Harry R. Stiteler
Begins 3rd Year
/Is Head Coach
A&M’s Head Football Coach, Har
ry Stiteler, who will be 42 years old
four days before the Aggies’ first
football game of the season against
Nevada University, is starting his
third year as head tutor of the
Maroon and White eleven.
Arriving here in 1948, Stiteler has
steadily begun to build from bits and
\ scraps what now could be one of the
top teams in the conference. Such is
the work of a man who has been
coaching football since he began his
career at Smithville High School as
an assistant coach.
He continued coaching at high
schools until 1945 and in those 14 1
years gained quite a reputation and
quite a record.
Championship teams were his pro
ducts at Bellville and Smithville while j
at Corpus Christi his gridsters won
two district titles and were state
champs another year.
Lost 1 in 13 Years
At Waco High, he produced a co
champion of Texas and two district i
titles. As head coach in high school
competition, he lost only one district
game in his last 13 years as coach.
./ He coached four undefeated high
school teams.
Totaling it up, his teams won 121
games, lost 20, and tied four in high
\ school competition with seven of the
20 defeats coming after his teams
had won district titles.
In 1942, he served as president of
the Texas High School Coaches’ As
sociation and served as an instructor
in 1946.
Moved to Rice
Leaving the high school ranks,
Stiteler moved to Rice as assistant
coach and that year the Owls tied
for the SWC title. The following
year, 1947, he joined Homer Norton’s
staff as an assistant and in ’48 ad
vanced to his present position.
After two years, Stiteler’s A&M
teams have produced a record of only
one win and two ties, and 17 losses.
In his first season at A&M, Stite
ler worked together with an over-
• hauled varsity staff of line coach Bill
Dubose and center coach Charley De-
Ware. Gridiron opponents in 1930
, when Stiteler was quarterbacking the
Maroons and Dubose was playing for
the Steers, the two men now work
together. He has the assistance
: of four other coaches: Dick Todd,
backfield coach; Perron Shoemaker,
freshman coach; Bill “Dog” Dawson,
end coach; and Gilbert Steinke, as
sistant coach.
During his first year, he could |
have been quoted as often saying Y
“We’re Building”; this is 1950 and
the time is not far off when he can
i.gain be quoted, but this time as say-
:ng “We’re Built.”
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 1950
SPORTS
SECTION HI
r t t » jr% j[ / y •
Ihe Battalion
PUBLISHED IX THE INTEREST OF A GREATER A & M COLLEGE
Texas Aj, r f>;ie hacks who will be totinj* the pigskin for A&M
are, across the top, soph Ray Graves, quarterback; Ruddy
Shaeffer, halfback; Billy Tidwell, defensive halfback; Darrow
Hooper, soph quarterback. Charging through the center is
Left Halfback Charley Royalty, from the left is All-Conference
candidate Bruisin’ Boh Smith, from the right Gallopin’ Glenn
Lippman, and at the bottom is the Cadets’ only experienced
quarterback, Dick Gardemal.
Steers Again
By WILBUR EVANS
Sports News Director
University of Texas
f Austin (Special)—The Univer-
i sity of Texas eleven is back on the
I spot this year because 21 letter-
/ men from last year’s surprisingly
< good team are returning. There’s
not enough experienced backfield
material to warrant the “tall tales”
you’ll hear, but with a better deal
from Lady Luck, the Longhorns
i could stampede.
Of the 21 lettermen returning,
17 operate up front, where foot-
'■ ball games are said to be won or
lost. Award winners are avail
able for every position, except the
- all-important quarterback position,
being two deep all down the line.
Only six players, however, have
more than a single letter.
Most severe among Texas’ loss-
es last year included Randall Clay,
t? one of the league’s best halfbacks
, last year; quarterback Paul Camp-
15 -belL the nation’s fifth ranking
f tosser; and guards Erroll Fry and
Danny Wolfe. A total of 10 letter-
men departed.
* Transfusion of New' Blood
Sophomores do not figure near
I as much as a year ago, but a
I transfusion of new blood could be
\ the difference. Dan Page, a junior
I college transfer, is one of the
I brighter quarterback prospects.
