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About Eugene register-guard. (Eugene, Or.) 1930-1983 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1939)
January 1, 1939 THE REGISTER-GUARD, EUGENE. OREGON Page Three. Eugene Famous As Boating Center; McKenzie, Lake Creek, Siuslaw, Willamette Present Many Thrills . . By VELTIE PRUITT Eugene is more famous as a boating center than. the average citizen realizes. Famous sports men from all over we woria visit Eueene to indulge in this unique sport, leaving with much satisfac tion ana praise 01 wnai we nave to offer them. Most of these men are true sportsmen. They enjoy the boat rides on our streams as much as they do the fishing. This is as It should be and not at all strange for all sportsmen are lovers of the out doors and would rawer not catch a boatload of fish. It would be well for us as resident sportsmen to cultivate more the desire for fishing rather than for fish. Eugene may boast of her many streams for boating and fishing. Lake Creek and the Siuslaw as well as other coast streams offer thrilling opportunities during the months of winter and early spring for those who would navi gate the smaller streams. The most famous of our rivers are the Willamette and the McKenzie. While the Umpqua and the San- tiam are not in Lane county they may be claimed by our sports men. Navigation of streams with a row boat has become a science and an art in Lane county. This tine sport found its beginning on Lane County Has Hillbillies Top Drakes In 1938 By PAT FRIZZELL State league baseball was a com petitive but not a financial suc cess in Lane county during 1938. The Eugene Drakes again were without a suitable playing field and attendance was therefore small. Hills Creek enjoyed a win ning season and occasionally drew well at the gate of its Swimmers' Delight park. Lawrence Laird's Hillbillies, paced by the slugging Kelsay brothers, tied for second in .the first-half of the State league race, winning four games and dropping two, and took fourth in the final half, with three wins and three de feats. Peppery Grover Kelsay, who caught and played third base al ternately, batted .434 for the Hill billies in 12 league games. Brother Bun Kelsay, in addition to shar ing the pitching burden with ilim Bob Wiltshire, clouted at an even .400 clip in State league competi tion. Second-baseman Cliff Bax ter hit .353 and Outfielder Dick Wright .321. Third in State Tourney Outstanding performance of the Hills Creek crew was its third' place finish in the state semi-pro tournament at Silverton. This prize which the 'Billies secured by dint of triumphs over Sellwood, Mil waukie, McElroy's of Portland and the Portland Babes, made the Hills Creek campaign a success. The Drakes won only ori same in each half, to tie for the base ment berth each time. League wins were scored over Toledo, behind a two-hit pitching performance by ! Joe Kocer. and over Albany. A total fif Sft nlnver nnrnrfori In Drake uniforms rinrincr h Ill- game season. Thirty-six took part in ipncnia name, M a,irav van Vleet, speedy centerfielder, hit .467 io piace among leading iood hit ters. Roy Skeens, young Eugene high Dlaver. followed with .412 for uie league campaign. Bii Carney, i now a University of Oregon fresh man, hit .360 in the leame and .380 for all games. Silverton Wins Pennant CHnn$n(Tr Vllmcolf rO,rA.4 Ti-ft-i ball and hit .343 for the league season. He batted .455 for all games in Drake uniform. Pitcher Kocer and Catcher-Outfielder Earl Whittaker each hit .333. Though he hit onlv .265 Whitev Austin. VOUthful shnrtctnr. - " the most promising player on the Eugene ciud. Silverton won both halves of the eague race. Hfls Creek all-league team. Dick Wright of Hills and Johnny Houck, Eugene first baseman, each hit two home runs in league games to top Lane nmers in tne Ureenbereian de partment. s " WISHING YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR j Newman's Fish Market i JOHN H. NEWMAN 4 SONS Fish Mongers in Eugene Since 1890 ' II II SWIMS WE HAVE IT 'I I ""I fiHIS picture shows the author taking one of the light McKenzie river Rapids. the McKenzie river some 60 years ago when some of our pioneers, inspired by courage and the spirit of adventure, dared tackle the surging waters of our world fa mous river. They used heavy boats that would not crush on the rocks, but the boats of re Playgrounds Revive Interest In Tennis During the summer of 1938 the Eugene playgrounds conducted a number of sports events with sev eral hundred boys and girls taking part Chief among these was that of playground baseball with 30 teams in the league and over 400 registered players. There were 22 boys teams divided into midgets, juniors and seniors and eight girls' teams. These teams played a total of 158 games during the summer. Games were played by the girls teams and the senior teams under the lights once each week. A city-wide tennis tournament was staged which brought out a number of new players and really put tennis on the map in the city. Entries were 27 senior men; 10 sets of men's