Sport: Quarterbacking by Telephone

Football’s fetish for specialization had produced “passers who don’t block, and fullbacks who never play when the other team has the ball. Now the quarterback, who used to be the team’s field general, was being demoted to drill sergeant. It was all the result of the unlimited substitution rule (TIME, Nov. 3).

Last week, Oregon State’s Coach Lon Stiner confessed that his real field general is a salaried alumnus, who sits high above the playing field in the press box. Ex-Halfback Bob Dethman of O.S.C.’s 1942 Rose Bowl team keeps a close eye on the opponents’ weaknesses. When he decides what play to call, he telephones to the bench and a substitute relays it to the Oregon State huddle. Says Stiner, who is a member of the rules committee: “All coaches are doing some signal calling. . . . That substitution rule has to be changed.”

Coach Stiner says that his quarterback on the field doesn’t mind having instructions arrive by special messenger: “He’s so busy blocking, or carrying the ball.” Two weeks ago, against Stanford, Oregon State’s press-coop quarterback directed three offensive drives, two of which resulted in touchdowns. Last week, Oregon State did not have the quarterbacking that U.C.L.A. had, nor the team. Score: U.C.L.A. 27, Oregon State 7.