THURSDAY AFTERNOON, AUGUST 22, 1946
THE BATTALION
PAGE 3
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y.'
Pigskin Prospects Sighted In By Aggie Foes
Aggies Field Strongest
Team Since Pre-War Days
The Texas Aggies may or may
not be up there when the South
west Conference championship for
1946 is awarded but at least the
fellow who is will know the Ag
gies have been trying.
This year the Aggies have the
best and the most material they
have had since the pre-war years
BUT the same holds good at every
other conference school. That ex
plains why Head Coach Homer
Norton is not shouting to the skies
that his team will win all their
games and be the champs.
To the contrary, the Aggie men
tor says that he feels confident
that the winner will not come
through the season undefeated, and
it would not surprise him if the
winner bites the dust twice. Ask
ed who he expected to beat the
Aggies he replied, “I surely hope
that no one does but it probably
will be one of those teams we
least expect to do it. That’s the
way it goes in the Southwest Con
ference.”
Lettermen will be plentiful—
at last count there were 46 or so
on the possible list BUT AGAIN,
that means little. Many of those
are of war-time variety and in
some cases played but part of a
year before Uncle Sam pulled them
in for his team. Coach Norton ex
plained that in such cases it was
the policy of the Athletic Depart
ment to award those boys letters.
There are a lot of pre-war letter-
men returning BUT there is a
question of their ability to go now
as they did then. Age does not
improve athletes’ legs and Ag
gie legs are no exceptions.
He expects about 150 men to try
for the team and said that every
one would have an equal chance
to make the team. “At the out
set we will break them into two
teams with the center the head
man. We will scrimmage daily and
from those workouts we antici
pate that the best on each team
will show up. Then we will grad
ually shift them about until we
think we have a winning combina
tion. By Sept. 20, when we divide
the squad into the A and B squads,
the apparently best 44 men out of
the 150 will be picked for the A
squad.
“That does not mean the boy as
signed to the B squad is to stay
there all season. The B squad is
expected to furnish all replace
ments for the A squad and those
who show in the B games may
move up the following week, with
a resulting move back for some-
• •
• •
On Kyle Field
• •
• •
Norton Says Rice and T. U. Strongest
Head Coach Homer H. Norton
said today, “This is to be the
toughest year ever in this confer
ence, and I do not expect any team
to go through the season unde
feated. It is even possible that the
conference champions will lose two
games.” When asked as to who
was his choice was for the crown
he would not commit himself, but
stated that Texas and Rice would
be the teams for A. & M. to beat
if they ' expect to win the crown.
He also said that Baylor was go
ing to be another of the tough
ones for the Aggies this year. Nor
ton is not counting on ANY push
overs, but these three look the
strongest at present.
iTTALIONA-
Hard Fight in Store for Aggies
After looking over the picture as about them.^ They have a new
presented by the Sports Publicity
department of each school we are
to meet this next fall it looks like
our toughest games will be with
Texas, Rice, Baylor, T. C. U., S. M.
U., and Arkansas. I rank Arkansas
last because nothing is known
Coaches to Have Hardest Jobs Ever
coach, John Barnhill, who was very
successful at Tennessee before tak
ing over as head mentor for the
Razorbacks, and he may throw a
few surprises into the conference
race this year ,as he has some boys
of the calibre that it takes.
With every school “loaded for
bear” it promises to be the best
season in several years for the
Southwest Conference. Each school
in the conference will have more
than 100 players report for fall
training Sept 2, and it isn’t going
to be an easy task for the men
tors to put their best elevens on
the field at the start of the sea
son. In many cases the players
wh oare on the starting lineup at
first of the season are apt to be
nothing more than non-paying spec
tators during the closing days of
November.
If a coach could find that ideal
combination during the pre-season
games he could probably walk
off with the conference crown be
fore the other coaches knew what
was happening. This year more
than in any previous year the posi
tion of the teams in the standing
at the final whistle will depend
upon the coaches stategy and his
ability to pick his best eleven.
one off the A squad to make room
for him. At no time do we plan on
having more than the 44 men on
the A team.
“The plans are subject to change
but as it stands now that seems
to be the most logical way to find
our best men. The fact that a man
has lettered, or has made the All-
Conference team, or even got All-
America mention does not win him
an A team assignment automatic
ally. This year he will have to
prove he is better than others to
get up there”, Norton explained.
