The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday - April 6, 1992 - Page 3
Hobey Baker: more than an award
Former Princeton star was one of sport's first heroes
Jeff Sheran
Friday, the Hobey Baker Mem-
orial Award Committee awarded this
year's Hobey Baker Award to Scott
Pellerin of Maine. The award is
given to the outstanding collegiate
hockey player in the nation.
Consideration is also givenmto
character, scholastic achievement
and sportsmanship. Michigan for-
ward Denny Felsner was one of this
year's 10 finalists.
However, Hobey Baker is more
than just the name on college hock-
ey's most prestigious award. Hobey
Baker was one of America's first
and greatest sports heroes.
On the playing
field Hobey's rec- Josh
ord was unparal- Dubow
leled. He is the
only athlete elect-
ed to both the
College Football
and U.S. Hockey
Hall of Fame. He
is also one of a
handful of Amer-}
icans to be in-
ducted in Can-
ada's Hockey
Hall of Fame.
But Hobart Amory Hare Baker
was more than just a great athlete.
He was a hero of mythical propor-
tion. F. Scott Fitzgerald, who was a
first-year student at Princeton during
Hobey's senior year, 1913-14, wor-
shipped Baker during his Princeton
days. Baker inspired Fitzgerald's
first novel, This Side of Paradise.
The protagonist is named after
Hobey's middle name - Amory
Blaine - and Hobey appears in the
novel as the character Allenby.
Varsity football players were
greatly revered in those days at
Princeton, and Fitzgerald describes
this in the novel.
"There at the head of the white
platoon marched Allenby, the foot-
ball captain, slim and defiant, as if
aware that this year the hopes of the
college rested on him, that his 160
pounds (his actual size was 5-foot-9,
160 pounds) were expected to dodge
to victory through the heavy blue
and crimson lines," Fitzgerald wrote.
Hobey was born Jan. 15, 1892 to
an aristocratic Philadelphia family.
He enrolled at St. Paul's School, a
preparatory school in Concord, N.H.,
at the age of 11. St. Paul's was cred-
ited with bringing hockey from
Canada to the United States, and
Hobey began playing for the squad
at the age of 14.
He played for Malcolm Kenneth
Gordon, who is sometimes referred
to as the father of American hockey.
Hobey led St. Paul's to victories
over top collegiate teams such as
Princeton and Harvard.
But hockey wasn't the only sport
Hobey mastered at St. Paul's. In
fact, he was the punt returner and
kicker - the two most important
positions in those days - in foot-
ball, played the outfield in baseball,
competed as a gymnast, swimmer,
diver, sprinter and cross-country
runner. He also could juggle five
balls at once and climb a flight of
stairs on his hands.
Hobey could have played the part
of Bo Jackson in his Nike commer-
cial without hyperbole. After his
days at Princeton, he actually raced
cars and played polo as well.
However, keeping Hobey at St.
Paul's was not easy for his family.
His parents divorced in 1907 and
virtually abandoned Hobey and his
brother Thornton. Their father suf-
fered from financial difficulties as
well that year. By 1909, he could
only afford to send one of his sons to
He held the single-season scoring
record for Princeton football with 92
points which stood until 1974. He
also led the Tigers to a 20-3-4 record
over his three varsity seasons along
with a Big Three championship
(defeating.Harvard and Yale) his
first season.
Hobey's strengths on the gridiron
were the drop kick and punt return-
ing. Football strategy differed
greatly during this period and teams
sometimes punted as many as 40
times a game. This placed added im-
portance on the punt return and
Hobey excelled at it with a unique
style. After judging the punt, he
would retreat far enough so that he
could catch the ball on the dead run.
While on the run, his blond hair
would wave through the wind as
Hobey played without a helmet.
Though other players donned hel-
mets, Hobey felt he was immortal
utes of overtime, the coaches freely
substituted for players collapsing
from exhaustion. All but Hobey.
