TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1941- Intramural Athletics Have Grown Greatly By Dub Oxford Waxing romantic for a few mo ments—since time began there has always been a spirit of combat ex isting among the male specie. From the age of the cave man through the knight with his gallant sword and to the Aggie with the ping pong bat in his hand this spirit exists. Physical skill has long been a factor when two men met, and so down through the ages this skill has developed into a code of ethics and a definite pro gram. Having its inception in 1924, in tramural athletics at Texas A. & M. began in such a way. It was or ganized by the demand of the stu dent body for some sort of athletic program ... not for men of varsity calibre, but for students who were not proficient enough for varsity play or were either not interested in varsity competition. True Organization of Intramurals The intramural program since its beginning 16 years ago, has re ceived full cooperation from the student body and has grown with a corps. It is a well run machine and is now one of the most exten sive programs of intramural ath letics in the country. As you might guess, the pro gram was originally designed to provide competition between the football teams of the different battalions. Of course there was made a provision for both class A. and class B. Class A being the upperclassmen and class B the freshmen. After the season was complet ed, the results were tabulated and championship teams selected. The teams selected won recognition for their splendid showings and the managers were also rewarded. In tramural athletics proved their worth that year for several varsity players were discovered. In fact, a goodly portion of varsity ma terial has been discovered on the intramural playing field. Organizations Complete As growing boys find that they are getting too large for their clothes and have to have larger ones, so did the system at that time out-grow its “breeches.” It was realized that the battalion sys tem of class A and class B was inadaquate for the large number of students attending A. & M. and plans were made to remedy the sit uation. Coming to Aggieland in 1926, W. L. Penberthy took charge of the intramural department in addition to his physical educaiton duties. Mr. Penberthy then had some streamlined ideas about the run ning of an intramural program and his ideas were so good that they are still in use today. In other words, a mild Blitzkreig took place in the intramural department . As Texas A. & M. is a military school it was fitting that an or ganization along military lines be developed. It was then worked out that each military organization was to be a unit and have individu al teams. The department handled all scheduling of games and made provision for referees. As the school functioned the year round, there was a cause for a program for year round sports activities. This program increased and we now have sixteen sports that the stu dents may participate in. The regular set up now is that the freshmen and the upperclass men are divided into a group. They are designated as class B and class A respectively . The many sports offered are ten nis, basketball, rifle shooting, handball, cross country, touch foot ball, speedball, water polo, volley ball, horse shoe pitching, boxing, wrestling, swimming, ping pong, golf and track. At present, golf is in its trial stages. Point System of Scoring The point system is used in scor ing the different teams. The num ber of points is determined by placing the number of sports en tered and the number of final play-offs the organization entered in. Many awards are given by the intramural department and they are very much sought after. To each member of a winning team goes an intramural medal with the THE BATTALION This quartet pictured above is expected to spark the Aggies in the third defense of their title. Of the four only Moser, triple threat back, and Sterling, hustling end, are remnants of the great ’39 and ’40 championship teams. sports won and the organization which was the winner. The organ ization winning the school cham pionship has the honor of carry ing the intramural flag. This is a much coveted honor. The flag is carried at all reviews and is pre sented to the winning organization at final review each year. Competition is very keen for these flags and last year a very unusual situation existed. E Bat tery Field Artillery won the school championship both in class A and class B. That is an enviable rec ord. The department is run by “Mr. Penny,” “Spike” White, and there will be some new assistants