Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 10, 1947)
DUCK TRACKS By WALLY HUNTER Sports Editor Tucked away in the back pages of most Sunday sports sections in the state was a small article about PCC eligibility ruling on Oregon end Dick Wilkins. Wilkin’s petition for reinstatement was voted down by nine member schools in the Coast Conference. The stories were coldly factual in most cases, and simply re vealed that Wilkins would not be able to play ball at Oregon this vear. They also made brief mention of statements by Coach Jim Aiken to the effect that he considered Wilkins a fair prospect. What those stories didn t *"' say, was that such small things as the eligibility of one such man can point the way to either success or faijure on the gridiron for a team such a:s Oregon is this year. The Web foots this season have in Norm Van Brocklin one of the finest passers on the Pacific slope. At present his batting average in completions is 39 percent. That is good enough to put him at the top of the confer- DICK WILKINS ence list of successful passers and gives him the No. 4 spot in the nation with 364 yards. This is considered a fair average. What Could He Do With a Hutson? At present \ an Brocklin is hitting this average with ordinary receivers. Give him an A1 Krueger or a Don Hutson on the other end of those tosses and that average could well soar to new heights. 1 hat s easy enough to believe—but the average college doesn't have many potential Kruegers or Hutsons around. But, according to Coach Aiken the Webfoots had one in Dick Wil kins. Aiken has gone on recqrcl as saying that he compared the ineligible Duck end with either Hutson and Krueger, and that is cpiite a statement. Idaho Coach Dixie Howell led a great Alabama team into the Rose Bowl in 1935 and he passed the Stanford dizzy. On the re ceiving end of those flips was Hutson., who went on from there to become a legend in professional leagues. Hutson is an all time all-timer in every sense of the word. Krueger, though not gnerally conceded the spot with the immortals as is the ex Alabama ace is still ranked with the best.He is probably known best for his game-winning Rose Bowl touchdown in 1939. Duke and "tJjeJCrojans were locked in a death struggle in the bowl and Wallace Wade’s Blue Devils were fighting to keep a slim three-point lead. Then in the waning moments of that contest a substitute halfback with a mighty arm named Doyle Nave threw a long pass that broke the backs of the lads from Durham. On the receiving end of that pass was Krueger. These are the men that Aiken compared Wilkins with. What more in the way of an accolade could any coach present to a ball player? That is indeed a hard one to top. But, the sad thing about this whole situation is that Wilkins is not eligible. However it isn’t too hard to see what the addition of this potential great would mean to the Duck football machine of 1947. Van Brocklin is hitting a goodly percent of his passes now when he has average receivers; What could he do if the man going downfield under those passes were able to flag ’em down in the Hutson manner? Possibly Wilkins wouldn’t be the answer to all of Aiken’s problems, but smaller losses than this have submerged more than one ball club. Williams Trails Van Brocklin It's interesting to note that the man following Van Brocklin in the passing department in the PCC is Idaho’s “Billy the Kid” Williams. He’s the lad that was found last year tossing pigskin strikes on a Vandal intramural field. A short talk with the then head Coach Babe Brown and Williams drew a varsity uniform. He's been tossing for the Vandals since that time and is possibly one of the big factors in the upsurge at Idaho. Of course his tutor is the aformentioned Dixie How"ell who has quite a little experience in that field of operations. Williams tosses’ have been covered a total of 268 yards thus far in the season. Basement Throwers Effective Though it’s probably a coincidence the five leading passers in the conference all are doing their aerial work for ball clubs that are conceded to be basement material. Leading of course is Van Brocklin, in second place is Williams, taking No. 3 honors is a Stanford lad named A1 Morris who can toss a feather-like oval 50 yards and hit a receiver. Rounding out the quintet of flingers is Washington State’s Deane Eggers and ‘Tierre Roberts of Montana. ► .. *. Sloppy Grid Hinders Intramural Contests Today’s Games 3:50 Pi Kappa Phi, French hall Merrick hall, Sherry Ross hall Phi Sigma Kappa, Villard hall 4:45 Sigma Nu, Omega hall Chi Fsi, Cherney hall Lambda Chi Alpha, Beta Theta Pi By Eddie Artzt Old man rain took a three hour vacation yesterday afternoon, and while he was napping eight eager intramural grid squads put on a fiery exhibition on lower Howe field that was a combination football water polo battle. Four more days of play remain before the top outfits tangle in elimination playoffs.Yesterday was the first day that an unbeaten team was not present on the