Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 28, 1950)
For .‘>1 Years . . . TU Game Marks Of A&M’s Radio Thirty-one years of rapid pro gress in radio broadcasting will be clearly marked Nov. 30, when the annual Thanksgiving Day football game between A&M and TU goes on' the airwaves from Memorial Stadium in Austin. It was Thanksgiving, 1910, when it is believed the first telegraph code play-by-play account of a gridiron contest in history origin ated from Kyle Field in College Station, with the teams of the same two schools involved. Any resemblance between the two broadcasts, however, is pure ly coincidental. The broadcast, 1950 style, will be a smooth flow of words through a highly-devel oped transmitter system—heard by thousands of listeners throughout the Southwest over receivers which approximate per fection. But such was not the case in 1919. Responsible for the broadcast by Morse code were a handful of rank amateurs bent on pulling a f ‘good stunt”, with little idea of the part they were to play in placing a milestone of radio. Chief instigator of the scheme was an electrical engineering stu dent by the name of W. A. Tolson, now research engineer at the Princeton, N. J., laboratory of RCA. Tolson credits Dr. r . C. Bolton —an electrical engineering profes sor in 1919 and now president [emeritus of the college—with “so thoroughly inoculating me with the germs of radio that even then my case was hopeless.” The RCA Engineer and cohorts had been operating 5YA, a col lege amateur station, for some time as a typical ham relay station when the date of the annual Thanksgiving game with Texas rolled around. “We had received so many requests from similar stations throughout the Southwest,” he recalls, “that we agreed to get on the air immed iately after the game and give the score.” Then someone hatch ed the idea of giving a play- by-play account. Two difficulties loomed, however, to dampen the enthusiasm over the idea. There was no way to control the transmitter from Kyle Field, and Morse code would be so slow that it would be impossible to keep up with the game. In overcoming the first diffi- Underdogs — (Continued from Page 1) last three games and on offense during all of the season. Defensively, the Cadets may start on one end post with Walter Hill, who may pull up to be one of the top defensive stars in the conference, and Dorbandt Barton on the other end spot. Barton is one of many Aggie linemen who will complete his eligibility with the close of this season. Russ Hudeck and Alvin Lang ford will be at the tackle posts. Both men are fast, Langford be ing capable of running the 100 in 10.6, and Hudeck finishes but a few steps behind. Defensive guards will be prob ably the same as offense, Greiner and Molberg, although W. T. Rush, Dick Frey, and Marshall Rush will be capable and eligible replace ments. Linebackers will include Jimmy Flowers, Bob Bates, and James Fowler with Angie Saxe, Charlie McDonlad, and Yale Lary in the defensive back positions. —Beat TU— Birthday Station culty, a wire was run from the electrical engineering building to the field, and Dr. Bolton appealed to the signal corps and obtained a high-speed contractor. The difficulty with the time ele ment was overcome by a plan which Tolson credits to Harry M. Saunders, now general supervisor of traffic engineering for Western Union Telegraph Company in New York. The idea was to make up a list of abbreviations to be used in the broadcast, such as “TBA 45 Y” for “Texas’ ball on the Aggies’ 45-yard line, ” or TFP 8Y L” for “Texas forward pass 8 yards.” After the set of abbreviations was worked out with one of Coach D. X. Bible’s assistants, some two dozen copies were prepared to be mailed to interested stations. But when the news got around by “word of spark,” 5YA found itself doing a land office business. The manner in which the history making broadcast went over is typified by an incident which oc curred in Waco. W. P. Clarke, who operated a station there, obtained permission, after relentless argu ment, to install his receiver in the office of one of the local newspa pers. The newspaper management had no confidence in “this ama teur radio stuff” but finally de cided to humor Clarke. The report Clarke received from 5YA was so far ahead of the As sociated Press that at the end of the first half, his newspaper spon sors put a Magnox loud speaker in a car and drove to the office of the rival newspaper, where AP reports were being given out. They announced to the crowd that they were giving out play-by- play reports, as they happened. A near