an nounced when school starts. Unit organizations are handled by the members of the organizations themselves and are under the su pervision of the department. Oldest agricultural college in the United States is Michigan State established in 1853. Page 7 Mad Scramble Between Texas, SMU, And Rice Due With Aggies As Definite Threat By Mike Haikin “Texas, S. M. U. and Rice.” So resounds the opinion of some thousand experts all over the country as the start of another thrilling Southwest Conference race is only a stone’s throw away. A Mad Scramble The defending champions—the Texas Aggies and the S. M. U. Mustangs—are faced with an al most impossible task of keeping Coach Dana X. Bible’s eleven from grabbing off at least part of the title. The Aggies are given the best chance of stopping the Long horns, primarily because of a cer tain jinx that has hovered over the Steers for many a year in the fact that Texas has not beaten A. & M. on Kyle Field since 1922. However, the Mustangs are ex pected to be right on the Long horns’ heels, and the Texas-A. & M. battle may even prove a boom to the Ponies’ title aspirations. At any rate, a mad scramble be tween Texas, S. M. U., and Rice is a distinct probability, with the Aggies being the “dark horse” team. Coach Dana X. Bible’s plan at Texas University is finally be ginning to bloom, and the Long horn patrons fully expect the Bible eleven to be the top team come December, jinx or no jinx. Layden and Crain The reason for Texas’ cham pionship aspirations are Pete Lay den, senior triple threat fullback, and Jack Crain, swivel-hipped half back, a couple of gridsters who have been a nemesis to the South west Conference coaches for the pa^t three years. The Texas Ag gies especially remember Layden for his one-man rout of them last Thanksgiving. Besides these two potential stars, the Steers have speed to burn in the backfield and line. The Steers have eighteen let- termen coming back for another fling, including nine of the “im mortal 13” who played against the Aggies last Thanksgiving. Besides Crain and Layden, there’ll be Noble Doss and Vernon Martin in the backfield. Both were starters last year, and are expected to do yeomen service for the Steers in the coming campaign. Graduation, ineligibil ity, and draft have caused the Longhorns to lose such capable men as Co-capatin Ted Dawson, Glenn Jackson, Don Williams, Nelson Puett, and Jimmy Grubbs. Among the standouts in the line are Guard Chal Daniel, Ends Malcolm Kutner and Mike Sweeney, and Tackle Standley Mauldin. Depend On Johnson Going on to S. M. U., we find that the Mustangs, in spite of los ing seven linemen and five backs, are labeled as one of the top teams of the Southwest Conference. Loss of Ray Mallouf and Johnny Clem ent certainly will hurt the Mustang team, but in Preston Johnson, Matty Bell has one of the finest backs in the conference. The Mus tang offense will be probably cen tered around Johnson, who is a triple threat back, and Howard “Red” Maley, sensational passer- runner from the freshman squad of last year. The line is bolsteaeed from end to stern by Ted Ram sey, big and durable guard, Ends Roland Goss, E. L. Keeton, and OUT ON THE LIMB Battalion’s Predictions: 1. Texas 2. S. M. U. 3. A. & M. 3. Rice 5. T. C. U. 6. Baylor 7. Arkansas Gus Tunnell, Center Hoyle Simms, and Tackles Lynn Bostick and Joe Pasqua. Ramsey is already groom ed by many Mustang fans as a potential All-American. Rice a Threat Under the guidance of drawling Jess Neely, the Rice Owls will always be a threat in any game they play, but they just don’t seem to be of championship calibre. Their backfield, headed by Bob Brumley, Dick Dwelle, and Gene Keel, is rated as good as any in the South west, but it is the weakness of the forward wall that has Neely worried. He lost a goldmine when Ken Whitlow, Fred Hartman, and Livy Bassett graduated, and it will be a hard job to replace them. However, in Art Goforth, chunky guard, Verlan Pritchard, big 200- pound tackle shifted from end, and Bill Heard, 215-pound husky tackle, Coach Neely has the makings of a line that may be able to match itself with any in the conference. As for the backfield, Brumley and Dwelle will bear the brunt of the offense. Brumley is especially capable of executing Neely’s tricky spinners, while Dwelle is Rice’s ace passer. The “Darkhorse” Aggies And now the Aggies! Certain ly no one can discount them from the race because Homer Norton has a “darkhorse” team—a team that may develop into a real threat or one that may just fall by the wayside. Norton has the material but as yet it has been untried. The reason