Lining Them Up

Hysteria?

In Wednesday's Boston Herald, Burt Whitman, sports writer, in a column headed "Why all this hysteria?" charged Harvard undergraduates and graduates in general with an unwarranted and foolish optimism in regard to the approaching grid campaign. In fact he included in his indictment all football fans "within 50 miles of the sacred cod atop the state house." He says, "It begins to look as if Harvard might win all of its games by undergraduate and general fan edict before a single game is played. It is a hysteria of optimism which is not at all uncommon in college football circles. We can recall oh-so-great Yale and surely unbeatable Dartmouth teams of early October, that were gallant, but often beaten outfits when late November rolled around."

Doesn't it seem that perhaps this is going a bit too far? Signs of feverish optimism and long odds are still a long way in the future unless the undergraduate body in general has completely ignored the snags which are so liable to rise in the path of any team undertaking a schedule such as Harvard's. If passing comments heard around Cambridge may be taken as indicative of undergraduate attitude, it is safe to say that the optimism which prevails around these parts, far from bordering on the hysterical, is rather one of hope. And it should remain in this healthy state.

Whence They Came

A survey of the University football squad list reveals some interesting statistics which generally pass unnoticed to the public at large. These have to do with preparatory schools of the various players.

Of the 45 men on whose prowess the Crimson football destinies now depend, 36 went to private prep schools, eight to high schools, and one is a transfer student from another university. Milton leads the van with a total of eleven representatives, Exeter is second with seven, Groton third with three, while Andover and Worcester Academy each supplies two. Taft, St. Paul's, St. Mark's Noble and Greenough, Loomis, Berkshire, Chestnut Hill Academy, New Prop, Roxbury, St. George's and Middlesex have one apiece.

On the public school list Massachusetts high schools supply four, of which Boston Latin may boast two. There are an equal number who received their training in out of state high schools.

That Backfield Puzzle

The cloak of secrecy which has concealed the names of the Crimson backfield which is slated to get the call for the opening clash of the season has finally been withdrawn and the gentlemen of the press who are covering Harvard football may once again lapse temporarily back into the even tenor of their ways. Not for some time have the University coaches had such a promising array of ball-carriers from which to choose a couple of versatile quartets. But it is safe to say that those who answer the referees starting whistle tomorrow may well be forced to give way to certain Crimson-jerseyed aspirants now close on their heels before the fall campaign advances much further.

Eliot Putnam, quarterback, T. W. Gilligan and A. W. Huguley, halfbacks, with W. R. Harper, fullback, have been picked as the starting backfield against Bates. Of this combination, Putnam alone has been considered sure of his berth in the 1929 Crimson backfield. The veteran University signal-caller is generally considered a smart tactician. During the preliminary practice sessions this fall he has, furthermore, exhibited a stylish brand of running, which, when coupled with his much-improved ability to handle forward and lateral passes and to drop kick, makes him a threat to be reckoned with. He fits neatly into the Harvard attack. Harper is another tried and true letterman, whose line-plunging is well-known to those who saw him in action last fall. As a defensive player he ranks high. Huguley too won his spurs in the 1928 season. To him will fall the punting assignment on the "first string" backfield. Rumors current around the Soldiers Field Locker Building have it that he has been developed into a likely passer, a development which will be followed with interest tomorrow afternoon. His main forte, however, lies in his prowess as on interference runner.

The appearance of Gilligan in the starting lineup brings back memories of the early games last fall. Few indeed have been the athletes who came to Harvard with a reputation equal to his, yet he remained on the bench throughout the majority of last season. He is now a greatly improved player, however, and if he does not lapse back into the ways of the past, should prove a valuable cog in the Harvard offensive. Gilligan, according to reports, has given up his dashes for the sidelines in favor of following his interference. He is a rugged and shifty ball carrier besides an able handler of passes. This latter point is of no little importance when one considers the necessity of replacing the famed French-Guarnaccia lateral passing team.

The quartet chosen to relieve the starting combination is faster and lighter, with the exception of the fullback. Wood, quarterback, Mays and Charles Devens, halfbacks, and Potter, fullback, comprise this group. The first three were luminaries on last year's Freshman eleven. With such material available, the problem of picking the most powerful backfield will be willingly left to those who have to do it.

Briefer Notes

Squash has already proved so popular this fall that the courts are now being kept open on the winter schedule. They may now be used from 8 o'clock in the morning to 9.30 o'clock in the evening. . . . Among the changes that spectators will notice in the Stadium on Saturday will be the transfer of the Harvard and visiting substitutes from the benches they occupied on the side-lines in previous seasons to seats in the regular stands. . . . General Manager Getchell, Crimson ticket king estimates that Saturday's attendance at the Stadium will reach about 20,000 people. After the New Hampshire game a week from Saturday, bare spaces in the horseshoe, despite its increased capacity, should be conspicuous by their absence. . . . The heavies and the lightest players who are expectd to take part in Saturday's game will undoubtedly be in the Bates lineup. The Lewiston, Me., College will have Howe, a 218 pound tackle, and Bornstein, a 119 pound quarterback, on the field. --BY TIME OUT