However, Hobey's careerat
Princeton came to a close. And
without major professional sports,
Hobey began to miss the thrill of
competitive athletics. Hobey talked
about this with his friend and class-
mate, James M. Beck.
"In reminiscing about college
days," Beck wrote to Hobey Baker
biographer John Davies, "(Hobey)
suddenly became very serious and
said, 'I realize that my life is fin-
ished. No matter how long I live, I
will never equal the excitement of
playing on the football fields."'
After graduation, Hobey began
working on Wall Street for J.P.
Morgan. However, he was bored
without athletics in his life. He re-
lieved that boredom by joining an
amateur hockey team - St. Nick's
- which was composed primarily of
former college players.
Hobey became the team.
Wherever the team went, signs an-
nounced HOBEY BAKER PLAYS
TONIGHT. When he came onto the
ice, shouts of HERE HE COMES
rang throughout the arenas.
Limousines lined up outside the
arenas where Hobey played. High-
class citizens in fancy evening wear
made sure to catch Hobey's show,
for they knew they would never see
another as good. That is until he re-
turned.
His St. Nick's team defeated the
Montreal Stars for the coveted Ross
Cup, and a newspaper in Montreal
reported, "Uncle Sam has the cheek
to develop a first class hockey player
who was not born in Montreal.
Baker cooked our goose so artisti-
cally that we enjoyed it."
Hobey averaged over four goals a
game. His exploits made him a
marked man on the ice. But instead
of retaliating with violence, Hobey
kept on playing. During his days at
Princeton, Hobey committed only
one penalty - a slash against
Harvard in 1913. He also kept a tra-
dition of going to the opposition's
lockerroom after each game to con-
gratulate the players. What hurt him
most about this violence was not the
physical act itself, but the realization
that the opposition would resort to
such a tactic.
By 1916, Hobey had become
restless with hockey and picked up a
new pastime - flying. With World
War I already in its third year,
Hobey wanted to be prepared to
fight if the United States joined the
war. It did, and on Aug. 23 1917,
Lieutenant Hobey Baker went to
France to fight in the fabled
Lafayette Escadrille air squadron.
See HOBEY, Page 6
Michigan riots as well
as it plays bas ketball
Ann Arbor is supposed to be a football town. One hundred and six
thousand fans pack Michigan Stadium on various Saturdays each fall, and
pack the streets each Saturday night.
Well, basketball is now number one in this town, at least in terms of
packing the streets.
Ten thousand screaming basketball devotees (for this weekend, at
least) poured onto South University Street Saturday night in celebration of
Michigan's 76-72 semifinal win over Cincinnati. It was like a religious
pilgrimage, with everyone headed toward Church. The street, that is.
What we did out there, acting like a cross between slamdancers and
molecules in a nuclear accelerator, was celebrate. We didn't destroy, like
in 1989. We exercised our First Amendment right to peaceful assembly,
something with which even the Ann Arbor Police, most clad in riot gear
and some positioned strategically on rooftops, could not interfere.
It was a proud feeling to see the two factions - students and law en-
forcers - coexisting freely and in clear air. No handcuffs, no tear gas.
There was a brief scare, when someone set off a smoke bomb in front
of Charley's, but it was just students blowing off smoke. Several cops
said there would be no need for tear gas on this night, unlike in September
when a Notre Dame/Michigan rivalry escalated into a show of force by
Ann Arbor's finest.
The cops, too, were nonviolent Saturday, allowing students to scale
streetlights and some low rooftops. One officer on horseback even trotted
through the South U./Church intersection (minus one traffic light, the ob-
ject of destruction in 1989) wielding an 'M' flag.
Of course, most of the police on hand would have preferred watching
the fireworks on the local news from their couches. But some seemed to
be enjoying their duties just a little bit. Fewer still even cracked smiles
and exchange high fives.
Maybe the most fulfilling aspects of Saturday, besides the basketball
victory, was watching the complimentary news reports later that night.
The footage showed thousands of people smiling, laughing, and exulting.
