[Husker] Evaluations

[Steve Stone]

As the regular season draws to a close, there's a somewhat natural 
desire on the part of List members to evaluate players and teams, so 
I'd like to share with those who are really keen to do so a little 
true anecdote that may serve as a cautionary tale.

The 1948 Rose Bowl game was the first scheduled post-season game 
between the Big Ten and the Pacific Coast Conference, pitting USC and 
Michigan against each other in the days long before ESPN Game Day and 
All That Hoopla.

A day or two before New Year's, the Pasadena Independent, for which I 
wrote articles about John Muir College football, ran a two-page 
center spread of predictions regarding the outcome. Betty Grable 
picked USC while her husband Harry James (names probably unknown to 
you younger Listers) picked Michigan. Nor Jaqua, Muir's coach, picked 
USC while Mickey Anderson, coach at Pasadena City College, picked 
USC. And so it went for two whole pages until the very last entry. In 
it, Fido Murphy, scout for the Chicago Bears, wrote: "Michigan will 
win by 48-0, and Tom Johnson will be the best player on the field."

Tom Johnson? I'd never heard of Tom Johnson, so I turned to the photo 
of the Michigan starting line, and there he was. Tom Johnson, right 
tackle.

You've probably already guessed the outcome: Michigan won 48-0, and 
Tom Johnson was the best player on the field.

At the time I didn't see how Fido Murphy (could I make up a name like 
that?) was able to call his shot. Now, however, I realize he had 
access to all the pertinent facts.

The point of the anecdote is that anyone who doesn't have access to 
all the pertinent facts can look pretty silly, at least in hindsight, 
if he/she doesn't have access to all the pertinent facts.

In past years, some Listers have made some pretty silly observations 
about the abilities of various players. Some that come to mind 
include "Crouch can't pass at all," "Frost's shotputting throwing 
style detracts from his accuracy," "Shanle's too slow and doesn't 
understand the game, and "Mitchell's a sure bet for all-Pro" just for 
openers. Inserting some "maybes" "mights," and "sometimes" usually 
proves a good way to hedge your bet. "It appears," "he seems," and 
"could possibly" give added padding.

None of us knows what the next couple of months will bring, but you 
can be get odds that much of it will be unexpected. I'm looking 
forward to it with a great deal of expectation.

Hope I can keep an even keel.

Steve Stone