a matter of fact," he continued, con-tinued, with a grin, "I don't remember re-member anything that happened in that period. I caught a good clout mi the head and I haven't the slight- est recollection of anything that took place after that." "Don't you remember two long j runs you made?" we asked, i "No, I don't," Davis said. I "The tackles you made the passes you threw the kicks you got away?" "Not the slightest Idea," he nil. "I remember someone asked j me what period it was and I thought the game had just started. I didn't remember anything that had happened hap-pened before." It Has Happened Before So here was a back playing in a complete fog, yet working perfectly perfect-ly with the signals, picking his openings, open-ings, running on the same strong, fast legs, able to hit his receivers, alert enough to throw a sudden and surprising lateral that ordinarily would have demanded the keenest type of reflex action. Naturally, the Army coaching staff knew nothing of this mental blotting out, as Davis looked to be at his best. And even after his head had cleared later on there was still no memory of what took place in those 15 minutes. We recall other cases along this same subconscious order. In one of his early California fights, Jack Dempsey was nailed on the chin in the first round. "That was the last thing I remembered," re-membered," Jack said later. "When I came to I thought I had been knocked out but was surprised to hear I'd won the decision. I could remember nothing after that punch." Years ago Bat Nelson told me that Aurelio Herrera, the hard-hitting Mexican, once hit him with a ; full right "I turned a complete ! tomersault," Bat said, "and the lights went out. That happened in the 5th round. Around the 17th round my head cleared and later knocked Herrera out. But I could not recall anything that happened in those 12 rounds." We'll have to leave it to far greater great-er brain experts as to what hap-pens hap-pens when a fellow in a complete I fnental fog still can go along box- tng and punching, or obeying signals, sig-nals, throwing passes and laterals, that usually demands the highest type of mental poise. Baseball Prospects In the midst of all the foot- I ball chatter, we were glad to stumble stum-ble into a covey of baseball people. Including both managers and players. play-ers. They were talking about the Yankees of 1947, and their chance to reach for the pennant after this year's sudden dip. One respected veteran had this to say "Don't forget that in Larry MacPhail, Bucky Harris and Char- ! ley Dressen, the Yankees have lead- j ership that can match anything in either league. Smart, able, keen to move back up. And don't forget the Yankees still have a number of fine I ball players who are sure to im- prove over their 1946 form, which developed one of the most remark- j able team batting slumps I ever saw." This Is true. MacPhail, Harris and Dressen know what it Is all about. And such former good hitters at Stiraweiss. Rlssuto, Joe DiMaggio, Henrich and one or two others should be a good many points closer j to .300 than they were this last fall. "Few people realize," MacPhail sll, "that our pitching staff al-lowed al-lowed fewer earned runs than any team In either league, barring only the Cardinals. We had good enough pitching, and we'll have much better bet-ter pitching next year." The Yankees, with Aaron Robert-Mb Robert-Mb and some new talent, may have the best catching staff in the league. Aa infield that comprises Henrich at first, Stirnweiss at second, Riz- 1 zuto at short and Young Brown at third can return to its old form. So can DiMaggio and Charlie Kel- tor. |