2\uck
By Leonard Turnbull
An appeal to Jake Leicht: Please return to the University
q:: Oregon for the 1946 football season!
“Graveyard of football coaches"—it isn t a pleasing title to
anyone, is it? Are we, the students at the University, expecting
too much of a “little David" out of the football elevens turned
out year after year? We have one of the smallest enrollments
of all the schools in the Pacific Coast conference. Proselyting
of players isn’t cm the well-organized basis of the larger schools.
The past season’s Webfoot roster shows only one returned
letterman on the squad, and the list also shows the greater
majority of players in the 17-18 year old class.
CHECK PRE-WAR RECORD OF OLIVER
Upon checking the records of pre-war years here, dissatisfac
tion with Tex Oliver and his coaching methods has become
apparent. Most of this can be gleaned from growling Emerald
issues of those days. The criticisms run along the same line:
“Oliver’s system is too complex; he doesn’t stress the funda
mentals. his player psychology is null and void.”
Alumni organizations have been dead set against any change
in the coaching setup here. There lies the power for a change,
hut the power is dormant. Individuals hailing back to the days
when, have written letters that seared the paint off the walls
of the sports department—definitely not in a commendatory
manner. We have been accused of being “fuzzy-cheeked kids
trying to tell a 46-year old man. with at least 44 years spent toy
ing with pigskins, how to run his team." Now I ask ya !
SORBOE CLICKS AT WASHINGTON STATE
The favorite rival coach of this writer, 33-year young Phil
Sorboe broke in the new pair of shoes at Washington State
this \ ear without a creak. The youngest mentor in the area west
of the Mississippi (of a big-time school—stop me if I am
wrong), came out on top of the heap in the Northwest, and pro
vided Cougar supporters with the runner-up team for the. Rose
Bowl. '
When Sorboe started the year at Pullman, old alumni sadly
shook their heads and said, "Guess we can’t expect much this
year with that young whipper-snapper as head coach.” These
doleful shakings have been changed to exhuberant back slap
p.ngs. Young Phil is sitting pretty with clear views of a long
stay at the helm of his old alma mater.
BUILD UP BIG NAME THEN RIDE
Big' names in football count a lot and also cost much money,
la a lot of cases these fellow s ride on their past references.
Season in and season out the*results run about the same, and
school supporters murmur, “wait’ll next year—he's done it be
fore and he will do it again—you heard him tell us at the meet
ing- that the material is just beginning to shape up—wait'll next
year!"
Then there is a fellow over at Oregon State college who is
blasting out with the football victories wher.e they count,
namely, over the University of Oregon Webfoots. Lon Stiner
took over the Beaver coaching staff in 1933 at the apple-cheeked
age of 30. That first year the “Ironmen” of Oregon State
became famous in the orange and black colors. New ideas
popped, have continued bursting and the tradition of losing
games was broken.
AGES TELL A TRUER STORY
Ages of the present conference coaches runs as follows:
Buck Shaw , of California, who has had a wobbly season at
the top spot of the Golden Bears, is 40; brought up from youth
Lon Stiner is 42; Jeff Cravath of USC and Bruce LaBrucherie,
breaking in at L.'CLA, are both 40; Best Welch of Washington
is oS; and the kid of the lot is Phil Sorboe, 3d.
Some of the tnurmurings of students around the campus are
beginning to make a few clickings in the exam-struck noggin
(• this writer. \ es, A1 Simpson has had a verv extraordinary
season at Medford.
CLEAR THIS POINT THEN HAPPINESS
(hi yes. there is a point 1 want to clear up. TheMrivial point
hasn't come to mind while writing Duck Tracks for past
issues, but it concerns a certain coach who chased a certain
writer out of a certain football locker room, and, according to
tire coach, brought a crashing calamity around his ears. At one
time, during the early part of the season, I was in the locker
room at Mac court interview ing a football plaver. The Student
athletic manager came up to the gridder I was holding a confab
with, and told him that he wasn't allowed to have visitors in
the room, lie looked at me. and pointed to the diagrams of
plays on the walls.
“I'm sorry," l said, and requested the footballer to step out
side tin' locker room while 1 asked him the rest of the questions
I had in mind. Coach Tex Oliver was not around. Down in
Los Angeles he stated that "he" had chased the writer out of
Joe Louis
To ‘Fight’
On Dec. 12
Joe Louis “the Brown Bomber,”
holder of the world heavyweight
boxers title since June, 1937, when
he knocked out James J. Brad
dock, will “fight” a four-round
match at McArthur court, Wed
nesday night, December 12.
The contract was signed, sealed
and delivered last Saturday,' after
negotiations between Don Owen,
Euegne's mitt mogul, and champ
Joe’s manager, Irwin Rosee, a
nephew of Mike Jacobs.
Louis and his crowd were some
what skeptical about fighting in
such a small town as Eugene, but
a visit to Mac court, where Jack
Dempsey, former heavyweight
holder in the twenties, fought in
1931 at the same place, and
attracted 10,000 p e o p 1 e—this
assured Louis, and he remarked,
“Okay I’ll fight.”
Louis will go four rounds
against the best opponent Owen
can find. This will be one of the
champ's final public appearances,
before his title tilt with Bill Conn,
next June. Louis has fought irj
other' coast cities in the western
states, but no record is known
where the “Brown Bomber” has
fought cn a university campus.
