Former Syracuse head coach Edwin R. Sweetland (1900 - 1902) sent along a recent email (which is impressive unto itself) that he sent to Daryl Gross and Nancy Cantor and wanted to pass along to you as well. His words are below.Dear Sir and Madam,
I have not had the pleasure of making Greg Robinson's acquaintance during his tenure as head skipper of these Orange Skins and I do not portend to know what mettle made of is he. He reminds me much of my predecessor, Frank E. Wade, who despite being made of stern stuff, could not last long under the watchful eye of the stereoscope affixed by the local newsies. Some say that, much like Wade, Robinson is merely a victim of palookas with an axe to grind and mayhem on their mind.
Applesauce to that!
Down at the local juice joint, me and some of the fellows (George O. Redington, Ancil C. Brown and C. DeForest Cummings to name a few) meet regularly to discuss the current squad over some giggle water and we are of the mind that Robinson is the kind of fish who'd take a stack of wooden nickels and not think twice about it, if you catch my drift. And we're not ones to beat our gums about it, mind you. Our beloved game of foot ball has been besmirched, sullied and is a far cry from the ducky days of past.
It's time for Syracuse University to get a wiggle on and reclaim it's place as the cat's meow of Northeastern foot ball. My fellow head coachmen and I have laid out a four-point plan that will stop all this off-the-field ribaldry and make us champions once again. Trust us, we know our onions.
Number one, upgrade the facilities post haste! Right now the training grounds resemble a run-of-the-mill speakeasy instead of a dolled-up, very berries gin joint. For this we cannot stand.
Number two, recruiting only the finest gentlemen worthy enough to wear the orange. Our current roster contains too many flat tires and saps running amok as if they were ossified before the contest. We need upstanding hard boiled men who are on the level. The kind of Real McCoys who are on the up and up. No Jews, of course.
Number three, place strong rivalries back on the schedule. Northwestern? South Florida? Why are we pitting ourselves against heathens and rag-a-muffins? What of loyalty and community? We suggest bringing back some of our niftiest opponents, such as Ogdensburg, Dickinson College, Saint Johns Military Academy and the Onondaga Indians School. I would suggest those cads from Colgate but they are scoundrels of the highest order and nothing but a collection of pikers.
Number four, discontinue admittance of women. This would have little effect on the foot ball squad but is a long overdue policy in general. Do not even get us started on the idea of women voters. Pish posh!
If you implement these policies we firmly believe that Syracuse foot ball will be on the trolley in two shakes of a lamb's paw. We happen to believe that there is one person in particular who could do such an undertaking. My good friend Frank O'Neill is that fellow. He was Big Cheese for the Orangemen once before and compiled a 52-19-6 record in his time, no small potatoes I tell you that. He knows the lay of the land, he's familiar with the boys and he's a beacon of leadership for young Protestant men from Cortland to Albany.
I rest easy knowing you'll make the right decision for our boys and have Syracuse stop playing like a bunch of Ethels and turn us back into cake-eaters.
Kindly,
Edwin R. Sweetland