Click! The light is off! Hmmm—maybe it is one of the
gizmos that just goes on dim—I wonder. Yep the L.O.O.C.
organization has lost a lot of steam since last Saturday after
noon at Berkeley. All this is driving at the Head Coach Oliver
situation. The hot potato has not been dropped as yet, nor will
it be dropped as long as the present smudging cloud hangs over
the campus. Facts will be presented as they come up. A clear- j
eyed view can be gained only by a careful presentation of the
many corners.
A copy of a telegram sent to Tex Oliver was received in the
sports office yesterday. I quote: “The Oregon Duck Club as
sures you and the team wholehearted support. Club feels news
paper criticism unjustified and unfortunate.
WELCOME HIGH SCHOOL WRITERS
This weekend the University plays the role of host to the an
nual High School Press Club. From all over the state represen
ts live students will journey to Eugene for the meeting, and a
lot of sports writers will be in the group.
The rear 1945 has witnessed an upsurge of power among
the high schools in football. The sports department would
like to give the fellows writing about these future collegiate
aces a more than good-buddv glad-hand, and tell them to entei
the Web foots domain next year and bring a bit of that football
material with them.
STATE SITUATION LOOKS GOOD
Ducks are smoothing ruffled feathers this week, preening
themselves for the homecoming clash with Orangemen from
Oregon State. Hayward field was scene of light workouts Mon
day and Tuesday. This take-it-easy period comes as an extra
relief to gridders, after being raked over the coals in long road
trips, and the grueling grind of week-in-week-out practice ses
sions.
Over in the Heavers camp the story is different. This Satur
dnv those lucks’ Orangemen smack into Trojans. M'avbe the
wooden horse will fall, but the point that interests this writer
most is how much the wear and tear will atlect State s prepara
tions for the game of the year. The trip to Los Angeles is a long,
b ird haul and the' clack-clack of iron wheels tears down a body,
and the Webfoots are pointing for this game like my pre-war
Iviglish Setter bird dog, sooo—
FRUSTRATED IN DEMPSEY INTERVIEW
Last Friday night a long-awaited for opportunity came to
realitv. an interview with a top celebrity—Jack Dempsey. Col
leges coaches and stars in the various phases of athletics are
sometimes hard to gel information out of, but Dempsey was
really a tough nut to crack.
The 50-\ ear-old "Manassa Mauler has stock answers to all
of the questions thrown at him. This can be laid to thousands
of times Dempsey has been asked, “How about the ‘long
count’, the Firpo fight, what of Carpentier,’ etc.
Dempsev hasn’t been asked about the outcome of the Lottis
Conn fight but several hundred times, so I popped this ques
tion. “Roth Louis and Conn are out of condition," he replied.
“They have been out of the game over four years. They’ve
fought, yes, but it is a different kind of fighting. I think it would
1>e foolish for anyone to try and pick the winner of next Junes’
|>out this earlv before Louis and Conn have a few preliminaries
and a lot of training."
Rranchmg oil into advice for budding athletes, the ex-pugilist
s; vs, "he confident—l lie re are thousands of great fighters and
tiev all gained this greatness by having self-confidence in their
abilitv.” '1'his front the ten million dollar easher of boxing re
ceipts, and king of the pugilists’ world from flattening of Jess
\\ illard in 1919 to decision dropped to Tunney in T>26.
BULL WITH BULL
Army plows into Navy this weekend for top game of the na
tion and watch those swabbies—Walt Donovan jumped to a tie
for first place in the conference scoring parade after a two
touchdown splurge against the Golden Bears Saturday—Sen
ator Wayne Morris has invited the Webfoots basketball squad
to a dinner in the Senate dining room when they fly across the
nation for hardwood pounding in Madison Square Garden—
KXL, radio station in Portland, is formulating plans for cov
erage of the eastern court games for broadcast from the net
side—local Greeks claim they have no team entered in the in
tramural volleyball tournament because they want to give the
other guys a chance to recover from smashing triumphs on the
intra-gridiron.
K-Falls Scene
Of B-Ball Tilt
Hitting the trail again this
week, the fast-playing Duck five
entrains for Klamath Falls and
the Marine training base. Still
possessing their dead eye basket
hitting form, the Webfoots will
continue their policy of “the best
defense is a rapid fire offense.”
Those in the starting line-up for
the Friday night ball game are:
forwards, Jim Bartelt and Dick
Wilkins; guards, Reedy Berg and
Bob Hamilton; and center, Ken
Hayes. Also making the trip will
be: forwards, Ed Allen and Chuck
Stamper; guards, Bruce Hoffine
and Les Wright; and center,
George Bray.
Marines Set for Game
A complete workout is in store
for the Hobson quintet over
Thanksgiving holidays with the
traveling team engaging in
dummy practice. Not much is
known about the Marine basket
bailers, but that they live up to
their rep of being prepared for all
emergencies.
With the win against the
Thunderbirds last week behind
them, the Lemon and Green and
Duck Grid Clan Practice
Light For OSC Finale
Short and peaceful workouts are surprising the turf of Hay
ward field this week as the Webfoots rest from the grin^ of
many days traveling and eight successive weekend games, with^
the cry of Beavers over a week away from the homecoming fi
nale. Injuries on the Webfoot eleven are tapering down to the
non-existent stage, and by end of
Thanksgiving holidays Bob Rey
nolds and Bill Abbey are slated for
full-scale action. The team is ex
pected to round into the best con
dition of the year for the climax
game.