Although numerous exhibitions
throughout the world have been
given by Joe.
Lotus has been guaranteed $6000
plus expenses, with option of 60
per cent the gate. This terrific
tariff has forced Owen to charge
$5 for ringside, $3.50 for reserved
seats in the groundfloor and $2.50
general admission, these prices in
clude tax.
The “fight angle" should make
the bout even more popular than
the Portland show, where Louis is
scheduled. Joe Louis, fresh out of
the army, when here, was reported
in excellent condition, although a
few pounds overweight.
Reporters
June Goetze
G. Dune Wimpress
Gloria Smith
Jeanette Grant
Shirley Anderson
Nancy Stolz
June McConnell
Barbara Wells
Dorothy Thomson
Wynne Romtvedt
Vesta Sargent
Laura Olson
Liz Gilmore
Mary Ruth Springer
City Desk
Chuck de Ganahl
Gloria Smith
Pat King
Maryan Howard
the room, thereby causing hard
feelings. So sorry to refute your
point coach, hut 1 am the only
Kmerald writer that has been
chased out of the locker room,
definitely not by you! The
point was forgotten by Bull
until the famous statement
made at L. A.
By BILL WALKENSHAW
I _ ____— -— —■
Wait 'till the season is over they said. Well the season is now
over and Oregon isn't at the top of the heap by a long shot.
Not Just Jake
Dropping six games and winning only three doesn t exactly
make the Oregon Webfoots Rose Bowl contenders. To make
the Oliver record even worse, one of those three victories was
over hapless Idaho. Outside of an exceptional “Jake Leicht" day
again at Washington State and Oliver’s “big win’’ over the
mediocre California eleven the Ducks might as well have sta> ed
in bed. If you think this writer is making it sound worse than it
really is, consult the Pacific Coast conference standings which
can be found in any large newspaper of last Sunday s edition at
the bottom and too far to look down we find Idaho, a shade abo\ e
California, and then Oregon. Brother, that isn t good! ^
Teams that had no better, if as good, material to begin with
like Oregon State, Washington State and Washington did right
good. How many coaches had an All-American to work with?
Oliver not only had All-American Take Leicht but such men as
Bobby Reynolds,' All Coast in ’42. John Kaufman, a lineman who
could make any college team in the country (and this is not my
opinion alone) plus Y\ alt Donovan, who was the top scorei on
the coast a week ago.
The rest of the fellas on the first eleven though not All
Americans were fundamentally as good as any one else had. All
Oliver had to do was to weld them together and teach the in
experienced boys what they needed. Other coaches were capable
of doing it. why didn't Tex? At the season's end Saturday they
were still playing individually or not playing at all because they
didn’t understand the complex Oliver system which was going
nowhere.
You’re Wondering Too?
About this time there should be a question in your mind, dear
reader, and I think it goes something like this—if Oregon was
so poor, how come they rolled up 12 points and almost tripped
Oregon State? As I said the Webfooters were playing individu
ally and Jake Leicht happened to be the best individual on the
field .It was Leicht, All-American that he is, who broke away
twice for scores which kept Oregon even in the ball game. He
received little or no blocking on those breakaways from the rest
of the Duck squad because they were weak on the fundamentals
of blocking and probably a little disgusted at the way the game
was going.
The only man on the Oregon squad who has ever shown lie
could block for Jake and throw passes to him was on the bench.
That boy wears a big “70" on his jersey and is a lot of quarter
back. Yes, you guessed it, it was Bobby Reynolds! Why was
Reynolds kept out of the OSC game? That question along with
a lot of others was in lots of alums’ minds as they left Hayward
field Saturday.
Rumor has it that Reynolds and Oliver had one of those coach
player arguments and Bobby was made sit on the bench to repent;^
while OSC pounded away 13 points worth against the Lemon
and Green. Leicht was forced to play almost 60 minutes and was
knocked out of the game. Only then did Oliver send Reynolds in,
until Jake could come back in, which was about five minutes.
Oliver then pulled Reynolds and there he sat until the final gun
while Oregon lost the game 13-12. What kind of a coach is it «
mat will allow his team to lose a close game and still keep his
first string quarterback on the bench? I’m afraid this one will
take a lot of talking to get out of, coach, because a lot of people
aren’t very happy over it.
Talk Fast Tex!
At an appearance before the game Coach Oliver said, “I'll be
very surprised if we don't win this one against Oregon State.”
Oliver must really go in for surprises because he sure helped
this one along by keeping Reynolds on the bench. We sort of
think you re in for some real surprises from now on, coach, so—•
Merry Xmas!
According to Coach Lon Stiner, DeW avne Johnson is just
about the best prospective fullback seen around in quite a few
years. Johnson after carrying the ball “twice" and gaining 18
raids through the OSC line was pulled from the game to join
Reynolds on the bench. Some odds, doesn’t it? Oh well, maybe
Oliver was saving them for next season, who knows.
And that, gang, just about sums up Duck Tracks for this
teim. hoi am fuither dope on our "Coach," read Bull's comments
on the current battle. Gotta hit the books now, so I’ll say “30.”