UlSifeS
Hank flvery
Battalion Sports Editor
Aggie Cagers Face S. M. U. In Next to Final
Game Here; Athletes Have Chance After War
The Aggie Cagers will be playing their next to the last
game in Deware Field House Monday night, facing the up
and coming S. M. U. Mustangs. The Aggies lost to the Ponies
last Monday night in Dallas by 51-39. The Cadets have had
a week to prep for a comeback which could easily come about.
One fact is a cinch; the Aggies
will be tough on their home court
and the game will be a close one.
Air Corps Call
Many empty rooms and lost hopes
remain on this campus since the
Air Corps started it’s calling of
all the boys in the reserves. The
lost hopes has reference to the
hopes of the athletic clubs on the
campus. But this is not the only
campus that felt the calling for.
Texas University, Baylor, T. C. U.,
Rice, S. M. U., and other colleges
have lost men that shattered many
coaches’ dreams for titles in
athletics.
I guess now that the teams that
were expected to go to town this
season in some sports will be cry
ing about the men the army calls
to duty. They will probably cry
loud and long but they will prob
ably never realize the situation
that the coaching staff at Aggie-
land was faced with last football
season. The staff was handicapped
for the lack of time but you never
heard the coaches say anything
about it after a game had been
lost. They just went right ahead
and did the best with what they
had; not crying over the past.
Looking Ahead
During the last World War, ath
letes were called just like they
are now, and teams lost some
good material and experienced
men. But after the war, many
strong teams came up and this is
the reason why: When these boys
of today leave, they will lose out in
their athletics just like the athletes
of a a quarter century ago did.
If fate sees them through this
scrap, they might return and fin
ish the job they left. The confer
ence let the boys return and fin
ish the number of years of elig
ibility they were entitled to be
fore the army stepped into their
lives, and perchance the same thing
might happen after this war which
will see some good clubs spring
up.
This will give boys like Bobby
Wiliams, Leo Daniels, Arthur
Mercer, James Montgomery, Pete
Slaughter, and many others a
chance to finish their education
and athletic careers.
Tough Luck
With the Air Corps boys leav
ing, and among them goes the tall
Houston eager Lynn Smith. Now
Smithy just became eligible last
mid-term and saw some service
since then. He has been down at
Aggieland for two years and been
practicing for a position on the
Aggie five for the same length of
tmie, but as soon as he begins to
see service, the army calls. Broth
er, that’s hard luck.
Air Corps Again
....The Air Corps knocked at the
“Batt” office and found three boys,
two of which were sports writers.
Now that is a situation that is not
very pleasant on the part of sports
editor. Now I know that you can
find anything from dishwashers
(I have nothing against dishwash
ers) to watch makers among the
Aggie Corps, and surely there are
some sports writers around ..this
campus. Come down and talk about
the deal anyway. If you have either
Monday, or Wednesday, or Friday
afternoon off, come ..down ..and
write for the “Batt”. This is an
S. O. S.
—
Regulation
UNIFORM
EQUIPMENT
Be sure and keep up with
the needed uniform goods
you’ll be sure to need
NOW. Come in and see
our lines of regulation
R.O.T.C. uniforms as well
as regulation Army uni
form equipment.
All-Wool Slacks
Reg. Cotton Slacks
Dress Caps
O’Sea Caps
Reg. Cotton Shirts
Gabardine Shirts
Tropical-Worsted Shirts
Stetson Hats
Trench Coats
Sam Browne Belts
Aggie Coveralls
Reg. Socks
Reg. Ties
CLSCKlfi&S
College and Bryan
Haikin to Write
For OWI Service
Sports Bulletin
Service men from Texas will get
a chance to read about the South
west Conference athletics in the
future from the pages of the
“Stars and Stripes” since the Of
fice of War Information has al
lotted a column of 500 words to
be turned in every week to this
publication.
Mike Haikin will be the corres
pondent from this section and will
be given a by-line to his writing.
The “Stars and Stripes” is pub
lished in England and distributed
to all American service men on
the battle fronts.
Air Corps Call Hits SWC Schools Hard
Battalion Sports
Norton Reports Losses;
Texas U Heaviest Loser
Redus, Buntin, McKinnon Lost from Grid
Team; Smith, Pennington on Cage Quintet
Southwest Conference athletic teams were today far
below their normal strength after the loss of many outstand
ing athletes to the Army Air Corps. Practically every major
team in the majority of Southwest Conference schools was
hard hit when the Army Air Corps called up reservists today.
