Show Of I Iy y i CE R I WE E WERE talking about the leading football coaches of the present year Frank Leahy Fritz i Crisler and Lou Little were in the lead There were I votes for George i Munger of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Pennsyl Pennsyl- I vania Matty Bell Bellof Bellot i of ot Blair i Cherry of ot Texas r ks Bobby Dodd of ot Georgia Tech and Bob Higgins of y Penn State Also Harry t of Wisconsin Pop I Waldorf of California California Califor Califor- nia and Red Sand Sand- Pop Warner era ers of Vanderbilt came in for pleasant mention From this point the conversation began to veer back to the great coaches of the past Pop Warner Knute Rockne up Hurry-up Yost Bob Howard Jones Jimmy Phelan Phelan Phelan Phe- Phe lan Bill Alexander Don Bob Neyland Frank Thomas Wallace Wallace Wal Wal- Wallace lace Wade Bill Roper Lonnie Stagg the the long list began to grow and grow Finally a haired gray-haired Kansan butted in His name was Jesse Harper Harper Har Har- Harper per Rockne's coach at Notre Dame back in 1913 the team that wrecked Army in that year of football football football foot foot- ball history Youve overlooked one of the greatest Harper said On a par at least with Rockne Warner and Yost This was a pretty fair buildup build build- up Ill tell teU you his name Harper said Percy Haughton Daughton of Harvard Haughton Daughton must bo be ranked around the top Here Dere was a great coach- coach not merely a good one He De was colder colder cold cold- colder er than an iceberg harder than granite But he was brilliant a natural leader He was to football what Gen George eorge Patton was to our armies He was on his own He had no respect for what million Americans Americans Americans Ameri Ameri- cans thought of him because he ha knew mew 95 per cent of them were wrong as far as his job was concerned He Perfected Plays No one ever invents anything Harper said Twenty coaches claim they used the forward pass first Ten coaches claim they used the huddle first The T-formation T was used as far back as 1908 But it was Haughton who really perfected perfect perfect- ed the hidden-ball hidden attack and it was Haughton who really perfected the mousetrap play more than 30 years ago Haughton never had the amazing amazing ing personality of Rockne But he knew more football than anyone else except Pop Warner He gave the game more He worked day and night He hated football writers so they hated him He hated practically everybody everybody everybody ev ev- ev- ev except his own Harvard team He could hate them too He was ruthless But dont don't let anyone tell you that Haughton wasn't one of the greatest coaches of all time I couldn't place a coach above him Then I began to remember a few things about Haughton back around 1915 in his contest with Yale I happened to mention the fact that Yale had a big fast hard-charging hard line I only wish they were twice as fast Haughton said Well let em through and then cut em down That was the way it happened That was the start of mouse If U Haughton Daughton told us to jump of offa off offa a cliff 80 feet high and hed he'd catch us wed we'd jump Tack Hardwick told me once And the odd part is la lathat that if he told us that and we jumped hed he'd catch us Haughton was as brutal in his treatment treatment treat treat- ment of many of his men Ask Sam Felton a great Harvard star who had to take unbelievable abuse Haughton timed his practice bythe bythe by bythe the clock Five minutes for this this 20 20 minutes for that 15 minutes for something else eIse He knew exactly exactly exact exact- ly what his team needed Not a minute was ever wasted Even in practice no Harvard player ever walked on the field He had to run Football is all action Haughton said You dont don't walk in any game Got Writers Barred Haughton felt that it was in his power to insult or override anyone who barred his way including a aLawrence aLawrence aLawrence Lawrence Lowell then president of Harvard I think we are overplaying football football football foot foot- ball at Harvard President Lowell told him once I agree with you Haughton said Too much ty Lets Let's bar all football writers from the field Lowell said O. O K It was exactly what Haughton wanted and so did most of the other coaches Only Haughton got away with it Football writers today spill nothIng noth Ing It was different 30 years ago especially when a flock of Boston's football writers were Dartmouth men Haughton was the one who supplied supplied supplied sup sup- plied rough yellow gloves for tor hi his Harvard team against Speedy Rushs Rush's Princeton squad Next day the faces of Princeton players were a sight Tad Jones refused to let the Yale game start until these gloves were removed Haughton had one basic idea win the game gaine game j For four glorious years in a row he wrecked four good cod Yale teams two teams two by scores score of 01 36 58 to 0 and 41 to 0 0 O. |