Iron Men in Top Form
Three 60-minute players in the
California duel joined in the work
outs this week. Tackle Gene Gillis,
End Bob Anderson and Halfback
Jake Leicht proved none the worse
for their iron man stunt Saturday.
Today’s sesion will hit the train
ing grind a little heavier as the
Ducks turn to short scrimmages
and work on the blocking dummies.
Lengthy squad meetings have also
tripped the heavier play for
quintet will be eyeing up the east
ern pre-season games. Much is ex
pected from the Hobson-coached
squad because of their sensational
flare last year.
breaks in the menu.
Beaver Vendetta Next
Pounding and bruising workouts
are in store for the post-turkey
preparations for the homecom
ing. Ducks will be pointing for a
reversal of form shown in the 19
to 6 loss to the Staters in the
first of home-an d-home series.
High scoring Wait Donovan
continued in fine form in the
workouts. Two tallies in the win
over the Golden Bears boosted the
lemon and green wearer into a tie
for first-place scoring honors in
the Pacific Coast conference.
Ticket sales for the Beaver
clash opened yesterday at the Mc
Arthur court ticket office. Orders
for many of the 16,000 available
reserved seats still remaining.
Four thousand, five-hundred gen
eral admission tickets for the 194S~““‘
finale will go on sale at Hayward
the day of the game.
DARRELL RIGGS, end
ROBERT WATSON, fullback
GLENN BOSTVVICK, halfback
Medford Black Tornado Strikes Climax
Game of Heavy Scoring Grid Season
High school football swerves
into a seething cauldron during
the knives meet turkey holiday
season with the unbeaten eleven
from Medford tangling Grants of
Portland for a spotlight grabbing
mighty tussle on the southern
city's home field Thursday.
The Thanksgiving day affair at
Medford will not decide the high
school championship. The Oregon
crown will not be felled until
December 1, when the winner of
the Hood River-McMinnville tiff,
also on Thanksgiving day, comes
forth to offer a championship
challenge. Multnomah stadium has
been set tentatively for the scrap.
19-Game Win Streak
Flapping high and wide against
fellow high school gridders, the
swirling Black Tornado of Medford
has racked up a 19-game winning
streak, allowing only three tallies
by opposition during the colossal
'•15 season. Eugene Axemen scored
one and the North Bend Loggers
added two pay-dirt plays last
week.
Fullback Bob Watson is the
lending blister, scorer and point
after man in the Medford back
field. He serves as the point for
offensive tactics which also send
Earl Stel'le, Jerry Boss and
Jerry Clark into high-speed run
ning plays.
Outstanding broken field
artist of the pack is Glenn Bost
wick, but a shoulder injury kept
him out of the North Bend fray
and his services are not assured
during the fracas with Grant.
Rugged Darrell Riggs, captain
of this year’s squad, is billed as
one of the finest ends in the
state, having been on the pay
off end of numerous end-zone
passes.
Grant Smooths Roughness
Coach James “Mush” Torson’s
Grant charges are putting the
finishing touches to a highly
vaunted T-formation. The Generals
have tplled 164 victory points
against scrappy Portland elevens,
while allowing only 24 points to be
scored against them.
Grant’s title-holding gridders
stake most of their victory hopes
on fast-breaking, highly confusing
offensive trickery, built around
Quarterback Tom Shaw, Half
backs Gerry Smith and Pat Duff
and Fullback Bill Gabriel. Don
Stamm and Roland Curtis offer
glue-fingered reception for aerial
thrusts.
Medford men will outweigh
Grant as much as 15 pounds per
man. Team average of the Black
Tornado totals up to 186 pounds,
and local rooters claim this beef
and brawn is good enough to bowl
over many college outfits in the
northwest.
Tornado Howls Long
High school teams have felt the
brunt of scoreboard-blackening
Tornadoes for three years with the
1945 season staggering them still
more—68 to 0 over Albany, 40 to 0
over Marshfield, 52 to 7 over
Eugene, 38 to 0 ever Eureka, Cal.,
51 to 0 over Klamath Falls, 73 to 0
over Grants Pass, 78 to 0 over
Bend, 52 to 0 over Ashland and
26 to 13 over North Bend.
Football is taken with the coffee
by Medford citizens. Prince
“Prink” Callison, later to build the
University of Oregon VVebfoots
into big time, had the most amaz
ing coaching record at Medford
40 wins, one loss and one tie in six
seasons of ball from 1923 through
1928.
Callison’s initial year at Medford
saw the Tornadoes drop a 13 to 6
decision to Salem and his next
year’s team tied Ashland 7 to 7.
From this point on, the gridmen
record of 23 straight games, since
up a 6-year mark of 1495 points
to 174 for opponents.
A1 Simpson, now 29, has a
record of 21 straight games, since
he wen four before leaving Ash
land to take the Medford job.
Simpson is in his third year of
coaching high school football and
also coached three years at Ash
land junior high. He is a graduate
of Eureka, Cal., high school,
Southern Oregon College of Edu
cation and the University ’of Ore
gon.