As to beating Texas in Austin
this year he said, “Let’s not play
that game on paper now, or at any
time during the season. Let’s wait
until we meet them in Memorial
Stadium on next Thanksgiving.”
Looks Like Good Opener
By Dude Neville McCloud
NTSC News Service
North Texas State College’s 1946
football fall training camp will get
underway Sept. 1 with 110 gridders
expected to report according to
Odus Mitchell and Dee Walker,
NT coaches, with the first en
counter against Texas A. & M.
Sept. 21.
The post-war version of the
Eagle grid machine will be the first
grid team to don the North Texas
green and white since the 1942
season when the Dentonites slump
ed to third place in the Lone Star
Conference. The Eagles have taken
the LSC crown five times unshar
ed and once with a tie with East
Texas State, which is more than
any other school in the loop.
Twelve returning lettermen are
expected to be in Denton for fall
training. Heading the list are Wil
burn Curnutt, 200-pound guard and
Fred McCain, 180-pound back, who
were both all-conference in 1942.
Other returning lettermen are
backs: Glenn Johnson, Joe Gieb,
and Paul Richardson; ends: Bill
Oglesby and Dan Garza; tackles:
Nick Ruggierri and Leroy Gibson;
guards: Maurice Waters and Jim
mie Cook. Eighty-six grid pros
pects reported for spring training
at North Texas last spring and
Mitchell is expecting most of the
spring trainees back for the ’46
season.
It will be the first year for Mit
chell and Walker at NT. The two
coaches were at Marshall High
School until they accepted the
Eagle offer. Mitchell, a 1925 grad
uate of West Texas State College,
has a game record of 165 wins
against 46 losses and 8 ties.
Walker graduated from North Tex
as State in 1940. An Eagle gridder
himself," Walker lettered for three
years in tackle position. While in
the service. Walker served as a
captain in the Marine Raiders in
the Pacific.
quarterbacks also have had trouble
trying to learn in a few short
weeks the fancy feinting and feed
ing Tatum’s T handoffs call for.
Some progress was made but in
general the Sooners will have to
learn the Tatum T as they go along,
this fall. And facing Army, Texas
Aggies, all of them with establish
ed systems, Tatum’s green outfit
is face to face with three quick
spills in their first three games
and more of the same later al
though they should grow better and
handle the ball more smoothly as
they gradually become accustomed
to the new formation.
’42; C. J. Fraley,
Watkins, ’42.
’43; and John
Cash
DPAWIHG INSTRUMENTS, SLIDE
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ways willing to cooperate in helping you to exchange
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or for READY CASH. Drop in and show us what you
have to offer. We believe you will agree it’s best
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WE WILL BUY FOR GASH—
TRADE AT A DISCOUNT
—SELL AT A SAVING
May Give Aggies Trouble
By Clark H. Schooley
Director Sports News Texas Tech
The largest squad in Texas
Tech history is expected to report
Sept. 2 for the opening of football
practice, but Coach Dell Morgan is
uncertain whether there will be
enough good talent from which to
mold a team which can hold its
own with opponents.
About 125 candidates are expect
ed to report, about half of them
ex-servicemen. There probably will
be about 30 lettermen and only
five men from the 1945 squad. But
spring practice showed many of
the veterans will be unable to play
much of any game or in many
games during the year.
Coach Morgan is hopeful for a
strong team, but he will predict
few victories in a schedule which
includes four Southwest conference
teams and four 1945 Bowl teams.
* J
> 'Y
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Sooners Say They’re Easy
By O. U. Sports Publicity Dept.
Oklahoma propects: Like every
other college team this season,
Oklahoma will be stronger than
last year. Apparently Coach Tat
um will acquire 20 Sooner “O” win
ners from past seasons, all but
three of them discharged war vete
rans. Of the 56 Oklahoma players
considered certain to report back
for the start of autumnal drills,
38 are returned war vets, five are
deferred and 13 are under age or
too young to register.
The material is alarmingly un
balanced with line and backfield
equally represented among the 20
returning lettermen at 10 each.