Billy Porter, another transfer,
I will handle the punting and extra
1' point work. Sophs Swede Stol-
* handske and Gib Dawson appear to
f be the best bets for starting hon-
ors, at end and halfback, re-
I spectively.
And don’t overlook halfbacks
Bob Raley and Richard Ochoa,
I who sat out the 1949 campaign;
soph center Bill McDonald and
' end Bill Georges, another soph.
For an offense the Longhorns
■ will use much the same as last
( year, although a bit more wide
open in style. It will be the T
* formation, with flanker and man-
j in-motion variations, and also a
little of the split-T tactics.
The power running will not be
up to last year’s standard, but
i there will be better balance
aground and more all-the-way
threats.
Boisterous Byron Townsend, who
arrived late in last year’s finale,
should get first-rate ball-carry
ing support from Bubba Shands,
Gib Dawson, Lew Levine, Bob
Raley, Bobby Dillon, Carl Mayes,
and Richard Ochoa. There’s speed,
if a lack of experience, in those
legs.
The passing game is a bigger
question mark, because neither
passer has proven himself under
steady, varsity fire. Ben Tomp
kins has the stronger arm and is
more accurate, yet Page seems
more skilled in dropping the long
ones into place.
Ben Proctor, the nation’s fourth
ranking pass receiver, is back, and
Defensively, few teams will be
able to point to a stronger align
ment from end to end, and back
of that may be the best lineback
ing talent the Longhorns ever had.
Last year’s line depended heav
ily on sophomores, but its record
against rushing was still second
best in the league. The pass de
fense performance that was the
best in the league should be of
high quality again, with Dillon,
the league’s No. 1 safety returning.
Other standout secondary de
fenders are Levine, Shands, Raley,
Ochoa, T. Jones, and Bunny An
drews.
All-American McFadin
Key men in the front line on de
fense are guard Bud McFadin, all-
America candidate, tackle Jim
Lansford, linebackers June Davis,
Dick Rowan, Bill McDonald, and
Don Cunningham, ends Paul Wil
liams and Tom Stolhandske and
tackle Bill Wilson.
Men like Stolhandske, Williams,
Rudy Bauman, Bill Georges,
Lansford Wilson, and Harley Se
well, will be looked to for pressure
on opposing passers. At a glance,
eight defensive starters from the
1949 team are now playing with
the Steers.
In the kicking department, much
improvement is expected with Billy
Porter, transfer from Tyler Junior
College due to do the punting and
placement work. His spring train
ing performances were highly sat
isfactory. Levine and Raley will
assist in the punting, while end
John Adams is the No. 1 kickoff
expei-t, with McFadin next in line.
Ags' (cross Country
T2am Strong Again
By RAY HOLBROOK
Conference champs in the fall of
1949, the Texas Aggie cross coun
try team will be almost as strong
in defending its title this fall and
looking for its 3rd SWC title in a
row.
Led by Julian Herring, who will
be a senior this year, the Cadets
won four out of five meets dur
ing the past season, losing only
to the powerful Oklahoma Aggies
in Stillwater, Okla.
The Maroon and White harriers
hoast wins over North Texas State,
the University of Oklahoma, and
Texas University in dual meets and
won the SWC crown last Novem
ber in the meet held in Austin with
Herring winning the individual
title in course record time.
Team Letternian
Other lettermen on the team
were John Garmany, Jim McMahon,
Jack Jones, Jerry Bonnen, and
Alex Ortiz. All of the Aggie let
termen finished in the top ten
places in the conference meet with
the exception of Ortiz, who fin
ished eleventh.
Tom Rodgers, TU’s soph ace, was
second by a step and James Brown,
this spring’s two-mile champion
in track from Arkansas was
third, followed by Garmany who
finished fourth.
Prospects for the fall are ex
ceptionally bright with five let
termen returning. The only let-
terman lost by the team will be
Bonnen, who was graduated last
June. Herring and Ortiz will be
seniors this year while McMahon,
Garmany, and Jones will be jun
iors.
