Page 2
THE BATTALION
Friday, November 6, 1953
Arkansas Paper
Describes Incident
At Little Rock
(Ed. Note: The following is a
sports column which ran in the
November 4 edition of the Ark
ansas Gazette. It was written by
Orville Henry, and the headline
said, “Closer Inspection of A&M
Incident.”) '
Every moment and every aspect
of the incident involving the Texas
A&M students at War Memorial
Stadium Saturday night are to be
deeply regretted, and sincerely so.
NO ONE ever wants to make a
visitor uncomfortable, or treat
him shabbily, and least of all on a
night, the one night, when every
thing was going in record-break
ing fashion for the Razorbacks.
BEFORE we bend too low in
apology, however, maybe it would
be best to clear the record with
a closer inspection. What hap
pened and who was at fault? Well
let’s see.
THE TROUBLE began, as you
may know, when the students
and their friends and Texas A&M
fans continued to stand in their
section behind the Aggie bench
as the game progressed. They
claimed their rights, according to
what they called a “95-year-old
custom” which says that a
“twelfth Man” shall be standing
and ready to be called onto the
field should the need for him
arise. The Cadet Corps is known
as the “Twelfth Man” for all home
games. (The Cadets abviously
couldn’t have been standing for
all games for 95 years. They play
ed their first game only in 1893.
Rather the tradition goes back to
1922, when Dana X. Bible actual
ly called a lowly sub out of the
stands to be ready to play in
emergency).
‘Down in Front
FANS WHO had purchased
seats behind the A&M section,
Which was down low and at the
40, naturally objected. .
“DOWN in front,” after all, is
a permissible watchword in Amer
ican sports.
SHOULD those fans have been
denied the right to see the g^me
because of a Texas custom they’d
never heard of?
NO, of course. They were within
their rights in fussing about the
situation.
THUS the near-riot. The Cadet
rooters were requested by the
public address announcer to be
seated. They refused, naturally,
and became more militant, as did
those fans behind them. So the
police intervened, taking one of
the more obstreperous A&M
leaders to the exit gate. Finally,
when it seemed there would have
to be big trouble, there appeared
Dr. M. T. Harrington, the A&M
chancellor. He broke in with a
broad smile and waved the Aggie
rooters to follow him across the
field and into an unoccupied sec
tion at the 15-yard line. They fol
lowed and the worst was over.
Who Placed Tickets ?
THE QUESTION now seems to
be who put the A&M students in
their awkward (though flouted)
position ?
NOT the Stadium.
“IT IsJEVER occurred to me,”
said Allan Berry, the manager,
“that the Cadets would want to
stand.”
BUT BERRY didn’t seat them,
anyway. The A&M section’s tick
ets were allocated by the Univer
sity of Arkansas, which handles
all but the box office sale for all
U of A games here.
A SPOKESMAN for the U of A
said at Fayetteville yesterday
that the A&M ticket manager
made no special request for place
ment of tickets. And also that
the A&M tickets were located in
exactly the same spot as were
and will be tickets for all visiting
teams, near the 50. And the
spokesman added that the U of A
ticket office had not the slightest
warning that any difficulty might
arise over the placement of tick
ets.
Only 68 Tickets
ACTUALLY only 68 tickets were
purchased by A&M students. The
remainder of the party of under
200 included Aggie boosters, many
of them Arkansasans, and dates of
the Cadets, many of them stu
dents at Little Rock Central High.
THE FIRST he knew of the has
sle, said Berry, was when he step
ped out of a ramp after the gate
rush had ended.
“AS SOON as I spotted the
trouble,” Berry said yesterday, “I
hurried upstairs to catch Barlow
Irvin, A&M’s athletic director,
who had been in the press box.
But he had already left. Then I
hurried back downstairs to give
instructions to our police force.
But they were already in action
across the field. I can’t criticize
them for swinging immediately
into action. Even though they
may have incited some of the
A&M folks, they certainly pre
vented a riot.”
Chancellor Praised
BERRY praised the good - na-
tured action of Dr. Harrington
for saving the situation.
BEFORE he moved into action,
Dr. Harrington had made this re
mark to a person seated near him:
“THEY ought not to stand un
der these circumstances and so
far from home, but what can you
do ? It’s their custom and you
can’t tell them not to.”
DR HARRINGTON told Berry
that “it was understandable for
the students to stand but we
couldn’t have let it go on in that
section of the stands.”
A STUDENT leader insisted
that Berry allow him to explain
his position over the public ad
dress system and request'an apol
ogy, but Berry declined and said
Dr. Harrington also asked that
no announcement be made.
Roughed Up
THERE WAS some talk that
the student who was removed
from the game was roughed up.
Berry said he talked with the
student after he had re-entered
the stadium, which he was allowed
to do almost immediately, and
that he didn’t appear to be
“roughed” any.
MARVIN Potts, chief of police,
sent this message to The Battal
ion, the campus daily at Texas
A&M.
“I SAW and talked to the stu
dent as he was led to stadium gate.
He showed no signs of beating
and made no complaints at the
time. He was escorted to the gate
by two officers who turned him
over to the gate man for expul
sion. Officers then returned to
stands.
