Section Three
The Battalion
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF A GREATER A&M COItLEGE
Pre Registration
Edition
Volume 49
COLLEGE STATION (Aggieland), TEXAS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1949|
Number 32
Grid Team Handicapped By Inexperience
The men pictured above will have a great part of
the responsibility in determining whether the
1949 Aggie team has a successful season or not.
DICK TODD, upper left, played eight seasons
with the Washington Redskins before he became
t the Cadets’ new backfield coach last spring.
DICK GARDEMAL of Port Arthur, upper right,
is expected to handle the major share of the Ag
gie quarterbacking this fall. BOB SMITH of
Houston, lower left, is expected to be the out
standing fullback on the Aggie team this year.
Head coach HARRY STITELER, lower right, will
oversee the whole operation.
7 Ti rjf'f
Aggies to be in Running
For ’50 Baseball Title
r
By BILL HAILE
Marty Karow, whose varsity
baseball team landed in the runner-
up spot behind Texas University
in the final conference baseball
standings last spring, expects to
field another good team when the
grass begins to green again next
year.
Karow’s varsity nine next year
will probably be made up mostly
of second and third year men. Only
three men were lost to graduation
this year but their loss hit the
team heavily.
Gone are Cotton Lindloff, all
conference second baseman, star
second sacker, and heavy hitter,
Russell Mays, rifle armed hot
corner man, and Bobby Fretz,
leading conference pitcher last
spring.
Fretz was the only pitcher to
go through the season without
losing a game. His six wins in six
games were very important factors
in bringing the Aggie nine to the
second place spot in the confer
ence race. Besides this, Fretz was
a remarkably consistent hitter who
played outfield when he wasn’t on
the mound.
Karow’s biggest problem in the
coming season will be his pitching
staff. There will be three letter-
men pitchers back to help out on
the mound along with a good crop
of freshmen. Also returning to the
team are Truett Mobley, a squad-
man last season, and Albert Good-
loe, who was ineligible in 1949.
The returning lettermen pitch
ers are Bruce Morisse, lefthano •
er from Nordheim; Blanton Tay
lor, right hander from Hondo;
and Pat Hubert, right hander
from Kingsville.
Sophomore hurlers who are ex
pected to see duty next spring are
Bill Bybee, Amarillo, Bob Tank-
ersley, San Antonio, and Sam
Baseball coach, Marty Karow
will be gunning for the SWC
baseball crown this year. A&M
was runner-up last season.
Blanton, Beaumont. All of these
freshmen earned numerals on the
Fish team last season.
The catching of the 1950 team
should be good with two returning
lettermen back for those duties.
Returning are James “Cal” Calvert
from Dallas and Bobby Graham
from Houston. Graham was a
sophomore last year and showed
up very well under fire. Calvert
will be playing out his last year
of eligibility.
Calvert was held out of play a
great deal last year because of an
operation just before the opening
of the season. Both are fine catch
ers and most of the 1950 catching
duties will be divided between
them.
Over on first base will be
Hershel Maltz, Blanton Taylor
or possibly a sophomore up from
last season’s Fish team. As yet
the position isn’t sewed up.
Maltz is a good defensive first
sacker but his hitting isn’t up
to par. Taylor, who is a good
pitcher, is also a good first base-
man and a long ball hitter like
his buddy from Hondo, Stan
Hollmig of the Philadelphia
Phillies.
Covering the keystone sack will
be Joe Savarion, a letterman soph
omore from the 19^9 team. Last
year Savarion helped Lindloff at
second as well as filling in at
short stop when needed.
There are two good men up from
the Fish nine that will give Sav-
arino a run for the position. They
are Lester Lackey and Joe Ecrette.
Back to take over the short
stop position will be Guy Wal
lace, all-conference short stop
in 1949. This summer in semi-pro
ball, Wallace is hitting well into
the .400’s, has stolen 19 bases
and driven in 39 runs. This re
port goes to the middle of Aug
ust and his record should be
even higher Avhen the season is
over.
The hot corner is wide open to
the best man. Russel Mays left the
varsity without a good substitute.
There are four men that will try
out for that spot and the top con
tenders for the position are Sug
McPherson, letterman outfielder
last season, and Charles Oper-
steny, a Fish numeral winner last
year.
Returning to the gardens are
two varsity lettermen, John De-
Witt and Wallace Moon. Trying
out for the fielder positions will be
several freshmen of last year. The
(See BASEBALL, Page 8)
Sixteen Lettermen
Return For Duty
As we anxiously await the kickoff that is to bring the
Texas Aggies face to face with the Villanova Wildcats, we
hear from different circles within the sport’s world that it
is inconceivable to believe that Coach Harry Stiteler’s team
may be considered a contender for the ’49 SWC championship.
