Oregon daily emerald., May 20, 1966, Page Five, Image 5

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PAC Athletes
Students Too
By DAVE BARONTI
Emerald .Sport* Editor
WANT TO SEE AN IDEA get shot to the ground? Mashed?
Mangled? Torn apart beyond repair?
1 hen just say one thing: “College athletes are a zoo of displaced
morons around only for the sporting amusement of the real collegians
present."
Radical? Well then, you don’t even have to say that.
•lust say that taken as a whole they're of average intelligence, did
average work in high school, and then gained entrance into the
college of their choice solely because of their athletic abilities.
A reasonable idea? Hardly.
A bulletin from the AAWU office in San Francisco thoroughly
annihilates not only the first but also the second assertion
The bulletin presents some rather amazing facts about the educa
tional status of the 524 letters of intent signees in the FAC this year
NOT ONLY ARE THE SIGNEES ABOVE AVERAGE high
school students as such, they probably also have better
academic records than most of their college-bound class
mates.
Nearly 60 per cent or 303 of the lettcrs-of-intent signees—achieved
a ' B" (3.00) average or better in high school.
Even bolter yet 28 2 per cent of the total student athletes had a
3 4 or better, 11.1 per cent achieved 3.8, and 2.3 per cent had perfect
four-points.
One other thing Don’t go off thinking that varsity debaters and
college bowl entrants are being passed off as athletes, either.
FIGURES FOR THE TWO PRINCIPAL team sports make
all of this look even more impressive.
No less than 10 straight-A prep students doubling as football
players submitted letters of intent this year—and that's out of a
possible 388.
Furthermore, 83 out of a possible 136 basketball players (68 per
cent) achieved at least a 3 00 GPA in high school.
That's really as far as one needs to go. These figures are impressive.
And, undoubtedly, the figures for the so-called minor sports are
equally so.
Today’s athlete—on the West Coast at least -is also a student.
AND THE SAME THING HELD TRUE for the college'
freshman-athlete four or five years ago . . . two then-frosh'
and now upperclass University athletes epitomize this.
Junior A1 West has a perfect 4 00 GPA in the University’s Honors'
College. He is also captain of Dick Smith’s varsity gymnastics team j
and is a former state high school all around champion from South
Eugene.
Senior two-time Pacific Coast wrestling titlist Bob Mitchell has
better than a 3.5 average and is a Physics major.
BOTH ARE MEMBERS OF PHI BETA KAPPA.
Second Place Up for Grabs
As Beavers, Ducks Battle
Oregon's 1966 baseball sea
son comes to a close this week
end with a three-game series
against arch foe Oregon State.
Last place in the Northern Di
vision race and the unofficial
championship of the state will
be on the line as the Ducks and
Beavers collide in a single game
at Corvallis Friday and a sea
son-ending doubleheader at Howe
Field Saturday.
The Ducks currently have a 5
win, 9-loss mark In league com
petition while the Beavers are
one game behind with a 4-10 rec
ord. The losing team will gain
at least a share of the cellar.
If Coach Don Klrsch’s Web
foots win two of the three games,
OSU will be in last place all
alone. However, if Oregon should
lose twice, the teams would end
up tied with 6-11 records.
Washington and league-leading
Washington State (13-1) do battle
in other traditional series. The
Huskies, also have a chance at
the cellar, as they take a 6-8
record agaiast highly favored
Washington State.
In the initial Duck-Beaver series
last month, Oregon did everything
except win and dropped two of
the three games.
Oregon collected 10 runs on 24
hits in the series, compared to 9
runs on 14 hits for their rivals.
But Oregon State capitalized on
nine Duck errors in the series
to gain 3-2 and 4-3 victories.
Oregon took the other encounter,
5-2.
This time the Ducks will be out
to at least even the score. A
sweep of the series would give
them a one-game edge for the
season, while two victories would
give each team three wins.
After 36 games, three players
continue to dominate the Web
foot hitting.
Dennis Baldridge, the leading
hitter all season long, continues
to top the attack, although ho
has dropped a little lately. Bal
dridge, who has played both out
field and shortstop, is hitting 372
with three home runs, 24 RBI’s,
and 38 runs scored.
Shortstop-third baseman Ron
Delplanche is next with a .350
average, seven home runs, 26
(Continued on par/e 6)
TV RENTALS
—caii
West Side TV
1680 W. Ilth 345-4823
SENIORS!
DON'T MISS THE
CLASS PICNIC
Saturday, May 21 — 1-6 p.m.
AT
Armitage Park on Coburg Road
Vast Multitudes of FREE BEVERAGES and HOT DOGS
ID WILL BE CHECKED
Shuttle Bus Service at 1:00 in the SU Turn-around
Buses will leave every Vi hour.
SENIOR CLASS OF 1966
Emerald
SPORTS
Emblem Offered
Rugby Donors
A colorful full-sized reproduc
tion of tho emblem to be used by
Oregon's first International rugby
football team is being awarded
to sports fans who donate $10
or more, toward sending the squad
to Europe this summer.
The eight-color emblem has
been adopted by the players who
will compose the joint Orcgon
Oregon State University team for
the overseas tour. This will mark
the first time that the traditional
rivals have joined forces in one
intercollegiate team.
The four-by-five-inch emblem
was designed by University rug
by forward Joseph Nieson, a ju
nior majoring in architecture.
The shield bears 3.T stars repre
senting Oregon’s statehood and
a part of British Royal Crest.
Joint participation by the two
schools is stressed.
Fund drives to raise $20,000
to send the squad are currently
under way on both campuses. Con
tributions are being accepted by
the Student Unions.
The team will be playing un
der the state of Oregon colors,
navy blue and gold
EUROPEAN
Charter Flight
10 Seats Left
Call 342-2772
The
\-wvv
FARAH
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