Murder, Inc.
The U.S. set itself for the clash of two football titans--Notre Dame v. Tulane. From his mourners' bench at South Bend, Ind., Coach Frank Leahy cried, "We'll be outweighed for the first time in two years." On the Tulane campus in New Orleans, where Coach Henry Frnka (pronounced franka) had been holding secret practice for weeks, there was impressive silence.
Texas-born Henry Frnka had a hankering for Texas material, especially big, hard-playing fellows. In his fourth year at Tulane he had succeeded in coming by 20 of them, complete with boots and ten-gallon hats. He also beat Louisiana's bayous for likely looking lads and signed on 20 more including a hulking 280-lb. Cajun tackle named Jerome Helluin. Frnka housed his athletes in the new $250,000 athletic hall across from the Sugar Bowl, fed them rare steaks and fined them when they broke his training rules. On the strength of size, reserve strength and a fullback named Eddie Price, Tulane was ranked No. 4 in the nation.
Last week, with a Confederate flag waving, Frnka's unbeaten, untied heroes went north to avenge a 59-6 beating by Notre Dame two years ago. In the pre-game workout, they looked fully up to their advance billing and their record--big, fast, alert and confident. But within ten minutes after the game had begun, Tulane's dream of a national championship had been irretrievably shattered.
With breathtaking suddenness, Notre Dame went 58 yards for a touchdown and scored three more to lead 27-0 at the end of the first period. With Halfback Larry
Coutre running wild, and 19-year-old Quarterback "Baltimore Bob" Williams directing the attack, there hadn't been anything like it since Murder, Inc. went out of business.
In the third period, with Notre Dame leading 33-0 and Leahy's second-string backs in the game, Tulane recovered its equilibrium long enough to score a touchdown. Leahy sent his triggermen in again for another quick punch, ended the game with his second-and third-stringers in easy command. Final score: Notre Dame 46, Tulane 7. Tulane had committed the grievous sin of looking too strong too far ahead of kickoff time. With all of' its opponents pointing as usual for Notre Dame, it looked a bit as though South Bend had broken its customary policy for once, and had pointed for Tulane.
Other disasters on the nation's gridirons last week:
P: At Cambridge, Mass., hapless Harvard took one of the worst beatings in its 75-year football history, a 54-14 drubbing by Army.
P: At New Haven, Conn., Cornell rolled up the highest score (48-14) ever recorded against Yale in the Yale Bowl. CJ At Berkeley, Calif., Halfback Frank Brunk of the University of California caught a Trojan kickoff in his end zone, ran 102 yards to a touchdown in the final quarter and upset Southern California, 16-10.
II At Columbus, Ohio, unbeaten Ohio State was flattened 27-0 by Minnesota, which thus got an all-but-clean track to the Rose Bowl.
P: At Evanston, 111., Michigan, beaten by Army a fortnight ago after an unbroken string of 25 victories, was upset again, 21-20, by in-and-out Northwestern.