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Friday, February 2, 1951
THE BATTALION Page 3
Hogs Seek to Save
Face in Bout With
Iba-I)isciple Floyd
By FRED WALKER
Battalion Sports Writer
It would be sweet revenge, however indirect, for Arkan
sas’ head basketball coach Presley Askew to relieve the Ag
gies of their pantaloons.
Askew has been having quite a bit of trouble getting his
Hogs to stampede this year, but since 1934,
the year that Henry P. Iba took the basket
ball reins at Oklahoma A&M, every Arkan
sas basketball mentor has been screaming to
Jove to deliver him from the terrible Cow
pokes and a guy named “Hank.”
Iba has put his charges in the field
against Razorback teams 18 times and 16
times they have brought home the pork
chops. The usually mild-mannered Askew has
developed into a manic-depressive after be
ing subjected to six of those boar hunts.
This year Texas A&M was lucky enough
to engage John Floyd as head basketball
coach. From 1939 to 1941 Floyd learned his basketball from
Iba, and when he moved to College Station he brought with
him his version of the celebrated “ball control” style of his
former teacher.
At this moment Monsieur Floyd will begin to get a sniff of champ-
is the fair-haired boy of the cam- ionship basketball odors that have
pus. Lord John’s Aggies sat on a escaped them since the early twen-
previously - unbeaten Longhorn ties.
quintet Thursday and the coach’s Here’s the point! If Askew can’t
coronation was held immediately beat the Cowpokes—and he hasn’t
after the game. in two years of coaching at Arkan-
“The credit goes to the boys.
Walker
said Floyd.
V Part of that statement is true.
The Aggies scrapped and screamed
*ithat night and were worthy of all
sas—wouldn’t it be hunky-dunky if
he could taste a bit of Floyd’s
hide? If you can’t beat up the old
man, maybe you can whip one of
the kids. One thing, though, don’t
praise directed to them, but thanks be surprised if the youngster turns
to the superb tutoring of Floyd, it out to be a bigger man than the
' appears that in a year or so A&M sire.
Bible Lauds, Falk Condemns—Tompkins
There seems to be a big bulla- He is backed up by Phillie scout
baloo going on in the Longhorn’s Hap Morse who said $“50,000-plus
bullpen—that’s not a pun. All- is ridiculous.”
round athlete and key sports fig- An equally great sports figure,
ure on the Texas campus “Bonus Dana X. Bible, commented if Tomp-
Ben” Tompkins has forsaken his kins got the “big dough” it would
teacup in lieu of a big league con- be “a good thing.”
tract. Needless to say, candles are Bible was then heard to mutter,
burning in dormitory windows at “Tompkins would have been a
' TU. much better player if he had fin-
Bibb Falk, one of the best col- ished up under our coaches.”
lege baseball coaches in the land From here it looks like a case
says Tompkins won’t see much of of one man congratulating a fine
the reported $50,000 bonus he is to ball player on a good deal while
receive for signing. An ex-major another is peeved that he lost a
leaguer himself, Falk snorted: boy he was counting on in the ap-
“Ile didn’t get anywhere near proaching baseball season. Anyway,
that. I heard it would be about half we don’t really think that the
that much. The Phillies were just Phils are that destitute for publi-
saying that to get publicity.” city.
Man-0f-The-Hour, Fioyd Does It Again
Coming back to basketball wo It was pointed out at the time
find a few words from John Floyd: and then later confirmed by Floyd
“Toar Hester is Arkansas’ first that one play used against Texas
threat and I would say their sec- was thought up “at the moment.”
ond threat is Jack Hess, although A&M was given the ball out of
he has yet to really break out this bounds during the last few min-
season. utes and Floyd quickly calle<f a
“The Razorbacks are running time out. When time was called
f more this season, that is, they anc i the ball put into play, the
shoot quicker. They sure won’t be crowd, and the Longhorns, were
1 as deliberate as Texas. As far as amazed to see long, lean, lanky
playing against them is concerned, Buddy Davis loping for the bas-
, we won’t play them any faster than k e t. A few' seconds later the Ag-
Jr we did Texas—but w r e will play p-i es were two points better off.
& tbpm a little better.” ,, ** ,
them a little better
Floyd then added, with a Gary
Cooper grin:
“I hope they (Arkansas) have a
bad night.”
Whatta Man!
-Beat Arkansas-
Youngsters Go “Big Time”
In Little League Baseball
By RALPH E. GORMAN
Local merchants and business
men are bringing- something new
in the field of sports to the Bryan-
College Station area—a Little
League of organized baseball.
Still in the planning stages, the
sponsors of the newly-formed Little
League baseball organization are
meeting tonight in the Bryan
Chamber of Commerce office to put
the finishing touches on the pro
gram.
“Big Time”
The Little League is something
that has been in action in various
cities throughout the state and
is brought to this locale to afford
the youngsters an opportunity to
compete in “big time semblance.”
Little League teams will be
composed of boys between the ages
of eight and 12 years and each
team will have 12 players, who will
have uniforms and all, while there
will also be six more eligible play
ers in reserve.
