"Bad Boy" Scoggins Returns to the River

Down at Newell Boat House they thought "Bad Boy" Scoggins was gone for good after he was put on probation in the winter of 1968. But Will Scoggins will be in the Harvard heavyweights' first boat against Penn and Navy today and he's ready to be interviewed by Sports Illustrated.

Ten days ago, Scoggins climaxed a brilliant comeback by earning the number seven oar in the first boat after Art Cooper had injured his back. He had to beat out Paul Ramsey, and he did. Today he'll be at number five, "in the engine room."

Scoggins came to Harvard from the wilds of Florida after a four-year preparatory experience at Kent School in Connecticut. He had been a star in football and crew and thought he'd like to play in Harvard Stadium. But Scoggins was drunk most of orientation week, giving the other football players a head start. Then he decided to go out for crew instead because he figured it'd be less demanding.

Scoggins did well as an oarsmen until his academic laxness caught up with his three terms later. Finally, this Fall, he decided that he should return. "It sounded like sort of a weird idea." Scoggins said Thursday night in explaining it. "And I still had some fantasies about how great I was. I'm probably still the meanest man in Cambridge."

Zaniness

Running stadiums again was tough, and Scoggins thought of quitting several times. "The zaniness of the thing kept me going half the time," he said. "Now I just find it absolutely weird to be in the varsity boat."

He even sacrificed certain pleasures in life, like drinking. "Now my vices are few," he mused while sipping his Sioux City Sasparilla. "It's a bit boring."

Boredom is a thing Scoggins has overcome numerous times at Harvard. He did away with the boredom of classes by skipping most of them, and he conquered the boredom he associated with football by becoming a flamboyant cheerleader.

Scoggins' approach to schoolwork is not unique in this community, but his handling of study cards is. A year ago, he handed in his study card an hour-and-a-half before the University closed down for its short summer recess. "I guess that was a record," Scoggins estimated. "I put it on the table and tried to walk out without him seeing me."

Amongst the cheerleaders he stood out as the one with the Red Sox cap, the purple cape and the flowing hair. "That's when I got the Sports Illustrated fantasies," he said Thursday. "By the way, tell all the people who came to football games that I'm still looking for groupies."

But clearly what Scoggins is really looking for right now is some space in Sports Illustrated as the boy who made the big comeback. He stresses that he won't get that chance unless Harvard wins today.

"But I'd like to know why the hell they haven't been here sooner," Scoggins said. "I've waited eight months for this. Tell them to satisfy a balding hippie's ego."