Crimson Sets Back Columbia, 21-7, Amid Rain and Mud at Baker Field

Lou Little finally got his comeuppance last Saturday. It came in the driving rain amid the mud that now covers Baker Field, and it came in the form of a lesson in Jordan-style single wing football.

It's questionable who made the most off the seventh annual Harvard-Columbia contest the long-shot artists who bet the Crimson might actually win by as much as 14 points, or the sealpers who sold cheap plastic raincoats for twice their value among 13,000 rain-groggy spectators.

But there can be little question of who was the most satisfied with the outcome. After sending seven straight favored elevens against Little, Lloyd Jordan won his first game in the revived Columbia series and Harvard's first in Baker Field. He won it in very convincing fashion.

Crimson Clearly Superior

The final score of the rain-drench game was Harvard 21, Columbia 7, but it just might have been more. The varsity was clearly the superior team, picking up 286 total yards to Columbia's 143, and controlling the ball for 72 plays from scrimmage to 34 for Columbia.

The difference in the two teams was most clearly demonstrated by the consistent varsity gang-tackling. The Crimson line swarmed over the Columbia backs most of the afternoon, while Jordan's runner repeatedly seemed about to break away, only to be brought down by single tacklers in the secondary.

Running the single wing attack to take full advantage of the weather and Columbia's lack of reserve strength, quarterbacks Leo Daley and Joe Crehore both called a fine game. They frequently sent fullback Tony Gianelly up the middle, then alternated with tailback Matt Botsford or wingback John Simourian on the outsides. Above all, they knew just when to pass. The result was five completions on six tries for 46 yards.

Botsford Scores First

Three times with its attack approaching the stalling point deep in Light Blue territory, the varsity elected to pass, and three times it scored.

Left-handed John Simourian wobbled a slippery ball from the wingback spot on Columbia's 20 to Botsford on the four to start the Crimson scoring at 9:48 of the opening period. Then, 13 minutes through the second period Botsford, on fourth down, pitched 13 yards to Bob Morrison in the left flat; he took the toss on Columbia's six, cluded halfback Art Wilson, and went across standing up.

Finally, again on fourth down, in the fourth period, tailback Jim Joslin went to his right, then looped the ball 20 yards toward Simourian in the end zone. Simourian, Columbia halfback Alex Giampetro, and end Ed Kennedy all went up for the ball together. Somehow, Kennedy came down with it, for the varsity's final touchdown.

After each score, tailback Bing Crosby followed the pattern he has set through three games, by making each conversion. He now has eight in a row.

Columbia's lone score followed directly after Hardvard's kick-off to open the second half. It came on 12 consecutive plays that ate up yardage so rapidly it had some spectators briefly wondering if Harvard was losing the battle of depth. With little Claude Benham leading the attack, Columbia culminated its drive appropriately on his quarterback sneak at 6:41 of the third period. The conversion made it 7 to 14, but after that, the Light Blue hardly got its hands on the ball for the rest of the game.

Gianelly Goes

Sticking to the ground, the varsity used straight single wing plays through the mud. On three occasions, with a yard to go on fourth down, Gianelly smashed into the line for the needed yardage. The drive finally stalled at the Columbia 12, but the Lions could only punt out, and the Crimson, again following the same ground formula, this time went all the way.

The score might have been at least six points greater, for the varsity had a 62 yard punt return by Joslin nullified by a clipping penalty in the first period. Soon after that, the rain increased to such a point that the slippery footing made long runs virtually impossible.

Favorable BalanceTotal StatisticsHarvard ColumbiaFirst downs  17  7Rushing yardage  212  97Passing yardage  74  46Passes attempted  6  8Passes completed  5  3Passes intercepted by  0  0Punts  3  6Fumbles lost  1  2Punting average  27.3  30.7Yards penalized  60.5