It was a welcome change from television's other recent sports-related
depictions of Michigan students. Like the 1989 riot. Or the Notre Dame
tear-gassing incident. Or the sea of middle fingers aimed at Florida State.
When I see these negatives on TV, I think of the overturned cars and
bonfires that spread throughout East Lansing after an NCAA Tournament
loss two years ago. It's not the image I connect with my own university.
What I do connect with my university is victory. In my first year here,
the Wolverines won the title. They're in the finals again this year. And the
students in successive classes can't even speculate how much more cause
for celebration Michigan will provide in the coming years.
So with such successful basketball (and other) teams, it's great that we
know how to handle success. Saturday showed that in addition to playing
basketball, Michigan students are good at rioting.
Tonight still holds the possibility of reversing this positive trend. It
was on a Monday in 1989, after the finals, that all the destruction hap-
pened - windows broken, awnings ripped down, taxicabs overturned into
ATMs, glass bottles hurled into crowds, and one elusive traffic light
nearly torn from a live electrical wire.
But I don't think that will happen. I don't think the cops will allow it,
nor do I think they will need to. Because as damage-free as Saturday's
riot was, it was still incredible fun.
After tonight, when people think of Michigan, they will no longer
think of football. They will think of football and basketball. And students
who know how to riot.
Maine's Scott Pellerin took home the 1992 Hobey Baker Award on Friday
night. He helped his team to a quarterfinal finish in the NCAA tournament.
St. Paul's. Thornton realized
Hobey's greatness and volunteered
his spot there to Hobey. Hobey was
also forced to stay an extra year at
St. Paul's because his father couldn't
afford to send him to Princeton..
Hobey became a hero immedi-
ately at Princeton, starring for the
freshmen football, baseball and
hockey teams. However, school
rules prohibited Hobey from playing
three varsity sports, so he concen-
trated on hockey and football.
and resisted the constricting equip-
ment. This feeling of immortality
would eventually prove to be his
Achilles' Heel.
Hockey was also different during
Hobey's days at Princeton. It was
played seven-on-seven and forward
passing was disallowed. Also,
substituting was looked down upon
and only used during time of injury.
Hobey actually played the entire 73
minutes of a 2-1 defeat at the hands
of Harvard in 1914. In the 33 min-
REUNION'
continued from page 1
the singles consolation title at the
NCAAs, losing to Sammy
Giammalva of Texas in the first
round, whom he later defeated in
the '57 finals to claim the title.
"It was really an unusual cir-
cumstance that we had several
highly-ranked junior players on the
same team," Potter said. "I think
most of us wanted to go to the best
school we could that would com-
bine tennis and education -
Michigan offered the best mix."
The 1956 season opened with a
victory over the University of
Detroit for the team's 22nd straight
win. The Michigan lineup again
placed MacKay at No. 1, with
Potter, Jaffe, Harris, Dale Jensen,
Larry Brown, Dick Cohen, and
George Koral filling the rest of the
singles spots, respectively. May 26,
Michigan captured its second
straight Big Ten crown.
Michigan sent Potter, Jaffe,
Harris and Jensen to the National
Championships in 1956, with Potter
as the only Wolverine who ad-
vanced to the third round. MacKay
went unbeaten at the first singles
position but missed the NCAAs in
order to play with the Davis Cup
team. As the 1956 campaign ended,
the winning streak stood at 30.
At the start of the 1957 season,
Michigan coach William Murphy
outlined the team's three goals:
winning the Big Ten title, sweeping
all nine matches at the Big Ten
tournament, and winning the
NCAA title. In extending their win-
ning streak to 45, the Wolverines
captured their third straight confer-
ence title by sweeping the nine
matches.
After the quarterfinals,
Michigan was tied with Tulane at
seven points. No. 2 seeded MacKay
beat Ron Holmberg in a tough
semifinal match and then posted a
five-set victory over No. 1 seed
Giammalva, to earn the singles title.
