Years ago the news that City College had won its opening game by a score of 18-0 over Brooklyn College would have made the headlines on sport pages throughout the nation.
However, the old order changeth and with the arrival of Benny Friedman as head coach of the Beaver gridders the score is greeted as a matter of fact. It seems to be expected that Benny Friedman should produce winning football teams.
This corner, knowing the vicissitude the head coach must face in order to place a good football team on the gridiron, realizes that Friedman has worked miracles and will have to work wonders to keep up the fine brand of playing exhibited by the Beavers in the third quarter of last week’s game.
One thing that is most evident is the new spirit of fight, sportsmanship and pep that the 1934 C. C. N. Y. eleven is displaying. Once again the old grads of the St. Nick institution can stand up and cheer about the "sturdy sons of City College."
EXCELLENT COACHING STAFF
The majority of coaches throughout the country choose as their assistants men versed in the system of the game the head man is expounding. Usually a former player of the school team is chosen. Friedman has gone them one better. He has no one special system. He thinks they’re the bunk, And, when it came to selecting his aides he seems to have picked, in our estimation, the finest coaching staff in the country.
SCHOOL FOOTBALL CONSCIOUS
One of the traditions at City College that has been blown up by the Friedman regime is that "Basketball Reigns Supreme." Alumni and students would hibernate with the close of the C. C. N. Y. basketball season and come to life when the Holman quintets began their floor work. However, it does appear now that City is beginning to lose some of its court consciousness and is moving away from the classroom struggle. Only a minority are interested in Dean Gottschall’s literary endeavors and most of the students and grinds at St. Nick heights are surreptitiously reading a football guide behind Griffin’s "Mathematical Analysis."
Last Saturday night a crowd of 5,000 paid to see the season opener. The rain kept many away. But what is most surprising is the fact that so many people did turn out when years ago 5,000 fans at C. C. N. Y. games would have been the total attendance for four seasons.
Even the turnout for the football team exceeded all expectations last spring, when 250 candidates answered Coach Friedman’s call for first practice. The boys were so hopped up about playing football under their famous coach that they didn’t object at all to traveling to Van Cortlandt Park by truck for practices.
TRAINING CAMP PROVES BOON
When we spoke to Benny Friedman last June he told us of the necessity of a training camp. He realized that the boys could not be whipped into shape properly on the Lewisohn Stadium grounds. He also was aware that the last time City had a gridiron contingent at such a camp the Lavender eleven made football history and is still known as the best team C. C. N. Y. ever had. Its captain and high scorer, Eddie Dubinsky, was up with the nation’s leaders and the boys produced five victories, the best record to date.
COOPER FRIEDMAN’S PRIDE
Adolph Cooper, better known by the name of "Yudy," was the driving force in the Friedman machine last Saturday night. Around this brilliant quarterback Friedman has built his entire attack, and already it has netted dividends. Cooper scored all eighteen points against Brooklyn City and pulled off one of the most beautiful and thrilling runs we have ever seen on a gridiron.
Glickman, of Brooklyn, punted to Cooper on the latter’s twenty-eight-yard line. "Yudy" took it on the run and, by skillful broken field running returned the ball seventy-two yards for a touchdown behind splendid interference.
Cooper played at Richmond Hill High School for two years and was a member of the 1930 C. C. N. Y. jayvee and the 1931 and 1932 varsities. A splendid punter, having been co ched by the great LeRoy Mills, he can crack a line with the force of a #attering ram. And because he is playing on a Friedman eleven his passing has improved 100 per cent.
THE PRESENT LINE-UP
The same team that opened the 1934 season last week will probably take the field against Baltimore {SPAN}##{/SPAN} tomorrow night.
Ends—Dwyer and Mauer
Tackles—Ilowit and Velkoff
Guards—Tolces and Berkowitz
Center—Luongo
Backs—Cooper, Sidrer, Gonzales and Resner
From this it is quite apparent that one thing didn’t change at City even with Friedman’s advent as head coach. Most of the boys on the team are Jewish.
LASKY FIGHTS HAMAS TONIGHT
Madison Square Garden will open its indoor boxing season with a natural. The fight between Art Lasky, Jewish heavyweight from Minneapolis, and Steve Hamas, the pride of Penn State, will decide who is the logical contender for Maxie Baer’s coveted title.
This corner favors Art Lasky. The Jewish fighter has it over Hamas in all branches of the game. We predict a win for the Minneapolis Mauler.
Lasky completed his training yesterday at Stillman’s gym for the fight that’s being hailed as the most important of his career. Hamas, who remains at Pompton Lakes until weighing time today, stated that he will lose no time in kayoing the flash from the midwest. Lasky countered with a remark that after tonight he will be well on the road to the heavy-weight championship.
The fans at the Garden tonight should see a crack show. Forty rounds of boxing, or less, is scheduled. Charlie Massaro and Tony Souza are on for eight rounds; Lew Poster and Alberos, six; Roy Wallace and Billy Donohue, six. Prices are from one to seven dollars.
TRIED THE IMPS YET?
Hank Greenberg, pet first baseman of the Tigers, made an error on the opening day of the World Series. He confessed that he had his mind on the IMPS. Although he has promised to IMP-rove, he has been knocked dizzy and daffy by the Dean brothers and carried out after a tussle with the IMPS.
You Impers, which problem is possible and which is impossible? Don’t you wish you knew? Don’t we wish we knew? Don’t you wish you could lay down the little metal "Imp" and get your mind on something else? Heh! Heh! Heh! Try and do it! The phone has been ringing like mad all day. People want us to tell them which problem is which. No one is answering the phone. The girls at the board are too busy. Some idiot gave them an "Imp." Hope no one passes "Imps" around the press room. We want to get out another paper tomorrow.
Flash! The first "Imp" casualty has happened. The latest, newest, meanest man in the world has been found. He gave an "Imp" to a friend and let that friend work on a problem for ten hours before he informed him that the problem given was an impossible one. The friend dropped dead. No, don’t ask us for his name. We don’t know it. We don’t know anything. Possible. Impossible. Possible. Nothing. Not a thing in the world. We know nothing. You can’t do anything to us. Why can’t you do anything to us? We didn’t make you play "Imp." Who said we made you play "Imp"? We stand on our constitutional rights. And you’re an old meany. Yes, you are. Can we help it if the "Imp" problems are the most maddening in the world? Or are we going looney?
GET YOUR ‘IMPS’ FREE
Send in your subscription for the Sunday edition of the Jewish Daily Bulletin and get an IMP free of charge. Or else, work out the problem and write in your number of moves. Five persons already have received free Imps because their scores for moves were smallest. And, it’s more fun to work them with the real thing.
In case you have not as yet bought one of the manufactured games, rule off sixteen blank squares, cut them out and paste on cardboard. Number the squares from one to fifteen, four lines of four squares each. Discard the sixteenth square and then, without lifting any of the squares from the table, proceed to work out the imp problem.
DO YOU WANT AN ‘IMP’ GAME?
For those IMPERS who would like to get an IMP game the procedure is easy. White in the number of squares you have moved to arrive at the correct solution and mail into "Slants on Sports." The five people who have the smallest number of moves will receive one of these "IMP" games free.
However, if you would like to facilitate matters and get the IMP immediately fill out the coupon below.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