Chances. Rest On Five
On these five boys will rest the
chances for another cconference
cross country championship, and,
barring some unforseen accident,
they should be successful in their
attempt.
Strongest competition will come
from the always tough Longhorns,
who will have Rodgers, Don
Sparks, and Lowell Hawkinson to
form the- nucleus of the team.
Rodgers did not compete in track
Byron Townsend
TU Halfback
there arc a number of other good
targets in addition to him.
Center Dick Rowan, guards Bud
McFadin and Joe Arnold, tackles
Gene Vykukal and Ken Jackson
assure able blocking in the line.
Narrowed down, in one big bang,
there are seven offensive start
ers from the 1949 team now play
ing on the ’50 team.
A&M Football Schedule for 1950
1950 Schedule
Sept. 23 (N) Univ. of Nev. at Sacramento
Sept. 30 (N)Texas Tech at San Antonio
Oct. 7 Univ. of Okla. at Norman
Oct. 14 (N) V.M.I. at College Station
Oct. 21
Oct. 28
Nov. 4 (N)
Nov. 11
Nov. 18
Nov. 30
T.C.U. at College Station
Baylor at Waco.
Arkansas at College Station
S.M.U. at Dallas (Cotton Bowl)
Rice at College Station
Univ. of Texas at Austin
1949 Results
A&M 0 Villanova 35
A&M 26 Texas Tech .... 7
A&M 13 Oklahoma 33
A&M 0 L.S.U 34
A&M 6 T.C.U 28
A&M 0 Baylor 21
A&M 6 Arkansas 27
A&M 27 S.M.U 27
A&M 0 Rice 13
A&M 14 Texas 42
(N)—night games
Julian Herring
SWC Cross Country Champ
last spring due to injuries while
Hawkinson was runner-up in the
conference 880.
Arkansas remarkable strong
last year, will be a definite threat
this fall with Brown and James
West leading the boys from the
Ozartts.
West was second behind Bi-own
in the track conference two-mile
last spring. Also aiding the Ar
kansas cause will be Oliver Catch-
ell and Tom Hardin, who were
third and fourth, respectively, in
the track conference mile last
May.
Ace Man-Under Could
Make ‘Next Year’ Now
By FRANK N. MANT1ZAS
Battalion Sports Editor
“Next year” will be this year,
if Head Coach Harry Stiteler can
j ind the right quarterback to man
ihe Aggie eleven.
Four men at the present time
are up and at it for the man-under-
nosition. Junior letterman Dick
Gardemal, who last year directed
i nd passed the Cadets to a 27-27
tie with the SMU Mustangs, has
the most experience and will, more
than likely, receive the starting
nod at Sacramento, Calif, Sept.
23.
Whether or not Gardenia 1 will be
playing the entire game depends
on him and three other maybes:
Darrow Hooper and Ray Graves,
oth up from the Fish squad, and
squad man Delmar Sikes.
Gardemal looked good near the
end of last year, not only in his
passing, but also in his running
and ball handling. Hooper, the
largest of the quartet at 6’ 3” and
215 pounds, is ideal for the
] job if he can fall into line with
' the SWC pace.
Graves, A Cool Passer
Graves showed up well in Fish
ball last season and his cool pass-
,ng will be useful this coming
fall, ^ikes substituted some last
•/ear on the varsity. But the posi-
lion, according to Coach Stiteler,
is still open.
At fullback will be 192 pounds
of ramblin’, stompin’, Bruisin’ Bob
Smith, who is a cinch for All-Con
ference honors this season. Bruis
in’ Bob will also move into the
national picture by the end of the
season, if he can show Hie im
provement on the field which he
demonstrated in spring tmining.
Alternates at the fullback post
will include junior college transfer
Bernie Lemmons and letterman
Doyle Moore; Jim Dobbyn may also
see some action.
