Leahy Favors Platoon
Rule for Top Football
By FRANK LEAHX
Head Football Coach
University of Notre Dame
Coming up for prime consid
ation at the American Football
eratlon at the American Foot
ball Coaches Convention in New
York on January 11 to 14 will
be the free substitution rule.
This ruling which has brought
about the so-called "platoon
system" has undoubtedly been
the most discussed piece of leg
islature in football history.
Definitely the ruling allows
room for much argument on
both sides, and our thoughts fa
voring such a plan are as fol
lows: I ;
Most important is the fact that
free substitution allows for
much happier squad, as more
men get to take part in each
game. Naturally, a boy who
works exceptionally hard all
week on the practice field
entitled to any little enjoyment
he might derive out of the Sat
urday game, and the only thing
they ask is to have an opportu
nity to play. Equally as impor
tant Is the fact that the num
ber of injuries. are considerably
reduced, as men are not as sus
ceptible to injury when they
have ample opportunity to rest
during a game.
The lover of good hard foot
ball is the biggest benefici
ary as the calibre of the game
is greatly increased by the
presence of specialists. At
Notre Dame we have not com
pletely employed the two pla
toon system, but we do ex
ploit the free substitution
rule as far as our personnel
will allow us.
I know of no other way in
which a coach has the opportu
nity to work his sophomore
players into crucial games with
out taking undue risk. A man
can go in on defense in an, im
portant game and the events of
the game unfold in such a man
ner that he immediately adapts
himself to the situation.
Whereas on offense a player
must remember all the plays
and assignments, and this is
sometimes difficult for a lad
who is inclined to be a bit
nervous in his first appear
ance before 50 or 60 thousand
people.
With this in mind we worked
our outstanding sophomores in
to our first string defensive line
up in 1949 and the game ex
perience received by Jim Mut
scheller, Bob Toneff, Paul
Burns, and John Jetitbon should
kit6 c?atcheA
By FRED ZIMMERMAN, Capital Journal Sports Editor
It isn't probable Willamette university's invitational basket
ball tournament scheduled to open Wednesday night, will de
velop into one of state-wide proportions, but the series now
being held each March on the University of Oregon campus had its
beginning in a similar manner. The impetus of the tourney
which Willamette fathered and nurtured until it grew to such
proportions that other communities cast greedy eyes this way,
was given by Bob Mathews, then Bearcat coach. It, too, was an
invitational affair. Coach "Stack" Stackhouse is behind the ser
ies that will extend through three nights of competition, involving
a half dozen teams, all coached by Willamette university grad
uates. The games will be staged at a time when sports activities
re at a low ebb during the Christmas holidays.
Rotating Cage Tourney
In all probability the state high school basketball tournament
will be placed on an alternating basis between Oregon State col
lege and the University of Oregon beginning with 1951. We have
it on good authority that the Beaver institution has placed a bid
with the board of control, Oregon School Activities association
for the 1951 production of the cage classic and we do not expect
the OSAA to reject the proposal. Since moving the tournament
from Willamette's campus a few season's back it has been staged
in McArthur's commodious court. With the construction of Gill pa
vilion an accomplished fact, or virtually so, the last obstacle in the
way of holding the big show on the O.S.C. campus has been re
moved. Housing Facilities?
The question of whether Corvallis can house the players and
the hundreds of fans who annually take part in the tourna
ment has been raised frequently whenever it has been sug
gested that the tourney be alternated between Corvallis and
the Lane county metropolis. It is true that Corvallis does
not have the hotel accommodations provided in Eugene, but it
Is scarcely probable that Athletic Director Spec Keene would
approve the staging of the games in Gill pavilion if he was
not sure of his ground as to housing. In all probability a num
ber of Willamette valley teams involved in the tournament
would solve their own housing problems by driving back and
forth each night. Many coaches prefer to have their kids in
' their own beds rather than have them face the distractions
that are inevitably a part of a tournament center.
