SATURDAY, OCTOBER - 3, 1953
Hail to the Lions
Sgm's . Song!!
By SAM PROCOPIP
Collegian Sports Editor
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 3—Several years ago spectators
and sportswriters and coaches were hollering "Break up that
Pennsylvania football powerhouse!" which ruled the Ivy
League for nine 10 - rdly years. It was like trying to break up
the New York Yankees.
If there is a collegiate football team that can put a stop to the
Quakers' power, it's Penn State. Whether the Lions can continue,
it remains to be seen. However, to Penn State it is a matter of.
stepping onto Franklin Field. This easy step began in 1937 when
the Nittany Lions edged out a 7-0 triumph. Since then, Penn has
never topped Coach Rip Engle's football 11.
From 1890 to 1910, Penn did a sound job of trouncing the Nittany
Lions.. Penn was so strong offensively and defensively that the
players from the Nittany Vale did not score more than six points in
any one game. And in 12 out of 19 contests the Lion gridders were
shutout.
It wasn't until 1911 that Penn State got on the winning side.
The Lions wan, 22-6, that year and followed through with a 14-0
triumph the next time out.
In 1926 Penn had a drop-kicking specialist who kicked goals
from the field in four games, two of his boots winning games and
another tying a game. Against Penn State he drop-kicked one from
the 40 yard line to win the game, 3-0.
Before the Lions began their monopoly against Penn on the
gridiron'in 1937, it would seem that each school would trade seats
sitting on the winning side. Because when State walked off with
the laurels, Penn would rebound with a win the following yeai..
Despite Penn's prodigious kicker, Franny Murray, who averaged
67 yards on punts—one traveling 80 yards—Penn State was able to
maintain a drive and squeeze through with a 7-0 victory in 1937
the year the so-called jinx began.
Pennsylvania could not shake off its temporary slump when
it met Penn State in 1942. Penn outgained its opponent, register
ing 16 first downs to six and 310 yards to 144, but in the scoring
department the Quakers trailed, 13-7 in the final count.
Penn found itself on a 13-0 deficit count when both teams
battled to remain unbeaten. An oddity during the 1948 contest oc
curred when blocking back Carmen Falcone, who caught a pass, was
tackled by Wally Triplett, State defensive back, 1 inch from the
goal line.
Last year, it was another story. One of defense. It was the
fine defensive unit which repeatedly stopped Penn's scoring threats
and was mostly responsible for the 14-7 upset. Unlike Murray's•
line, Engle's fast charging forward wall g•ive Ted Kemmerer's
long booming punts just enough time to land before the line was
on the intending receiver. In nine tries he averaged 38 yards.
As far as the punting situation is concerned, both teams are set.
In the Wisconsin game Penn State's Don Eyer and Don Bailey com
bined to average 39.2 yards. Penn's Walt Hynoski is capable of
punting better than 40 yards and is always a threat on quick kicks.
We believe this game is the one to watch because each team
in its last outing did not exhibit the caliber expected. And too,
since the game is one of those rivalry affairs and the jinx is still
intact, you can look for anything to happen. •
Series Just ;eginning
For Brooklyn Rooters
NEW YORK, Oct. 2 (W)—A' Brooklyn tabloid came out today
with a giant front-page headline: "World Series Starts Today," and
as far as Dodger fans are concerned, it did.
The all-but-deceased hopes of the beloved Bums stirred, then
sat bolt upright, revived by a victory in as fine a Series game as
anyone could ask to see
It was mounting drama from
the start, piling climax upon cli
max in the final two .innings
until a record Ebbets Field crowd
was limp and exhausted by the
steady drain on the nerves.
You might say the story was
Carl Erskine, and you would- be
in a large measure right, but Roy
Campanella can sneak in from
the wings and take a bow.
Here was a guy whose right
hand was swollen into the shape
of a sugar-cured ham yesterday
as the result of being hit by one
of Allie Reynolds' pitches in the
opening game. He couldn't grip
the bat firmly, every time he
touched the ball it brought ex
cruciating pain, and the word was
out he would not play at all to
day.
But he played, and in-the eighth
inning he somehow managed to
forget pain for one brief -moment.
It must have been like a man
pulling his own tooth, yet he put
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everything he had into one swing
and sent the. ball into the left
field stands for \ what turned out
to be the winning- run.
Only he knows what he was
thinking as he rounded the bases
with the crowd roaring its ac
claim, but it was noted that when
teammates reached for his hand
as he came into the bench he
withdrew it as if the slightest
touch would be more than he
could stand.
NEWMAN
CLUB
DAILY ROSARY
During October
Starting Mon. Oct. 5
4:30 p.m.
At the Church
THE "DAILY COLLEGIAN. STATE . COLLEGE. PENNSYLVANIA
R. B. Saylor
Explains
System;
By BILL SNYDER
Fall is here and, like everybody else on campus, the thoughts of R B. Saylor, associate
professor of economics, have turned to football.