riot in front of Clarke’s in stallation was the result. Campus Interviews on Cigarette Tests obocly’s pulling the feathers over this bird’s eyes! He’s spent too many semesters in Psychology I. He knows — as any smart smoker knows — that you can’t make up your mind about cigarette mildness on one fast puff or a quick sniff. A one-inhale comparison certainly doesn’t give you much proof to go on. That’s why we suggest: The Sensible Test . • . The 30-Day Camel Mildness Test, which .f* simply asks you to try Camels as your steady smoke — on a pack after pack, day after day basis. No snap judgments needed. After you’ve enjoyed Camels — and only Camels — for 30 days in your “T-Zone” (T for Throat, T for Taste) we believe you’ll know why... i . Mere People Smoke Camels then any of her c/goreffe! j# u, :',>r V NO HURRY HERE.. . H£'S ALMOST j l imz. FOR work: i The Odds Are Against You Harry Stiteler’s boys head toward Memorial Stadium with the odds against them Thursday. We think they can beat those odds. But you’ll be heading toward Austin—and toward home, too—with the odds against you. Can you do as well? The cadet eleven has nothing at stake but a football game. Your life is at stake. The Aggie team has practiced for weeks, they’ve studied their opponent’s offense, they know what they’ve got to beat. You’ve probably practiced, too, but it won’t be in your favor. You may not have studied your opponent’s offense— we’ll show you that. How seriously you take what we have to say will determine whether or not you know what you have to beat. First, your foe: the staggering Texas traffic toll that promises to claim, 2,400 users of our highways this year. Second, your practice: If you’ve driven a car for more than one year you’re a candidate for the ranks of the exper ienced drivers that caused 97 per cent of last year’s traffic accidents. Third, your opponent’s offense: Speeding is the leading cause of traffic deaths. In 1949, 400,000 Americans unwill ingly testified to that fact. Driving while intoxicated usually goes in hand with speeding. Other causes are driving on the wrong side of the road, ‘.passing in no passing zones, follow ing too closely, disregarding warning or stop signs, train crossing violations, not having right of way, and improper parking. Finally, what you’re up against: You’ll leave college, in all probability, sometime tomor row afternoon. Many of you will still be on the road at dusk. Your chances of having a fatal accident are highest as the sum goes down. Be sure you’re around when it comes back up. You’ll be traveling during a partial holiday. Holidays are death-days. Forty-one people testified to that fact dur ing the four-day Thanksgiving holidays in Texas (last year. Nine more Texans became evidence over the past week-end. You’ll be on the road during the time of year'when shorter days cause shorter lives. Accidents reached their peak in December last year. You’ll be traveling on crowded roads. Every driver is a potential killer, sharing the highway with you. You’ll'probably be in a hurry. A minute saved at the price of a human life is not a bargain. Don’t just start there, get there. You’ll have to deal with weather conditions, too. And oddly, enough, the better the weather, the worse the odds are against you. Drivers become careless in good weather. There’s the foe you meet this week-end. He has other tricks, too. But you’ve got three allies that can throw all the odds back in your favor—courtesy, consideration and common sense. Use them freely. Your battling for your life. District Scouterversity . . . Exployer Scouts to Give Leader Training Program Ten Explorer Scouts from Hous ton will present a program of Boy Scout ceremonies and skills at the closing session of the Brazos Dis trict “Scouterversity” at 7:30 p. m. Wednesday in the Girl Scout Little House. They will demonstrate opening, closing, and other ceremonies re lated to advancement, L. S. Paine, district advancement chairman and chairman of the program said. A group of Indian dances is also scheduled by the Houston group. All Cub Scouts and scouters in the College Station-Bryan area are invited to attend, Dan Russell, training chairman announced. Scoutmasters and troop committee members throughout the area are being contacted. Topics scheduled for the even ing include: advancement, records, property and finances. The discus sion will be of value to Scout masters, troop committeemen, and others responsible for the progress of Scouting, says Paine. The Scouterversity has been go ing on for four weeks. After Wed nesday night’s session