doubles; 8 in wom en's singles; 12 in senior boys' sin gles, and 5 in junior boys' singles; making 62 in all. Larry Crane won the men's singles; Larry Crane and Fred Beck won the mens doubles; Maxine Willis won the women's singles; Verne Pennoyer won the singles and Dick Rinde won the junior boys' singles. A junior Olympics, with over 200 boy and girls entrants of all ages, was held. Other events were: city-wide swimming meet in the women's pool at University of Oregon; tether-ball tournament; tin-can golf tournament; crouquet tournament; ping-pong tourna ment; horse-shoes tournament and bicycle meet. All were conducted by the Eugene Playground associ ation under the supervision of W. P. Walter of the Y.M.C.A. Eugene Cockers, Pointers Are Champs Although confined to a few in dividuals, raising, training and showing of dogs principally cocker spaniels and pointers has a definite part in Eugene sports life. During the past year the Brae Bell kennels, operated by John and Eunice Bell, have made great strides in this field. Frobbaly the most outstanding accomplishment was making a champion of 2V4-year-old Knebworth Bianca. Other outstanding dogs of the BraeBell kennels are Champion Muskoka and Champion Idahurst Result. During the past year the Bells made a trip east to all of the leading kennels. More than 100 puppies were raised and shipped to points from South Carolina to Washington during 1938. BraeBell dogs traveled over 20, 000 miles during the past season to show in championship events up and down the coast, winning many top honors, particularly in California. High-Tide Shoals, a pointer owned by Ray Smith of Eugene, annexed the Pa-ific coast field trial championsh p at Ellensburg, Jimmy cent years become lighter with the higher development of skill which makes the sport more dar ing and intensely fascinating. The feather-weight boats may be reversed in the water with one pull of the oars. The speed of the craft is checked by proceed Two Clubs in State League Frank Fassett's Junior Legion Team Third in State Tourney Eugene's American Legion jun-" ior baseball team, guided by hard-working Frank Fassett, won third place honors 'in the state in 1938. The Fassettmen nosed out The Dalles, 8 to 7, in their second state tournament start at Wood burn and thereby copped the No. 3 prize. The day before the Eu gene boys had been on the re ceiving end of a 6-to-0 white washing, administered by Post office Pharmacy of Portland, the state and regional champion. Pride and joy of Skipper Fas sett and of all Legion fans, how ever, - was not the "varsity" team, successful though it was. A promising group of young players, a bit too inexperienced for regular Legion play, was the apple of baseball fans' eyes. One reason for the rapid de velopment of the youngsters was a regular baseball league (not Softball) which was conducted as a part of the regular city playground program. Fassett was in charge of this league and worked with the players daily. In connection with the league was a baseball school, free to all would-be young ball players The kids reported to Fassett in droves, and he had enough for leagues of both the larger and smaller, older and the younger players. The "varsity" Legion team started inauspiciously, showing weakly in practice games. In its opening tilt with the chips down, however, the Legion gang rallied to beat Corvallis, 7 to 5, behind bod Kodertsons five-hit pitch HIGH-TIDE SHOALS, shown above, is the champion pointer of the Pacific coast, owned by Ray Smith of Eugene. Wash., during the past year. The! during 1938. The dog is handled fine dog has scored 24 victories I by J. M. Watson of Olympia. HERE'S A SUGGESTION FOR SPORTSMEN A used car to go thru brush and mud with will take you to those hard-to-reach places without wor ry of wear and tear to your good car, because it can be left at home. Our completely recondi tioned used cars will give you excellent service and we have a complete stock from which to choose. This Is an excellent time to choose hunting and fishing. Schulz Motor Co. Oldsmoblle . LaSalle . Cadillac 8th and Pearl Telephone 711 Baker photo, Wiltshire engraving boats through the famous raariin ing down stream stern first and puling hard on the oars against the current, thereby using the oars as a means of steering. There are many expert boat men and guides in Lane county ready to serve the sportsmen who would aspire to this which has ing on the dusty fairgrounds field. Corvallis came back to even the series, 18 to 11. In the third and "rubber" game with Corvallis, played at Swimmers' Delight, the Eugene juniors pounded out 16 hits and won the Lane-Benton title, 16 to 5. ' After that came a series with Toledo, in which Eugene lads copped the first game, 11 to 7, and the third, 11 to 6, with the coast team taking a 16-to-8 deci sion in between. This gave the Lane juniors the district No. title. The Fassettmen won their way to the state tournament by tak ing the first and third games of a tripleheader with Medford at Medford, 6 to 3 and 10 to 1, with Robertson allowing a