Organization Job Huge
The task of organizing a production as big and complicated as
the state basketball tournarment is a big one. But it will be noth
ing new for Spec Keene, Oregon State's athletic director who had
nis eye teem cut while serving in
If he needs any help, Spec can call on Prof. Lestle Sparks, whose
ability in keeping the machinery well oiled during the many sea
ions the cagers pranced on the State street campus maple board is
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definitely class them as "vet
erans" when the 1950 season
rolls around.
The presence on our team of
such strong and capable lads as
Leon Hart, Jim Martin, Fred
Wallner, Larry Coutre, and Bill
Gay would have made it im
prudent for us to completely
employ the two platoon system,
but we sincerely believe that in
the combination of the two we
were able to field a team that
gave our fans a much higher
grade of collegiate football than
they would have seen with the
same eleven men performing for
sixty minutes.
There is no group in Ameri
ca that is trying harder to
please the football fans than
is the American Football
Coaches Association, and you
may be assured that whatever
decision is reached by this
group it will have been made
after much careful delibera
tion with the betterment of the
game for all concerned in
mind.
Szasz and Weaver
Repeat Mat Show
A repeat of last week's main
event performance between Al
Szasz and Buck Weaver will
feature Tuesday night's profes
sional grappling production at
the armory.
The first preliminary at 8:30
will bring together Dale Kizer
and Glen Dutton. The second
bout will pit Maurice LaChapelle
against Jack Lipscomb.
LOCAL UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATED PRESS NEWS AND FEATURES
Charles
4V by I tie if ing magazine
By JACK CUDDY 1
(United Press Sports Writer)
New York, Dec. 27 (U.R) The
Ring magazine today named
Ezzard Charles "fighter of the
year" and top contender for the
vacant world heavyweight
crown; but it stated also that if
Joe Louis came back in 1950, as
was likely, Joe would automa
tically be rated No. 1 contender.
a similar canaHtv at wniamotio
occasion to observe.
fesM
Nlffi Work Althoush the whole Ohio State football team
MUG iTVIia volunteered for this assignment, Coach Wes
Fesler thought he better handle it himself so his lads could
concentrate on their' impending Rose Bowl date with the
California Bears. Fesler clutches his football and holds his
breath as Mermaid Esther Williams bestows a good luck
kiss on him. The Buckeyes had taken a day off from practice
to visit Hollywood film studios. (Acme Telephoto)
Salem, Oregon, Tuesday, December 27, 1949 Page 17
Rated Fighter of
Although Charles of Cincin
nati is recognized as champion
by the National Boxing associ
ation, the Ring magazine's an
nual ratings today listed the
world- title as "vacant."
The copyrighted ratings, re
leased in the February issue
of the magazine, ranked an
cient Jersey Joe Walcott of
Camden, N.J., as the No. 1 op
ponent for Charles; and list
ed Veteran Lee Oma of De
troit as next best contender.
Bruce Woodcock of England
and Lee Savold of Paterson,
N.J., followed in that order.
Freddie Mills of England,
world light heavyweight cham
pion, was given a sock on the
chin by being rated below Joey
Maxim of Cleveland, No. 1, and
Archie Moore of St. Louis, No.
2, among the 175-pounders.
Sugar Ray Robinson, wel
terweight champion, was nam
ed the No. 1 contender for
Middleweight Champion Jake
LaMotta's crown. And Nat
Fleischer, the magazine's edi
tor, stated that Robinson "is
It's Official: Williams
Named Slugging Champ
New York, Dec. 27 (U.R) Ted
Williams, Boston's one-man bat
ting monoply. today was ac
knowledged the American lea
gue's slugging champion for
1949 winning the title with the
same ease he exhibited annually.
Williams' slugging percentage
a percentake based on the per
centage of total bases against
total times at bat was .650, a
mere 111 points" higher than
the .539 mark turned in by run-
nerup Vern Stephens, also of
the Red Sox.
The chunky Stephens and
Williams, however, finished in
a dead heat for the runs batted
in leadership, each driving
home 159 tallies. Only three
other players drove in 100 or
more runs. They were Vic
Wertz of Detroit with 133,
Bobby Doerr of Boston, 109,
.and Sam Chapman of Phila
delphia, 108.