“ENTIRE incident regrettable.
Someone here made mistake of
scheduling standing unit at mid-
field section. However, something
had to be done. I sincerely ap
preciated help from Dr. M. T.
Harrington. Without his assist
ance there would have been a
riot. People in stands irritated be
cause felt they hadn’t paid $3.60
per seat to stand.”
Report Made
BERRY SAID he had written
a full report of the affair as he
knew it and turned it over to
Howard Grubbs, secretary of the
Conference. He said he had also
written a warm thank-you letter
to Chancellor Harrington.
AS FOR the Cadet Corps, it
probably neither relished the
game not the incident, even if
the hyper-spirited crew did carry
the beaten Aggies off the field
after the game. It could be that
the experience will serve some
good. Henceforth the A&M tick
et office likely will pay more
heed to the location of its seats.
And in Arkansas, at least, the
hosts will, too.
AS AN afterthought, perhaps
fans who were at the game now
can appreciate the din and dis
turbance the 6,000 Cadets make
for A&M home game at College
Station. They often take over
other stadiums in Texas, too, and
they have been involved in other
incidents.
BUT LET’S close this one.
Letters to the Editors
Editors, The Battalion:
This letter is in reference to the
sportsmanship displayed by a
group of Aggie and former Aggie
students at the A&M-Arkansas
game at Little Rock the past
Saturday.
To begin with, I would like to
say that I have much admiration
and respect for A&M.
While in the service I came in
contact with many former Aggie
students of the graduating class
of 51’ among them John Barron,
Tyler, Texas; Don Kahn, Eugene
‘Nick’ Morrison, Percy J. Bennett
of Houston, Texas; and Mike Mon-
tos of Brownsville, Texas.
From the former Aggie stu
dents I learned something of the
spirit and tradition of your school,
the most striking of which is the
Aggie Twelfth Man.
Now the Twelfth Man was very
prominent at the Little Rock game
and therein lies this gripe. This
group of approximately 300 root
ers were seated between the 40
and 50 yard and what amounted to
some of the best seats in the stad
ium.
Better than what our own stu
dents had and very much better
than we’ve received at any out of
town game.
Seated directly behind the Aggie
students were some 5,000 - 6,000
Razorback fans from over the state
of Arkansas. Now none were Ark
ansas students however and I
doubt if they familiar with the
12th Man tradition.
Consequently they didn’t take
too well to the idea of standing
thru the two and one half hours of
time that the game consumed.
On four different occasions it
was announced over the P. A. sys
tem for these Aggie students to
please take their seats for the
benefit of those sitting behind
them.
The results were negative except
for the obscene gestures from the
fingers of some of the students.
Finally after much discussion
the group still refused to be seat
ed and moved or were moved to
another section of the stadium.
The stopper though came at the
end of the game when some stu-
dents proceeded to stampede
through the Razorback band in
their half hearted attempt to carry
the ill-fated Aggie football team
from the field.
This resulted in the knocking to
the ground of many of these band
smen including some of the girl
members.
If this was a show of Aggie
spirit and tradition then I can see
nothing in it to be proud of.
Perhaps they were a little ir
ritated at the outcome of the game,
none the less it was one of the
poorest displays of sportsmanship
that has ever been exhibited at
either Fayetteville or little Rock.
A few years back Arkansas was
censm - ed by the Southwest Con
ference for alleged rough tatics in
a game with TCU.
Though exploitation by the press
the University was smeared with
a black mark for unsportsmanlike
conduct.
A couple of years later through
the renewed spirit and sportsman
ship On the part of the student
body and athletic teams, this black
mark was partially erased with the
winning of the SWC sportsmanship
trophy.
Sheep Raisers
Hear Shepardson
Dr. Charles N. Shepardson, dean
of agriculture, spoke Tuesday to
the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers
association meeting in San An
tonio.
Dr. T. R. Timm, head of the
agricultural economics and socio
logy department, also spoke.
Dr. David H. Morgan, presi
dent, attended the annual conven
tion.
The Battalion
Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Founder of Aggie Traditions
“Soldier, Statesman, Knightly Gentleman”
The Battalion, official newspaper of the Agricultural and Mechan
ical College of Texas, is published by students four times a week, during
the regular school year. During the summer terms, and examination
and vacation periods, The Battalion is published twice a week. Days of
publications are Tuesday through Friday for the regular school year,
and Tuesday and Thursday during examination and vacation periods
and the summer terms. Subscription rates $9.00 per year or $ .75 per
tnonth. Advertising rates furnished on request.
Bntered aa aecond-clasa
matter at Post Office at
College Station, Texas
under the Act of Con
gress of March 3, 1870.
Member of
The Associated Press
Represented nationally by
National Advertising
Services, Inc., at New
York City, Chicago, Los
Angeles, and San Fran
cisco.
JERRY BENNETT, ED HOLDER.
.Co-Editors
Ihuck Neighbors Managing Editor
Harri Baker ...Campus Editor
Bob Boriskie ...Sports Editor
Jon Kinslow City Editor
Good Luck ...
A GG I E S
Visit Us After the
Games and Enjoy
a Real Treat . . .
