A prayer to Jupiter Pluvius: “Please, Jupe, don't give us
any (censored) today; Oregon’s varsity Ducks have just one
more game in which to prepare before they start out the con
ference season Friday. They need this game, but badly. Thank
you.”
Maybe this little request, coming deep from the heart, will
turn the trick. Anyway, the Ducks are sadly lacking in game
oqn lienee this season. Hobby Hobson, farsighted diamond
(P^ntor, booked six pre-season engagements, thinking that cer
tainly m a half-dozen games his boys would be able to press
°ut all the wrinkles in their throwing arms, recapture their old
hitting eyes.
Then Hobby went to New York on a coaches’ basketball
mission, dreaming of the line shape his boys would be in when
he got back. He returned to find that just two of these tilts
(both squeezed into the same sunshiny afternoon) had come
off as scheduled. The rest were tossed out the window as tor
rents gushed from surly, over-hanging clouds. Even if the
Ducks had had twenty practice tilts set, it is doubtful if they
could have edged in many more than they did.
So you see, Jupe, it's pretty important that the defending
champs get their-chance today. They need the work as thev
run into Oregon State’s tough gang Friday and those Beav
els' are never any snap. So, how about some nice Florida (Cali
fornia people arc going to hate that!) weather today?
A Shot m the Arm
Baseball, after being merely a drug- on the sports market
Portland for fully five years, at last is beginning to show
signs of a little life, awakening from the dead as it were. This
health tonic hypo is being injected into the prostrate Beavers
by the skilled hands of “Bland Bill" Klepper and is backed by
the bullion deposit of a group of wealth}- northwest brokers."
After Portland’s last big year in 1936 when Irish Bill
Sweeney led the Bevos to the title, the hapless horsehiders
from the Rose City have done nothing but sulk in the depths
of last place, establishing marvelous losing- records which prob
ably will never be touched !
Weak-Hearted Bosses
The Schefter family, which controlled the despondent Port
land nine when it held the unbreakable lease on last place, was
afraid to pungle out the necessary coins to keep the Beavers
on a par with the rest of the leag-ue. Old men, definitely in their
declining- baseball years, and g-reen kids, who hadn’t or never
would arrive, filled the roster. Two strikes were there before
the Beavers went south for spring training. The third one
j|Mne after about a month of league play . . . and “down and
™wn they’d go .... ”
But baseball, good baseball, has been revived at Portland
now under the wise ways of Klepper, giving metropolitan fans
a hope—and a pretty stable one too—that the Beavers will be
first division bound, shaking off the muck of the cellar en route.
hardy s Arm the Thing
One ex-U of Oregon lad, Bob Hardy, is expected to give
the Beavers a little first class southpaw pitching^ providing his
arm doesn t go sour on him. Hardy was pursuing a right smart
course along the baseball sea, grabbing off wins by the fistfuls
for Class B and C leagues. Two years ago he developed an arm
ailment, which he hoped to lose by laying out in 1942.
It was nothing but rest and regulated exercise for the
precious left flipper, because it was figuratively and actual
ly, worth its weight in greenbacks. So with some appre
hension and a lot of hope tall, spindly Bob turns his steps
southward to San Jose, site of Portland’s spring training
0camp this spring.
From the latest reports Bob still is uncertain as to just what
condition his arm is in, how much he can throw, or how much
wear and tear it can stand. But if the Hardy “left wing" re
sponds to the rough treatment given a hurling arm, you can
count on the former Duck chucker to show up the big batting
boys in this his first crack at double-A ball. For it was tall
Bob who almost single-handedly twirled the Webfoots to the
ND league pennant in 1938.
Bob's Learned Lots, Too
Professional ball is much different, of course, than collegi
ate stuff but then consider that Hardy has been picking up a
lot of little helpmates during his pro years and is dry behind
the ears when it comes to baseball savvy."
Oregon’s baseball schedule this season is a queer one, ne
cessitated by the war-time cut-down of travel. The Ducks play
all clubs on their home lot the first half of the campaign, and
then spend all the second part of the season on the road! Nat
urally, there’s the old six-games-in seven-days pet peeve when
the Ducks go on the Inland Empire trip.
