Atlanta Daily World

THE CASE
OF THE
OKLAHOMA
DANCER,
MR.
WALTER
SNEED

By
RIC ROBERTS, Sports Editor

Way back yonder in 1932 when
the evanescent names of Elmer Baker, Charlie McPherson,
Ralph Robinson, Jim Pinkney and other
Clark greats were marching across the sport
pages for the last time, a smiling freshman
candidate from Oklahoma arrived on the
Clark campus. After properly establishing
his freshman qualifications this youngster reported to the coach
—at that time, "Chief" Aiken. He informed that his name
was Walter Sneed; that he weighed some 140 odd pounds;
could play a nifty half under pressure; that
he could kick and pass and that he had ambi-
tions.

Chief Aiken likes his football men to be
big fellows, 170, 190, 200 and 215 pounders.
Chief took one look at Walter, twirled a big
black cigar in one corner of his mouth and
told Trainer Julian to give the boy a uniform.

In the early scrimmages that fall Walter
Sneed showed promise of becoming a clever
back. He could tear back with punts and had
load of broken field chicanery and cunning.

"In another year with me, more pound
added onto his frame, he will look like a mi.
lion bucks." quoted the grads and students
and fans who eyed him

"I think that pirouette and feint is a pip,
SNEED

declared Jim Pinkney who went down under a punt and was
left down under it by Sneed who gathered in the ball and
ditched Jim to gain 30 yards uphill

Then came 1933
Late Saturday night on the other side the full dope
received a telegram from Knoxville, which informed
that Clark had beaten the Lambuth's machine by a score of
32 to 0 that afternoon.

The boys said Walter Sneed
looked great and that his 67 yard
whirl across the Knoxville goal
line on a punt return was a mas-
terpiece. We all felt good did we
who had warned the people
thirsted for a chance to see him in
action. My officiating obligations
took me far and wide that season
and chances of seeing Clark play
were very, very slim

I came home after working on
the Wilberforce Tuskegee show
of 1933 and found an open date
on my book-Oct. 28. so I asked
Chief Aiken to let me ride to
South Carolina with the team so
I could see my former buddies
battle South Carolina. Good nat-
ured Chief Aiken said okay dokay
and I grabbed a shirt and a
toothbrush and jumped into that
bus. O.G. Walker was along to
referee and Jimmy Perry was
there.

The game was tied at the
Fair Grounds in Orangeburg and
was the best game I saw in 1933.
The teams were perfectly equal.
But back to Sneed

In the second quarter Fullback
Cain backed into punt formation
from the Carolina 20 yard line
and spun a 65 yard punt. Sneed
who was standing fifteen yards or
more too close in to take the
catch.

The stand became electrified
when this diminutive Oklahoma
lad took the kick and ran back fifteen yards-
to make a backward sachet the
tail taking it over his left
shoulder like a majorette. All
Carolina was down upon him but Sneed
never harmed to err. A pirouette and a feint to
left Daykins on the turf with
his arm and up that find
more Carolina and another at etc came until he was
pushed out of bounds near the
South Carolina 15 yard
mark. Sneed got smart and cross-
ed up the Carolina team and all
the fans and both coaches. He
quick kicked from a regular of-
ensive assembly and fired the
ball 47 yards where it thumped
the out of bounds line on the fly
just eighteen inches from the
goal line. Those were the two
most brilliant successive plays I
had seen in a long time. Sneed
looked like a million bucks.

Then things began to happen.
Sneed seemed to lose the old
bang or something and Chief
kept him on the bench. His
ground gaining fell away to noth-
ing despite the fact that he look-
ed as good as ever. Cary Ray
started doing all the punting. At
last Sneed, in desperation,
ap-
proached Coach Aiken:

"Say Coach" said he. 'I used
to carry that ball out yonder in
Oklahoma in my prep days. I'm
in condition I can carry that
ball now

Chief Aiken released the cigar
from his mouth to his left hand
and retorted:

Sneed, I know you can carry
that ball and I know you are in
condition and I appreciate you
for your spirit and effort; but,
son, you're just too doggone
light, going up into that big
line"

Sneed has one more year---
you'll see