Final Plans Tonight
At tonight’s meeting, with the
State Little League Commissioner
in attendance, teams and managers
will be chosen and the season
opening date will be set.
When the program is establish
ed fully there will be eight teams
in the area, divided into f o u r
teams for each of the two Little
Leagues.
Two Teams From College
Most of the league strength will
come from Bryan, while College
Station will enter two teams con
sisting solely of boys from their
district. Plans are now that the
College Station nines will be split
up with one team being in each
Little League.
Of the 12 uniformed players, not
less than three must be 10 years
old or younger and not more than
five may possess the maximum
age of 12.
Sponsors Lined Up
In College Station Little League
sponsors are Marion Pugh Lumber
Co. and South Side Food store.
Managers include Taylor Wilkins,
John McNeely, Les Richardson,
Earl Tishler and Wayne Smith.
Umpires are “Flop” Colson, Jim
Mann Bevins and Bill Carl.
Bryan sponsors are Corbusier
Chevrolet Co., Seven-Up Bottling
Co., J. A. Williams & Sons, Am
erican Steam Laundry, Lilly Ice
Cream Co and Lester’s Smart Shop.
Managers include Mack Tate, “Pee-
Wee” Smith, E. C. “Buddy” Moehl-
man, Rev. Vern Swartsfager, Bill
Davis and Walter Eldred Jr. Um
pires are “Nooks” Bond, Boon Bob
bitt, Harold Woodward, Sam “Moe”
Emola, Melvin McNeely and ‘Bama’
Smith.
Spring Training Set
Spring training and coaching
duties are being split up between
the two cities to facilitate trans
portation to practice areas.
H. W. “Rip” Collins and Johnnie
Hudson will be supervisors of the
spring training program in Bryan,
while an impressive roster of
“coaches” will handle the chores
in the College area.
Roland Cyr will offer his ser
vices and knowledge of the dia
mond game to teach the Little
Leaguers the art of catching and
base running.
Blanton Taylor and L. E. Winder,
Jr. will be on the spot with the
proper advice for the moundmen,
while Paul Andrews, Les Palmer,
and Bill Manning will coach the
infielders and give a few pointers
in batting.
D. W. Williams
A&M, Bay lor Iii
1st SWC Swim
“Freshman Eligibility”, Says
Bell; S WC Prexy Disagrees
By RALPH E. GORMAN
Batt Sports New Editor
In the Southern Methodist camp
there’s a move proposing two maj
or changes in the rules that govern
Southwest Conference athletics.
Ram-rodding the possible inno
vations is Matty Bell, director of
SMU athletics, who has asked Con
ference President D. W. Williams
of A&M for a vote on making-
freshmen eligible for varsity
sports.
Another vote has been requested
by Bell to waive the one-year
transfer rule in the case of col
leges which discontinue sports.
From Dallas comes a clue that
SWC coaches and scouts may be
expected to increase their cam
paign for high school star ath
letes.
Freshmen Eligible
From the same source comes a
clue that the freshman rule might
we waived within a week, with
first year men becoming eligible
for varsity sports immediately.
The second rule change con
cerning transfers would make those
students who switch to SWC
schools eligible for participation in
sports discontinued at their schools.
Two-Thirds Vote *
Williams talked with Howard
Grubbs, conference executive sec
retary, yesterday, and asked him
to poll the faculty committee of
the conference and letters went out
immediately. A two-thirds vote is
necessary to enact any rule change.
Bell, who said he talked to other
athletic directors and most of them
wanted the two rule chahges, con
tends “The manpower situation is
not yet critical, but it is going to
get that way.”
“Also, 1 think it will be well to
make the freshmen eligible in the
interest of the spring sports pro
gram. I think we should let them
participate in collegiate athletics
as soon as possible, because they’ll
be going into the service them
selves shortly,” concluded Bell.
Williams Says “No”
But in our own backyard the
conference president had an alto
gether different view in regard to
the proposed changes.
“When the voting takes place,
I’ll vote ‘No’ in hopes of letting
the conference continue the pre
sent program,” Williams told a
Battalion reporter, “because I see
no reason to plunge the freshmen
immediately into varsity athletics
MICKEY KOONEY
in
“He’s A Cockeyed
Wonder”
IONITE P K E V U E
McDonald Carey
in
“MYSTERY
SUBMARINE”
SATURDAY NITE PBEVIIE
Ann Baxter
“ALL ABOUT
EVE”
. BING CROSBY
in
“Mr. Music”
Polio Couldn’t Slop Him, And Now
Davis Improves Steadily to Lead Ags
By JOHN DetVITT
One good reason for the fine
showing the Aggies have made this
season is six foot-eight inch Walter
“Byddy” Davis. The towering Cad
et center has shown more improve
ment than any other player on the
Aggie roster.
A star in high school at Neder
land, Texas, Buddy was the most
sought after high school player in
the state in 1948. Rightfully so
because in his senior year he scored
648 points, 46 of them in one
game. Buddy is married and study
ing animal husbandry.