Here at Aggieland, all sports reported losses to their
squads. Hardest hit was the football squad, with Bill Redus,
squadman end. Bill Buntin, manager, and Bill McKinnon,
numeral guard from Houston be
Saturday Morning, February 13, 1943
ing called.
Lynn Smith, likely forward who
just became eligible, and Paul
Pennington, squadman guard, were
lost from the basketball squad.
They are both from Houston.
Losses to the baseball team
were light, Tom Kamas of Bell-
ville being the only man leaving
the squad. Kamas was a promis
ing first baseman expected to be
a starter on the Aggie nine.
Texas
The University of Texas, win
ners of the 1942 Southwest Con
ference championship, appeared
to be the heaviest losers. The
Longhorns were favored to repeat
in football next year, and are cur
rently tied for the basketball lead
ership with Arkansas.
The greatest squad depletion
was the football squad, losing eight
men. While two basketball play
ers, one track man, six baseball
players and a student manager
were also called up.
Men called from the grid squad
were Co-Capt. Audrey Gill of
Sweetwater and Robert Patterson
of Texarkana, Arkansas, center,
guards Ed Heap of Temple, Duane
Coltharp of Austin, backs Travis
Raven of Austin, Wayland Hill of
Temple, Coy Warren of Cisco and
Johnny Petrovich of Alhambra,
California.
Former half-mile conference
champion Mac Umstattd of Austin
apd Lewis (Mickey) Mayne, key
man of Coach Clyde Littlefields
sprint relay team, were called
from the track squad.
Lost to the baseball squad which
was to begin training March first
were Lyle Green of Grand Forks,
North Dakota, Hobbs Williams of
Jefferson, Ray Fortune, a pitcher
with great promise, from Austin,
catcher Jack O’Reagen, infielder
George Schwoebel and outfielder
Jan Pierce.
Basketball gave up Curtis Pop-
ham, starting guard, and freshman
Philip George of Austin. Popham
will be allowed to play in the Ar
kansas series. Also called was
Beal Dean, Student Manager from
Breckenridge.
Baylor
Up in Waco, Baylor University
(See AIR CORPS, page 4)
Texas Christian
Cancels Baseball
In SW Conference
Lack of Material Blamed;
School Installs New P E
Program; Accent on Track
Texas Christian University will
not be in the Southwest Conference
baseball loop this spring, accord
ing to an announcement received
Friday. There will be a TCU nine,
but it will be for the purpose of
playing only local and close-at-
hand service teams.
The school has announced a
spring sports program for every
boy in the school. This will in
clude varsity and intramural
sports with emphasis placed on
football. Intramural football will
be of the touch variety.
Also, the accent will be placed
on track and field events. Boys
who make good under the college
track program will be entered the
Southwest Conference and other
intercollegiate meets. However,
there will be no formal track team.
Aggie First Sacker
Of 34 Now With Red
Cross Over Seas
Edward K. (Lefty) Martin, an
Aggie athlete and first baseman,
who wore the Maroon and White
in 1933, has just turned up in Afri
ca. According to official Red Cross
sources, Lefty is now in charge of
the American Red Cross in Oran,
Morocco.
After leaving A. & M., he played
px-ofessional baseball for Wichita
Falls and Galveston in the Texas
League, and in 1934 was voted the
most valuable first baseman in the
league. Martin hails from Pales
tine.
Believe nothing you “hear”, and
half you see—let’s stop rumors!
Page 3
Ags Lock Horns With Mustangs
Monday Night; Game Starts at 7
HELP UNCLE SAM WIN
THE WORLD’S TITLE!
INVEST 10% OF YOUR INCOME
IN WAR BONDS
WSS 735 A
U. S. Treasury Dept.
Tankers Meet TU Here Feb 24;
Green to Spark Ags in Battle
By Horace Bays
The Texas Aggies swimming
team will meet the strong “Tea-
sippers” here in Aggieland for the,
Aggies first conference meet on
February 24. The meet will be a
hard struggle, but we all have a
good idea who will come out on
top. The Aggie swimmers will
splash it out with T.U. in their
own pool on March 6, which should
also be quite an event.