Doerr missed many chances
to increase in runs batted in
total by hitting into 31 double
plays most of any player in
the league.
Porch 5a5n
a i i ,.
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SALEM WOODWORKING CO.
1225 Cross Cabinets Frames Ph. 3-5953
undoubtedly the best fighter,
pound for pound, in the ring
today."
Lack of class among newcom
ers was reflected when the Ring
failed to pick its annual "rookie
of the year." However, Welter
weight Lester Felton of Detroit
was named "the fighter who
neade the most progress in
1949."
Fleischer exp 1 a i n e d that
Charles was chosen "fighter of
the year" because of his Chi
cago victory over Walcott for
the NBA crown, because of his
successful title defenses
against Gus Lesnevich and
Pat Valentino and because he
maintained "fine public rela
tions." Charles' closest rivals for
the award were Robinson and
Featherweight Champion Willie
Pep. "But Robinson had too ma
ny postponements," explained
Fleischer. "And he was held to
a draw by Henry Brimm." Pep
failed to meet ex-champ Sandy
Saddler in a return title bout.
Williams again drew more
walks than any player in the
league, 162, topping runner
up Eddie Joost of the Athle
tics by 13. The Red Sox out
fielder, who was voted the
American league's most valu
able player in 1949, struck out
48 times but was nowhere
near the leading man in that
department, Dick Kokos of the
Browns.
Kokos, one of the Brownie
stars, fanned 91 times, once more
than did Larry Doby of Cleve
landland.
Among players who appeared
in 100 games or more, player-
manager Lou Boudreau of Cleve
land had the sharpest eyes at
the plate, striking out only 10
times. Next best was Boudreau's
team-mate, Dale Mitchell with
11 strikeouts.
Eddie Robinson of Washing
ton and Doby were tied for
being hit by the most pitched
balls, each suffering seven nicks.
The Red Sox led in runs bat
ted in with a total of 833 and
grounded into the most double
plays, 169.
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American League Record
Favors Yankee Keystone
By MILTON RICHMAN i
(United Press 8ports Writerl
New York, Dec. 27 U.R)
Shortstop Phil Rizzuto and Sec
ond Baseman Gerry Coleman
of the New York Yankees re
ceived the official stamp today
as the American league's class
iest keystone combination of
1949.
Official fielding averages dis
closed that while Rizzuto and
Coleman received considerable
competition for the defensive
distinction, no combine was able
to top them.
Coleman handled 625 chan
ces and committed only 12
errors for a .981 percentage,
tops of all second basemen,
but was closely contested by
Bobby Doerr of the Boston
Red Sox and Joe Gordon of
Cleveland, each of whom fash
ioned a .980 mark.
Rizzuto registered high mark
for the shortstops, .971, while
accepting 792 chances and mak
ing 23 errors, and just nosed out
agile Eddie Joost of Philadel
phia, who showed a .969 percent
age. Coleman and Rizzuto, how
ever, were the only Yankee play
ers to lead their positions
fielding.
The American league's top
players defensively were:
IB Billy Goodman, Red Sox,
992.
2B Coleman, Yankees, .981
3B Floyd Baker, White Sox,
977.
SS Rizzuto, Yankees, .971.
OF Dale Mitchell, Indians,
.9942; Walt (Hoot) Evers, Tig
ers, .9939, and At (Zeke) Zaril
la, Red Sox, .985.
C Al Evans, Senators, .992.
P Mel Parnell, Red Sox,
1.000.
Goodman and Parnell, two
Boston youngsters who en
joyed good years all around,
also had tough battles before
winning the defensive laurels
at their individual positions,
Goodman, the slender first
sacker who made nine errors
while accepting 1,157 chances,
beat Jim (Mickey) Vernon of
Cleveland by one point in the
battle among first basemen.
Vernon's mark was .991.
Beaver-Gopher
Cage Clash Is
Slated Tuesday
Corvallis, Ore., Dec. 27 U.R)
Oregon State college, Pacif
ic Coast conference defending
champion, and Minnesota,
runner-up for the Big Ten ti
tle last winter, clash in an
intersectional basketball game
at Gill Coliseum here tonight.
