PAGE 6
THE EATI ALilUiN
The uttie Man who Wasn’t/\ggj e Head Coach Began His Sports
There”-Against the Agg.es ^ Hjgh Schoo|
past few days
In the
poems to the tune of the popular
song “The Little Man Who Wasn’t
There,” dealing with the “mighty
mite” of the University of Texas
team, Jackie Crain, have been sent
in to The Battalion. Following is
the best of these bits of doggerel.
It’s by Tommie Martin:
“THE LITTLE MAN WHO
WASN’T THERE”
They said he was “the best they’d
seen,”
“The greatest back on any team.”
To Todd and Wilson they’d compare
“The little man who wasn’t there.”
He was a phantom; ran so fast
The secondary let him past
Before they knew he had the ball.
And then he wasn’t there at all.
“Stop Crain!” The cry rose far and
near.
From coast to coast, in every ear.
Yet all defenses were in vain.
For who could stop the wonder,
Crain ?
’Gainst S. M. U. he made no score,
And yet his fame grew more and
more.
Then Baylor U.—“ ’Twas mud and
rain—
Not Baylor—stopped our Jackie
Crain!”
Then came that fateful Turkey
Day—
All Texas came to see him play—
“The phantom of the football field”
Against a team that would not yield.
They’re lining up—the whistle
blows—
Far down the field the kickoff
goes—
It settles in Crain’s outstretched
hands;
A roar arises from the stands.
A mighty roar, and then a hush,
As all eyes watch the onward rush
Of Kimbrough, Thomason, and
Pugh,
Boyd, Smith, Pannell, Robnett too.
The whole team hit him to a man—
Now just imagine if you can
The impact. Yes, they found the
ball.
Crain? He just wasn’t there at
all.
By TOMMIE G. MARTIN,
Aggie Band.
Said Tommie when questioned in
regard to his above “masterpiece:”
“I’d been reading all this propagan
da about Crain one night, and just
then I heard “The Little Man Who
Wasn’t There” played on the radio.
Then flash! came the inspiration,
and this resulting poem expresses
what I hope and believe we’ll do
to Texas’ “mighty mite” Thanks
giving Day. It’ll be a thankless
Thanksgiving for Texas!”
several-f-Against the Aggie defense
With Kimbrough the boss
They threw little Jack
For a ten-yard loss.
He stomped his feet
And tore his hair;
But still little Jack
Just wasn’t there.
The stories about Jack
That the papers have told
Must have been wrong
’Cause they stopped Crain cold.
Some think it fair,
Some think it a sin;
’Cause when the Aggies play ball
They just have to win.
Mary-Hardin Baylor
To Teach CAA Flying
Three Texas Schools Among 18
Added to Training Study List
The Civil Aeronautics Authority
has just added 18 schools to its list
of institutions to participate in the
training of civilian pilots.
Among them were: Three Texas
colleges: East Texas State Teach
ers’ College, Commerce; Austin Col
lege, Sherman, and Mary Hardin-
Baylor, Belton.
Former Legislator Speaks
On Cooperative Marketing
For Ag Eco Department
An address on “Cooperative
Marketing of Dairy Products” was
given Monday morning at 8 o’clock
and again at 10 o’clock in room 312
of the Agriculture Buildings by A.
B. Tarwater, of Plainview.
The address was arranged by the
Department of Agricultural Econ
omics of A. & M. primarily for
students in the course in Coop
erative Marketing, but was open
to the general public.
Mr. Tarwater has served several
terms in the Texas Legislature and
been prominent in matters relat
ing to agriculture, conservation and
reclamation.
He lives on and manages his own
farm and has been a prominent
leader in the cooperative movement
in Texas. For some time he has
been president of The Plains Co
operative, Inc., which operates sev
eral creameries and other coopera
tive ventures in West Texas.
Known primarily as a football+
coach, Homer Hill Norton, head
coach and athletic director at A.
& M., made his first bid for fame
as a baseball player, patroling the
outfield at Birmingham High
School in Alabama. Later he did
such an outstanding baseball job
with the Birmingham-Southern
College nine that he was signed
by the Birmingham Barons in the
Southern Association when he was
graduated from college in 1916.
After a brief stay with the
Barons he landed with the Greens
boro, N. C. club in the Piedmont
League. His next stop was Lake
land, Florida, in the “Million-
Dollar Circuit”, and at the end of
an exceptionally good year in 1919,
Columbus, Ohio, in the American
Association bought his contract.
Right then Norton forsook profes
sional baseball to begin his career
as a football coach. He went on
baseball’s voluntarily retired list
and accepted the post of head coach
at Centenary College, Shreveport,
Louisiana, a job he held through
1920 and 1921, and later from 1926
through 1933, relinquishing it only
to come to Texas A. & M. in 1934.
During his playing days Norton
was a four-sport man, winning let
ters in baseball, football, basket
ball, and track in high school and
repeating the feat in college. In
1915 he captained his football and
baseball teams, and in 1916, his
senior year, he was awarded a
medal as the best all-around ath
lete in the Southwest and was
named as an all-conference back.
Sports writers said at the time
he was the best all-around athlete
ever to play in the Southwest and
one most likely to reach high spots
as a professional.
Prior to Norton’s going to Cen
tenary, the school had never play
ed football as an intercollegiate
sport. In his first year they did
play a few other college teams
but there is no record in the books
as to the results. The only record
found for that year is an item in
the “Shreveport Times” which
shows that the Gents took a 13-8
defeat from Marshall.
In 1921, the first year they
played a regular schedule and for
MANY CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE
IN ANNUAL SINCE DAYS OF ’09
Homer H. Norton
which records are complete, the
team won four games and lost
three. Before the next season open
ed the school decided it would go
in for football on a large scale and
hired A. N. (Bo) McMillan, three
time All-American back of the
“Playing Colonels” of Centre Col
lege, as head coach.
