Add another chapter in the success book of the University of
Oregon’s No. 1 baseball alumnus, Joseph Gordon. Last season
was Joe’s biggest and best, and plaudits from the baseball scribes
are still being dished up post-humously to the “Flash."
Latest bouquet presented to Joe, came this week in the
form of selection to the second base spot on the Sporting News’
18th annual all-star team, which is based on a concensus of
opinion of 260 writers. Not only was Joe r’anked as the best
second sacker in the business, but his point total of 255 was
.Wiexcelled. Mort Cooper, a plus-twenty game winner of the
'W orld Champ St. Louis Cards, came in second with 250, while
“Terrible Ted” Williams, the Bosox long distance hitting star,
finished up third in the balloting with 247.
Leading up to this all-star appointment, Joe was named last
fall as the American league’s most valuable player, an honor
which stands alone itself.
Acid Ending to Season
These awards came despite the rather sour ending which
was written into the Gordon baseball tale of 1942. After a bril
liant season in which he clicked the horsehide to the tune of
a .321 batting mark, drove in more runs than any other Yank,
and in general was the spark which drove New York to the cir
cuit crown, Gordon ran afoul of some ill luck in the World
Series.
In the throes of the kind of slump which turns every
good intention into a faux pas, Joe found his bat taped to
his shoulder and a bad hop on most of the infield bound
^ ers. After the Cards had pulled their history-making come
back to wash the Yanks out of the series, batting averages
were computed. The “Flash” had forlornly beaten the air
with his war club for an average which was woefully little
over .100.
However, a player’s performances in say 154 games — the
average season length —■ is much more indicative of his ability
than the showing he makes in an abbreviated five-game series.
And that’s what was taken into consideration.
The “Flash,” now aided by a new honor-capturing cohort,
Johnny Pesky, great Boston shortstop, has done more to bring
fame to this state than any sportster in a coon’s, age.
Yanks Have Lost a Barrel of Men
While we’re on the subject of the Yankees, news from their
New York stamping grounds of future success to match that
of the past is anything but reassuring. Like every other ball
club, the draft and service commissions have taken a ruthless
toll from Yankee manpower. If these ravages continue, the
•(ice mighty Yankee machine—the Bronx Bombers, Murder
er’s Row, etc.—which was the last word in hitting power from
1936 to 1940, will be just a mere skeleton of its former self.
When Jolting Joe DiMaggio, touted as one of the clas
siest outfielders in the history of the game, enlisted in the
armed forces, the very core of Yank punch and power was
gouged out. It was the great DiMag, more than any other
single individual, who set the blistering pace over the six
year stretch when the Bronx Bomber dynasty was at its
zenith. During this period he clubbed well over .300 and
topped the junior circuit in batting two years, 1938 with
.380, and 1940 with .352.
Rip out such a vital cog in a mechanism and what happens?
No substitute can ever replace the original, and you can't ex
pect things to function as well as before.
DiMag Isn't Only One to Depart
Not only did the great San Francisco Italian, who exem
^ified hitting power, speed, and fielding perfection, quit Yan
* e ranks, but several others, important in their own way, left.
A glance at this list—Red Ruffing, Phil Rizzuto, Tommy Hen
rich. Buddy Hassett—-leaves the old Yank fan with a pained
feeling in the pit of his stomach and an impassionate yearning
to get down the old scrapbook and thumb through the pages
—dreaming of scintillating exploits in the Yankees' hey-day.
Only two experienced outfielders can be assured the New
Yorkers to abet the sinking Yank cause. Charlie Keller, once
nicknamed “King Kong’’ because of behemothic slugging but
lately extremely pacifistic when it comes to hitting, and Roy
Weatherly, acquired via the trade channels from Cleveland,
are the only vets Manager Joe McCarthy can count on.
*
With the Yanks’ ranks so shot, the burden of sparking
the fading New York nine through next season seems to
loom larger and larger on the horizon for Mr. Joe Gordon,
tops in second basemen.
Clarence (Hec) Edmundson, Washington’s antique gum
chewing, bow-tie wearing, speed stressing coach, goes into his
32nd year of hoop directing for the Huskies!
Gameless Frosh ContinueSpirited Workouts
Despite Absence of Tilts From Hood Slate
BEAVERS’ LOSS . . .
. . . Don Hall, tall and talented
forward, will be sadly missed by
Slats Gill, Oregon State eoaeh.
Hall is now in the service.
By MARY ALDERSON
Girls’ intramural basketball
season opens Monday, January
18, as the Thetas match wares
with the Alpha Chi Omega sex
tet in Gerlinger gymnasium and
the Sigma Kappas play the Su
sie six in the outdoor gymnasium.
Nothing is known as to the
strength of the Alpha Chi Ome
gas, or Thetas so no predictions
can be made. With Pat Carson
laying them in for the Sigma
Kappa, Susie’s always strong
casaba sextet should find plenty
of opposition to make it any
body’s game.