field. Handling the wet pigskin in smooth style, Sigma Chi paddled their way to a smarting 19-0 victory over Pi Kappa Alpha. Phi Kappa Psi stayed on their feet long enough to float home the winner over Kap pa Sigma 6-0. McChesney hall earn ed the title of “mudder deluxe” by manuevering their way to at 20-0 triumph over Sigma hall. Providing plenty of thrills right up to the final gun, Minturn hall and Westminster House ran all over each other with Minturn cashing in 14-12. Beta Theta Pi was awarded a 1-0 forfeit win over the Legal Eagles, as only three Eagles showed up at the scheduled time. Delta Tan Delta added another win to their string on a forfeit nod from Nestor hall. Sigma Chi 19, Pi Psi 0 Capitalizing on a deadly air at tack, Sigma Chi didn’t let the mud gum up _their attack. The once beaten Sigma Chi’s took to the air and trounced Pi Kappa Psi 19-0. Early in the opening quarter Norm Henwood fired a touchdown pass to Bill Bayliss from the Pi Kap 24 yard line. Still going strong in the second frame, the Sigma Chi’s struck it rich again on the only touchdown run of the afternoon. Henwood faded to pass on the Pi Kop 20, then changing his direction galloped through the mud passed a host of opponents into the end zone. In the fourth heat Leroy Cole man flipped to Johnny Jones from the 18 yard-stripe. Jones skated into touchdown territory juggling the ball with both hands. The slip pery pigskin managed to stick and the Sigma Chi’s had the ball game on ice. Phi Psi 6, Kappa Sig 0 Phi Kappa Psi and Kappa Sigma raced' around for three quarters but couldn’t score. Finally Phi Kappa Psi flew into action in the fourth quarter and upset a potent Kapa Sig crew 6-0. Mac Eppley carried tlte ball over after taking a short pass from Vic Selman on the 12 yard line. Both teams were hard his by the uncer tain footing, which curbed their scoring power. Minturn 14, Westminster 12 Minturn hall ignored a 12-0 half time deficit and bounced back in the second half to take Westmin ster House 14-12. Westminster opened' the program with two long touchdown passes to Bill Larson from George Huggins. The two in complete conversion trys proved to be the Westminster downfall. Jos Tom, Minturn ace, unlim bered his whip arm and fired two long ones to Bob Melim, who was • • In paydirt both times. Both extra point trys clicked, and Minturn brought home the victory. McChesney 20, Sigma 0 Ed Falwell led a McChesney hall air invasion to a 20-0 landslide over Sigma hall. Falwell tagged Dale Lint from the 15 yard line for the opening six points early in the first quarter. It was Falwell again in the second heat; this time his target was Ralph Belyeu, who reached for the second score from the 10 yard mark. Dale Simpson picked off a 30-yard Falwell flip in the fourth frame, and streaked an additional 40 yards for the longest touchdown of the afternoon. Frosh Travel (Continued from page four) of the following players: Doug Cog , hill and Dick Mobley, ends; Bill O'Hara and Bill Marker, tackles; Art Harris and Chet Daniels, guards; Dick Patrick, center; Earl Stelle, quarterback; Dick Morrison left half; Jim Hanns, fullback; and Dennis Sulivan, right half. End Glen Keltner, a starter last week, will be the only regular not making the trip, due to face in juries sustained in the season's > opener. By AL PIETSCHMAN SPORTS: UCLA will be gunning for its 119th coast conference win Saturday. If the Bruins beat the Ducks they will then have an all time conference percentage of .500. As it stands now they have won 118 and lost 119. At present they are one up on Oregon, winning nine and losing eight. JAM: Nellie Lutcher is the cur rent sensation of the discs. Her “Hurry on Down” and “Real Gone Guy” are two of her best and both records can be found at the RADIO LAB on 11th street. Give ’em a listen if you haven’t already. CAMPUS: Yesterday’s article about the ROTC colonel claiming ' corps courses are more democratic in spirit sounds like Army release number 402, quoted from AR 605 25. How many times have we heard the “democratic spirit” from rank ing officers. Ah yes, there is a new day in the army. Yep, and where to we get a LincolnContinental for free! SPORTS: Basketball seaason is just around the corner and some of the boys are practicing by them selves now. They start in Septem ber and end in April, making for one of the longest collegiate sports seasons. Marv Rasmussen is testing his legs out on the maples and looks good. That spill he took last year almost ruined Marv’s basketball career, but time and treatment have healed the torn ligaments and he is ready for action. Many basketball fans claimed that his absence was one of the reasons Oregon didn’t click. In pre-season games when he was in the lineup, the quint couldn’t be beaten—after the injury they did n’t have the fire. Some enthusiastic rooters are planning on leaving at noon for the L.A. game. Tom Hazzard is taking a carful down; already there is Athletic Director Leo Harris and Publicity Director Litchman. (Pd. Adv.)