Game time is 8 p.m.
It will be the second meet
ing this season between the
two teams. Minnesota won the
first encounter at Minneapolis
earlier this month, 59-44.
SPORTS ROUNDUP
Coaches
New York, Dec. 27 m A
brief item on an inside page of
the sporting news finally re
veals that the college baseball
coaches failed to persuade the
major leagues to rescind Com
missioner Chandler's rule
against combining coaching and
scouting jobs . . , that business,
it seems, wasn't on the agenda
for the winter meetings and any
way Chandler "indicated he
would veto it." . . , The catch is
that most college jobs pay so
little that the baseball coach
either has to help with foot
ball or find other part-time em
ployment ... so the guys who
are established as scouts are
finding it necessary to quit
teaching the youngsters . . . The
collegians asked that the ban be
modified so that a coach who
also is a scout be forbidden to
sign any players on his own
team . . . Probably they'd go
even farther, but they still want
the chance to make a buck
and apparently this Indirect
no" is their only reply from
organized baseball.
Weil Groomed
Sidelight on Notre Dame's
football captain-elect, provided
by his mother, Mrs. Paul
Groom: "When Jerry was four
years old, Paul (his father, who
sees every Notre Dame game)
took Jerry to a football game
Jerry refused to drink pop
A total of 28 pitchers fielded
their positions flawlessly and
wound up with percentages of
1.000, but Parnell, by virtue of
handling the most chances with
out error, rated the nod. The
Red Sox southpaw accepted 61
chances.
Among the defensive sur
prises was Dom diMaggio of
the Red Sox, noted for his
fine fielding, who along with
Sam Chapman of Philadelphia,
shared the most errors for
outfielders. Each was charged
with 10 miscues.
Cleveland took team honors,
committing the fewest errors,
103, and posting the league s top
defensive mark, .983. That av
erage equalled the Indians' all
time major league fielding rec
ord. Eight College
Cage Teams Start
14th Hoop Tourney
Oklahoma City, Dec. 27 () A
balanced field of eight teams
started the ball bouncing in the
14th annual all-college basket
ball tournament here today.
Oklahoma City university,
rated the No. 1 dark horse en
try, went up against Baylor in
the opening game. Arkansas
and Alabama squared off in the
second game of the afternoon
session.
The night card will feature
the Oklahoma Aggies, the de
fending champions, against
good sophomore club from Van-
derbilt. The Missouri valley
and southeastern conference
stalwarts tip off at 9 p.m., fol
lowing a Wyoming-Texas clash.
It's just natural for the aggies
to be listed as favorites. Coach
Hank Iba's boys have won the
tournament eight times and are
seeking their sixth straight title.
Cavemen Swamp
Cheesers, 59-32
Grants Pass, Ore., Dec. 27
(U.R) Grants Pass high school
swamped Tillamook, 59, to 32,
in a basketball game here last
night.
The Cavemen ran up a 31
to 13 halftime lead and then
coasted to a 50 to 24 third per
iod advantage as Coach Hank
Anderson used every Grants
Pass player in uniform.
Grants Pass leaves on a
three-day barnstorming tour
Wednesday, playing at Rose
burg that night, Lebanon on
Thursday and Corvallis on
Friday.
Rudy Pilous, coach of the
Louisville Blades of the U.S.
Hockey league, never played
pro hockey, but is rated one
of the best developers of young
hockey players.
Fail in Pro Scout Bid
and insisted on milk . . Paul
had to leave the field and trot to
the nearest grocery store to buy
a pint of milk . . . When Jerry's
father returned, his team had
scored two touchdowns ". . . Paul
has had a distaste for milk ever
since."
Sportspourri
George Metkovich, the White
Sox outfielder, is a full-fledged
member of the screen actors
guild. With a winter's training
he'll probably outdo the umps in
television performances . .
