Fryeburg Academy - Academy Bell Yearbook (Fryeburg, ME)

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The Vfcadcmy 'Bell 27 playing varsity football for two years and being captain third, he had played varsity baseball and basketball. He was an honor student, and well-liked on the campus. This game was the biggest of the year, the play-off between Eaton and David- son colleges for the state title. Both teams were undefeated and were crack foot- ball machines. The players, coaches, and even the managers, had been drilled with exacting precision into living and thinking football. The day was perfect for football, and of the many thousands in the stadium, almost everyone was yelling at the top of his lungs, but the players couldnit hear that. They were obsessed by the thought of winning this all-important game. The score stood 6-6 with the ball resting on the Eaton thirty-five. With only a few minutes of playing time remaining, the quarterback of Eaton decided to pass. The pass went to Ieff out by his left end, but he was hit hard by a would-be tackler and spun around. Somewhat dazed, he kept right on going toward his own goal! His teammates caught him and tried to bring him down, but in vain. He crossed the goal line, and a man from Davidson brought him down. There just wasn't time enough left to undo the terrible damage and Davidson won 8-6. The despair and desolation in the stands was depressing. In the dressing room Ieff, hurriedly taking a shower and dressing, could hear the vicious undercur- rents which were ripping him apart. He could well imagine what the players were saying, and he felt they were justified in saying it. Years had passed since that game, and Ieff had put on weight. He was grey- ing slightly, and he had an air of authority about him. The years had been good to Iefif, and he had risen to great heights in the transportation business. He was very well-to-do. Much of his money he spent on Eaton trying, by giving to his college, to compensate for his terrific blunder in that long-past game. He gave money for the new Held house and stadium and art building. He was President of the Board of Trustees. The year of his twenty-fifth reunion Ielf had returned to his alma mater for the big celebration. As he walked into the large reception hall, he was greeted by many friends and admirers, but his ears caught a remark that filled him with anguish. Someone had just greeted him when another man walked into the room, strolled over to a fellow standing by the wall and asked, Who is that big wheel?,' The reply was, Oh, that,s Ieff Hamilton, you know, the man who lost the game to Davidson twenty-five years agoll' IOHN FREIDAY, '52 WATCH THE BIRDIE AGTILT your head to the left, please. Tuck your right elbow in a little. Now you aren't as sober as all that, are you? How about a nice smile? I promptly pasted a sickly grin on my perspiring face. There was a second's pause before the final

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26 The Academy 7361! spirit at a high pitch. Whenever they fell behind, it was Rickie who kept them in the game, either with a crashing lay-up or a sensational long-shot. To Paul Ramsey, the coach, it was an incredible feat that his boys had ac- complished by qualifying for the sectionals. His surprise turned to amazement when his relatively inexperienced team squeaked through the sectionals and thus earned a berth in the huge state tournament at Butler Field House. To- night, after watching his team defeat powerful Mt. Washington in the last two seconds, he was completely speechless. The 14,000 fans that were jammed into the huge field house, however, were far from speechless, and the place was a bedlam after the most exciting game in state tournament history. Slowly the noise subsided, as a tall, lean man made his way to the microphone to present the awards. He was chairman of the tourna- ment. The attention of the crowd was immediately centered upon him. He pre- sented gold basketballs to each member of the losing team, and each player re- ceived a strong round of applause as his name was called. Then the members of the winning team were awarded wrist watches that would be worn by every boy for many a year. A hush fell over the crowd, for there was one more award to be given-the most valuable player award. This award is the most cherished and sought after in the state basketball competition. It is a huge gold-plated statue of a basketball player and is given to the boy that is most valuable to his team. To win this award a boy must have unusual ability, sportsmanship, and teamwork. A hush fell over the crowd as the chairman held up the trophy and asked Rickie to step forward. Rickie was taken completely by surprise. He ac- cepted the trophy humbly amid the cheers of teammates, opponents, and spec- tators. lt was about fifteen minutes before Rickie made his way down to the locker room. He had been congratulated by everyone within shouting distance of him and numerous pictures were taken of him for the newspapers. As he entered the humid locker room, he was cheered and praised. Rickie sat down on the bench and started to peel off his gold and blue uniform. He was tired and sweaty but very happy. Taking some soap, he stepped into the shower and relaxed as the warm shower beat against his weary body. He became drowsy, and his eyes seemed to close. Suddenly he was jolted. He opened his eyes in amazement and stared unbelievingly at his mother. Come, Rickie, time to get up! Remember, you play Mt. Washington at the field house tonight, and I want you to have a good breakfastf, WILLIAM NIEMAN, '51 THE GREAT MISTAKE THE game was almost over. To Ieff Hamilton it was the end of football as this was the last game he'd ever play. He was a senior at Eaton College, and besides

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28 The Vfcaclcmy 'Bell execution, but in that split second the grin had faded. I shuddered to think of the results. But that was only one picture. There were still two more to be endured. Look- ing up, I was surprised to find that Mr. Davis was gone! Thinking that I could relax for a minute I heaved a deep sigh, slouched in my chair, and lowered my head. Suddenly a loud roar exploded in my left ear. Whirling around, I saw Mr. Davis towering in back of me. Please, my dear, straighten up! What do you think this is, a rest hour?'I I straightened with the speed ofa Sabre Iet and tried to calm my jangled nerves. Suddenly a shiver went up my spine as a hot, clammy hand dropped stealthily on my shoulder. Drop this shoulder down just a bit, pleasef' he said. I dropped it. Apparently satisfied Mr. Davis stalked across the fioor and crawled under the fiapping black cloth. Again my eyes became frozen on the camera. Out popped Mr. Davis. Now look right at me, please. Don't look at the camera, or youlll spoil the picturef, I finally located the wiry little man about halfway between the camera and one of the glaring lights. I-Ie was staring wildly at me. Thinking I had done something wrong again, I quickly lowered my eyes. This brought another ex- plosion. Will you please look at me? How can I take your picture with your eyes down? Up went my eyes. Mr. Davis, while holding my eyes in a hypnotic stare, asked me if I liked fish. How was I to know that I was supposed to say A'yes while he snapped the picture? This would have given the illusion of a smile! The dam- age had been done, however, as Mr. Davis had snapped the picture despite my negative reply. In desperation he agreed to take the next one in a sober pose. Thinking this one would be easier, I kept my eyes on Mr. Davis and followed him each time he moved. I was determined not to let him out of my sight. All went well until I detected a slight movement out of the corner of my eye. It came from the di- rection of the dressing room door. There was Marlene peeking at me through the half-open door. Her look of anxiety was too much for my over-worked nerves. Despite my efforts, I felt a grin creeping across my face. I burst out laughing. Too late I remembered poor Mr. Davis. The picture had been taken. With a very discouraged look on his face, Mr. Davis motioned for me to send in the next one. We lived in a mixed state of constant dread and anticipation for the next week. When our proofs finally arrived we tore open the packages and fearfully lifted out the folders. My first proof was the one that had the half-faded smile on it. I looked as if I had just swallowed a glass of lemon juice. With an agonized groan I picked up the second one. This was the one that had been snapped while