Glenn Lippman, who’s pre-season
publicity undoubtedly lessened his
usefulness last season since every
Nevada Eleven
Has the Spirit,
Speedy Backs
Reno, Nev., (Special)—Af
ter the final spring game, Ne
vada’s Head Football Coach
Sheeketski commented, “The
spirit these boys have is the
best I’ve had at Nevada, and that
spirit could take us a long way
next fall.”
Sheeketski has a host of speedy
backs, as is typical of Sheeketski
teams, and give him a few reserve
linesmen and Nevada could make
things look pretty tough in 1950.
Lack of depth at guards and
tackles is the biggest problem fac
ing the Nevada coaching staff.
Five sophs (three backs and a
guard and a tackle) are contenders
for starting berths.
Southpaw Pat Brady’s sharp
passes were the talk of the final
spring squad game. Brady, who
hit nine in 14 attempts for 217
yards, is a second string quarter
back while first stringer Ed Jesse,
who last year tossed Nevada to an
easy win over North Texas State,
28-7, is an even better passer.
In the tilt between Nevada and
NTS last year, Jesse completed 17
out of 32 passes (two of which
were dropped in the end zone) for
262 yards. The final touchdown
for the Wolf Pack came in the last
quarter with a 50-yard pass play
from Jesse to right end Ed Klos-
terman scoring the six points.
The power behind the Nevadians’
attack is plainly shown in the sta
tistics which totaled 576 yards
(rushing and passing) for the Wolf
Pack and 254 for Eagles.
All in all, Nevada has 12 letter-
men returning, plus three squad-
men and four players with junior
college experience. The players
hail from ten states and Hawaii.
One of Nevada’s top linesmen is
Lawrence “Punjab” Hairston, 23-
year-old, 6’ 3”, 255-pound letterman
tackle from Clairton, Pa.
A&M Swordsmen
To Be Better Team
A&M’s 1949-50 fencing team
was one of the best that the school
has produced. In the Southwest
Conference A&M won team cham
pionships in both foil and epee
and placed second in sabre. In
individuals, John Gottlob won the
foil championship, and Curtis Wil
son placed second in epee.
This year the Aggies are again
expected to be one of the better
teams with the return of Gottlob,
who is a junior and the individual
star of the Cadets.
The Aggies fought four dual
meets in addition to two complete
rounds of team competition in the
AFLA, SWC meet, and state finals.
Gottlob was A&M’s mainstay in
these competitions.
Only two men are being lost
this year, and they should be more
than adequately replaced by trans
fers from Tarleton. Many Aggie
teams are still in the building
stage, but the Aggie fencing team
can shout this challenge, “We’re
Built.”
team was laying for him, will still
probably hold firm to the left
halfback position, and watch for
him io surprise everyone. Glenn
can go, once he hits the secondary.
Charley Royalty, senior letter-
man and the only man in the back-
field with two letters, will alter
nate at the post with Lippman.
Royalty showed up well during
spring sessions, and he should be
ripe this fall. Others at this
post include Raymond Haas and
Johnny Christensen, who has been
injured the majority of his college
career.
Athletic Director ...
Rones ’ Has
Come Long
Way Since—
He was at A&M in 1922 through
1925 and played football for the
Cadet eleven. After graduation he
played professional football for
Buffalo. Who is he?
He is Barlow “Bones” Irvin, Ath
letic Director of A&M.
Well known as a sportsman,
coach, player and now as athle
tic director, Irvin has come a long
way since his start in the gridiron
game which began in 1918 when
he played tackle and roving guard
at old Main Avenue High School
in San Antonio.
After his football career at Ag-
gieland where he was an all-con
ference guard, and his stay in the
play-for-pay league, he became
head coach at St. Mary’s Univer
sity in San Antonio in 1930, win
ning 17 of 20 games in the fol
lowing two-year period.
Returning to A&M for the first
time in 1932 as an assistant coach,
“Bones” (the name acquired while
recovering from an illness in his
early days) as his friends call him,
advanced to line coach in 1933
when Matty Bell was coaching the
Farmers.
In 1934, Irvin headed back to
San Antonio where he became head
track coach at Brackenridge and
also help coach the football team.
