Boston's Red Sox have had a long history of fine baseball teams. They have finished second in the American League a revolting number of times. Fred Wilt, the jogging G-Man, is an excellent miler. He invariably runs second to Don Gehrmann. Harvard College has a very good swimming team.

Simply because the Crimson swimmers have been outclassing everyone in the Eastern Intercollegiate League except Yale, and will probably do so again this year, many authorities (notably these centered about New Haven) consider the Elie' Bob Kiphuth the nation's number one swimming coach. The local water contingent, and its branch offices in colleges all over the country, prefers to give the title to Harvard's genial Hal Ulen, noted worker of miracles.

The difference is, of course, that Ulen builds his superb squads out of normal human beings. He doesn't have names like John Marshall. Wayne Moore, or Jim McLane to conjure with. But Ulen has managed to parlay a Hedberg, a McNamara, a Dillingham, and a flood of sophomores into a team that will probably once again go undefeated until it travels to New Haven in March to meet Kiphuth's frogmen.

Early in the fall it looked as though the present Crimson swimmers would be considerably weaker than the team that finished second in the E.I.S.L. last year. A number of the better men on last year's freshman squad were academically amputated from the varsity, at least for the fall term. On top of this, Ulen lost, through graduation, the services of John Steinhart, who went through the regular season last year undefeated in the backstroke, Captain Bob Berke, an ace in sprints, distance, and medley, and good second-place diver Frank Manhelm.

But, happily, freshman coach Bill Brooks still managed to pass on four startling sophomores to Ulen. The four--Mary Sandler in the 220 and 440 freestyle, Charlie Egan in the new 150-yard individual medley, Don Mulvey in the backstroke, and Ralph Zani in the breast-stroke--took five out of ten first places in the recent drawing and quartering of Pennsylvania.

Dave Hedberg continues as the Crimson's top sprinter, but has been switched several times this year to strengthen the 220. For the 50 Ulen has been substituting footballer John McNamara for Hedberg. In competition so far this year McNamara's specialty seems to be making one or two false starts, looking extremely sheepish and apologetic when called back, and then reeling off fine times to win the short race. Alternate sprinters are Captain Bob Stroud, Ron Husbach, and Phil Pratt, who team with either Hedberg or McNamara to form a strong relay quartet.

In the middle distances, Dick Fouquet, who improved greatly at the end of last season, has been consistently edged out by Sandler. For the backstroke, Ulen has the two men he calls his "little giants," Mulvey and Hugh Hartwell. Mulvey is a little bigger and stronger than his teammate, and usually competes as backstroker in the medley relay as well as in the regular 200-yard event. Eric Ueland is another fine individual medley competitor.

In the breaststroke Ulen says that Ken Emerson is "swimming better than last year" and that Zani is "very smooth, but not as strong." Zani, however, has finished ahead of Emerson in every outing. Finally, in the dive, Harvard has the almost undefeatable Eastern Intercollegiate high board champion, Pete Dillingham. Backing up Dillingham's sure five points are sophomore Pete Smails and Larry Kelly, a transfer from Dartmouth.

Because there has not, for quite a few years, been any element of doubt involved in the Yale meet, annually-strong Dartmouth has become more of a traditional rival than Yale. Harvard meets Dartmouth in Hanover on February 8, the weekend of the Winter Carnival. "I'll have to rely on the older and wiser juniors and seniors for that one." Ulen says with a grin. "These sophomores will probably blow up when they see all those beautiful girls." Ulen will probably apply for a "men only" sign for the Yale meet.

As a matter of fact, you have to feel a little bit sorry for the Yalles. Last year when Hawailan schoolboy Ford Konno was slicing up the "undefeatable" Marshall, those in the know were nodding their heads wisely and saying, "Kiphuth will have him at Yale next year." Konno is now at Ohio State. The poor Ell freshmen have to be content with Kerry Donovan.