total of six hits in the two games. The Pear pickers took the middle contest, 15 to 10. Shortstop Max Smith, Second Sacker Bill Skade, Outfielder Pitcher Chuck Elliott and Out fielder Merle Borgaard all came through with two hits as the juniors won third place at the tournament by edging out The Dalles. Little Smith, who has two more years of competition, went to the pitching mound with the bases full in the last inning and retired the side scorelessly. Members of the team were Abe Hathaway, first base; Skade, sec ond; Smith, short; Shear, third; Mikkelsen, Walker, Borgaard and Hensling, outfielders; Larsen, util ity infielder; Don Plath and Tex Gatlin, catchers; and Robertson, DeAutremont and Elliott, pitch ers. buyer s market so It s a used car for next season's rzi s been termed the "King of Sports." Perhaps it will surprise some to know that women learn the art of rowing or casting more rapidly than do the men. But this is true according to the ex perience of those who have been guides for many years. The McKenzie river has been acclaimed the most beautiful in the world by tourists and sports men from far and near. The boating possibilities of this stream are nearly unlimited. The narrow, swift channels of the upper portions of the river com bined with the huge rapids and high waves of the middle sec' tlon provide ample opportunity for the one who desires to fully develop the art of boating. For the amateur the lower part of the river with its smooth shallow rapids is the more practical. One cannot fully appreciate the rugged beauty of a river except as it is seen from a row boat From the little craft one may get the full benefit of all the things that combine to make for picturesque beauty and interest. For the boating enthusiast and fly fisherman, Lane county has opportunities for which we need offer no apologies. May the sportsmen of this beloved coun try fully appreciate what we have here, and all work together to preserve the beauty of our streams, lakes and mountains. Game Plentiful In County Past Season By KEN CHRISTIANSON All sportsmen felt there was multiplicity of birds and other game during the 1938 hunting seasons. There were a great number of pheasants and black-tail deer to delight the average hunter. In the last five years, there has been a general pick-up in the number of black-tail deer west of the Cascade range. This has been due to three reasons. First, there have been no hard winters to kill them of; second, cougars and wolves are kept down by boun ties; and third, many hunters go to eastern Oregon to hunt mule deer. The mule der is being hunted hard, but managed to hold their own in numbers this year. The state game commission has made certain game refuges which the deer-are smart enough to use. Jerry Towne stated that the sea The season was generally wet west of the Cascades and dry n eastern Oregon. Novices at the sport seemed to get their meat ns easily as the more experienced hunters. Many sportsmen agreed that there were more pheasants than many years. That, coupled with more hunters and a ten-day season made a "shooting good time" of it This year there was an except tionally fine hatching season in the spring, despite the number of birds shot down last year. Both pheasants and quail hid out this year and were hard to hunt. Softball Season Success ootball Leading Cottage Grove Sport Football took the spotlight in sports activities at Cottage Grove high school during the 1938 sea son which Included competition in only basketball and track besides the gridiron sport Curtis French enjoyed one of his most successful football seasons when the Lions ended the year with five victories, one tie and a lone defeat to North Bend to capture the "mythical" district championship for "B" class high schools. The Lions defeated Philomath, Sweet Home, Springfield, Rose- burg and Junction City, played a scoreless tie with University high of Eugene and lost by a 19-6 count to North Bend. A practice game was won from the Eugene high 'B" squad 19-0. Pattor, Spies All-Stars Ivan Patton, veteran fullback won that position an the county all-star team, along with Bill Spies, end. Both were awarded silver footballs by the Register-Guard on this tern that included players from Eugene high's strong "A1 team. Letters were earned by seven teen men in the '39 season. Seniors earning letters were Ralph Blnke, tackle; Alvin Dugan, tackle; John Dugan, half; Chct Aubrey, quarter; Darrell Booher, quarter. Juniors sarning letters were Bill Spies end; Elmer Hendricks, end; Vinal Randall, tackle; Don Whitlock, guard; Bill Earl, guard; Paul Dav enport, half; and Ivan Patten, full. Sophomores earning letters were George Dugan, tackle; Darrell Mc Kibben, guard; James McCoy, cen ter; Bennett Newton, half; and Gene Lusk, half. Hoop Season Fair In the 38 track season C. G. won meets from Springfield and Rose- burg. The Lions placed way off in the Hayward relays and the Valley meet C. G. got fourth place and qualified four men for the state meet. Those qualifying were: Ted Scott, half mile; John and Roy