There is a longstanding and eminently wise football custom which dictates that neither the coaches nor the school newspaper of any institution beaten in a football game should say anything against the winning team which might imply that the game was won in an unfair or immoral fashion.

In spite of this custom, the Michigan Daily yesterday printed an article which claimed that Army went out of its way to inure key Wolverine players and in general performed in an illegal and unsportsmanlike fashion in the recent meeting of the schools. It further stated that Army repeated its immoral performances against Harvard, citing the injuries to Charley Roche and or Jimmy Noonan as evidence. Here is precisely what the Daily said:

Repercussions--3 Ways

"Repercussions of the Army-Michigan football game are being felt at West Point, Harvard, and Congress, thanks to Professor William H. Hobbs, former head of the geology department. Professor Hobbs, after gathering information on the game from several observers and officials who saw the game, claims that it was not played according to Hoyle.

"He wrote to Detroit Free Press sports writer Tommy Devine, the most likely person with whom to argue his point.

"And the same thing happened at Harvard when Army played that school a week later, he said.

"From the start of the game, when Ortmann (first string tailback) was kicked between the eyes by Army halfback Gill Stephenson to other plays when Erben and Farrar were put out of commission the same way by the same halfback, Army was obviously out to cripple their opponents, Professor Hobbs claimed.

"And Kempthorn's 'accident' came from a deliberate blow on the head which was even put on the air by one of the announcers, he added.

Urges Blacklisting Army

"Professor Hobbs felt that Army should be banned from playing with all University teams, as Notre Dame once was for the same reason. He added that there was no adequate penalty for deliberate kicking except an occasional 'unnecessary roughness' penalty, which Army got only once during the game.

"The silence the 'roughness' was given by Michigan came from a false attitude that a defeated team should not complain of mayhem, Professor Hobbs asserted, but he felt that it should be brought out into the open.

"He wrote to a former player and official at Harvard, the Commandant of West Point, and to the Chairman of the committees on Defense of the House of Representatives and Senate.

"The Harvard official enthusiastically replied to Professor Hobbs that 'the Army team was the dirtiest' he had seen in the 22 years he had been playing and officiating Harvard football.

"Noonan, Harvard's kicker and passer, was clipped by one man and "roll-blocked" from the front by another at the same instant, an appreciable time after the whistle had blown to stop play. He hasn't been on the field since,' he said.

Stephenson: Villain of the Piece?

"The Harvard official added that in the last quarter, Harvard's so-called third string safety man, Walsh, showed he was able to dish out punishment as well as take it. Twice after he had tackled the mighty Army halfback Mr. Stephenson, said great man had to be held by his teammates to keep him from attacking Walsh with his fists.'

"By that time the stands were rabid, and in 22 years of watching Harvard football, I've never heard so (sic) violent spectator reaction,' he said.

"The letters were sent to the Chairmen of the Committees on Defense because of West Point's close proximity to the United States government."

There are some obvious factual flaws in the above dispatch. For one thing, Earl Blaik stated after the Harvard-Army game that Stephenson had appeared in but four plays against Michigan. For another, Professor Hobbs' Harvard correspondent apparently thinks Noonan and Roche are the same individual.

Stanford Has Its Doubts

On the other hand, the Stanford players which this writers talked to all considered the 1948 Army-Stanford game the dirtiest contest they had ever been in, and one implied that Emery Mitchell, start fullback and the team's best passer, had been deliberately crippled in the first quarter of that game.

In 1945, Navy's star tackle, Whitmire, was injured in the first quarter against Army, and so it went down through the years. A case can be made against the Cadet elevens of recent years. I somehow feel that the numerous injuries to teams that play Army is not a preconceived plan, but merely a reflection of the dominant Military Academy theme that anything goes as long as you win--as in War.

Neither Bill Cunningham nor Art Valpey could agree with Professor Hobbs' Cambridge informant on the style of play of the Army-Harvard game. Both stated they felt that the game was aggressive, but not dirty.

Nor could either man give any clue to the identify of the man who had been watching Harvard football for 22 years. He will probably remain unknown, too, because Hobbs refused to give his name upon the CRIMSON'S request.

Also unknown are Professor Hobbs' qualifications as a football critic. The retired 85-year-old geologist is a well known and still active scientist who worked for OSS from 1941 to 1945. But there is no record as to the volume of his football knowledge.