By all appearances the bet football team dick Harlow has fielded in his ten years at Harvard, a highly favored Crimson eleven comes to grips today with a much-mangled Brown Bear in the 45th renewal of their Ivy League rivalry. Bookmakers have made the Varsity a 14-point choice for the contest, which gets under way at the Stadium at 2 o'clock.
Harlow's 1946 squad has won six games of its first seven, and no Crimson team directed by the famed ornithologist has ever taken more than five. The Varsity is also approaching the record of Ed Casey's 1931 outfit, captained by the legendary Barry Wood, which won seven out of eight.
Well-manned in every position but end, the only ailing Varsity members are wingmen Len Cummings and Pete Garland, neither of whom will be able to face the Bruins. Tackle Ed Davis, a question ark until yesterday's session, is expected to start today.
Coach Rip Engle's forces, on the other hand, absorbed a merciless 49 to 0 drubbing at the hands of Yale last weekend, and the Brown team came off in bad shape. Tackle Lou Flick was sidelines, reserve quarterback Hank Pilote took a beating, and the Bruin guards came off very much the worse for wear.
The main cog in Brown's wing-T offense, Eddie Finn, has been a cause celebre all week. An aching back prevented his appearance in the Eli engagement and his availability for today's game remains dubious. Although third-stringer Preston Barry in listed as the starting quarterback for the Bruins, the Crimson coaching staff will not be a whit surprised if Mr. Finn replaces him to plague the Varsity with his able passing. Brown cannot be judged solely on its lusterless performance against Yale. Previous to the massacre at New Haven, the Providence club had held potent Holy Cross to a 21 to 19 victory, and plastered Dartmouth 20 to 13. Had Finn been on hand against the Bulldogs, the Englemen might have given Howie Odell a bad time. Aside from the casualties at end, the Varsity comes up for its penultimate contest in excellent condition. Cleo O'Donnell, who played about 50 minutes against Dartmouth, has ample backing now that Lee Flynn and Ralph Petrillo are ready for duty, and the switch of Paul Lazzaro to tailback gives Harlow a third substitution at that position. With a delegation of Yale scouts on hand, the Crimson is not expected to show anything novel today, relying on the power of the Varsity line to support Chip Gannon and O'Donnell on their off-tackle slants and end sweeps, and to pave the way for Vince Moravee on his guard smashes and spins. A newly-arisen passing threat in the person of Gannon, whose aerial attempts have shown constant improvement, should lead the required variety. Besides Finn, the principal Brown threat is Roy Swingler, a young man who ran a kickoff for an 80-yard touchdown against the Crimson in 1941. It could happen again
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Freshman Baseball Manager.
