Fordham at Boston College

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  The Washington times, District of Columbia, October 17, 1931, page 15

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  GAMESER|OUS PROPOSITION W|THH|M DH AOCEN kEN NE \ ENOADO NEW YORK, Oct. 17.-Just 13 years ago they picked up the man In the iron hat and threw him in a front line dressing sta. ton. They took one look at him and said, Flowers for one.” But somehow or other he sur. vived those wounds of battle and after a couple of months the doc tor admitted that he might live, after all. But they said that he’d be blind. So Major Cavanaugh gave his watch away. A watch isn’t much good to blind man. Today Major Cavanaugh is coaching at Fordham University and the 1nly sign of his injured eyes is a pair of dark glasses ne wears. Cavanaugh lived and he didn’t 60 blind. He fooled the doctors and he’s been fooling opposing football teams ever since. They call him Cavanaugh, “the man ir the iron hat, because he IS practically never seen without a derby planted on his head. Cavanaugh is one Of those soldiers who looks like q soldier. Tall, broad and erect he completely dominates the field when he steps out there to coach every afternoon. He runs his team with militray tactics. He doesn’t like his play ers to smile at practice. Football is too great 6. game to be taken lightly, Cavanaugh thinks. It’s serious-something like war. His teams reflect his character. His team is a military unit which advances ponGerously and some times clumsily. Military on Field Suddenl.’ a flank will be turned, the offense will discard it’s heavy weapons anC become for the nonce a flashing, vibrant, speedy unit that takes advantage of the opening made by its heavy ar tillery. Then hack like Jack Fisher and Captain Jim Murphy will flash like :. rair of lightning bugs across the line. They will throw passes and catch passes. They will fly on the wings of Cava. naugh’s deceptive passing attack. They did that Monday against Boston College and won 20 to 0. Cavanaugh was one of the first coaches to use the forward pass as a staple standard offensive weapon. “It’s easier to climb over a wall than to go through it,” the major says. Fordham teams throw passes from any part of the field and they throw them well. Spring practice at Fordham consists of passing, passing and more pas sing. Last year Fordham passed every one of it’s opponents dizzy except that powerful st. Mary’s team from the coast. This year Fordham has another good team which maybe a very good team. To-day will tell the tale” Cavanaugh says II know I have q pretty fair team. I know too that Holy Cross has an exceptionally good team. Dartmouth just managed to trim them last Saturday and it took 97.yard run from kickoff to do it,” IS Cavanaugh would like to win from Holy Cross but he’d love to win from N. Y. y. That N. Y. U-Fordhan1 game has become tradition to New York city. Last year 10000 crowded into the Yankee Stadium to watch Ford ham win. Another 10000 vainly stormed the portals of Colonel Ruppert’s ball park trying to get in to see that titanic contest. It was a bitter, hard-fought game in which finese was many times forgotten and sheer primitive power exhibited. 1t was what coaches call a dog fight” And It was great show. ~They tell me Chick Nee han has a sweet team” Cavanaugh continued. That’s the ball game I want to win, and ! make no secret of it. We have q hard schedule before that game comes and, If we come through without injuries, we’re going to have a good chance” All the Doughty Major ever wants is a good chance. When he was coach at Boston College, he defeated Yale twice in a row, and the New Haven College fl nally dropped B. C. from it’s schedule. They admitted that Cav anaugh’s teams were too much for them. G. InL~o Ho1L

Public-domain newspapers from the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America, found through the American Stories dataset (Dell and Harvard, CC BY 4.0). The text is the machine reading of the page, mistakes and all.

Tied 8–⁠8 in 16 meetings, counting the 12 since this game.