Stagg Still Smiles
After 81 Years
By RESS NEWLAND
AP Features
STOCKTON. Cahf. — Remem
ber Aim os; Alonzo Staigg? Of
course you do! He’s the 81 year
old gent who was well on his way
to becoming the “coach of the
year in football,” until his Col
lege of the Pacific team lost a
6 to 0 game to the University of
Southern California, Oct. 23..
Before the defeat, Mr. Stagg,
coaching his 54th successive sea
son, haid /pulled five winners out
of the bag, including two big
Navy pK^fJight schools, St.
Mary’s and Del Monte, and the
University of California.
As the ‘iman of the hour,” vis
iting firemen stormed in on the
white haired- gridiron strategist
by the housefuls. Nine Con
gressmen sent a joint telegram
wishing him success on the eve
of his game with USC.
Since the defeat — Pacific's
only one this season—Mr. Stagg
is hack where he started the
Fall football schedule, from a
social standpoint. Traffic is
lighter around the Stagg domi
cile land the dean of coaches
smiles because he knows that
fame is fleeting.
Two bad breaks cost Pacific
the crucial contest with USC. One
was a clipping penalty and the
^ other saw a ball carrier step out
of bounds. Touchdown runs were
millified each time.
41 Tears At Chicago
Nerve wracking incidents such
as this, however, are nothing
new to old double. A Stagg. He
bad his share of them during 41
years at Chicago.
In particular he recalls the j
November of 1923 when his Chi- j
cago Maroons had the Western
Conference championship almost i
in their grasp. On the afternoon j
before the game with Illinois, his i
right halfback, Harry Thomas, |
was declared scholastically ineli-;
gible. Stagg had practically no
backfield reserves so he wa
forced to switch John Thomas to
his brother Harry's right hah
position. John Thomas was un
able to learn the assignment
sufficiently and Illinois won i*\.
game, 7-0.
Sprang Air Attack
Weather dealt the famed coach
a blow in 1906. It was the year
he sprang his new secret offense
a spectacular aerial attack at
the time, and built it around his
All-American quarterback. Wal
ter Eckersall.
Minnesota was the team to
beat for the title that season. Dr.
Harry Williams, coach of the
Gophers and originator of thr
‘‘Minnesota Shift,’’ had one of his
cruncher elevens.
.Day before the game in Chicago
it began raining and it poured for
two days. Minnesota won, 4 to
2. “We had all of the passes
ready but couldn’t use them.”
Stagg says.
On the following Saturday in
dry weather, Chicago uncorked
its pass attack against Illinois
to pile up a 63 to 0 victory.
Stagg was so far ahead of his
competitors in the use of the new
aerial weapon that his teams won
the Big Ten championships the
next two years, 1907-08 In 1908
Stagg conceived the fake pass and
run.
Tough Break In 1933
One unfortunate episode is im
pressed deeply in Stagg’s long
career and it is comparatively
fresh, coming in 1933 during his
second year at Pacific. Tom Wil
son, a 200-pound back and one
of the best passers the venerable
©oach ever discovered, was de
clared ineligible in his second
season. There was considerable
evidence Wilson was a victim of
mistaken identification in the
records of another school but
Coach Stagg declined to contest
the issue. Consequently his team
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ALONZO STAGG—Still "On the Beam” At 81.
lost to USC 6—O and to Califor
nia 7—6.
Stagg describes his current Pa- :
cific eleven as an outstanding
team but says it would be un- ,
fair to try to make comparisons '
with the great outfits he had at
Chicago.
He had bone crushing teams in ;
1899 and 1905 but football was
different . Powerhouse elevens
also were the style, 1921 through
’24, but again the plays were dif
ferent from those ujfed today. In
the early ’20s he introduced cross
■blocking and tried for power be
cause he had a trio of dyr^mic
fullbacks, John Thomas, Bill Zorn
and Raynor Timme. of whom
Princeton men sang disgustedly:
‘"Thomas, Timme and Zorn; We
wish they’d never been bom.”
Podesto 1943 Star
j Left half John Podesto was. the
pass throwing, running ace of
Pacific’s attack this season until
he was transferred to Parris Is
land, S. C., for additional mili
tary training. Stagg brackets Po
desto high up as a player but he
says it would be unfair to make
comparisons with Eekersall and
Steffen
He points out that three of
Eckersall’s four varsity years
were played wtihout the forward
pass. Ekky did well with the pass
when it was installed but his
plays were mostly off the “T”
formation whereas Podesto has
been operating off the flanker.
.Of the bad breaks, Srtagg says
“No complaints.” Of the star
players he’s developed in 54
years: “All of them were good.”
A GOOD HORSE
IS A REAL PAL
By VIVIAN BROWN
AP Features Writer
A girl’s best friend is her
horse!
You can take it from a Texas
cowgirl, men are more fickle
than horses—but no suh, she
LILLIAN COWAN
and Friend
won’t admit they're better com
panions.
i Lovely, brunette, 21year-old
Lillian Cowan of Pecos, Texas,
now performing as a cowgirl in
the rodeo at Madison Square
Garden, drawled that bit of fem
inine philosophy when discussing
the relaitvc merits of horses vs.
men.
•‘Of course, I've had lots of
dates,” she says. "Men are good
and bad, whether they are city
: slickers or cowboys. I guess 1
just haven’t met the right
man. But a horse—well, he’s
right or1 the job—eld faithful
all the time "
Lillian, who was bom on a
ranch, ought to know. One of the
most popular girls at Hardin
Simmons University, she was
campus queen and class favorite
three years in a row. She major
ed in art and specialized in cos
tume designing. In the cowgirl
band she played the bass.. bari
tone and French hom and was a
flag bearer for the cowboy band.
Recently, she tucked heT B A.
degree under her arm and went
right back to the saddle. Rodeos,
however, are nothing new for
Lillian. She has ridden in the
annual grand entry at home
every year since she was eight.
"Gosh, grandad could ride! ’
says Lillian, who does a good
job herself. *'He was one of
the first settlers in W< stem
Texas and he just loved that
ol’ ranch.”
Her brothers, both m the ser
jv.ee now, have been her real en
couragement, however. Once in a
while, she has been thrown, but
she rides for fun of it and if
she had “a million dollars"
would st;ll like to take part in
the rodeo.
Cowgirls are well paid. The
average rodeo salary is $100 a
week plus incidentals. It’s the
.cos, of wh.ch Lillian has seven,
that cut down the profit. Hats
alone cost from $15 to $25; shirts
approximately $20, boots $25,
gloves $5. and suits from $30 to
to $65.
Though she’s having a wonder
ful time in the East and dancing
and mghtclubbmg fascinate her,
Lillian says she’s "definitely not
a j.Uerbug."
When the rodeo’s over and she
gets back to Texas, away go the
spurs temporarily because Lillian
has a job as a typist promised at
an .Army air base.
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