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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 1942)
Page 4- -THE BATTALION- -MONDAY MORNING, SEPT. 21, 1942 Aggie Coaches Are to be Taxed to the Limit This Year Bill James, Lil Dimmitt and Manning Smith, Norton’s Assistants, Will Have Much Responsibility This Year With three of Aggieland’s serving in the army, the Cadet coaching staff for the coming '42 session will be taxed to the max imum as they prepare their vaunt ed plans for the defending South west Conference champions. Coach Homer Norton and his staff of Line-Coach Bill James, Trainer Lil Dimmitt and Manning Smith have been carrying the bulk of the load this fall and cer tainly have their hands full for the coming year. At present, Coach James has However, Coach Norton has no discrepency to that setup since “Uncle Bill”, as James is lovingly known by all his players, has more than once come througl? when the going was rough. The cry for guards and tackles was loud last year, but by the end of the grid season, James had produced an all-conference tackle and a couple of guards that were rated far above the average by most sports experts. And it hasn’t been just that par ticular day that “Uncle Bill’ has There he stayed until 1934 from where he came to A. & M. touted as one of the best line coaches in the country. And he has lived up more than to mere expectations. He produced such stellar players as Joe Routt, twice All-American guard; Joe Boyd, another All- American and All-Conference tack le for two years; Marshall Rob- nett, All-American guard in 1940 and winner of most valuable line man award; and Martin Ruby, last year’s tackle who won the most valuable line-man award. drainer ( Dmrmtt 8>ac£Jfammif'SmitA. J^zne (Poach Ja ’ames charge of all the line-men, which includes the centers and the ends. In fore-gone years, James took care of the guards and tackles only but with the departure of Dough Rollins and Charlie De ware, the whole job will be upon Jhis shoulders. come through. His experience in coaching dates way back in the '20’s when he first undertook the tedious task with Birmingham. From there he went to Fort Worth Central high school, T. C. U. 1 be fore he finally embarked for Tex as university in 1925. WELCOME . FRESHMEN CALL AROUND AND GET ACQUAINTED GISEY’S CONFECTIONERY IN THE “Y” SMOKES — EATS — DRINKS FRESHMEN HERE IS YOUR STORE REGULATION SHIRTS (Patches Sewed On FREE) REGULATION PANTS (Alterations FREE) TRENCH COATS, TIES, SOCKS, ORNAMENTS— EVERYTHING YOU NEED AT FAIR PRICES COME AND SEE FOR YOURSELF Aggie Clothiers NORTH GATE ZUBIK&SONS UNIFORM SPECIALISTS — For Manning Smith, this will really be his first year at full- fledged varsity coaching. He takes over the backfield, a spot left va cant ^ by the departure of Marty Karow, now at Corpus Christi Naval Air Station. “Smitty” serv ed as co-freshman coach of all sports last year besides being head tennis mentor. He came to A. & M. along with his own coach, Ho mer Norton, from Centenary Col lege, after distinguishing as an All-American half-back. Trainer Lil Dimmitt, after being appointed as head baseball coach, inherits the head mentorship of the freshman team for the year. Lil now has had the priviledge of coaching three of the four major A. & M. sports. Before Dimmitt came here he was the head coach of Beaumont High School, where he gathered honors uporf honors. Coming here in 1935, he has most ly confined his duties as a trainer, plus doing his odd jobs here and there in athletics. This year, this small staff of coaches face their greatest test—a job which will require every ounce of their energy. They have already shown their ability and you can bet *the Cadet team will have all the football learning they need after these coaches get through. Coupon Book Holders Entitled to Free Game To clarify some of the arguments given on the coupon book question, the athletic department made it known that all coupon book holders will be entitled to four games as originally prescribed. Three of those tilts will be home affairs— Texas Tech, T. C. U. and Arkan sas. Besides those three games, the holder will be entitled to choose any of the four conference games on the road. Ernst Krenek, noted Chech com poser of the opera, “Jonny Spielt Auf,” has been appointed professor of music at Hamline university, St. Paul Minnesota. Thirty new short courses in fields considered essential by the government are being offered by the University of Texas. When in Doubt About Your Eyes or Your Glasses, Consult DR. J. W. PAYNE OPTOMETRIST 109 South Main Bryan Next Door to Palace Theatre Head Coach Homer Norton Begins 9th Year at Aggieland By Chick Hurst Homer Hill Norton, head foot ball coach and director of inter collegiate athletics of Texas A. & M. College has had one of the most interesting careers of any figure in the sports world today. The genial Aggie mentor was born December 30, 1896 at Carolton, Alabama, one of the six sons of a Methodist preacher. He attended Birmingham High School and Bir mingham-Southern College, gradu ating from the latter in 1916. Outstanding Athelete In college he was an outstand ing athlete, winning his letters in four sports, and in his senior year was voted the best all-round ath lete in school. Norton started out to become a professional baseball player, but in 1920 he gave up a promising career with the Colum