The author writes an irregular sports column, "Running Arends," for The Crimson.

Life was a bit different around here in 1942.

I'm not talking about the war and the monumental changes it brought to students' lives--changes like accelerated schedules, calls to join the intense military build-up and news of places like Kharkov, El Alamein, the Coral Sea and the North Atlantic.

No, I'm talking about sports.

Athletics were a much more important part of student life in 1942. Almost all students attended the football games, and Radcliffe and Wellesley women vied for the honor of a date to sit in the stands with a Harvard man.

Even in The Crimson, sports were a major item. Instead of being relegated to the back page, at least one sports story ran on the front page every day. The writing was fresher and more colorful in 1942. Witness a paragraph about the 1941 Harvard-Yale football game, which Harvard won, 14-0:

"[Right end] Don Forte had two teeth knocked out early in the game, but he came back to repeat his touchdown stint of two weeks ago against Army. His performance in pulling [halfback Fran] Lee's toss out of the air so captivated ... Bull Barnes that he said he'd like to have two of his teeth out."

Athletically, the Class of 1942 was certainly something to write about. Harvard dominated rowing, allowing the Crimson heavyweights to slaughter the Yale Elis for the fifth straight year.

In fact, Harvard's power was so great that the varsity boat's main rival was their own junior varsity boat, not Yale.

"The element of competition had departed from the races," The Crimson noted.

One of that spring's most spirited contests was a 14-inning baseball victory over Yale, with Mort Walstein and Warren Berg pitching the Crimson to a 5-3 victory.

That fall, the football team had dusted off an old off-tackle run which gained 114 yards in seven tries in The Game against the Elis. The Crimson scored twice in the second half to win, 14-0. The victory iced a season of victories over Dartmouth, Navy, Princeton, Army and Brown.

The Yale weekend then, just as now, was full ofcontests between the Elis and the Johnnies (asHarvard was occasionally called back then).

In 1941 the Bulldogs handed the Crimson theirheads in the freshman football game and thevarsity soccer game, but the Crimson juniorvarsity football and freshman soccer teamsprevailed.

Intramurals also played a big part in theweekend, as the Harvard tackle football champion,Adams House (times have changed), defeatedBerkeley College, champion of the Yale league.

Kirkland House took home the Strauss Cup as thetop scorer in the intramural race. It was businessas usual for Kirkland--either Kirkland or LowellHouse had won the Strauss Cup for the first 10years of the competition's existence.