The line strength is generally uh-
satisfactory to the coaches with
end the weakest position and cen
ter the only one measuring up to
pre-war caliber. Backfield pros
pects are so-so. For example, of
the eight letterbacks considered
sure to return, only two, Jack Ven
able and Joe “Junior” Golding have
even been starters.
It’s virtually an All-Oklahoman
squad. Of the 56 players, 45 are
from Oklahoma, nine from nearby
Texas, one from Arkansas and one
from Mississippi.
Like Nebraska and Kansas of the
Big Six conference, the Sooners
are breaking in a new system. Tat
um is inaugurating T formation
for virtually very play and the
Sooner GI’s back from war, nearly
all of them accustomed to single
wing or A allignments when they
last played at Norman, have had
constant difficulty with fumbled
laterals and the new T style of
blocking high in the line. The OU
Probably Hard to Beat
By Jim Corbett
Sports Publicity L. S. U.
Prospects for Louisiana State’s
1946 football array are currently
riding a bull market with optimism
reaching up to the coaching staff.
With nine of the eleven 1945 reg
ulars returning, plus the return to
participation of 22 former letter-
men just returned from military
service, the outlook looks bright
in Tigertown. Coach Bernie Moore
agrees he will field a better team
this fall than the contigent that
copped seven out of nine games in
’45, but he is also aware that each
opponent will also have improved
and the competition will be vastly
strengthened. Linemen returning
from last year’s starting eleven
include Clyde Lindsey, end; Earl
Tullos and Fred Land, tackles;
Herd Miller, guard and Mel Did-
ier, center; fast stepping Bengal
backs returning are All Confer
ence fullback Gene “Red” Knight,
ambidextrous “Slim Jim” Cason,
and Dan Sandiferm halfbacks, and
Tittle and Ray Coates, quarter
backs. Outstanding G. I.’s return
ing are Ed Champagne, Walter
“Piggy” Barnes, Holly Heard and
Fred Hal, all tackles; Wren Wor
ley and Russ Foti, guards; Shelton
“Buck” Ballard and Charles
“Chuck” Schroll, centers; Jeff
Burkett, fullback, Joe Glamp, right
halfback; and Carroll Griffith,
wingback.
Dutch Meyer Optimistic
Next fall’s Horned Frog eleven
will be the best to represent the
Purple and White since the 1941
team wrecked the Texas Long
horns’ title aspirations.
That’s the honest opinion of no
less an authority than Coach Dutch
Meyer himself. But he hastens to
qualify this opinion:
“Every other coach in the con
ference can say as much or more.
What we do depends a lot on how
tough the opposition proves to be.
“From the word that’s going
around. I gather that no fewer than
five teams are secretly planning to
cop the conference championship!
So we’ll just give ’em our best
and hope!”
The Frogs will look like a dif
ferent football team this fall be
cause they’ll be operating from
single wing instead of from the
familiar flankerback formation
that Meyer has used for the past
five or six years.
The Frogs appear to have the
makings of the best passing game
seen in these parts since Sammy
Baugh and Davey O’Brien tossed
’em around for T. C. U. Jim Lucas,
Leon Joslin, Lindy Berry and
others are well equipped to up
hold the Frogs’ reputation for the
sharpest sort of air attack.
In fact, the backfield will be the
strongest in many a day. There
are five or six good candidates for
every post, with such new men as
Dave Bloxom, Tom Bishop, Charles
Jackson, Pat Wright and others
adding to the strength of last
year’s lettermen.
Weakness would appear to be
center and tackles. Jim Cooper is
the only letterman available at this
position, and it’ll be a miracle if
he can keep things going without
some adequate relief.
Salvation here could be the re
turn of Billy Hale, who lettered at
center in 1943, who would be a sen
ior. Hale was captain-elect of the
Texas Tech eleven of 1943, when he
entered the Navy V-12 program and
played for the Frogs the first
half of that season.
Billy writes Coach Meyer that
he plans to re-enter T. C. U. (if he
is discharged from the Navy in
time) and will play his final sea
son of collegiate competition with
the Frogs.
Besides the men who were out
for spring practice, a number of
top high school graduates are ex
pected to report in July and Sept.
Oldtimers expected in from serv
ice include Bob McCollum, ’42; John
Bond, ’41 and ’42; John Steele,
Don’t Forget the Bruins
Baylor Sports Publicity Dept.