When “Bo” accepted the offer,
Norton stepped down and served
as line coach during his three-year
regime. The school found no fault
with Norton’s work and only the
feeling that a big name was need
ed caused him to be replaced as
chief-of-staff.
When McMillan left to accept
a more lucrative offer at the close
of the 1924 season, Norton was
offered his old post but declined
it and continued as assistant under
Earl Davis for the 1925 season.
The following year he was pre
vailed upon to become head coach
again, which job he took and held
until he came to Texas A. & M,.
in 1934.
By Phil Levine
From the dusty files of old col
lege publications comes a Longhorn
composed in the year 1909, exactly
30 years ago. The school then
had an enrollment of 640.
First noticed in this Longhorn
is the thin, Bible-like, white lea
ther cover with Longhorn imprint
ed in gold letters and a gold pic
ture of the head of a steer.
Turning through the first pages
the dedication to R. T. Milner, then
president of the school, Is seen.
A table of contents is next
noticed which includes the con
tents of each page. The 1908-1909
college calender is next given
which contains the schedule of all
major events happening during
that period. It is of interest to
note that the 1909 calendar is
similar to the current calendar in
that it contains the spring dances
which are referred to as “hops”,
corps dances, and other similar af
fairs.
The ’09 yearbook contains the
usual military section, showing the
then eight companies in action,
either marching or posing with
their rifles. The West Point-style
uniforms were worn with the clos
ed collar, which was the number
one. Number two was the khaki
shirt with a bow tie. Also the
usual club section is shown, and
if all traditions had been handed
down from 1909 to the present
time, we would have such clubs
as the S. O. L. club. Macaroni club,
the “Flunks” club, and the “U-ll”
club, to name a few.
The “Fun” section which cor
responds to the present-day
“Greenhorn” is given great empha
sis, covering nearly a quarter of
the book. The old Sbisa Hall food
“gripe” was given great promi
nence.
Class sections contain the usual
individual pictures with the excep
tion of the freshmen, whose names
are given. In the senior class sec
tion four individual pictures are
shown on both sides of half pages,
the opposite pages giving the name
and activities of each senior.
Included in the annual is a yell
section which contains all yells
and songs then used. Several are
somewhat similar to the current
yells, especially the first and last
part of the Aggie War Hymn
which was then two separate yells.
The same designs are used
throughout the book to outline each
page.
Other old Longhorns are found
in the files, and each successive
book shows a great improvement
over the one before. This is due
to the increased enrollment each
year and greater interest in the
publications. Also each editor gains
from the experience of past edi
tors.
According to advance reports
from George Smith, Longhorn edi
tor, the 1940 yearbook is to be
the largest and most expensive
Longhorn assembled. It will con
form to the style of the past Long
horns, but will contain added fea
tures, more color, and new ideas.
Ag Engineers To See
Educational Movies
The Agricultural Engineering
Society will have as guests Tues
day night, November 28, several
members of the Dallas branch
of John Deere Plow Company.
The entertainment for the even
ing is sponsored by this company,
and promises to be very interest
ing as well as educational. Sev
eral motion pictures will be shown
including “Joel Gentry In Holly
wood”, “Horses and Mules For
Sale”, “Making Tractor History”,
“A Short-Cut Through Harvest”,
“What’s New In Farm Equipment”,
and “In The Field With the Model
‘L’ ”. The show, which starts at
7 p. m. in the Ag Engineering
lecture room, will last about two
hours. Anyone interested in this
type of program is especially in
vited to attend.
“OF ALL THE PROFESSIONS,
that of teacher most needs the
full four years of liberal arts work.
To include in these fours years
more than a minimum of specific
teacher training courses defeats
the whole purpose of our efforts.”
New York University’s Dean H. E.
Hawkes believes emphasis should
be placed on training future teach
ers what to teach, not how to
teach.
And here’s another little poem
that’s been sent in, anonymously:
On November the thirtieth .
The weather was fair
And Crain didn’t score
‘Cause Crain wasn’t there.
HEAD COACH HOMER NOR-
ton of the Texas Aggies was the
principal speaker at the inter-city
Rotary meeting attended by Bry
an and College Rotarians at Bren-
ham last Tuesday evening.
Coach Norton’s talk was follow
ed by football pictures of the T.
C. U., Villanova and Rice games,
shown by assistant coach Man
ning Smith.
William Lyon Phelps, famed
Yale professor, taught more than
20,000 men during his 40 years
in the class room.
Arrow makes 'Soup & Fish
., : Vg#r/y. easy as Pie!
ARROW SHOREHAM $3. No pam-in-
i. : ,' i '/l. V v • rl the neck—this shirt. The starched collar
i! * jiA.i | k : ! ] attached is turned down, the semi soft
j 1 i ; j i \ § bosom is pleated and just
‘if| | | If ) lit the thing for tuxedo wear.
.4 Mitoga cut—Sanforized- / >
tiiy
ARROW LIDO $3. Though more on
the formal side, the Lido is smart and
comfortable with its narrow bosom
held in place by suspender loops.
Plain or pique. Other well-behaved
dress shirts from i2.50 up. Arrow /
dress ties—$1. Collars—35c.
A KKOW
DKESS SHIKTS
YOUR COLLEGE STORE
wants to congratulate
The Corps And Coach Norton
and his
"FIGHTING AGGIES"
We know that the old Aggie Spirit will be
displayed on Kyle Field Turkey Day.
Replenish your wardrobe for the holidays
to be sure of comfort, style and quality
Buy from
The Exchange Store