Anyone who has followed and-t
studied the facts that go to make
up the history of this rough and
tumble conference will know that
not until the final compilation of
this season’s facts and figures, will
any sports scribe official, or arm
chair quarterback, know just who
is the winner of the nation’s great
est grid scramble.
We do know that anything can
and probably will happen. We do
not believe that we are being ov
erly optimistic in taking this at
titude about our team. We know
the players—what they can do,
what they can’t do.
Handicap: Inexperience
The team will have as its init
ial handicap, the inexperience of
sophomore gridmen. The travel
ling squad will be dominated by 18
and 19-year-old men who have just
this summer made the transition
from the ranks of the freshmen
and ineligibles.
This will leave the team loaded
with question marks, some of
which may not be solved until the
season is well under way.
There are no soft spots in the
schedule that has been designed
for a team that is rated through
out the nation as the one most un
likely to succeed.
To overcome these staggering
obstacles that have been set before
(See FOOTBALL, Page 3)
Irvin Is in First
Grid Year As
Athletics Head
Entering his first football
season at A&M in his new
position is Barlow (Bones)
Irvin, Aggie athletic director.
A member of the Class of ’26,
Irvin assumed his duties July 8
when his predecessor, W. R. (Bill)
Carmicha<(, resigned to become
superintendent of schools in Bryan.
At the time of his appointment,
Irvin was Fish football and track
coach on the A&M coaching staff.
Born in Cotulla, Texas, 44 years
ago, Irvin’s name was first as
sociated with football when he
played guard for the old Main
Avenue High School in San An
tonio in 1918 after he had moved
to that city.
Coming to A&M in 1921, Irvin
played three years as a guard on
Aggie elevens between 1922 and
1925.
All Conference
Stiteler Is In
Second Year As
Ag Grid Coach
Harry Stiteler, the little
prematurely gray man who
graduated from A&M in 1931,
is entering his second year as
head football coach here at
A&M.
Stiteler, the man whose job it is
to bring A&M’s football fortunes
out of the chaos created by WW II,
first took over his all-important
position in the spring of 1948 after
Homer Norton’s x-esignation.
Previous to that he had been as
sistant football coach here.
Stiteler’s record of coaching is
long and outstanding. Graduating
from A&M in 1931, he went to
Smithville, his home town and be
came assistant* football coach.
The next yeai’, he took over the
head coaching job at Bellville High
School and held that position
through 1933. In his two years
there, his teams placed second in
the district once and won the dis
trict title once.
In 1934, Stiteler went back to
Smithville as head football coach
and established an enviable record
for a man so shortly out of college.
From 1934 through 1937, his teams
won the regional title twice, won
the district title once, and tied for
the district once.
In 1938, he took over the helm
of the Corpus Christi High School
grid team and it won the state
title that year. His next three
years there, his teams went to the
state semi-finals once, won the
bi-district once, and placed second
in the district.
Going to Waco in 1942, Stiteler
improved his coaching record more.
Waco won the bi-district that year,
went to the state quartei’finals in
1943 and 1944, and tied with High
land Park for the state champion
ship in 1945.
In 1946, he went to Rice as as
sistant football coach and came to
A&M in 1947.
While here at A&M as a stu
dent, Stiteler lettered three years
in ti’ack and earned one numeral
in football. In 1931, he was the
conference pole vault champion.
He was president of the Texas
High School Coaches Association
in 1942.
Stiteler is married and has a
son and a daughter.
Fish Footballers
Play Three Here
All three of the 1949 home foot
ball games of the A&M Fish team
will be night tilts starting at 7:30
p. m., Athletic Director Barlow
Irvin has announced.
The schedule:
Oct. 6—Weatherford JC here.
Oct. 13—Baylor Cubs here.
Oct. 20—TCU Wogs here.
Nov. 11—Rice Owlets in Hous
ton
Nov. 19—Texas Shorthorns in
Austin.
He was named all-conference
guard while playing here. After'
graduating, he played two years
of pro ball for Buffalo.
In 1930, Irvin became head foot
ball coach at St. Mary’s University
in San Antonio and stayed there
two years. In that period, his
teams won 17 of 20 games played.
In 1932, he returned to A&M to
serv6 as assistant football coach
under Matty Bell. In 1933, he was
made line coach. While here, the
Aggie lines he turned out were
noted as some as the best that
have ever been fielded at A&M.
When Homer Norton became
head coach here in 1934, Irvin
resigned and returned to San An
tonio where he was appointed line
coach and track coach at Bracken-
ridge High School.
In 1942, he became head football
coach and head track coach at
Thomas Jefferson High School in
the same city.
During his six years there, his
football teams won 48 games, lost
16, and tied three, advancing to
the state quarter-finals twice and
to the state finals in 1946.
His track teams won the state
high school championship once,
finished second twice, third once
and fifth once.
Irvin lived up to his reputation
last year when his Fish football
team compiled a 4-1 record, the
best that a first-year team has
done in quite a few years.
