*Duc&
^ 9*6* Canton
I,IM i,r sev< M or years to become proficient at
‘•"""'“’T a,Hl it all. Use it all With one quick pain
in eg that feels like an electric shock followed by dull
all a pleasant experience. Not after seven or
< 'Kid years of work—for that.
Sounds like a 10 a.m. soap-opera, doesn’t it. Well, it isn't. It
happened the other day to Oregon’s Art Backlund. Art came
to Oregon from Hoseburg High School to major in education,
run distance events with the Oregon track team, if he was good
enough, and eventually get a job teaching someplace. *
1 le Sam permitting, lie’ll still graduate in education and get
j-'l. t.-achmg and probably be « darned good track coach some
l"' al ^'•l't seven 'ears, Art has been training bard to
a ,|Mam«’ rtmnc-r- not just a distance runner, but a goo,I
erne I here - a difference.
Lots of Promise
\' a !r< 'l"i'a" *H' showed a lot of promise, and lie showed even
n mi promise last year as a sophomore running the mile. This
year, it was decided he should run the two-mile.
Saturday in Seattle he was clipping around the Husky oval in
The seventh lap of his two-mile race. He was setting the pace,
h admg the race and would soon have applied his last-lap kick to
"in the race. Most of the spectators concede that he would have
won the race.
And then came the sudden sharp feeling in his left leg. It was
numb. The only thing to do was to get off the track and let the
others finish the race.
iodav Art Backlund is in Sacred Heart Hospital. His left
“ g ls i ncased in a heavy plaster cast from hip to toe. His right
leg. above the knee, is heavily japed. Under the tape is a long in
cision. I here's another long incision in his left calf under the cast.
Backlund suffered an accident not too uncommon to ath
letes. The muscle which is connected to the long, hard, achilles
tendon (on the back of the lower leg, right above the heel)
simply contracted so hard it pulled the tendon almost com
pletely in two.
Kcpairing this is not a hard job for a good surgeon. The doc
tor simply cuts into the calf of the leg.*pulls the tendon down and
fastens it together once more. Sometimes its pulled apart so far
that another piece of tendon has to be grafted onto it. That’s what
happened in Art s case. '1 lie extra piece of tendon came out of his
light thigh. 1 hat s why he has incisions in both legs.
If He Wants to, But.. .
In ten days, he’ll he up and around on crutches. Within six
weeks he II he out of the cast and walking around as good as ever.
Then he can even run a little if he wants to.
i!ut to start over again and become a good distance runner is
not the best thing to do, the authorities say. Now, this isn't a
dissertation on the sad woes of injured athletes. It's just to show
that they can work pretty hard for something—and then end up
with a disappoiiftment in their prime. Just how such a thing can
happen is interesting, and a little mysterious.
Take Backlund’s case for instance. Art is in perfect physical
condition, or he was until 3:20 p.m. last Saturday. He’s in per
fect health. He was warm when the tendon broke because he
had been running for seven laps. He wasn’t pressed because he
was ahead and the nearest man was ten yards back. That’s a
safe margin in most distance races.
Why did the tendon decide to break at that particular moment?
Track Coach Bill Bowerman says no one is just sure why those
things happen, hxperts have advanced plenty of theories and
explanations, most of which are probably right, but they have no
proof, he says, on just why that muscle would suddenly contract
and snap the tendon.
A 'Funny' Sport
Track is a "funny” sport. It doesn’t attract tens of thousands
of cheering people. Bookies don’t take many bets on track meets.
No one tries to fix college track meets to beat the bookies. It
doesn’t have the glory of a 90 yard run or a 30-foot one-handed
field goal. But it has plenty of glory for the participants. And it
lias plenty of disappointments for guys like Art.
And it has plenty of plain old hard, tedious work—called
training. With Backlund running the two-mile race. Oregon
had good chances for the Northern Division cinder champion
ship this year. The Webfoots still have good chances for the
ND title, but they're dimmed a bit by Art’s absence. He’ll be
when the public address system calls for two-milers to report
to the judges stand. And he’ll be missed when the final points
are added up.
4 I f you plan to see any ()regon track meets this year, if you read
about the Wcbfoot cinder squad in the papers, if you saw them
perform last year-—if you have any interest in track at all, drop
the Swede a line. I le’s at Sacred I Ieart. I le’ll be there for the next
nine days or so. 1 le’ll be glad to hear that you’re interested.
Student Demand
For Summer Jobs
Revealed High
Applications received by the
University employment office Sihow
a heavy demand among students
for summer employment, accord
ing to Miss Shirley Sylverster, of
fice manager.
Students are willing to work al
most anywhere, and the campus
office has received applications
from such places as Minnesota and
Texas. Last year many students
traveled up and down the Willa
mette Valley, stopping wherever
they could find work.
Jobs in summer camps, summer
resorts, canneries, offices, depart
ment stores, and mill and construc
tion work are among those that
have been filled by the employ
ment office in the past. The office
filled 187 positions during March
alone. Of these 80 were here on
campus.
Taylor, Leeper
To Visit OSC
H. R. Taylor, head of ■.'"'e psych
ology u ’partment, and R. W. Leep
professor of psychology, will
speak to students at Oregon State
College today. The invitation to
address Oregon State students was
extended by J. W. Sherman, act
ing head of the OSC psychology
department.
Taylor will speak to a group of
students at 4 p.m. concerning
graduate work in psychology, and
occupational opportunities in the
field.
Leeper will address a group of
the faculty at 7:30 p.m. on the
topic.of Freud’s influence on theor
ies of psychology, and on Freud's
book, "Civilization and its Discon
tents."
There were 235,800 more persons
injured in U. S. motor vehicle acci
dents last year than in 1949.
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