Wilkinson Faces Crisis
By HAROLD KEITH
Director of Sports Publicity
University of Oklahoma
Norman, Okla. (Special)—Ok
lahoma has had its “Beauti
ful Morning”. Can the 1950 Soon-
ers, drawing heavily upon new
home-state boys, keep everything
going their way in the Big Seven
Conference ?
The plain truth is that Bud Wil
kinson this fall is face to face
with the crisis of his short coach
ing career. The Sooners not only
lost 10 of their eleven starters
from last season, including every
one of the five All-Americans, but
the parting (none of it sweet sor
row) included seven valuable re
serves besides.
Never before in the history of
football at Norman have the losses
been so terrific, except in the war
years 1918 and 1943.
More than one half the players
on the Oklahoma’s first three of
fensive teams this fall will be
sophomores. There will be seven
sophomores on the second team,
nine sophomores on the third
team. A football team is as strong
as its reserves and 16 of Okla
homa’s 22 reserves will be untested
sophomores.
Situation Serious
The situation is far more ser
ious than year ago when the Okla-
hoipa team came into the 1949
season losing only four starters
from 1948, Jack Mitchell, Buddy
Harris, Homer Paine, and Pete
Tillman.
And so many experienced re
serves were available a year ago
that only two sophomores, tackle
Jim Weatherall and halfback Dick
Heatly, could make the second
team, and only two more, end
Jack Lockett and quarterback
Frank Silva, could make the third
team.
War May Call Coaches
If the Korean War expands into
a national emergency, four of Ok
lahoma’s five varsity coaches and
42 of the Sooners’ 58 varsity play
ers for 1950 could be called.
Head Coach Wilkinson, Line
Coach Comer Jones and Backfield
Coach George Lynn are all mem
bers of the Navy Reserve. Fresh
man Coach Bill Jennings is a
Marine reserve. Only End Coach
Frank “Pop” Ivy, who served with
the Army’s 29th Division in Eu
rope, isn’t subject to call.
The sophomoric Sooner playing
squad of 1950 could be heavily
tapped. Already five players have
been called with the re-activa
tion of the 45th Division, Oklahoma
National Guard.
They are Bob Eubank, senior
quarterback who would have done
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much of the team’s punting; Tom
Carroll, outstanding soph halfback
who started the Alumni game at
the end of the 1950 spring practice;
Gene Cook, Carroll’s alternate at
halfback, also a sophomore; Bob
Pyle, another promising soph back,
and Bill Coffman, sophomox-e end.
Other Draft Bait
Others who are very eligible
for the call are six married vete
rans, among whom are included
Bud Wilkinson
Oklahoma Head Coach
Co-captains Harry Moore and Nor
man McNabb, Buddy Jones, Bill
Price, and Ed Lisak. Ten others of
the team are eligible for the call.
They are Claude Arnold, Art
Janes, Frankie Anderson, Bert
Clark, Dick Heatly, James Holder,
Jerry Ingram, LeeRoy McElwain,
Frank Silva, and Dean Smith.
Lack of experience in all depart
ments is the summary of the 1950
situation of the Sooners. Oklahoma
will have good potential depth,
but the starting team won’t be as
good as last year’s and behind it
the Sooners will use reserves. com
posed almost entirely of sophs.
Coaching Staff Faces Problem
The Sooner coaching staff faces
a terrific problem in rebuilding
the two Oklahoma lines. The 1950
line will be lighter and slower than
last year’s with far greener re
serves.
“We’ve got to do on excellent
job of coaching this fall,” says
Coach Wilkinson, “But kids can
absorb just so much in a given
period of time. I think we’ll have a
hustling, interesting team that
should get better as we get along.
We could lose one or two games by
from three to four touchdowns
each, but all the others should be
close.
“The morale of our new squad
was excellent in spring practice.
If we should make a good record
in 1950, we will achieve is on hustle
and morale, and not on smooth
play.”
Tech’s Raiders Seeking
Ninth Conference Title
By CLARK SCHOOLEY
Sports Publicity Director
Texas Tech
Lubbock (Special)— The Texas
Tech Red Raiders this fall are
seeking their ninth Border Con
ference championship with one of
the toughest schedules ahead.
Tech, which won the title in
1932, 1933, and 1934, again in 1937
tied for the crown in 1942, and
went through the past three sea
sons without loss in the Border-
loop, will be forced to rely heavily
on sophomores.
Coach Dell Morgan and his aides
are far from hopeful of another
championship eleven, but they are
not downhearted and expect a
fighting team, regardless of final
scores. This is Morgan’s tenth
season as head coach of the Raid
er’s.
Fans believe it will be Morgan’s
best season. He is an exponent of
the T system and expects to work
various tricky plays from it this
fall.
Five Teams Booked
Five Border teams have been
booked for the Fall, along with
a like number of members of the
stronger Southwest Conference,
and Tulsa, coached by Buddy
Brothers, Texas Tech great and the
man chosen “Coach of the Year”
in the Missouri Valley Conference
last fall.
Only two defensive starters of
1949—halfback Tim Hatch and
tackle Douglas McSwane—are back'
this fall, along with tackle Jer-
rell Price, starting defensive star.
No letterman quarterback will be
around to handle the Complicated
field generalship of the T forma-
ti0n - • n ,,
But fans see in some of the
sophomores stars of the Southwest,
although development is needed be
fore there is any shining.
Boys to Watch
Fans who have watched practice
list among these to watch such
boys are: Jimmy Williams, big
center; Alton Linne, rough defen
sive; end; Buddy Barron, rugged
little guard; David Brown, lengthy
guard and tackle; Dan Seale, left
footed punter; Frank Graves,
scampering halfback; and Denton
Lambert, another halfback.
Others include Don Gray, guard
and perhaps Charles Allen, tower
ing end. Only lack of speed, fans
say, will keep end James Thames
from being a candidate for All-
America eventually, and coaches
have been devoting time to cor
recting speed deficiency.
The Red Raiders have spirit,
stronger reserves, and determina
tion for 1950. But opposition is
rough and the win-lost record may
not be too good.
The Raiders played its first foot
ball game in 1925 in several inches
of water at the fairgrounds. Since
that time it has come far, com
piling a record of 150 wins, 89
losses and 18 ties in 257 games.
Texas Tech has scored 3,911
points, against 2,530 for the op
ponents, winning eight Border con
ference titles.
THE BATTALION
THURS., SEPT. 7, 1950 Page 3
Dick Heatly
Oklahoma Halfback
Stan Hollmig punted the ball out
of bounds within the 12-yard line
seven times in the Baylor game.
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