Football

By the number of people who watch it, the number of people who read about it, the amount of money it draws, football is obviously the No. 1 amateur sport of the U. S. On two days last week, the season of 1936, during which some 20,000,000 spectators paid $30,000,000 to see games played by 700 college teams, arrived at its climax, approached its conclusion.

In Seattle, a Thanksgiving Day crowd of 40,000 saw University of Washington, clinching its claim to the Pacific Coast Conference championship, roll up its biggest score in 34 games (40-10-0) against Washington State. First two touchdowns and the last were made by Sophomore Fullback Albert Cruver. One each went to Byron Haines and Jim Cain, spark-plugs of the Washington backfield since the season's start. Another touchdown rewarded one of the year's trickiest plays--a lateral from Nowogroski to Cain, who forwarded to Dick Johnson. Next day, after a secret poll to pick the West Coast representative for the Rose Bowl game on Jan. 1, Conference officials made their choice of Washington unanimous.

Famed for its crew--which this year won the Intercollegiate and Olympic championships--its ski teams and its swimmers, the University of Washington's football prowess was great from 1908 through 1916, when its coach was famed Gilmour ("Gloomy Gil") Dobie, later at Cornell, now at Boston College. The year before Dobie arrived, Washington lost four games and the year after he left, it won only one.

During Coach Dobie's nine-year stay, Washington did not lose a game. In the course of 61 contests without a defeat, it ran up 39 victories in a row, a string surpassed only by Yale's 48 from 1885 to 1889. Its opponents included everything from the best teams in the U. S. to high- school boys and sailors from U. S. warships.

This year, not the least of Washington's achievements turned out to be the only game it lost, at the outset of its brightest year since 1925. That was to Minnesota, on Andy Uram's pass for a last-minute touchdown, 14-10-7. Coached by James Phelan, who played at Notre Dame from 1915 through 1917, using an attack that stresses finesse more than sheer (and traditional) power, Washington earned its right to play in the Rose Bowl by seven victories in which its opponents scored only one touchdown, and a 14-to-14 tie with Stanford.

Byron Haines, Washington's lefthanded, left-footed, drop-kicking halfback wears custom-made football shoes, and in them has become the best open-field runner on the Coast. Jim ("Sugar") Cain, campus representative for Beech Nut chewing gum, has played every position in Lhe backfield this season, functioned effectively in each. Washington has represented the West in the Rose Bowl twice before.

In 1924 it tied Navy. In 1926 it lost to Alabama 20-to-19.

Biggest football crowd the East ever saw (102,000) packed Philadelphia's Municipal Stadium to watch Army v. Navy. Navy tacklers piled into Army's scrawny little star, Monk Meyer. Army linemen saw to it that Navy's ace dropkicker, Bill Ingram, never got where he could perform his specialty. Late in the last quarter, the break of the game came when, climaxing a Navy march of 50 yards, Ingram passed to Fike and Army's Sullivan, trying to abort what looked like a touchdown, spoiled the play by bowling into Fike. The field judge ruled interference, gave Navy the ball on Army's 3-yd. line. With four downs to put it over, Navy's Sneed Schmidt smashed through on the third. Ingram kicked the extra point. Two minutes later the game was over, Navy 7, Army 0.

To Baton Rouge went WPAdministrator Hopkins, Louisiana's Governor Leche, a full quota of Southern political and sporting notables to help dedicate a WPA addition to Louisiana State University's football stadium. Now the biggest in the South, L. S. U.'s stadium has seats for 50,000, dressing rooms, athletic offices and a dormitory for 100 students built into it.

In the great holiday crowd outside this stadium, an Alabamian tried to find a purchaser for his pretty daughter's illegitimate baby, was jailed for his pains. Inside the stadium, encouraged by their lively 200-piece band, their live tiger mascot, Louisiana State's football team--which had already earned its lavish surroundings by a season of eight victories and one tie and its second consecutive Southeastern Conference title--celebrated the occasion, 33-to-0 against Tulane.

On New Year's Day 1934, underdog Columbia played Stanford in Pasadena's Rose Bowl. Score was Columbia 7, Stanford 0. Last week, hunting revenge, a Stanford team that had tied University of Washington went to New York City to play a Columbia team beaten by Army, Michigan, Dartmouth. Score, on George Furey's runback of the opening kickoff, was again Columbia 7, Stanford o.

Tied only by Tennessee, Alabama finished an unbeaten season against Vanderbilt, 14-10-6, on two touchdown, passes by Halfback Joe Riley.

A year ago Southern Methodist v. Texas Christian was as good a game as any for claim to the U. S. championship. Last week at Dallas, it was still a major game, but only for the Southwest Conference title, to which Texas Christian's claim was weakened by a 0-to-0 tie.

Favored at 2-to-1, Holy Cross scored twice in the first quarter. Boston College, in its first year under Coach Gil Dobie, rallied amazingly to score in the second quarter, again in the last, for its sixth victory of the year, 13-to-12.

Outclassed 60-to-0 by Ohio State in its first game this season, twice beaten since, New York University, with strong ground plays to solidify gains made by the punting of Junior End Howard Dunney, splintered Fordham's lingering dreams of an undefeated season and a trip to California, 7-to-6.

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