Worked Hard
One reason for the rangy Ag
gie’s vast improvement this sea
son is the fact that he has worked
hard since practice officially start
ed in October. A&M. Cage Coach
John Floyd worked Buddy over
time on numerous occasions in an
effort to iron out his bad habits
and strengthen his strong points.
Buddy didn’t start one game
early in the season because Floyd
thought he had been working the
big lad a little too hard, but the
all-conference nominee is reaching
the point now where he really
looks like a polished center.
Fouling out of ball game is a
big problem which Buddy is trying-
hard to solve. “Fve got a reputa
tion for fouling a lot so the offi
cials take it for granted that I’m
TALK OF THE TOWN
Where Everyone Meets
To Enjoy Good Food at Popular Prices
Air Conditioned
going to foul whether I do or not,”
says the Aggies’ leading scorer’,
and his teammates readily agree.
“ . . . Biggest Thrill . . . ”
Buddy says his biggest thrill
came when he “crammed one”
against Long Island University
in Madison Square Garden in 1949.
This stunt was a thrill for the
New York crowd, too, because it
brought a tremendous ovation from
the Garden throng.
“Big Dave,” as he is often called,
is the Aggie’s leading scorer thus
far this season with 207 points,
and his scoring punch gets more
deadly with every game. His super
ior height offers a big advantage
for him in getting tip-ins against
smaller opponents. He’s got a good
eye for the bucket to go with that
height, and that is a combination
which can’t be beat.
Track Star, Too
After this school year, Buddy
will have one year of eligibility re
maining. Not restricting his ath
letic ability to basketball, Bud does
a fine job of high jumping for the
Aggie track team.
Would you ever believe that the
big boy was once afflicted with
polio? Well, he was, at the age
of nine, but fortunately for A&M
he was cured.
Drive carefully -
want to dirve again.
BE YOUR VALENTINE?
How could she refuse, when you ask her
with a card from our delightful collection,
THE EXCHANGE STORE
“Serving Texas Aggies”
and possibly jeopai’dize their col
lege careers.”
Williams offers additional sup
port for his negative stand and
says, “Let them have a program of
their own and give more persons a
chance to participate.
Seek “Finished” Athletes
“With the four year eligibility
rule in effect, conference coaches
will immediately seek the “fin
ished” players and will not want
to take time with the up and com
ing high school athlete and waste
a year in developing him into var
sity material,” he continued.
Still contesting the change Wil
liams said, “The fans like to see
new faces in the sports spotlight
once in awhile and the rule
will find many of the same players
listed on the lineups year after
year.”
“The present military situation
is not to be considered a short
term problem, for today’s world
conflict could go on for years.
This is quite different from the
problem we faced in WW II which
we expected to last only a year
or two.”
In support of the players Wil
liams argues that “high school
athletes should be allowed to be
gin their college athletic career in
a sports program not so intense
as that which confronts the var
sity, and therefore they could find
time to adjust themselves to the
educational transition facing every
beginning student.”
In a closing comment, Williams
said, “If a boy were forced to meet
the rigorous training schedule of
the varsity athletes, as well as
the problem of adapting himself to
his college studies, he would have a
greater tendency to fail in his
classwork and hence be disappoint
ed in his college career.”
Bill Sargent and Don Blundell,
both point up the backstroke team;
Tommy Comstock is the breast
stroke expert with football star
Jimmy Flowers and John Darnell
aby assisting him.
By CHUCK NEIGHBORS
Batt Sports Writer
A&M’s tankermen plunge into the chilly waters of
Downs Natatorium tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 to vie with
the mermen from Baylor in the first official Southwest Con
ference swimming meet of the year.
In an interview this morning, Cadet Swim Coach Art
Adamson told a Battalion reporter, “I am well pleased with
the way the team is shaping into form this season and their
high spirit and morale shows a ‘
strong desire to win top honors.”
Baylor, who has had anything
but a successful season in the wat
er events with a poor showing of
fifth place in the pre-season relays
in Houston, will carry the sym
pathy given the underdog against
an Aggie tank team that missed a
first place in the relays by a mere
four points.
Texas University copped the No.
1 seat in last month's meeting and
is conference favorite for the 1951
campaign, while Southern Metho
dist and Rice are in third and
fourth places, respectively.
The Cadet aggregation of water
athletes show a definite weakness
in the distance events, as Adam
son has yet to find a man who is
strong in that category.
Another hindrance that the Ag
gies wall have to overcome in their
struggle for the conference crown
is the limited number of reserves,
as the strength of the team depends
on the improvement of the sopho
mores.
The Cadets have a total of nine
meets remaining in the 1951 sched
ule; including dual, conference,
NCAA, and AAU contests.
Regarding Baylor, the ’ Aggies
show five wins with no losses in
the swimming history of the two
schools, which began in 1940.
Sparking the Aggies are Ralph
Ellis, a versatile freestyle swim
mer, good in both sprints and dis
tance events; Van Adamson, holder
of the SWC record for the individ
ual medley and a standout in dis
tance and sprint freestyle events;
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