Aly'sone Hales, head of bas
ketball, has announced the league
play will end February 18, with
the league winners playing off
for the title. The cup will be
awarded at the annual WAA ban
quet. Miss Hales urges all teams
to report for play on time. Nine
teen teams are competing for
the title.
The league competition has
been set up by basketball offi
cials as follows:
I
1. Highland Hoopsters
2. Hendricks
3. A D Pi
4. D. G.
5. Tri-Delt
II
1. Orides
2. Hilyard
3. Theta
4. A. Chi O.
III
1. Chi O
2. University
3. Pi Phi
4. Alpha Gam
5. A O Pi
IV
1. Sigma Kappa
2. Susan Campbell
3. Kappas
4. Gamma Phi
5. Highland Flingers
Rudolph Kogan, 20, pre-medi
cal student at University of Min
nesota and a native of Russia,
recently overcame nationality
barriers and was inducted into
the army after a 12-month strug ■
gle to get in.
Rook *5’ One
Sure Opponent
By MART POND
As the senior division of the
northern basketball confer
ence slides into its second ser
ies of games matching Ore
gon with Washington State,
the lonesome Oregon Duck
lings face the realism of not
being able to match their tal
ents with some unknown foe
without having in their imme
diate possession, one or two
priority permits from the local
ration board.
One thing is very certain how
ever, and that is that these fel
lows playing Frosh ball this sea
son, have something to look for
ward to next year. For some of
the outstanding prospects on this
year's varsity squad played some
casaba with the junior quintet last
year.
Roy Seeborg for one, was one
of the first “five” on the Frosh
team and more than once, teamed
with Sanupy Crowell to bring in
a victory for Coach “Honest"
John Warren and aggregation.
Active also on this year’s varsity
are Bob Newland and A1 Popick.
Of the two, Bob plays on the first
team, and then A1 comes in to re
lieve him at various intervals.
Plenty Action Forscen.
The Frosh squad isn't going to
remain dormant for the rest of
the season, according to reports
which have been circulating from
the physical education department
this past week, for it’s a sure guess
that the athletic directors aren't
going to let the Frosh turn into
Dusty Ducklings. So a schedule
is being planned for the near fu
ture.
In all probability, it will include
the famous feud with the Oregon
State Rooks, and perhaps a few
tilts with University and Eugene
high schools.
Also there are some touted
teams representing some fine tal
ent here in Lane county, who
might find room to schedule the
Yearlings. For the present though,
its turned out to be all work and
no play for the freshmen.
INTRAMURAL
BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
(Monday, January 18)
4:00 court 40—Delta Tau Del
ta (B) vs. Sigma hall (B)
4:40 court 40—Phi Gamma
Delta (A) vs. Beta Theta
Pi (A)
TRANSFERRED . . .
. . . to Washington, D. C. “Tex”
Oliver, former Oregon grid coach,
plans special training preparing
for active service.
PRE-FL.IGHTEK . . .
. . . Paul Valenti, ace guard of
hist year’s OSO champs, now does
basketball duty for St. Mary s
Naval Pre-light.
H. Lulsetti's
232 Points
Should Last
Angelo (Hank) Luisetti, Stan
ford’s brilliant All-American for
ward who many authorities deem
the greatest basketball player of
all time, need lose little sleep at
night worrying about his scoring
record being eclipsed.
In the first place Hank saw
to it that the challenger must put
on a superhuman drive to even
threaten his record of 232 points,
marked up in 12 games. That’s
an average of over 19 points per
game which is plunking them in
at a pretty fast clip for just 40
minutes of action.
The second reason why Mr.
Luisetti’s phenomenal mark
looks as far away as the
clouds, is that in accordance
with treveling cut down, a du
ration-long enactment, southern
division officials have sliced
the schedule from 12 to 8
games. Anyone gunning for
Luisetti’s record would have to
chalk up some 29 points in ev
ery game—almost a human im
possibility.
During Luisetti’s undergradu
ate years at Stanford, he paced
the scorers every year, and by a
sizable margin, too. As a sopho
more the great star netted 172
points for a 14.3 game average.
In his junior year he stepped up
the tempo and canned no less
than 208 markers for the 12
games. The all-time high came
his senior—the astronomically
large 232.
The closest any challenger ever
got to that Luisetti - manufac
tured mark was Lee Guttero,
USC’s rubber-legged center, who
made 186. In 1939 Ralph Vaughn,
another Trojan hoopster, got 180.
Since then tops has been 148,
by little Jackie Robinson, UCLA’s
all-around colored athlete, who
did it in 1940.
To help meet the war demand
for trained physicists, the Uni
versity of Texas has created a
new degree, Bachelor of Science
in Physics.