Hugh Stewart, top-flight young
tennis player who has entered
the U. of Southern California,
is keeping away from the basket
ball court to concentrate on ten
nis . . . The San Francisco U.
basketball team traveled 14,886
miles last season but the U. of
Miami footballers will beat that
in 1951, when they make an 11,
000 mile round trip to Hawaii
. . . Edwin T. Anderson, new
president of the Detroit Lions,
played center on the 11-man Be
loil college team that led Notre
Dame 3-0 at half time in 1925.
That probably was the high
spot in Beloit's football record.
In a Frani-y
IJ. of California's football
followers like to tell this one
about the 1948 game against
Washington . . . after one
j Wy)'Wlll-UW'lllW)HpeM'l''l"'l'"'''-' "" '"'
Pitcher Maker
west, without a challenge for the title. His proof is back in
town for the winter Cliff Chambers (center) of the Pitts
burgh Pirates and Clarence Marshall of tile New York Yank
ees (right). Both got their start under Lewis, Bellingham
high school coach. Chambers had a 13-7 won-lost record this
year and Marshall, a rookie, won three and was unbeaten.
Who's Playing in the
Bow Games January 2
New York (U.R) Here's how they will line up for football
bowl games on January 2:
(Won-Lost Records in Parentheses)
Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif. California (10-0) vs. Ohio State
(6-1-2).
Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Tex. Rice
Sugar Bowl, New Orleans, La.
State (8-2).
Orange Bowl, Miami, Fla. Kentucky (9-1), vs. Santa Clara
(7-2-1).
Sun Bowl, El Paso, Tex. Georgetown (5-4) vs. Texas Western
(7-2-1)
Oleander Bowl, Galveston, Tex. McMurry (7-2-1) vs. Missouri
Valley (8-2)
Pineapple Bowl, Honolulu Stanford (6-3-1) vs. University of
Hawaii (7-1).
'Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, Fla. Missouri (7-3) vs. Maryland
(7-1).
Cigar Bowl, Tampa, Fla. Tallahassee (Fla.) State (7-2) vs.
Xavier (O.) (9-1).
Tangerine Bowl, Orlando, Fla.
St. Vincent (9-0).
Northwest Cagers
Face Eight More
Pre-Season Games
Just eight more games remain
on the Northwest conference
pre-season basketball slate. Both
Willamette and Whitman have
completed their warm-up games
and won't see action until the
league openers January 6. On
that date Willamette will play
Linfleld at McMinnville while
Whitman will move to Forest
Grove for Its opener with Pacif
ic. Pacific, College of Idaho and
Lewis and Clark have home
games this Thursday night. Pa
cific will host Seattle college;
College of Idaho entertains Boist
Junior college and Seattle uni
versity visits Lewis & Clark.
-By HUGH FULLERTON, Jr.
Huskie play, a sudden silence
fell over the stadium ... In
the midst of it, the voice of
Rod Franz, Cal's all-America
guard, boomed out: "We've
got to tighten up, Boys. They
made a yard on that one."
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Bryan (Bushcr) Lewis (left) is the cham
pion pitcher-maker of the Pacific North
(9-1) vs. North Carolina (7-3).
Oklahoma (10-0) vs. Louisiana
Emery and Henry (11-0) vs.
Inability to win the close
ones resulted in eight losses as
against two wins for the North
west conference schools in the
pre-Christmas week of play.
Willamette's victories over Col
lege of Puget Sound and West
ern Washington were the lone
conference victories in 10 starts.
This gave the Northwest confer
ence a season's record of 12
wins and 34 losses in pre-season
tilts.
Trophies Awarded
Semi-Pro Clubs
Wichita, Kas., Dec. 27 OT
The National Baseball congress
has awarded trophies to the
Golden. Colo., Coors and the Al
pine, Tex., Cowboys for out
standing achievements in semi-
pro baseball.
Both the Coors and the Cow
boys have won three straight
state championships.
The Bellingham, Wash., Bells
received special mention for
their play in state and national
tournaments.
The 57th fighter wing of An
chorage, Alaska, was rated the
No. 1 service team.
Many hockey players feel a
bright yellow or orange puck
would be easier to follow on the
ice than the standard black rub
ber one now in use.
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