(DUCK TRACKS
By Tom King
Emerald Sports Editor
1 lie weazened little guy with the trim black goatee plopped
on the stool the other day and let loose with a few choice cuts . . .
“This cradle snatching atmosphere is really getting thick,” he
said between sips of the cool liquid. “Roughly a half dozen of
Oregon’s baseball players already have been approached by O.
B., and matters will surely get worse, if you happen to think it’s
bad—which I don’t under certain circumstances.”
The weazened little guy fingered his goatee and went on. “Of
course, Oregon is only one of a bushel of schools that are infested
with recruiters representing the pros. The boys, many of whom
are married, need the money, and also the opportunity to get in
to the big time. Bill Burgher followed on the heels of Joe Gordon
and joined the pros though he had plenty of eligibility left. Xor
can he. nor any of them be blamed.
Pro Offers Leave Their Trails Behind Them
"The only sore spot is that be
ing bombarded with offers dur
ing a season reflects in the play
ers’ performances bn the ball
field. And squad spirit frequent
ly takes a plunge, too; some play
ers merely start putting out for
their own individual glory, to the
subsequent misfortune of the
team.
“Organized baseball has re
fused to shoulder any responsi
bility tor their dealings with col
legians, but the National pro
grid league has adopted a hands
off policy. How well this alleged
Puritanism is carried out is am
ply demonstrated by the fact that
we know at least one member of
Oregon’s Cotton Bowl eleven did
more than make conversation
with an NFL, outfit.
Eligibility of Athlete Hangs in Balance
“The All-America has declared open warfare, which, as I said
before, is okay by me, except that they should do it during the
off-season. If pros can offer more than alma mater—and that
takes a lot of offering—then the player has little alternative.
“However, an example of how goshawful things can become
was no better illustrated than when UCLA recently ran into a
big stink concerning one George Pastre. Now Pastre supposedly
had had various undercover dealings with the LA dons, and the
question, once these undercover dealings had been uncovered,
was whether he was eligible for spring sports..
“For Pastre, besides being the Bruins’ best tackle, is also a
very good shot-putter.”
Colleges Stay Muzzled, and for Good Reasons
We asked the weazened little guy why some colleges didn't
unleash a maelstrom of complaints when they knew that some
behind-the-scenes drama was going on, in violation of the rules.
“That’s easy,” he replied. “First, they don’t want to jeopard
ize a player’s eligibility because in so doing they stand more to
lose than gain. And second, altogether too many schools have
skeletons in their dwn closets that could be cleaned out if some
one were gutty enough to swing open the door to them.”
With that, the weazened little gu^ gulped down a last one
and cpiickly made his disappearance.
Something Old—Bailey's Moving Infielder
Buck Bailey’s craftiness in
moving the firstbaseman behind
the catcher when an intentional
base on balls was ordered against
Oregon here recently was not
original . . .Earlier in the season
Clint Evans down at California
pulled the same stunt.
Dark horse track team on the
slopes is Stanford ... In Gay Bry
an the Injuns have a cnap wno
thinks nothing of participating
in as many as five events in one
afternoon . . . Moreover, he’s ut
terly flabbergasted if he doesn’t
win ’ema H, too . . . Would it be
superfluous to say that Mr. Bry
an is one of the nation’ sotp all
around athletes?
Don Makes Extensive Tour
What’s that old chestnut about “no rest for the weary” . . .
San Francisco’s crack basketball team, NIT champions, has 46
public appearances booked from late April to June recess ... Don
football and cage team traveled 29,500 miles during the fall and
winter.
Wonder how many schools make a habit of voting athletic
heroes to high elective positions? Michigan joined this circle
recently by selecting Wally Teninga, ace footballer, to be presi
dent of the lit school.
Golfers Hope To Move
Up Ladder This Week
Golf coach Sydney Milligan is
stressing challenge rounds for his
victorious Webfoot linksmen for
the remainder of the week, in prep
aration for a return match with
Oregon State slated for the Eugene
country club, Saturday.
If golfing goes according to
schedule, number two man John
Eckstrom will challenge top dog
and man team captain Dom Pro
vost; John Prince, number four,
will go against Red Omlid, present
ly entrenched in the number three
slot and sixth ranking Jim Dona
hue will attempt to up his standing
through a match with Fred Zolezzi,
number five.
Veteran Bob Sederstrom is on
the road upward, having moved
from tenth to seventh place in re
cent challenge rounds. All of the
above challenges will be played off
by tonight, Milligan said.
Rass Threatens Vault Mark
George Rasmussen, University of
Oregon’s pole vaulter par excel
lence, wrote his name deeper into
the Webfoot hall of fame when he
leaped 14 feet 6 inches in an exhi
bition meet in Klamath Falls last
Saturday. This is the highest mark
set by any Northern Division vault
er since George Varoff, another
Oregon great, went the same height
in 1938.
Rasmussen, giving an exhibition
at Klamath Falls with fellow vault
ers Don Pickens and Lloyd Hickok,
and Sprinters Davey Henthorne
and A1 Bullier, crossed the bar at
14 feet 10 inches in a final attempt,
but knocked it down with his chest
during the descent.
Rasmussen’s leap is the top out
door height throughout the entire
country so far this season. He es
tablished a new Texas Relays rec
ord earlier this year when he vault
ed 14 feet 2V2 inches in Austin,
Texas.
Softball Postponed
Intramural softball games were
called off yesterday afternoon be
cause of wet grounds. The games
have been rescheduled for Monday
afternoon, May 9, Jim Vitti, intra
mural sports manager said.
"OAKURE"
Prevents and cures
both poison oak and
poison ivy.
at
Keith Fennell's
and
University Drug
Besides Rasmussen’s great per
formance, both Pickens and Hickok
turned in their top jumps of the
year. Pickens went up to 13 feet 8
inches while Hickok made 13 feet 4
inches to give Oregon the three top
vaults in the Northern Division for
the current year.
Sprinter Davey Henthorne also
shared the laurels with his team
mates as he romped through the
100-yard dash in :9.7 seconds, his
best time since he won the North
ern Division championship in 1947.
A1 Bullier, Henthorne's fleet
footed running mate, crowded the
victorious Davey at the finish as he
was clocked at :9.8 seconds.
Saturday Night
Round about nine
(cont.)
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