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The 1949 College All-Star Game |
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It was the most one-sided triumph in the 16 Pro-All Star games on the books, and surpassed the Chicago Cardinals' 28-0 victory last year as the easiest on record. The Eagles, champions of the National Football League last year, recorded the ninth triumph for the professionals against five for the Collegians with two games tied.
Except for the first eight minutes of the game, there was never any question that the Eagles would win. But for that brief period the All-Stars seemed to have the ability to win as the split-T formation taught them by Head Coach "Bud" Wilkinson of Oklahoma puzzled the veteran pro linemen and carried the College aces on a 40-yard drive into Eagle territory.
That march stopped when Clyde "Smackover" Scott, Arkansas halfback, fumbled on the Eagle 30 after he had run eight yards and Jack Meyers recovered for the pros.
Then began the march to the end. The Eagles roared to the Stars' 29 before the Collegians held and after Don Doll, Southern California, punted out of bounds on the Eagles' 29, the pros rolled for a touchdown.
Steve Van Buren, an All-League halfback, sparked the drive with a 24-yard dash to the All-Stars' 47, and although the period ended before the tally came, Van Buren finally went wide around end for one yard and the score.
After that it was simple. The Eagles staged a drive from the Stars' 45 to the 16 and when line plays and passes failed, Cliff Patton booted a 23-yard field goal. Four plays later Pete Pihos blocked a punt by Bob Goode, Texas A & M, and the Eagles took over on the Stars' 21. In five plays Russ Craft poured over from for another counter.
The Eagles, tallied only once in the third period when Tommy Thompson passed to Pihos for six yards after Al Wistert recovered a bad lateral pass by Jack Mitchell, Oklahoma. Other Eagle counters came on marches of 62 and 54 yards with Noble Doss plunging from the four and the second coming when Bill Macrides passed for 11 yards to Neill Armstrong.
It was a clear cut win for the pros. The Eagle line, bigger, faster and harder hitting, outclassed the Collegians all the way, and even in the backfield the veteran pros were showing more plunging power and greater speed.
Pass defense too was an important factor. Thompson, the ace pro quarterback, hit an even .500 for the night with 11 completions in 22 attempts for 115 yards and one touchdown.
Even though the All-Stars had four quarterbacks, none could do anything through the air. Oklahoma's Jack Mitchell attempted two throws, one was knocked down and the other intercepted. Frank Tripucka of Notre Dame completed two out of three passes for a net loss of five yards and had his third attempt intercepted. Norm Van Brocklin, Oregon star, tried five, completed none and had one intercepted for a return of 27 yards.
The Eagles controlled the ball most of the way after the first period, and the Stars could get in only 16 plays in the second period, 14 in the third, and 12 in the fourth.
The Eagles superiority also was demonstrated in the statistics. The Eagles made 19 first downs to five for the Collegians, and gained 228 yards on the ground compared to 116 for the All-Stars. In the air the All-Stars completed only three passes, for a net loss of three yards while the Eagles connected on 12 out of 31 for 130 yards.
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Oklahoma's Jack Mitchell tackled as Bernie Poole of Ole Miss (51) blocks.
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CHICAGO,
Aug 12 (U.P.)- The Philadelphia Eagles, as fast and hard-hitting as a
cavalry squadron, romped through the College All-Stars Friday night for
a 38-0 triumph before 93,780 fans in Soldiers' Field.
