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Show HOW BIG a part does "instinct" play in sport? Glenn Davis, Army's star all-around back. gav one answer against Pennsylvania in the third period. In his day and time Davis has made his share of long runs, thrown and caught hij . 3s-S? share of Passes- f while also ranking I l high among the J var34 blockers tacklers 1 iyjjt and kickers. But i i S M on play in par sr c. ! ticular Davis ran yJ?f P 40 yards and then. I Bjl from a swirl ol iff A Rcd and B 1 u e VV tacklers, complete- ly surrounded, the Glenn Davis Army back tossed a sudden lateral to Tavzel, a tackle. Tavzel then ran 40-odd yards for a touchdown. After the game we asked Davis how he managed to find an opening on 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 J on the head and I haven't the slight-I slight-I est recollection of anything that took place after that." "Don't you remember two long runs you made?" we asked. "No, I don't," Davis said. "The tackles you made the passes you threw the kicks you got away?" "Not the slightest Idea," he said. "I remember someone asked me what period it was and I thought the game had just started. I didn't remember anything that had happened hap-pened before." ft lias 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 somersault," Bat said, "and the tights went out. That happened in the 5th round. Around the 17th round my head cleared and later I 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 happens hap-pens when a fellow in a complete mental fog still can go along boxing box-ing and punching, or obeying signals, sig-nals, throwlm passes and laterals. that usually demands the highest type of mental poise. Baseball Prospects In the midst of all the football foot-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 MacPhaU, Bucky Harris and Charley Char-ley Dressen, the Yankees have leadership lead-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 ball players who are sure to improve im-prove over their 1940 form, which developed one of the most remarkable remark-able team batting slumps I ever saw." This Is true. MacPhaU, flarrli and Dressen know what It Is all about And such former food hitters as Stlrnwelss, Rlssuto, Joe DIMagglo, Ilenrlch and one or two other should be a good many polnta closer to .100 than they were thla last fall. "Few people realise," Macrhall aid, "that our pitching staff allowed al-lowed fewer earned runs than any tram In either league, barring only the Cardinals. We had good enough pitching, and we'll have much belter bel-ter pitching next year." The Yankees, with Aaron Robertson Robert-son and some new talent may have the best catching staff in the league. An Infield that comprises Ilenrlch at first, Stirnwelss at second, Riz-tuto Riz-tuto at short and Young Brown at third can return to its old form. So can DIMagglo and Charlie Kcl- lcr' |