Becoming head football coach at
Thomas Jefferson in 1942, Irvin
also directed the track team and in
the following six years was quite
Successful.
His football teams won 48, lost
16, and tied three, advancing to
the state quarterfinals twice and
the state finals in 1946. Meanwhile,
his track teams at Jefferson won
the state high school champion
ship once, finished second twice,
and third once.
Returning to A&M in 1948 to
coach the freshman teams, Irvin
produced a top team—the present
varsity—which won four and lost
one.' Also that year the Cadets de
feated the highly rated University
of Texas Shorthorns, 14-0.
He took over his present post
last June when Bill Carmichael
resigned to become superintendent
of the Bryan schools.
At the other halfback post will
be Billy Tidwell, Buddy Shaeffer,
Charley McDonald, and newcomer
Connie Magourik. Tidwell and
Shaeffer will probably alternate
on offense with McDonald and
Magourik coming in on the de
fense most of the time.
The line, which seems to be
moving up to past A&M standards,
is well manned with 20 returning
lettermen sprinkled at the various
posts. The tackle positions hold
six of the returning lettermen; end
and guard posts, five each; and the
center position, four.
Flowers, Bates, Myers—Centers
Two two-year lettermen, Jimmy
Flowers and Bob Bates, will be
back at the center post this, year
as will Hugh Meyers and James
Fowler, who gained their first let
ters last season. Myers seems to
be the starting offensive center
w'th Bates and Flowers following
m thrt order.
Defensively, at the end of spring
training, Flowers held one of the
linebacking positions with Fow-
1 er and Bates nushing him.
At the end positions Jerry
Crossman and Walter Hill, from
spring training showings, are sup
posed to be the best on offense
while on defense Dorbandt Barton
and Jaro Netardus are expected to
hold the posts.
Hillhouse Returns
But with the return of Andy
Hillhouse and the presence of Ced
ric Copeland, the only two-year
letterman at the end position, no
one can be sure of the placements.
However, Hillhouse is certain to
hold one of the spots while Cope
land will really have to be pushed
and pushed hard to be moved front
offensive right end and defensive
left end which he played during
most of the season last fall.
Copeland, Max Greiner and Carl
Molberg, the latter two guards,
were the only three linemen to
play both offense and defense for
almost the entire period of time
in the last three ’49 games.
Greiner, the only three-year let
terman on the squad, will again
be tops on both offense and de
fense at the right guard post, and
replacements are available in the
forms of W. T. Rush, Dick Frey,
and Mickey Spencer (offensive
starter at tackle last year). Mol
berg has the same job as Greiner
and will receive help from Marshall
Rush, Elo Nohavitza, Murray Hold-
itch (defensive starter at tackle
during late ’49 contests) and Bill
Blair.
Tucker Tougher
Veteran tackle Dwayne Tucker
will be tough to push out of the
right tackle job. Tucker’s 198
pounds hardly match the 240
pounds offered by Russ Hudeck,
who will be out to gain his second
award. Jack Little and Spencer
will also be available.
On the other tackle post will be
Tuck Chapin, 6’ 3” and 205 pounds,
with relief in the forms of Sam
Moses and Alvin Langford. Defen
sive linebacking jobs for the Ag
gies will be spread among Flow
ers, Walt Hill, Fowler, Bates, and
Doyle Moore.
^
Harry Stiteler
A&M Head Football Coach
At the beginning of another year, I wish to extend
greetings to all freshmen and upper-classmen.
We are happy to have the freshmen cast their lot with
us and to have the upper-classmen back to continue their
work.
The entire football staff is ready, willing, and anxious
to be of any service to you at any time. We realize what you
mean to us so we are soliciting your efforts, backing and
support in order that we might carry on in a big way.
We feel that this season our boys will be experienced
enough and deep enough in all positions to be able to com
pete Saturday by Saturday, and with a little luck, along with
effort and fine support, we can have a good season.
We are looking forward to 1950-51.
Sincerely,
Harry Stiteler
Head Football Coach