When fall training gets under
way, Baylor will have the largest
and most talented squad in its
long history on hand—roughly 150
men. Of these, 18 are lettermen
from the 1945 season; 12 are men
who won varsity numerals before
the war; and another 30 have had
prewar college experience, either
freshman lettermen or varsity
squadmen.
Biggest problem facing Head
Coach Frank Kimbrough in Sep
tember will be one that has never
troubled Bruin grid mentors in the
past—finding the right combina
tion. For the first time since the
Southwest Conference was organiz
ed in 1915, Baylor has almost too
much material to work with—
rather than too little.
In the past a coach considered
himself “loaded” if he had as much
as a thirty man squad. Consequent
ly, picking a starting lineup was
anything but a problem—it was
generally the first 11 gridders that
came along. Little wonder that the
current post-war manpower in
flation on the Baptist campus has
coaches and fans alike a bit be
wildered.
To aid Kimbrough in separating
the chaff from the wheat in this
bumper crop of players, Baylor
has added two assistant coaches to
its grid staff—W. C. “Clark” Jar-
nagin and A. E. “Pete” Jones.
Jarnagin, who was graduated
from Hardin-Simmons in 1937,
served under Kimbrough at the
same school in 1942 as Line Coach.
He comes to Baylor from the Navy
where he coached the line two suc
cessive seasons for the North Car
olina Pre-Flight club at Chapel
Hill, N. C.
Jones, a Baylor graduate of ’31,
comes back to his alma mater from
Texas A. & M. where he served as
business manager besides coaching
football and baseball for two years.
Prior to that “Mr. Pete” was head
football coach at Bryan High
School for 13 years.
Lack of experience may cost the
Bears a few games this season.
Since Baylor did not compete in
’43 and ’44 this year’s squad will
be made up largely of freshmen
and sophomores—as evidenced by
the fact that only five men will
complete their varsity eligibility
in the coming campaign.
Inexperienced or not the Bruins
figure to give any team an inter
esting afternoon this fall, and if
some of the talented youngsters
come through as expected, Baylor
might well be a prominent con
tender for the 1946 SWC grid
title.
Razorbacks Are Unknown
According to most predictions,
Arkansas will not be a strong con
tender for the Southwest Confer
ence title this year but may give
some of the leading teams a run
for their money. ,
Arkansas’ new coach, John Barn
hill, will probably instill a bit of
life into the team, enough to make
all opponents work for any points
made. Barnhill is sticking to the
so-called “Tennessee” type of for
mation.
In all probability, the Razor-
backs will look to Clyde Scott, the
“middie” who gave Glenn Davis
and “Doc” Blanchard so much
trouble in the Army-Navy game in
’45, as a nucleus for the team.
Scott will be Arkansas’ best bet for
back in many a year.
Ponies to Give Good Ride
By Lester Jordan
SMU Sports News Director
Eight regulars from the 1945
SMU football team that finished
second in the Southwest Conference
are due to return this fall, but thus
far Coach Matty Bell has found no
stars likely to replace Doak Wal
ker and Co-captains Tom Dean
and Howard Maley.
Battling for Dean’s position at
left tackle are John Hamberger,
former Sunset high star; Joe Eth
ridge, a squadman last year; and
Jack Lindsey, a freshman star back
in 1942.
Seeking Maley’s position at full
back are David Moon, letterman
from last year; Harold Bartlett,
squadman in 1945; David Redman,
star Pony in 1943; and Bill Elliott,
all-stater at Highland Park last
year.
Outstanding candidates for Wal
ker’s position are Billy Mizell, let
terman last season; Gilbert John
son, freshman from Tyler; Carroll
Parker, squadman in 1942; and
Billy Weatherford, Highland Park
high school star last year.
Returning regulars are Eugene
Wilson and Harold Clark, ends;
Pete Kotlarich, tackle; Earl Cook
and Claud Hill, guards; Leon
Schultz, center; Toadie McClin-
tock, blocking back; Paul Page,
wingback. Some of these men will
have difficulty in keeping starting
assignments as approximately 20
lettermen from other years have
returned to the squad.