The Southwest Conference will
meet on March 19-29 at Austin,
and possibly there will be an
A.A.U. meet on March 13 at Dal
las.
So far the team has come
through with flying colors, with
not too many swimmers lost to
the Armed Forces. One of the
best swimmers was lost to the air
corps, which was none other than
Ben Looney, the 50 yard main,
who usually came in front of the
Sports Wed War as Aggie Athletes
Scrap for U S in all Branches of Service
J
“Marriage Between'
Sports And War Is
Now On Celluloid”
By Red Smith
In Philadelphia Record
A year ago there was a vague
sort of stigma attached to ath
letes in the armed forces. Irre
sponsible flapjaws, both within
the sportswriting field and out
side, had the appalling impudence
to question the motives of many
sports stars who entered the serv
ice at that time.
It became the fashion to sneer
at those who, having had special
ized training or experience in ath
letics, answered the call for phys
ical instructors in the Army or
Navy. It was openly hinted that
the star pitchers and the boxing
champions who signed up were
interested chiefly in saving their
own skins by landing cushy jobs
far from the combat zones.
Well, it seems to me that may
be we get a little bit smarter as
time goes on. At any rate, you
don’t hear cracks like that any
more. The country has discovered
that once a man joins the Army
or Navy he does as he’s told. If
the brass hats figure he’s most
valuable as a teacher of calisthen
ics, he teaches calisthenics 12
hours a day. If they think he can
do more good with a gun, he grabs
a gun.
Meanwhile, the • list of sports
stars who have distinguished them
selves in action grows ever long
er. The examples set by Barney
Ross and Indian Joe Rivers, by
Slade Cutter and Billy South-
worth, Jr., and hundreds of their
kind have taught the world that
the best fighter of all is the man
who has been tempered in the fire
of peacetime competition.
Now, the marriage between
sports and war is to be solem
nized on celluloid by Universal
Pictures. A movie is being made
called “We’ve Never Been Lick
ed.” Its locale is the campus of
Texas A.&M. It is based on a book
by Captain John C. Pasko, of the
Coast Artillery, a graduate of
A.&M.
Does it surprise you that an
inland college devoted to agricul
ture and mechanics should provide
the inspiration for a war picture?
Me, too. But I am indebted to
Universal’s research department
for these explanatory facts:
Texas A.&M. has today more
officers in the armed forces than
any other school in America, not
excluding West Point. Although
you may never have heard of the
joint until John Kimbrough made
its football team famous, it has
anrollment of 7,000 and all stu
dents receive military training.
Now, I’m quite sure this isn’t
the largest college that offers
R.O.T.C. courses, but it hap
pens to be a point of pride with
the students that they all are
graduated with reserve commis
sions.
Texas A.&M. Is Proud
Of Its War Record
A recent check-up showed that
all but one of the football players
coached by Homer Norton since
he took over at A.&M. in 1934 are
in the armed forces, And all but
The one who isn’t in the serv
ice works for a shipbuilding com^
pany, and has not been able to
get loose to enlist. The one with
out a commission is a sergeant in
charge of the takeoff and land
ing of planes at an Army flying
field. Recently he was invited to
attend officers’ training school.
“Hell,” he said, “I was a guard
in football. I don’t expect to get
famous. I’ll stick to my job.”
Does the name Lt. Thomas C.
Day seem familiar ? He was an
all-around athlete at A.&M. He
must have been listening when the
English professor talked about
concise and pithy prose. For he
is the author of the four-word vol
ume, “Sighted sub, sank same.”
Intramurars
According to an announcement
by W. L. Penberthy, director of
Intramui^l Athletics, action will
start next week on Class A Speed-
ball and Class A and B horseshoes.
Schedules are in the process of
being prepared now and should be
in the hand sof the organization
recreational officers by Sunday at
the very latest. If the schedules
are not received by that time, of
ficers should call by the Intramu-
(See INTRAMURALS, Page 4)
Yankees Recognize
Aggieland as Major
Sports Center
First of 100 or so Aggies to
win decorations for gallantry was
Lieutenant Colonel “Pelly” Ditt-
man, track captain in 1938 and
football understudy to Halfback
Dick Todd. He got the Distinguish
ed Flying Cross for conducting
a flight of bombers from Hawaii
to Corregidor. His plane was de
stroyed and Dittman was evacu
ated from The Rock in a PT
boat.