WITH
B-K ROOT BEER
— ALSO TRY OUR —
• HOT DOGS
• CHILI DOGS
.. • CHEESE DOGS
Bil-Bera Drive-In
2704 COLLEGE
Across from Country Club Lake
If I remember correctly the de
ciding vote was cast for Arkansas
by the committee from Texas A&M
College. Perhaps some day the
commiittee from the University
of Arkansas will be in the same
position to so honor your own
school.
I feel sure that the Aggie stu
dents will have their own story to
tell upon returning to College Sta
tion so this letter is to more or
less present the Arkansas side of
the incident.
Charlie Piles,
Fayetteville, Ark.
Editors, The Battalion:
If we’ve been asleep for the
past ten days as S. J. Smith Jun
ior, chairman of the Student Sen
ate Seating Committee, infers,
then we can only say that Smith
must have been asleep since he
was bestowed the honor of chair
man of that illustrious body, the
seating committee.
Granted we know of the election
before hand, but we do not feel
that it should have been our obli
gation to tour the campus in quest
of ballots and polls, as we would
have had to done, in order to vote
in this past election.
It was our idea that the ballots
were to have been brought around
to each room, but speaking for
Adams and Robards, no ballots
were ever seen.
• As for those lucky enough to
receive ballots, according to many
non-regs we’ve talked to, the bal
lots were never picked up off of
their doors as they were supposed
to have been.
We can only say that, had Mr.
Smith performed his duties in the
proper manner, the election, in
stead of being the messed up af
fair that it was, might have given
a vote representative of the stu
dents concerned.
We feel that a person given the
responsibility of heading a com
mittee should have the initative to
perform his job in a capable and
efficient manner.
The vote may have to stand as
is — but we hope that future
committees at A&M will take heed
of the poor job done in this past
election, and perform their duties
with more care.
Dick Adams, ’55
Jack Robards, ’55
Reed Rankin, ’55
Police School
Opens Monday
Policemen representing 12 Texas
towns started training Monday at
the opening here of the Texas
Municipal Police Training School
sponsored by the Engineering Ex
tension service.
Purpose of the school is to train
municipal policemen in Texas law
and the basic fundamentals of
police work.
Each policeman must maintain
an average of 70 to stay in school.
Instructors include Beasley, A&M
college employes, Bryan and Col
lege Station officials and out- of-
town law officers and legal of-
ficals.
New Steam I’unnel
Nears Completion
The steam tunnel supplying heat
ing lines for DeWare field house
and the new P E building will be
completed within 30 days, said C.
K. Leighton of the physical plants
department.
The $67,000 tunnel, furnishing
hot water for heating and
domestic uses, joins the Memorial
Student Center tunnel at Houston
and Lamar streets.
Cement work on the 600-foot
tunnel is 95 per cent complete and
pipe work is 65 per cent complete,
Leighton said.
HOUSTON CORPS TRIP
SPECIAL!
THE AGGIE RALLY
DANCE
Featuring
THE AGGIELAND
ORCHESTRA
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13
10 P.M. to ?—at the
PALADIUM
South Main at O.S.T. Cut-Off
Behind Stuart’s Drive-In
$1.50 PER PERSON
(Tax Included)
Tickets are available at the
Student Activities Office
ONLY 1500 WILL BE SOLD — SO
GET YOURS NOW!
^J^ouston Zsrip Special
DISCOUNTS ALL FOOD BEVERAGES
'0 TO TEXAS AGGIE CADETS
At Houston's Aristocrat of Italian Cuisine
orrento
^e&taiAha/rit
1419 FANNIN AT BELL
AT 2449 SERVING FROM 11 A.M. DAILY
JUST LOOK AT THESE SAVINGS
SPECIAL DINNER MENUS
INCLUDES APPETIZER, SOUP, SALAD, DESSERT, BEVERAGE
VIM CUTLET MILANESE
WITH
SPAGHETTI
REG.
PRICE
2.50
AGGIE
PRICE
1.90
VEAL SCALOPPINE
REG
PRICE
3.00
AGGIE
PRICE
2.25
NEW YORK CUT STEAK
WITH
SPAGHETTI
REG.
PRICE
5.50
AGGIE
PRICE
4 15
CHICKEN A LA SORRENTO
WITH
SPAGHETTI
REG.
PRICE
3.50
AGGIE
PRICE
2.65
SPECIAL A LA CARTE
DISHES
PIZZA PIE
REG.
PRICE
1.25
AGGIE
PRICE
95c
LASAGNE AL FORNA
REG.
PRICE
1.75
AGGIE
PRICE
1.35
SHRIMP PIZZI0LA
REG.
PRICE
1.50
AGGIE
PRICE
1.15
ITALIAN CHEESE CAKE
REG.
PRICE
25c
AGGIE
PRICE
20c
MIKE HAIKIN, ’42, Publicity Director
Meet the College Crowd at
LOUAN
r
. . the collegiate favorite for
GOOD FOOD & DANCING
every night
for the past 14 years
n
-d-s
EM - 2688, Dallas
Greenville Ave Off Central Expressway
LI’L ABNER
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