No Coupon Books Will Be
Issued Prior To Sept 9
The athletic business manager,
P. L. (Pinky) Downs, has asked
students NOT to come to the ath
letic department for their athletic
coupon books, as they will not be
issued until September 9. They will
start issuing these books at that
time to all students who have
paid their full student activities
fees ONLY. (These will be issued
in the rotunda of the Administra
tion Building.) After all students
who have paid their full student ac
tivities fees have received their
coupon books, the books will go
on sale at the Athletic Department
at $7.20 each.
Downs also announced that there
are only 7066 tickets available to
students for the Thanksgiving
Day game, and that those tickets
would go on sale to students who
Rice is Definite Threat
Rice’s 1946 football hopes are
brighter than at any time during
the past four years. They will have
the power to be Southwest Confer
ence champions if they get the
breaks, and IF some of the other
schools don’t get the idea that the
championship cup shouldn’t rest
down Houston way for the next
year.
Rice has a total of thirty-five
returning lettermen, and among
these stars one All-American and
three All-Conference are to be
found. H. J. Nichols, All-American
guard in ’44, will be back in the
Jess Neeley’s lineup for the ’46
season as well as Huey Keeney, N.
L. Nicholson, and George Walms-
ley all of whom are All-Conference
men from the 1945 team.
With these outstanding stars, re
turning lettermen, and all the high
school talent available to them,
Rice will more than likely be up
near the top of the heap when the
final whistle blows in November.
Last Hurdle Will Be High
By Bill Sansing
Director Sports News Texas U.
With the 1946 football season
a matter of days away, the Texas
Longhorns are still a problemati
cal squad.
For all their 42 lettermen, and
returnees from three Conference
championship teams, it will still
take several weeks of workouts
and perhaps a game to measure the
full strength of the ’46 squad. Pot
entially a powerful organization,
there are definite questions to
which solid answers must be found
before the Steers will go to the
favorite’s spot.
Number one question revolves
around passing, and that’s a ques
tion for Uncle Sam, because the
Steer’s ace, Bobby Layne, is up
pay the full $16 first. After these
students have been taken care of
they will go on sale to the remain
ing students—if there are any left.
However, these tickets do not go
on sale until after school starts
in September, as all students are
to be given an equal chance.
Married students WILL be al
lowed to purchase coupon books
for their wives, but these books
will NOT be good for a ticket to
the Texas University game Thanks
giving Day. These books will also
go on sale in September, except
time and place to be announced
later. Downs asks the students,
“Please do not come down before
that time.” The price on the books
for the wives wil be the same as
that paid by.the students for them
selves, $7.20.
for induction in September. Second
problem will be to find the true
ability of boys back from the serv
ice, who have previous experience
on Texas teams ranging clear back
to 1939. And the third trouble spot
is a lack of good guards and tack
les. With the mass of material re
porting, there are some promising
applicants, but no tried and tested
stars are among them.
The Steers are very well set at
center—wtih four former high ]
school all-staters on hand, includ- **
ing All-Conference Dick Harris;
at end, with All-American Hub
Bechtol leading the way, and at
blocking back, with five former
first stringers in the race.
With a murderous schedule and
the toughest Southwest Conference
race in years ahead of them, every
one of Texas’ questionable holes
will need a thorough plugging if
Dana X. Bible is going to close
out his 34 years of coaching with
a winner.
“B” Game Tax $1.00
P. L. (Pinky) Downs Dr., Ath
letic Business Manager, announc
ed this week that the admission
price for the “B” squad football
games will be $1.00 including tax
This does not affect the students
however as they will be admitted
on their athletic coupon books.
All Star Clash Friday
The 1946 College Station soft-
ball league officially comes to a
close on Friday afteimoon, Aug
ust 23, when the two all-star
teams, the Cyclones and the Grem
lins, tangle for the title. Satch El
kins’ Cyclones will meet Bennie
Zinn’s Gremlins on the Drill Field
diamond across from the “Grove”
at 5:30 that afternoon.
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TEST OUR
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COLLEGE STATION SHOE SHOP
SWIM TO KEEP TRIM
A swell way to beat the heat. Then,
too, for “Outright Comfort”, wear a
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Come in and let us help you select Fur
nishings to keep you completely at ease.
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ClOCHtERS
CoUege Station - - Phone 4-4614