In doubles, the team of MacKay
and Potter dropped the final to
Tulane's Crawford Henry and
Holmberg, but their getting to the
finals was enough to give Michigan
its National Championship title.
Other players contributing to
Michigan's singles victories at the
NCAAs that year were team captain
Potter, John Erickson, and Jaffe, all
of whom were defeated in earlier
rounds.
Beside the outstanding perfor-
mances by the individual players,
player-coach Murphy, who was
with the Wolverines for 21 years, is
given much of the credit for the
team's success.
"He was one heck of a player,
not just a great coach," MacKay
said. "It gained him a lot of respect
from the team members."
U..
The 1957 team returned to Ann
Arbor in 1982 for its 25th reunion.
Organized by current men's tennis
coach Brian Eisner, the team mem-
bers were called out onto the foot-
ball field at halftime of the Purdue
football game. They were presented
with their championship rings by
Don Canham, the Athletic Director
at the time. Potter described the re-
union as one of the most inspiring
moments of his life.
"Being brought down on the 50-
yard line in front of 110,000 people
and being recognized for a feat we
accomplished 25 years agzo was ex-
bers of the '83 varsity team," Harris
said. "Being a parent, I really en-
joyed that aspect of it."
The credit for this year's 35th
reunion can be attributed to Mrs.
Potter, Dick's mother.
"For 25 to 30 years, my mother
had been saving all my tennis arti-
cles in her bottom dresser drawer,"
Potter explained. "I didn't know
there were so many, but when I
went home about three years ago I
men have continued to play tennis
through the years.
"Everyone is still kicking the
ball around," Potter said. "And
pretty well, by the way."
The players remember vividly
the days of team practice at
Michigan.
"The Intramural Building here
was one of the only organized in-
door tennis facilities in the winter
- that's one reason why I chose to
life. We were all pursuing different
academic interests and had multi-
faceted lives," Potter said.
Thirty-five years later, the play-
ers have a great deal to catch up on.
They are all as successful off the
court as they were during their ten-
nis careers at Michigan.
MacKay is now a local and in-
ternational television tennis
sportscaster, and owner of BNK
Sports Inc., which runs the annual
Labs. They have three children,
James, Mark and Gregg. James and
Mark work in the electrical engi-
neering field - James graduated -
from Wayne State and Mark from
Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. Gregg is
a Ph.D. candidate at Michigan
State.
Jaffe owns his own certified fi-
nancial planning firm in Bay City,
Mich. His wife, Judy, is a teacher.
Their three children are Lynn, an
accountant, who is a 1980 Michigan
business school graduate; Ellen, a
teacher, who graduated from
Western Michigan in 1984; and
David, a student here at Michigan
Harris is president and owner of
a commercial real estate firm in
Washington, D.C. He and his wife,
Nancy, an associate director at the
Hilwood Museum, have two chil-
dren, Brian and Nicki. Brian is a
Yale graduate who works as'a
sports marketing agent, and Nicki is
a student at Wisconsin studying ad-
vertising.
Erickson is now Dr. Erickson,
employed by the NASA Johnson
Space Center in Houston as a chief
scientist. His wife, Mary, is a
teacher. They have three children.
Paul is a junior at Texas. Matt is
studying for his Ph.D. in microbiol-
ogy at MIT. Christa is pursuing a
master's degree at UC-San Diego.
Jensen is a human resources
manager at McDonnell Douglas
Corp., an aircraft company, in Long
Beach, Calif. Carolyn, his wife, is a
high school principal in Long
Beach. Their daughter, Sheryl, is an
executive at the Gap and is getting
married this June.
Cohen and his wife, Donna, run
their own law firm in Pasadena.
Coach Murphy and his wife,
Mimi, are retired and living in
Former Michigan greats Dick Potter (left) and Barry McKay finished second in the men's doubles finals of the 1957
NCAA Tournament Their performance helped the 1957 team bring home the NCAA championship.