the only remaining project will be an over night hike. The "students” may take this with their own troops. On conclusion of requirements an advancement certificate will be issued by the Sam Houston Area Council. CS Schools Close For Holidays A&M Consolidated District Schools will close their doors for the annual Thanksgiving holidays Wednesday afternoon at the com pletion of the day’s classes, an nounced Superintendent Les Rich ardson. Students of the local distinct will resume their schedule, at the regu lar 8:30 a. m, time, he added. State Committeemen Named To Columbian Squires Posts Plans were forwarded today for an extensive campaign to revive the Columbian Squires organiza tion in the State of Texas. Lt. Col. Walter H. Parsons Jr., State chairman of this organiza tion which is the national youth program of the Knights of Colum bus, announced the addition of five members to the state committee who were selected by M. J. Babin Jr. of Port Arthur, state deputy of the Texas State Council, Knights of Columbus. Appointed to Col. Parsons’ com mittee were Wallace E. Place of El Paso, representing the El Paso Dioceses; Dr. James E. Bauer of Refugio, from the diocese of Cor- pus Christi; R. J. Etlinger of Yoa kum, who is a member of the Arch-Diocese of San Antonio; F. J. Hencke of Midland, representing the Amarillo Diocese, and E. W. Couch of Abilene, a member of the Dallas Diocese. The first meeting of the state Lions Club Hears Dean French Talk Dr. C. Clement French was guest speaker at the regular noon lunch eon of the College Station Lions | Club yesterday in the Memorial Student Center. Dr. French explained the func tion of some intercollegiate organ izations which A&M is or will be come a member. County March of Dimes cam paign chairman H. T. Blackhuvst told the club of a recent meeting which he attended in Houston gathering details and information on conducting the local drive. The Lions Club is sponsoring the Brazos County polio fund. \ Capitol Exes Host To Aggie Gridsters The Aggie football team will be feted by former students when they pull into Washington for their game with Georgia, accord ing to Earl E. McChesney, ’43 president of the National Capital A&M Club. McChesney estimates that most of the 250 former students will be in the special yelling section that has been reserved for exes and their families. L. T. “Tex” Easley, president of the Texas State Society of Washington said the group has planned a party for the Aggies and other Texans after the game. sponsoring committee of the Co lumbian Squires will be held De cember 9-10 at the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio where plans will be laid for re-organizing this na tional boys organization in Texas. “The Columbian Squires is a very popular organization in the East,” Col. Parsons said, “but it has failed to gain much promi nence in the Southwest.” The members of the committee were selected from 32 nominees •from each of the 32 districts which Texas is divided into for Knights of Columbus functions. From this group the committeemen were named by Babin. Although he had no definite plans for re-activating the Colum bian Squires in the State yet; the senior Engineer instructor id the A&M Military Science Department said a call would be made to each Knights of Columbus g r o u p throughout Texas to investigate possibilities of locating such 1 an organization in their vicinity. The aim of the Columbian Squires, Col. Parsons said, is to supplement the training of the church, home, and school through active participation of the boys in their program of activities. THE BATTALION TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1950 Page 3 Essay Winners These four students of St. Joseph’s Pariochial School in Bryan smilingly accept their prizes for winning the various divisions of a Christopher Columbus essay contest held at that school. Left to right, they are Patricia Ann Fridel, fifth grade; Hubert Vyku- kal, eighth grade; Anne Parsons, seventh grade; and Carolyn Hicks, sixth grade. Presenting the awards is Luis Dominguez, Grand Knight of the College Station Knights of Columbus. Hr The great, big, beautiful new Chevrolet for 1951 comes soon and you’ll know it’s for you the moment you lay your admiring eyes on it! Chevrolet for 1951 has exciting new / beauty, new luxury, new comfort . • . new features _ that make it more than ever the outstanding car in the low-price field! So enjoy all these wonderful new Chevrolet surprises yourself. See Chevrolet for 1951 in our showroom — soon. /"I n • i l j _ _ __ ____ 20th and Main BRYAN