Guggisberg, mile; and Vernon Lamm, quarter and high jump. No places taken at the State meet Seniors earning letters were: Ted Scott, half; John Guggisberg, mile Capt. Vernon Lamm, quarter, high jump,' broad jump, und 100 yds.; Edvin Thorson, pole vault; Dick Deer, 100, 220, shot, discus and javelin, juniors earning letters were Ralph Blake, pole vault, high jump and quarter; Roy Guggisberg, mile; Vernon Decker, hurdle. Sophomores earning letters were Paul Davenport, high jump and quarter. Freshmen earning letters Bennett Newton, high and low hurdles. The basketball season was "so so" with the Lions winning only three of 10 . league games two from Junction City, a split with Springfield and double losses to Eugene, St Mary's, and University high. The only letter-winers were sen iors, namely, Bill MacGibbon, Bob Grannis, Dclbert Jennings, Bill Bartels, Bob Grimes, Lelloy Coop er and Vernon Lamm. Follow Your Favorite Sports Throughout the Year On xjjicrie.. WM'KlkOCYClII Summer, Winter, Spring, or Fall you'll find your favorite sports on KORE for KORE and Mutual microphones will he found where the important sports events take place. EAST - WEST SHRINE GAME To Be Broadcast Tomorrow (January 2nd) 1:45 P. M. 11 Teams Play At Fairgrounds By LEE RUSSELL Eleven teams battled through a long six-weeks season for cham- pionship honors in the Eugene Softball league with Rubenstein s furniture store walking off with the biggest share of honors and the pennant Picked to win before the season had started, the Rubes lived up to their reputation of a hustling ball club and walked off with the pen nant in easy style, without the loss of a contest The 1938 teams were divided into two loops the American and National leagues. Six teams were entered in the American league while the remaining five made up tne National division. Chased from the beginning of the season by Fenn's Tiremen, the Rubes pulled the American league championship out of the fire by defeating the Fennmen twice. In the National league the S. P. Shops had a tougher time, but came out the winner after several changes in line-ups and the loss of two or three pitchers. In the American league Ruben stein's and Fenn's finished one two while in the National loop S. P. Shops and Elks finished in first and second place and thus won play-off berths. In play-off games the Rubes ran over the Elks with comparative ease but Fenn s had to go the full three games to defeat the Shoo- pers. In the final championship play the Rubes won the city title in two straight games by scores of l-3 and 11-0 from Fenn s. With a shot at the state title ahead of them the Rubes blew their chances on the opening night in a game against the Salem Pnpermakers, a team they had de- featad on two occasions, when they kicked the ball all over the lot for a total of four bobles and a 6-2 loss. The league batting champion ships went to: Courtney Towne, Rubes, with .444 in the American league; and Ed Thennell, S. P., wim .837 in the National loop. MID-SEASON SKI EQUIPMENT CLEARANCE SKIS SKI POLES SKI BINDINGS . 25 REDUCTION SKI Includes Skis - Regular $15.00 Outfit Now Regular $22.50 Outfit Now TEOEH'S SPORTING GOOftS, INC 7th at Willamette BA '-C New Gym Big Boom To Junction City By DONALD DILL A new gym, a new coach, and a new sport to be added to the Tigers' sport repertoire, promised a new thrill for the Junction City athletic minded in 1938. At the end of the season, however, the word "basketball' produced a bad taste in the mouth of loyal Tiger rooters. This was because of the long list of defeats suffered by the new basketball team. There were 32 loses and ona win. The lone win was with Halsey and was made possible by a wild shot in the closing seconds of the game by Harry Hughes. The picture isn't as bad as it looks considering that this was the first time that most of the players had ever played tha game. In spite of greenness, the boys made several of tha big league teams worry. Coach Robert Bergstrom 11 to be commended on the fin coaching Job he turned in with the new material. Basketball was soon forgotten with tha coming of spring and baseball. At the end of the season we found that the Tigers had won two games, lost five, and tied three. During summer vacation. Junc tion City lost Bergstrom to La Grande. Faced with an unusually larga turnout and unseasoned material, Coach Weber, in a surprisingly short time, turned out a football team that very ably represented Junction City. The success of the team was gaged by the large number still out at the close of the season in the face of a losing team 35 boys. The largest number in tha school's history. The teams' losses were compensated when Blaine "Butch" Freel, stellar sophomore halfback, made both the Lana county 'B" league all-star team and the Register-Guard sport writers' all-star which included Eugene high; and Peter Jensen made center position on the Lana county team. With 27 players receiving let ters the eyes of the local sport world turned to basketball. OUTFITS Ski Poles & Bindings i. . $ 9.95 ..$16.25 Phone 1736