bus, Ohio team of the American Association to become head foot ball coach at Centenary. He was head coach at Centenary for two years and then served as line coach under the immortal “Bo” McMillan for three seasons. Mc Millan left Centenary in 1925 and Norton was offered the position as head coach but declined. After serving one more year as line coach he took the reins of the Gentlemen as head coach, and re mained as such for eight years. During his term as head coach his teams were eminently sucess- ful, the 1927, 1932 and 1933 aggre gations being unbeaten, and his 1940 Sugar Bowl Classic. The 1939 Aggies were voted National Champions, and Norton declares that it was the greatest team he has ever coached. With almost the same team re turning in 1940, Norton’s men lost only to Texas University, shared Conference honors with S. M. U. and then defeated Fordham in the Cotton Bowl by a count of 13-12. The 1939-40 Aggies were unbeat en and untied in 19 straight games, a record which has never been equalled in the history of the Southwest Conference. Keen Football Mind Norton has one of the keenest football minds in the business, as his record will attest. To the casual acquaintance Coach Norton gives the impression that he is somewhat defense minded, but this is merely a cover-up for a brain that is constantly thinking of ways to build a better offense. In fact, Coach Norton might be compared to the famous Frenchman, Marshal Foch, whose motto was “when in doubt, attack”. Proof of this is the famous of fense which Norton created which was known as the “Double Shuf fle”. Experts agree that this is undoubtedly the trickiest and most deceptive offense which has ever been designed in football, and the hardest to stop—if, and that’s a big if, the right sort of team is on hand to use it. The “Shuffle” requires a quarterback who can 1930 outfit losing only one game, that to the Texas Aggies by a count of 7-6. During the seasons of 1932 and 1933 his teams went through fourteen straight games before being scored upon, and twenty straight before being beat en, which is something of a re cord. Came to A. & M. in ’34 In 1934 Norton came to A. & M. and from then until 1939 his ma terial was scant, and Aggie teams went through some rather lean years. With spring training of 1939, however, those close to the football picture at Aggieland be gan to smile, and Coach Norton “delivered the goods”—which is a masterpiece of understatement. His 1939 team started the sea son unheralded and unacclaimed, but swept through a ten game schedule undefeated and untied, and climaxed a perfect season by defeating Tulane 14-13 in the WELCOME NEW STUDENTS To Look Your Best At All Times VISIT US Aggieland Barber and Beauty Shop North Gate make up his mind in a split second which play to call, and a team which has almost perfect timing. To use the “Shuffle” effectively a team must be drilled for many long hours, and for this reason Coach Norton has had to lay it aside. For with the war, and the speedup program in effect, not enough time is available to prac tice this sensational attack. But some day, if and when Nor ton finds the right combination, the “Double Shuffle” will once more be trotted out, and with the right kind of team handling it, brother, somebody’s football team had better look out when Homer Norton’s outfit hits town. The vaunted “T” formation will be forgotten when the “Double Shuf fle” clicks. 1942 Season This year finds Coach Norton with a team generally conceded to be one of the better outfits of the Southwest. In 1941 the South west Conference still clung to the old adage that “the champions never repeat” although A. & M. after winning in 1939 had tied for the crown in 1940. But Coach Norton’s Aggies soon stilled that cry forever. With practically all the stars of his great 1940 eleven gone, Norton developed one of the greatest passing attacks in 1941 the nation had seen since the days of Ray Morrison and his S. M. U. “aerial circus”. With a green team he won the Southwest Conference championship, losing only to Tex as, perennial Aggie nemesis. Fans in 1942 will see a veteran outfit taking the field for the Ag gies. The one great worry of Coach (See NORTON, page 12) PALACE PHONE 2 “3879 Welcome Aggies • MON. - TUES. Barbara Stanwyck in “Great Man’s Lady” WED.-THURS.-FRI." SAT. Gary Grant Jean Arthur “The Talk of the Town” Preview, 11 P. M. SAT. NIGHT Also Five Big Days SUN. - MON. - TUES. WED. - THURS. Walter Pidgeon Greer Carson “MRS. MINIVER” WELCOME FRESHMEN! COME SEE THE LATEST PICTURES AND STAY COOL At the Air-Conditioned Campus Theatre / • x • ✓ -s 4-1181 Box Office Opens at 1:00 P. M. LAST DAY “Bahama Passage” TUESDAY - WEDNESDAY DOUBLE FEATURE “Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case” With Janies Ellison Virginia Gilmore “Brooklyn Orchid” with William Bendix Marjorie Woodworth Also THREE BLONDE MICE THURSDAY - FRIDAY SATURDAY “KEEP ’EM FLYING” Also NEWS — SHORT LEON ERROL COMEDY FRESHMEN FOR DELICIOUS, JUICY HAMBURGERS COME IN AND VISIT . . . MINUTE SANDWICH SHOP North Gate Welcome Aggies POPULAR PIUCS (ASM CLOTH HAS lOt MM MP KW Complete Store for College Men BRYAN HEADQUARTERS FOR MILITARY CLOTHIHII Hart, Schaffner and Marx TAILORED UNIFORMS Regulation . . . Arrow Shirts, Ties Florsheim Shoes Freeman Shoes Wool or Cotton Slacks Insignia, Patches Caps, Sam Browne Belts Web Belts, Aggie Coveralls