“Bones” acquired his nickname
while he was seven years old. He
was recovering from a severe ill
ness and one of his friends des
cribed him as just “skin and
bones.” The name has stayed with
him throughout the years although
it cannot be said that it aptly ap
plies to his looks now.
Irvin is married and has two
sons, 12 and 19 years of age.
AGGIES’ [949
SCHEDULE
Sept. 17 — VILLANOVA
COLLEGE at College Station.
(Night game.)
Sept. 24 — TEXAS TECH
at San Antonio. (Night
game.)
Oct. 1—UNIVERSITY OF
OKLAHOMA at Norman,
Oklahoma.
Oct. 8 — LOUISIANA
STATE UNIVERSITY at Ba
ton, Rouge, Louisiana. (Night
game.)
*Oct. 15—TEXAS CHRIS
TIAN UNIVERSITY at Fort
Worth.
*Oct. 22 —BAYLOR UNI
VERSITY at College Station.
*Oct. 29 — UNIVERSITY
OF ARKANSAS at Fayette
ville, Arkansas.
*Nov. 5—SOUTHERN
METHODIST UNIVERSITY
at College Station.
**Nov. 12—RICE INSTI
TUTE at Houston.
# Nov. 24 — TEXAS UNI
VERSITY at College Station.
* Denotes conference games.
Kyle Field Stadium Finished
In 1931 at Cost of $340,000
By BILL POTTS
Kyle Field Stadium, around
which all Aggies’ interest centers
about this time every year, is the
culmination of many years work
by a great number of people.
When interest in football began
rising at A&M during the last
decade of the 19th century, intra
squad games were played on the
ground in front of Ross Hall where
the YMCA now stands.
Later, games were held at the
Brazos County Fair Grounds
which was situated where Kaz-
meier’s Chicken Farm is now lo
cated on College Avenue. It
was there in 1902 that the Ag
gies were given the title of “foot
ball champions of the south” af
ter they had defeated Tulane.
In 1905, a new football stadium
was opened and named Kyle Field
in honor of various members of
the Kyle family that were active
in promoting athletics at A&M.
The new field ran east and west
instead of north and south as it
does now.
The college bought the wooden
grandstands that had been at the
Brazos County Fair Grounds and
had them moved to the new field
on the campus. At different times
during the first few years, addi
tions were made to the stands un
til their capacity was well over
2000.
In 1908, the Battalion spon
sored an election for the student
body so that it could choose a
name for the field which was
hailed as the “finest in the
state.” The name Kyle was se
lected and ceremonies were held
to dedicate the area which in
cludes Kyle Field Stadium, De-
Ware Field House, P. L. Downs
Natatorium, and the Baseball
Stadium.
The modern concrete stadium
now stands crosswise on the ap
proximate position where the old
wooden stands were.
This modern stadium was built
in sections and the last was fin
ished in 1931; built in a horseshoe
shape, the south end was left open.
The most tireless worker on
this project was James Sullivan,
business manager of the Athle
tic Department from 1919 to
1931. When he was made busi
ness manager in 1919, there was
no concrete stadium on Kyle
Field. When he left the depart
ment in 1931, the stadium had
been built at a cost of $340,-
967.75.
This accomplishment, according
to the 1931 Longhorn, was a direct
result of James Sullivan’s zeal and
foresight in business management.
Sullivan lived to see the stadium
completely paid for after the big
football season of 1941.
A x'ecent addition of the facili
ties of Kyle Field are the new
dressing x-ooms built under the
west stands of the stadium.
Containing offices for all the
coaches of the staff, a large
class room, a dressing room for
the varsity football squad, one
for the freshmen football squad,
and a training room complete
with all necessary physical ther
apy equipment which is the
most modern in the southwest.
The name Kyle Field has be
come synonymous with Aggie ath
letic teams and is a revered name
in any Aggie’s memory.
Its fame is known throughout
the southwest as a place where
the Aggies are toughest to whip
and many teams arrive to play the
Aggies here, Confident that they
will win, only to find out that Kyle
Field is too tough for them. It is
an inspiration to all A&M men.
There are many stories float
ing around about Kyle Field and
the many teams that have met
their doom on it, but one of the
best is connected with the 1939
A&M-Texas University game.
It seems that a bunch of the
boys from the “forty acres” load
ed a truck with dirt from Memor
ial Stadium in Austin and trans
ported it to Aggieland.
They spread the Austin soil on
Kyle Field the night before
Thanksgiving Day and went home
with the assurance
loved Longhorns would win the
game with ease because A&M had
never been able to overcome the
Memorial Stadium jinx.
The TU boys’ efforts went in
vain because the next day the
Aggies smashed Texas 20-0, on
Kyle Field and the transported
Memorial Stadium dirt.
Incidentally, that was the last
time that the Aggie football team
beat the Longhorns.