But if Saylor feels a twing of regret along with the joy, he can be forgiven. You
see, lots of brain wracking and pencil chewing lie ahead for him in the coming months. For
he is an amateur football expert who has developed a new system of rating football
teams, called the Saylor Rating System.
His system Is winning new recognition.
posed of some 50 high school football teams
has adapted his system. The Harrisburg Patriot
ratings of central Pennsylvania
, high school teams.
Probably the biggest honor his
system has won is its acceptance
by the 14-team Pennsylvania
State Teachers' College League.
Sys2em Explained
In addition, when the present
season is over, his, real work will
begin. He will start digging
through the mass of statistics that
he is collecting on the major col
lege teams and will again come
out with his' annual college rat
ings. This will probably be cir
culated all over the country
through the wire services.
Just what is the Saylor system
and how does it work?
"It's not used, to predict foot
ball games," explains the man
who originated it. "Nor cio i _ase
my ratings entirely on won-loss
records, or the personal opinions
of anybody. It's simply a system
of rating teams by the strength
of the teams they have beaten—
or been beaten by.
Competition Decides
"It works ideally in a many
team conference like the Western,
because of the- difficulty of choos
ing the champion when the teams
in the league can't all play each
other.
"According to my system, the
team declared the champion, and
the succeeding second, third,
fourth, etc. place finishers would
be the teams that did the best
against strong competition.
High Schools Consistent
"For example, a team with,
say, a 7-2 record compiled against
the top teams in the circuit would
probably be rated over an mi . -
beaten team which had played
mostly 2nd division competition."
Saylor says there isn't much
difference in rating college and
high school teams, although he
believes high school teams are
much more consistent in their I
play...
"College
"College teams have elaborate
scouting systems and can ' pre
pare themselves against an op
ponent's weak spots; hence, even
the greatest• • , college teams are
knocked off once in a while by a
much weaker opponent. But high
school teams seldom go to • the
expense of elaborate scouting.
Big upsets in high school ball,
therefore, are not as common."
Not More Upsets
Will the one-platoon system in
college ball this year bring in
more upsets and make it harder
to rate the teams?
"I , don't think that the one
platoon system will cause more
upsets," says Saylor, "even if it
does eliminate large schools from
using highly talented specialists."
Even Orange Bowl champion
Alabama's surprising loss to tiny
Mississippi Southern doesn't faze
this football rater. He says, "Ala
bama won by two touchdowns
against Mississippi Southern last
year and lost by one this year—
a difference. of three touchdowns
when one-platoon football was
Class of '57
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Roger Saylor
Grid Statistician
used. Also the Mississippi school,
despite being unknown, has a
powerful team, losing only to Ala
bama last year. So the loss isn't
as startling as it seems; on the
surface."
Picks Closest Bowl
When Saylor brought out his
final rating of the college teams
(last year, he won a great deal of
recognition. He was surprisingly
accurate in his bowl game pre
dictions. For example, he fore
casted that Syracuse would take
a sound beating in the Orange
Bowl; He himself felt that Penn
State, and not Syracuse, was the
East's best team (final score: Ala
bama 61, Syracuse 6).
He predicted that the closest
bowl game would be the Tulsa-
Florida Gater Bowl tussle, be
cause in his ratings the two teams
finished side by side. Florida won
the game by one point.
"One of the most surprising
things that happened after my
So far this year, the Western Conference, corn
extending from Johnstown to Lock Haven,
has arranged with him to print weekly his
• - •,;•:-;":;!;'?;i:Kr
ratings were released," Saylor
reminisces, "was the discovery
that another amateur rating ex
pert on the West Coast had re
leased a ratings chart that corre
lated with my own very closely."
Neither man had ever met or ex
changed any correspondence.
Saylor has been interested in
rating teams for about ten years
now. Does it take a lot of his
time?
Don't Sell Lions Short
"Only at the end of the season
when I make my final ratings of
all teams," he replies.
Incidently, don't sell the Lions
short today when the team goes
against undefeated Penn, even
though - State lost its opener to
Wisconsin.
By the Saylor system of rating
teams according to opposition,
Wisconsin must certainly be rated
a tougher foe than Vanderbilt,
the team Penn conquered.
Close Grid Games
Produced by IM's
The intramural touch football
program is in full swing and the
strong competition is producing
some very exciting games.
Twenty-four teams have al
ready played under the lights at
Beaver Field and half of •them
have been eliminated.
• Thursday night produced three
close-scoring games. Alpha Chi
Rho downed Chi Phi, 7-0 and the
Raiders beat the Atherton Men,
6-0. In the final contests, th e
Flashers won over. the Dinks, 12-6.
There were no games last night
because of the Penn game.
Teams scheduled for Monday
night are:
7 p.m. Meteors vs. Monkey
A. C.
7:45 p.m. Alpha Tau Ome
ga vs. Sigma Pi
8:30 p.m. Iron Men vs.
Killers.
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