Sports of the Crimson

Harmon Here On Saturday

Make way for the Michigan Wolverines and the fatal afternoon of October 12, a real judgment day for 1940 Harvard football Tom Harmon, undoubtedly one of the three or four greatest runnings backs of all time, will provide the acid test. Cracking over a guard, slinging a touchdown pass, or skirting a distant flank are all in the day's work for this miracle man wearing the Maize and Blue. And he has the pleasing faculty of picking up anywhere from seven to 28 points during a Saturday matinee.

Forest Evashevski, captain and one-man gang of Wolves, is Harmon's pathfinder extraordinary. Crimson ends and tackles will feel his blocking touch in the Stadium Saturday. A third member of the Michigan backfield is pile-driving Bob Westfall, the fullback. If Senior halfback Paul Kremer gets a definite medical okay, Coach Crisler will be able to field one of the best backfields of all time. It's useless to try and concoct new superlatives for Harmon; just try to imagine him as a combination of all the others. He is just as elusive as Dartmouth's little Ted Arice, has more breakaway speed than Torbie Macdonald had, weighs a good 190 pounds, and has the running savvy and intuition of Red Grange.

Michigan is taking its football pretty seriously this fall. The players have decided to dedicate the year to "Hurry-Up" Yoat, the grand old man of Michigan football. As grid coach and director of athletics, he was responsible for the development of one of the finest athletic plants in the country at the Ann Arbor institution. Coach Crisler has great material and a chance to scale dizzy heights if his reserve line strength proves adequate.

No Walkaway

Jack Ingalls, stellar pivot man for the Maize and Blue, writes that he "is looking forward to the Harvard game with a great deal of anxiety." Just what he means by that statement is a bit difficult to decide, but as the game draws closer, it seems certain that Harvard will not be snowed under by any landslide. Without attempting to set Harvard up on any pedestal, it is only fair to point out that Michigan is pleased to be on the Crimson schedule. Harvard draws its major game opponents from a rather select group of schools, and would not, for example, arrange a game with the Praying Polaks of Boston College or the Duke Blue Devils. Harvard picks its spots pretty carefully when venturing away from Ivy League competition. As a result, Michigan would not desire to run up a large score on Harvard even if it were possible to do so. Wolverine athletic officials undoubtedly want to leave the road open for more intersectional games with the Crimson in the future.

In addition, Michigan has a long, tough schedule ahead, and there is no Incentive for Coach Crisler's men to open up and show their tricks this early in the season. The stands will be filled with Big Ten scouts, so Michigan has been heralded as a wonder team, but without Harmon and Evashevski the Wolves have very little to offer. Harmon's supreme ability often makes his line look better offensively than it really is.