John Kimbrough and his broth
er are first lieutenants in the in
fantry. So is Joe Routt, twice
All-American at guard. So is Jim
Thomason, the blocking back who
helped Kimbrough shake loose.
Marshall Robnett, All-American
guard in ’41, )is taking flight
training.
Major General George F. Moore,
’08, played tackle for the Aggies.
When Corregidor fell, he went
down with the bastion he had com
manded since leaving his post as
commandant at Texas A.&M.
There is at hand a seven-page
document composed mostly of
names and figures. It adds up
to this: On January 1, 1943, there
were 7,856 Aggies on active duty
and 96 had given their lives. Six
teen are generals.
They weren’t al Istars and
some had no athletic gifts at
all. But the great majority did
something or other in sports.
Which isn’t a bad record for our
side.
rest of the swimmers.
One of the best swimmers on
the team is Danny Green, the
Southwest 220 and 440 champ.
Galf Green is another champ who
holds records in the Southwest in
the 220 and 440 bracket. He came
in third in the National A. A. U.
meet last summer at New Lon
don, Connecticut in the 880 and
1500 meter event. Demmer was the
only swimmer to defeat Green in
the 220 last summer in the A.A.U.
meet.
Bob Cowling, the Southwest 100
yard individual champ is also on
the team; he is also the 100 yard
breast stroke champ, and was un
defeated in the South through the
summer competition.
George Haneey, the state high
school backstroke champion, and
undefeated last summer in the
backstroke competition, should
rack up quite a few points.
Jim Kiel, senior and letterman,
and captain of the swimmers,
should come, through in fine style.
Shrimp Laphan and Dick Winters
are also lettermen who should
make a good showing.
Although the diving still has
some weak spots, it has improved
with the help of Bert Cree, R. H.
Meiser and R. L. Pulls.
'A.ggie Corps Can See
Game; Aggies Ready
The Texas Aggies will be striv
ing to get out of the Conference
cellar in meeting the S.M.U. Mus
tangs here in Deware Field House
Monday night. The Aggie season
record is a very unimpressive one,
now standing at two wins as
against five losses. A win over
the Ponies would give the Ags at
least a mathematical chance at a
spot near the top of the heap,
whereas a loss wouldn’t help in
the least.
The Mustangs hold an edge over
the Aggies by virtue of the 51-39
trouncing they handed them at
Dallas last Monday night. How
ever, next Monday night will find
the Aggies facing S.M.U. on their
home grounds and this is a point
in their favor, having lost only to
the mighty Texas Longhorns in
Deware Field House this season. ,
They beat T.C.U. here in the sea
sons opener and then bounced back
from a Baylor loss in Waco to
swamp the Bears in their game
here. Incidentally, this game is
the next to last game to be played
at home, the final to be against
Rice here. A win by the Aggies
will put the cadets in a tie for
fifth place with the Mustangs, a
spot now held down by S.M.U.
while the Ags have complete pos
session of the cellar position.
In the first encounter between
the two teams, the Aggies turned
in a tough battle, giving the Ponies
fits the first half, the score being
24 to 23 in favor of S.M.U. at tho
end of that period. Then in the
last half the Ponies rallied and
really began to hit the hoop, while
the Aggies couldn’t hit their stride
again.
The game should prove interest
ing from every standpoint. The
Aggies will not have the height
on the Ponies but will have the
home court in their favor.
Believe nothing you “hear”, and
half you see—let’s stop rumors!
Texas University seems to be a
little strong where the Aggies are
weak, and if the Aggies expect to
win the conference, we will have
to have more swimmers to fill in
the third and fourth positions. So
any good swimmers are needed
badly.
FRESHMEN
Get Your Wool Slacks
at
L AUTERSTEIN’S
200 AIR CORPS BOYS
Have Sold Us a
LOT OF BOOKS
English 210
Physics
Math 104
Dairy Cattle and Milk Production
Farm Management in the South
Introduction to American Government
2 Sets New Heat Power Engineering
Also a Good Supply of Lamps
THESE BOOKS AND MANY MORE ARE
ON SALE AT
LODPOT'S Trading Post
North Gate