.-NC JNd&u&oW
A TRIO OF CHECKERS TRYING TO “DO RIGHT” IN THE MAJORS
. . . Fhiee twirlers, two of whom are trying to make tlie grade again, are from left, Paul “Daffy" Dean,
Steve Sundra, and Julio Bonetti. Dean, brother of the more famous “Dizzy” Dean, and Sundra are prop
el ty of the St. Louis Browns. The “Daffy" one is lip from the minors where he was trying to get his arm
hark into shape. Bonetti has been called up by the Chicago Cubs from Los Angeles, and hopes to
make the grade.
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Coed j
Tennis
Players 1
Entry blanks for coed sin- ■
gles and doubles tennis en
trants must be turned in to
the Gerlinger ha!< cage by 4:30
today. This is absolutely the
; deadline for the entry blanks,
| WAA officials announced. •
Iiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiliniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiuimiiiiiiil
By BILL DYER
Tubby Graves, baseball mentor of the Washington Huskies, is
just keeping- his fingers crossed these days. For nearly all of his horse
hide prospects are subject to call before the current season is over.
Lost from the squad via ERC are stalwarts Bob Bird and Boody
Gilbertson, experienced fly chasers, on whom Graves had counted as a
nucleus for this season’s nine. Only two experienced players answered
Coed TennisTourney Entries
DueToday,WAA Announces
By PHYLLIS LLOYI)
Final entries for the tennis tournament will he accepted until 4:30
o’clock this afternoon. It is urged that you see the WAA manager of
.your house and sign up immediately. Please turn them into the cage
at Geriinger, Miss Petrosky, or to Claire VVrenn.
Phyllis Root and Claire W'renn, co-chairmen, have announced that
a fair number of entrants have signed up and that the plans for the
coming tournament are well under way.
ttKies nave cleared ana tne
house teams are urged to take
advantage of the break in the
weather with a little softball
practice. Susan Campbell’s team
was using the comparatively dry
field behind Gerlinger yesterday
afternoon. Betty Rogers is build
ing up a lingo that all good catch
ers should have. Besides, she has
the ability to handle the ball with
sureness and speed. Mary Dels
man was limbering up her right
arm as the only prospect for
pitcher for the Susie team.
Practice Hints
If the house teams have not al
ready thought of it, Miss Petros
key and Josie Reginato put their
heads together and made several
suggestions for places to practice
softball. Make use of the front
lawn was the first, and that is ex
actly what the team at Hen Hall
is doing. Evelyn Marshall, man
ager, has the girls out every even
ing after dinner when the sky is
free from rain clouds.
Number two suggestion was
that the learns make use of the
out-door gym or even the green
to the west of Gerlinger if the
softball field is still too muddy.
Josie Reginato has hopes of
starting the tournament on the
date formerly planned, which is
April 13. That date is just seven
short days away and as yet some
of the teams have not gotten into
the spirit of the sport.
DUCK CHIEFTAIN . . .
. . . Howard Hobson, back from
basketball' coaches meeting in
New York City, will get his first
glimpse of his varsity Ducks in
action today against Willamette
at 3 o'clock.
The University of Texas stu
dent employment bureau last year
found part-time work for 2,153
students, paying $140,000.
tali, putlR'llj i 1111
Schwartz and Bud Davidson.
These juniors turned out with the
varsity last year and were num
eral winners as freshmen. How
ever, both are reservists.
Frosh Counted On
Sophomores and freshmen are
counted on to carry the brunt of
this seascyi’s attack. Up from last
year’s frosh crew are seven liunn
eral winners which constitute a
large portion of this year’s squad.
Outstanding members of this
group are Jack Crockett, last year
the frosh’s top hurler; Fred War
ren, center fielder; Jim Bruce,
first baseman; and Bob Comoning,
third sacker. Three of these boys
are in the Marines and Bruce is
in ERC.
The catching staff will be large'
but green. Four receivers report
ed opening day, but none had had
any college training. Leading
candidate for this position is Don.
McIntosh, the red-headed foot
baller. Freshmen Kung, McCor
mick, and Anderson are fighting
it out for the second string berth.
Still more freshmen who show
promise are Len Tram, a high
school all city shortstop in Se
attle, and “Nig” Kafer an out
standing prospect but with no
previous college mound work.
Sophomores Bob Graham, sec
ond sacker; and George Keiter,
an outfielder, both with no ex
perience, complete the roster.
Like all Northwestern clubs the
Huskies are bewailing the large
amount of rain, but the spirits
were heightened with the return
of Doug Ford, the tall basketeer
who is one of the top flingers in
the conference.
Western Maryland college now
gives pre-flight training.
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