European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 3, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Pago 34 the stars and stripes sports Friday december 3,1093 not Bohto retired Brig. Dawkins _ a a a a got it done by Timothy Cahill new York Bureau its obvious still 35 years and a Long re sume of Success later that 1958 holds some of retired Brig. Gen. Pete Dawkins fondest memories. \ and Why it for three Glori Ous months that year the army football team he captained was unbeatable and the senior halfback one writer called a a baby faced choir boy was the most celebrated College athlete in the country. Dawkins remembered Quot that Cinderella season a As he termed it recently from his office As head of an investment firm in Atlanta. In a Telephone interview sandwiched Between meetings the former Heisman trophy Winner offered his random reminiscences of his team and its exploits. The most impressive development of the 1958 season Dawkins believes was head coach a Arl a a red Blaiki a creation of the a lonesome end offence. Blaik positioned Junior end Bill car enter whose quickness Speed and Good ands made him hard to defend wide of the tackle away from the crowd of play ers entered around the Ball. This was a revolutionary formation no one had Ever been split like that before. A the lonesome end idea was absolute Genius a Dawkins recalled. A we had 11 or 12 Good athletes going into the season and that was All. We had no depth. And we weren t very big. Quot it was an attempt to create an Edge a Dawkins continued. A Carpenter was an exceptional receiver. Nobody could cover him Man for Man. A we were prepared to throw the Ball to Bill every play if they tried to cover him one on one. Every play. He required at least one and a half men on him. That gave us half a Man who was free. A it was the beginning of modern foot Ball a Dawkins said. A a within three or1 four years the pros picked it up and everybody bad flankers wide receivers but if Wasny to just the new offence that army a opponents had to Deal with. Complicating matters was the fact Carpenter did no to huddle with the rest of the team which drove More than one defensive player a and coach to distraction. A that Wasny to originally designed As psychological warfare a Dawkins explained a aft started out As a practical idea. Remember we played both ways then. The idea was to keen Bill from tiring out going Back and Forth from the huddle. Almost immediately though fans re Sorters and opponents tried to figure out of Carpenter was getting the plays. The mystery shattered the concentration of Many a defensive end. And coaches preparing to play army would study the films a trying to figure out How we did it a Dawkins recalled a rather than figuring out How to the secret was a code in two stages he explained. A we thought wed have to change our signals every week but nobody Ever caught stage one happened in the huddle. Depending on How quarterback Joe Caldwell positioned his feet Carpenter knew whether the play was a run or pass. When the Middle broke. Dawkins relayed him the passing route with ban d signals. On running plays to throw opponents off Carpenter ran a route different from the one Dawkins flashed him. No one Ever figured out Why on one play a touch to the Chin strap meant a Button Hook and on another it produced a Post pattern., a had his professional obligations allowed him More time Dawkins could doubtless have recounted All nine games of the�?T58 season. Some memories be ignored though not even at the Cost of beginning i a business conference a Little late things like scoring the winning touchdown against Rice with less than a minute to go. And talking Blaik into letting him play injured against Pijl and getting beaten on defense for a Panther score. And what was probably the greatest Ignominy of that season a the other thing i remember a Dawkins said a is fumbling the opening kick off of the naw army a 22-6 Victory in that game completing the cadets undefeated season and 35 years of water under the Bridge have put a chuckle in Dawkins voice As he recounts it. A before the Kickoff coach Blaik called me Over and said Pete i think they re going to kick it to you. Whatever you do done to Fumble. Done to try to run for a a so with that advice in my ears i took the kick. I had two arms Over the Ball protecting it and then i saw it an opening and thought this is it. In a going to run for a touchdown in the Navy game. It will be As quickly As the Hole of closed and Dawkins ran Strait it up the it opened. A tent Back of one of his blockers. His teammate s Elbow hit the Ball sending it straight up into the air and Down in Navy a Possession. A few Days after the game Pete Dawkins was named the 1958 Heisman Tro phys the Winner. Lat year head scored 74 Points on 12 touchdowns and a conversion and had been according to his coach an a inspirational Leader on the Field. It was a total reversal of Fortune for a fellow who a had polio in the seventh Grade and As a sixth team quarterback was nearly Cut from the army team his Sophomore year. A coach Blaik told me we have six Irish Penn St. Fell to innovative 58 cadets by Timothy Cahill new York Bureau army was ranked third nationally at the Start of the 1958 season but no one thought coach Earl a red a Blaiki a Black knights capable of going unbeaten. The cadets returned with Only three Holdover starters in eluding senior and Captain Pete Dawkins. Dawkins and All american Bob Anderson formed a form Dable a i Back pair with Junior quarterback Joe Caldwell in his first starting assignment to get them the Ball. In 1958, players played offence and defense. Blaik unveiled his perplexing a lonesome end