the team has been labelled as a “darkhorse” in the confer ence race is in the fact that Nor ton, instead of scrimmaging as has been the usual custom, worked on fundamentals with the gridsters during spring training. The grid iron machine that crushed 20 out of 21 foes in the past two years is no more. Nine of the starters of the championship team are gone, with only Halfback Derace Moser and End Jim Sterling remaining. It is from the on-coming sopho mores and the squadmen of last year that Norton hopes to build anothet championship eleven. The nucleus of the team is centered around four experienced men— Moser, Sterling, Bill “Jitterbug" Henderson, pass-snatching end, and Martin Ruby, big and reliable tackle. Ruby’s excellent perform ance in the Cotton Bowl last year serves as a notice to other line men that he will be hard to stop both on offense and defense as well. The main weakness of the cadet eleven appears to be in the middle of the line, vacated by Marshall Robnett, Charlie Henke and Tommy Vaughn. Norton will have an al most impossible job to replace these men. In their places he has Les Richardson and Ray Mulhollan at the guard posts and Dub Sibley at the pivot position. These gridsters saw only a little service last year, and as yet are really inexperienced. Ready to give a hand are Roy (See S. W. C. RACE, page 8) Open Letter to New Students Dear Prospective Aggie: We take this opportunity to congratulate you on your coming to the great A. & M. College of Texas and to welcome you to the best com munity in the South fFelcome, Prospective Aggies! HERE IS YOUR LIST - BE WISE - BUY IT AT PENNEY’S Due to Unsettled Conditions Prices Subject to Change Without Notice Fish Slacks, 18-oz. Serge $8.95 Campaign Hats, Permanent Brim, fur felt 5.00 Fish Dress Caps 3.50 Fish Sam Browne 2.50 Aggie Lab Suits (Aggie Seal on back) „ 3.50 Trench Coats (split tail) 4.50 I.E.S. Study Lamps 2.95 Fish Bombay Slacks 2.29 High Back Bombay Slacks 3.25 Glengarrie Poplin Regulation Shirts 2.25 (Patches furnished and sewed on free.) Broadcloth Regulation Shirts 1.75 (Aggies have bought 25,000 of them.) Gym Shirts, A. & M. Regulation 49 ^ Gym Shorts, A. & M. Regulation 79^ Web Belts 50^ Hat Cords 25^ Chin Straps 25^ Collar Ornaments, Each 30^ and 35^ AMC Cap Ornaments 50^ Blitz Cloth 15tf Sta-Ties 50^ and 79d Aggie Patch 20^ Patches, All Others and Star 10^ Tennis Shoes 79^-98^-$1.98 Cord Sole Drill Shoes $2.98 Dress Oxfords $2.98 to $4.98 Rubber Boots $1.98-$2.98 Athletic Socks 25^ Regulation Dress Socks 19^-25^ Aggie Maroon and White Blanket $5.00 Aggie Seal in center; Aggie football action scenes on border—a beautiful blanket to own or have for a souvenir. The J. C. Penney Company in Bryan, adjacent to A. & M. College, has served the Aggies with military needs for years at decided savings. We are your home town store selling for cash and that the lowest price. We have saved the Aggies lots of money, thereby assisting them to go through school for less. The instructions from College authorities state you should buy no articles of military clothing or equipment until you arrive. The J. C. Penney Company is your approved store where you can buy from upper classmen with confidence, knowing you will get regulation clothing in dependable quality as savings. Please be advised you are NOT required to restrict your purchases tothe stores on or near the campus. You are free to shop around, making your purchases where you feel you can get dependable merchandise at the right price. We wish to cite one instance where we save you money. We em broider organization patches and place fish stripes on every shirt bought here free of charge. We have sold over 25,000 regulation shirts to Aggies and many of them tell us they wear our shirts two years. It is our earnest desire to serve you. We’ll be seing you. We must see you for ECONOMY. We cash your checks. We treat you right. Sincerely yours, J. C. Penney Company, Inc., “Aggie Economy Center” (£>7 Bryant Manager NOTE TO FORMER STUDENTS: We sincerely thank all former students for your confidence and valuable business given and sent to our store. It is our utmost desire to merit your continued confidence and trust. We thank you with all our hearts. JUNIOR UNIFORMS MADE TO MEASURE AT LOWEST PRICES Blouse $34.50 Cap, stock 5.00 Serge Shirt 12.50 Caps, tailor made 7.00 Slacks $16.50 Breeches $14.75 Sam Browne 5.00 REGULATION STETSON HATS $8.95 Buy your Sheets, Towels, Rugs, Pillows, Shades, Drapes, Shoe Polish Kits, and Complete Toiletries here. J. C. Penney Co., Inc. “Aggie Economy Center” BRYAN : : TEXAS Only Five Miles From Campus