Show r rt l t CE WHAT is the ruling factor in sport There can be only one answer It isn't the manager or orthe orthe orthe the coach who too often picks up entirely too much credit It is al always always al al- ways the material It is the fighter the the football player the player the baseball player It is the fellow up front on the firing line During the recent winter season football went on a wild rampage Inthe in inthe inthe the shift of coaches There were shifts all over the map map Navy Navy Michigan Harvard Yale Washington Washing Washing- ton and Kansas Then in the middle of the baseball baseball base base- ball season there was another wild upheaval with f Durocher going to the Giants Sh back to the Dodgers Dodgers Dod Dod- gers Dusty Cooke a S to the Phillies the PhIllies-the the earlier rumors that 9 SS Joe McCarthy was through reports a of a family friction friction friction fric fric- tion with the Ath Ath- trouble in St St. Louis trouble trouble trou trou- ble In Chicago too Chicago too many reports to follow What too many people overlook overlook overlook over over- look is this It is the material not the coach or the manager that has the final say Certainly Certainly Certainly the manager and coach have roles to play play often often important important Important tant roles Hut But ut not even a aFrank aFrank aFrank Frank Leahy or a Fritz Crisler was ever as important as the material No Leahy a great coach was ever up to a Lujack a Com Connor or a Fischer or a rob skI Of course a big part of a managers managers manager's managers manager's man man- agers ager's job is to get the best mater materi al That is also a big part of the coach's job in football football and and this goes for the colleges as well as the pros A winning baseball team needs that pitcher or that hitter more hitter more than one of them A winning college football team needs that passer ball carrier and blocker The coach gets far too much credit cred credo it for victory and far too much blame for defeat The same is true of a pennant race They pile too many olive blossoms on the winner and too many strands of poison ivyon ivy ivyon ivyon on the loser Many a big league manager has been made made and and many a one wrecked wrecked wrecked-by by the material he had Dont Don't forget this in the build up and the knock t Start of 01 Passing The passing game in college reached its peak last fall The colleges col leges had Bobby Layne of Texas Chuck Conerly of Mississippi Harry Gilmer of Alabama Johnny Lujack of Notre Dame Dane Tony of Penn Ray Evans of Kansas Bob Chappius of Michigan and many others These have all moved over into the pro group With Paul Governali Sammy Baugh Sid Luckman Otto Graham Glenn Dobbs and others at work the passing game will reach another peak this fall Who started the passing game Heres Here's a contribution from Buck ONeil O'Neil a lusty timer old Dear Grant I was interested in your column on end at West Point inthe Inthe in inthe the decades purpled by time You spoke of Chicago and Michigan using the forward pass back in 1906 the year that the play was introduced Introduced introduced intro intro- into football Chicago had a pretty fair sort of quarterback that year fellow named Walter Eckersall He lie was pounds of wildcat and he is the man man-I man 1 believe believe- who caught Willie lI Heston ston from behind in one game same between Chicago and Michigan No matter ab about ut that but Eckie threw passes to Fred Walker a Q afine afine fine end of the Maroon and beat the vaunted Minnesota team through the air Eckersall to Walker was one of the great pass combinations of their day and time Ahead o of 01 f 11 His is Time Glenn Warner had some great pass experts at Carlisle and one of ot the earliest combinations was Mt Pleasant to Exendine and Gardner Warner always ahead of his time in coaching developed the technique technique tech tech- of sending linemen down the field with his ends to block out the halfbacks The Indians were terrific terrific ter ter- ter in the air and of course their skill was attributed to some romantic romantic roman roman- tic bridge between the Indian and the occult There was nothing mystic about the skill of 01 the Indians although guys like Exendine and Gardner and that great lineman of the era who played end and tackle with equal skill and aboriginal fero tero- ferocity i city were really out of this I world The foundation of Carlisle's Carlisles Carlisles Carlisle's Car Car- I lisles lisle's success was laid on blockIng blocking block block- Ing the halfback Navy used the forward pass in 1913 but it was a haphazard thing Harry Blodgett a Middle halfback told me that his orders were to fade five yards and throw the ball baU hard lard |