offence that year a perplexing for. A flexing opposing defences. Batik Hadji for Bill Carpenter split i pening gaps in the defense and j j unde of making Carpenter a key figure in the army passing attack. Field goals were infrequent army did t even attempt one All season and the routine Point after touch Down kick was anything but. As a result fans were treated to Many two Point conversion attempts a new wrinkle at the time. Here show army went undefeated that season a sept. 27, the cadets served notice of their Power in the season opener at West Points Michie stadium beating South Carolina 45-8. The game played in a steady rain debuted the a lonesome end offence which helped army generate 529 Yards of total offence and Cross the goal line seven times. Anderson threw for two touchdowns one to Carpenter the other to Dawkins who also caught a score from Caldwell and rushed for two additional ads. Equally tenacious on defense the Black knights scored 38 Points before allowing South Carolina across Midfield in the third a oct 4. The first half against Penn states Kittany Lions was More of the same As the West Point juggernaut notched four touchdowns before intermission. Dawkins scored twice on a Short pass from Anderson and on a dramatic 72-Yard strike from Caldwell. For the second straight week army amassed More than 500 Yards of offence but the Michie Field crowd saw its team misfire in the second half. Penn state meanwhile never ignited at All and the halftime score was the final army 26-0, a oct 11. The new York Herald tribe Ines a red Smith said of army a 14-2 Victory Over notre Dame a it was a crashing Battle of rugged defense and remorseless attack in which army a dazzling halfback Pete Dawkins and Bob Anderson matched their flashing Speed and bewildering guile against the Hammer blows of Nick pie Rosante the 215-Pound Bull of these Indiana played in South Bend the game pitted two unbeaten teams in what was a close contest until Dawkins rushed for the second that Cinderella season1 1958 Black knights 8-0-1 45 South Carolina 8 26 Penn state o 14 at notre Dame 2 35 Virgina 6 14 at Pittsburgh 14 68 Colgate 6 14 a at Rice 7 26 Villanova Quot 0 22 Navy at Philadelphia 6 army a perfect season. A nov 1. A a army a football team played at better than a Point a minute clip today in the. Washing Colgate 68-6 at Michie stadium a reported the new v n a l to an to. _. York times capturing perfectly of the embarrassing to and threw the two Point conversion to ice the game. A oct. 18, Homecoming at West Point saw army overwhelm Virginia 35-6. Virginia out manned and outplayed gave up 316 Yards on the ground and saw five different cadets score including a a Caldwell. Army fumbled four times and still held its opponent to a single first half touchdown. A oct 25, in Pittsburgh army scored twice in the second Quarter and looked on its Way to another easy Victory when the panthers starting from their own 13 late in the half went to the air. The eventual 46-Yard touchdown pass was set up by a 35-Yard strike to a second string end named Mike Ditka. Pitt scored again Early in the third to tie the score and seize the momentum. Late in the game army had third and Goa on the Pittsburgh three and failed to score on two Rushing plays. Final score 14-14, ruining the essence a a by lopsided contest. The tally was 190 after the first Quarter 41-0 at the half and had Batik not sat his starting 11 Down for the second half the damage might have been worse. Eight different cadets scored army a 10 touchdowns seven on runs two from passes and one a returned interception. The defense held Colgate to 13 Yards Rushing and forced the red raiders to pass 50 times. A nov 8. On a muggy 77-degree Day. Army met Rice in Houston and found itself behind for the first time All season after a second Quarter touchdown pass put the owls up 7-0. Army answered with a drive that had Carpenter catching three passes including the scoring 8-Yard toss from Anderson the game dragged on humid and knotted at 7, until with just 51 seconds left to play Caldwell completed a 30-Yard pass to Dawkins who rambled another 35 Tor the winning score. A nov. 15. A Pete Dawkins put on a private touchdown show today before another Michie stadium capacity crowd a new it is Une writer Harold Rosenthal reported following the 26-0 drubbing army gave Villanova in its next to last game. In his final performance before the Home crowd Dawkins scored on an 80-Yard punt return a 5-Yard Dan up the middie and a 20-Yard pass. Dawkins sidestepped two safeties to score on the pass play prompting Rosenthal to note that a pistol Pete Quot would be a a Tough Man in a for real Bayonet Duel a a nov 29, army was looking to put the finishing touch on its unbeaten record. Navy wanted to ruin its archrival a Day and season. In Philadelphia a municipal stadium however both teams ended up fighting the weather. The temperature at game time was a numbing 34 degrees and a 20-mile Northwest wind made it feel much worse. Dawkins the hero of the last two games started the game by fumbling the opening Kickoff on his own 40. Navy recovered and eight plays later was celebrating a touchdown. It was Alt army after that though As the cadets scored on drives of 68, 58 and 38 Yards Anderson had his Best Fay of the season and Dawkins capped off what was to become his Heisman trophy year with a two Point pass to his Backfield partner after the last to. At the final gun the score was army 22, Navy 6. The West Point faithful jubilantly carried the team from the Field but columnist Smith was not impressed. The game a seemed Flat by comparison with army Navy contests of the past a he complained. A it was just too perishing a a i
