By Jack DeGange
For Big Green Alert
The first, and highest hurdle to overcome in selecting an “all-time”
team in football — or any sport — is credibility.
Can the selector(s) of the most outstanding players
over an extended period of time defend that inevitable first question,
“How could you pick this guy over that guy?” Or, “Yeah, but what about
so-and-so?”
Clearly, what is intended to be an objective
exercise includes no small element of subjectivity. To paraphrase the
Optimist and the Pessimist, regular contributors in this electronic
space, consider both sides of the coin:
The Optimist says it’s an opportunity to recognize a
lot of deserving athletes who have had a high level of success on the
field during their moment in time.
The Pessimist says, “Don’t do it…you’re opening
Pandora’s box. You’ll be leaving yourself open to those inevitable
questions, ‘How could you…’ and ‘Yeah, but what about…?’”
Here’s the scenario for how an unofficial 50-year
Dartmouth All-Ivy football team evolved. One day last winter the editor
of this space and the writer of this story were brainstorming ideas
that could become good stories during the 2006 football season. For
ongoing convenience, the editor will be called Culprit A, the writer
Culprit B.
Since 2006-07 marks the 51st year of formal Ivy
League round-robin competition in men’s team sports (women’s
round-robin competition began in 1976-77, or 1977-78, depending on the
sport), it seemed timely to pick a Dartmouth 50-year “all” team.
Our presumption was that such a team would dovetail
nicely with whatever the Ivy League might be planning to recognize 50
years of intercollegiate athletics under the umbrella of that historic
document, the Ivy Group Agreement signed by the league’s presidents in
1954.
It seemed logical that the League would pick a
“Golden Anniversary” team in football since sportswriters covering Ivy
League football and basketball had picked a “Silver Anniversary” team
in those sports in 1981. Mention of Dartmouth’s players on that 25-year
team have been recognized in the Dartmouth media guide until this year
since it seemed appropriate to consider the second 25 years as well.
That word “unofficial” is in italics for a reason:
The Culprits learned that the Ivy League has no plans to pick 50th
anniversary teams in any sports. At Dartmouth, “all-time” teams are no
longer in vogue since it hadn’t been done as part of the Dartmouth
men’s hockey centennial celebration last year.
All of this is table setting. The Culprits decided,
even if it’s “unofficial,” let’s pick a 50-year football team anyway.
It’s a good story. It’s timely. It will recognize a lot of great
players who have earned the “D.”
Besides, all of the necessary background work was
complete. In 2004, Culprit B was the co-author of a pictorial history, Dartmouth College Football: Green Fields
of Autumn, chronicling Big Green football from 1881 to 2003.
(You’ll find the book at the Dartmouth Bookstore or on line —
www.Arcadiapublishing.com. Also in 2004, Culprit A had written a
history of Ivy League football for ESPN’s
College Football Encyclopedia (published in 2005).
Based on their combined years (over 60 and counting)
as observers of Dartmouth and Ivy League football, the Culprits had
selected an all-time Dartmouth football team for the ESPN encyclopedia.
It worked for ESPN and also was well received when it was published in
Dartmouth football programs during the 2004 season. That all-time team
included players from every decade in the last century to the start of
this century. It provided a good place to kick off this project.
Besides, we may not be around for the 75-year celebration in 2031.
And, could it be any more controversial than the
weekly poll of coaches to pick the top 25 teams in Division 1-A
football? If nothing else, this isn’t nearly so risky as influencing
the decisions on which teams will play in the BCS mega-million bowl
games.
Who would pick such a team? The Culprits needed some
knowledgeable co-conspirators. The guiding criterion to participate:
people who have been reasonably constant observers of Dartmouth
football for most of the past 50 years. The names of the voters aren’t
classified. Trust the Culprits: They did their job well. Joining the
Culprits were nine other men (for various reasons, one man and one
woman declined our invitation). There’s a nice ring to having 11 voters
pick a football team, right?
The voters have, cumulatively to date, been watching
Dartmouth play football for over 450 years — an average of over 40
years per voter, including four who have been on or near the scene
since 1956. Six are Dartmouth alumni. There is representation for
players, coaches, trainers, administrators, the media.
The Culprits didn’t want any of the voters to rely
on memory alone. With their ballot, each voter received the list of the
155 players who were selected to the All-Ivy first team at least once
in the annual voting by the League’s coaches from 1956 to 2005. Among
the 155 players are 27 who were two-time selections and four who were
three-time picks.
The voters were asked to pick a first-team (10
points value) and a second-team (5 points value) player for eleven
positions on offense and defense plus a placekicker and a punter — 24
positions in all. Any player receiving at least one vote earned
honorable mention recognition.
The ballots were notable because of their breadth.
Of the 155 candidates, 109 players who were All-Ivy first teamers
between 1956 and 2005 received votes (plus three players who were not)
— 56 on offense, 56 on defense. Every decade is represented. The
choices for first team, including seven who were unanimous selections,
were clear cut. So, too, the second team picks.
If this project provides recognition, stimulates
memories and prompts conversations, the Culprits have achieved their
objective.
If your appetite is whetted, good. The Culprits have
cleared the first hurdle. Coming to you exclusively on
BigGreenAlert.com in the next few days are the unofficial 50-year
Dartmouth All-Ivy League teams, first the offense, then the defense.
Let the “Yeah, but what abouts…” begin.
Jack DeGange is a former
sports information director at Dartmouth College, a regular contributor
to various Dartmouth athletic publications and a well-regarded
historian of the Ivy League.
Next: The Dartmouth
50-year Defense Team.
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