Harvard Running Back Tommy Winn: Sophomore Secures a Starting Position

It is late afternoon and dusk is drooping down upon the Harvard Stadium field. On the turf, coach Joe Restic warns his Crimson gridders of the intricacies of the Dartmouth defense in preparation for their upcoming battle.

The offensive unit breaks from the huddle and lines up in formation. A small fleeting back takes the pitchout and races around the end, breaks from the clutches of one tackler, cuts back across the field with mercurial strides and finally blazes down the opposite sideline eluding all pursuit to go in for the score.

Returning to the huddle, sophomore Tommy Winn catches his breath, readying himself for what he does best, running with the football. And people are beginning to realize just how adept he is at that--ask anyone who went to the Cornell game.

In last Saturday's contest against the Big Red, Tommy led the offensive onslaught, topping all Crimson rushers with a total of 57 yards. He was instrumental in the second-half comeback, throwing a touchdown pass to Pat McInally and taking a screen pass from quarterback Milt Holt and running the ball back 69 yards for another score, in a deft display of open-field running.

In recognition of Winn's stellar performance, Restic named him Offensive Player of the Week.

"Tommy's 69-yard run with that screen pass was the thing we'd been waiting for. Tommy's the kind of runner who needs to break that big one to develop his confidence and now we know he's ready," Restic said.

Gets Nod

Restic said yesterday that Winn will be his starting right halfback from now on, despite the fact that senior Ed Cronin has recovered from an opening-game injury. It was in that game against Holy Cross that Tommy was catapulted into the starting slot; the sophomore took advantage of his opportunity.

Before the season started, Tommy was optimistic about seeing a lot of action, but never thought that he would be starting. "I didn't think it was likely," he said. "Ed started last season, and this is his senior year--plus he's a real good halfback."

Now people are raving about Winn's tremendous outside speed and his potential to break the long one, but Tommy is one sophomore sensation who will not be spoiled by success. He has been accustomed to it before.

Tommy has been successful since his high school days when he led his Framingham North team to the league championship. As a result of his fantastic senior year, the hustling halfback was showered with accolades, including being named to the all-scholastic starting team by every major paper in eastern Mass.

Winn made the transition from high school to college without difficulty, starting last year on the freshman squad. After sustaining a pre-season injury, Winn bounced back to surface as the team's leading rusher.

"I just like to enjoy myself. There are a lot of great people around here, and I just want to be with them," Winn said yesterday.

Tommy is dedicated to football, and keeps himself in shape in the off-season by playing basketball and squash regularly.

With a team of dedicated ballplayers like Tommy, the varsity club will be assured of many more wins this season.