Tom Columns

Pat McInally will be playing his final game for Harvard today, bringing to a close an illustrious three-year career in which the sensational end has established himself as one of the greatest players in the Crimson's history.

McInally is currently ranked sixth in the nation in pass receptions, having caught 41 through the first eight games of Harvard's 1974 schedule. The All-American candidate holds a majority of the Crimson receiving records, and is undeniably one of the major reasons that Harvard has won 13 of its last 17 gridiron encounters.

In today's edition of The Game, Mac is facing one of the few teams with which he has an account to settle. As most Crimson fans know, the final game of the 1973 season saw the great end completely smothered by an inspired Eli defense, virtually the same one which will be at Soldiers' Field today.

It would mean a lot to McInally to leave his home stadium a winner, in what could be one of the great upsets of the classic encounter. But, win or lose, it will be impossible to forget some of the highlights of the receiver's electrifying career.

Providence, R.I. was where McInally was at his record-setting finest last year, snaring an amazing 13 passes from Crimson quarterback Jimmy Stoeckel for 178 yards and two touchdowns. The effort ranks as the best individual performance ever by a Crimson receiver.

Against Pennsylvania, Princeton, and UMass in last season's campaign, McInally was again virtually unstoppable, picking off 10 against the Quakers and eight in the Tiger and Minutemen encounters.

This season, it has only been the versatility of the Crimson offense that has held Mac down, as Harvard's new running threat, halfback Tom Winn, and the ability of the squad's other receivers have made the split end's role in the offense less one-sided.

But through it all, McInally is still the man Harvard looks for when the going gets tough. The senior's ability to make dramatic catches in the waning minutes of the Crimson's tight ballgames has made desperation passes less risky than one might expect.

McInally's immense and versatile talents, punting and kick-offs among them, will undoubtedly play a major role in today's showdown. And if there's an upset, he may very well be the man to pull it off.

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