'Amby' Schindler's 98th Birthday

Yes Ladies and gentleman. The Greatest Trojan of them All is still alive. His voice mail now sings poetry. A slice of the chapter called the Red Helmet is written below. In the 1936 Trojan game on the farm in Stanford, Li'l  "Amby" is upset at first, but at the end earns a brand new Gruen watch - as the San Francisco Chronicle Player of the  Bay.
    ...Amby sleeps-away in the top berth of the Pullman car, He needed to claim a letter before claiming the bottom berth. He had his fill of two helpings of beefsteak with potatoes heaped in butter. The Southern Pacific coasted along, but then it happened. He couldn't find his little helmet inside the equipment car. Only the other quarterback, Davy Davis, owned a smaller noggin.   
   "Son of a bitch...Who has stolen my helmet? Somebody is going to get my bare knuckles in their face."
    Why his helmet could not be found. Before game time that Saturday, his assistant coach, Sam Barry called the Stanford equipment if they had small helmet. With luck, a Stanford player had a head the same size as Li'l "Amby."...

     Davy Davis re-injured his torn ligaments and torn collar bones. He had been injured in the previous game east against Illinois. The Indian manager painted the new oval a bright red and it was plain that the paint had barely dried when Jones sent him into the fray. 
     "Jones spoke to me before I entered the fray. 'When you get close to their goal, run down the line of scrimmage. Throw a pass in the flat  if there is no hole in their line.' I entered the Trojan huddle with drips of paint streaming down my face. My players smiled and gave me a look of admiration. They always worked up a little lather when I called the signals.  Of course my teammates let out a hearty laugh but it subsided when I showed my fist.."  His buddy later on and the Daily News scribe described the touchdown for his fraternity buddy. Lee Bastajian describes the touchdown.
    "Amby swung into action with his knees driving high as he knocked off big chunks of yardage to establish a first down on the Stanford one. He then threw a touchdown to Ray Wehba in the flat. Ray Wehba was the only one who knew the trick play. 
    "Monday after the game, somebody hollered down from our Student Union. 'Amby, get your ass up hear!' It was Bill Hunter, our Athletic Director. I thought I would be punished for fooling around earlier."
     "I have something for you. What do you think of this Gruen watch. I had been awarded the Bay Player that weekend by the San Francisco Chronicle."
   Of course he never owned one but yearned for the one advertised in Collier's magazine for "50"
  A special note: He had been born on May 21st of 1917 at the Mercy Hospital on Washington Street in San Diego.  On his birthday, his idol, Charles Lindbergh set down the Spirit of St. Louis on Paris France. Ryan Company had built the plane in San Diego. Schindler watched him practice take-offs.  

 You can reach me at the Motel Six in San Diego. Ask for George Garrett. 760- 434 7135. I usually sleep in suites 229 or 231.