Saturday, September 28, 1968 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Saturday, September 28, 1968 THE MICHIGAN DAILY 0 Mason: From Niles to Big Ten Oklahoma goes after first win; Texas Tech eves, rival Texas By JIM FORRESTER He coaches football, some say' quite well. During a game he paces the sidelines, yelling to his team. He is heavy set and not parti- cularly tall. No matter what the weather, he is on the football field in a short- sleeved shirt. Ah ha, you say, the following is about Head Coach Woody Hayes of Ohio State. Wrong. The above description fits Michigan football's offensive backfield coach, Tony Mason. Any resemblance to Hayes is co-inci- dental. "If you compare any talent I might. have as a'coach to that of Hayes, then I am honored," smiled Mason. "But if you start talkingf of Hayes' personality then I might be . . . let's just say there is no fondness lost between the two of: us." However,,two aspects of the coaches' personalities are q u i t e similar. Both are very intense and have a great enthusiasm for football. The other day Mason was show- ing films and giving pointers to sophomore Dan Dierdorf, a fine looking offensive tackle. This was in early afternoon and Mason had not eaten at all that day. "I like to work hard. I want to work hard," comments Mason. "It's the only way to have a good football team and the only way to attain my goals as a coach." Mason's goal was to be a suc- cessful coach and if possible in some capacity at a big university. And while, his path _was not strewn with boulder-sized obstacles, he sdid start with a few prominent stumbling blocks to coaching suc- cess. First, he played his college foot- ball at small Clarion College in Clarion, Pennsylvania. "I have never seen any rela- tionship between the ability of' a coach and the size school he play- ed football for," remarks Mason. "The difference lies in what kind of job the school can help you get after graduation. Clarion couldn't offer me the job I wanted and didn't have the contacts to help me get it." s Second, Mason was not well known while he played college ball.# "I was not an All-American and didn't get a great deal of press while in college," explains Mason. IM FOOTBALL BULLETIN Fraternity "B" games for Sunday, Sept. 22 are postponed to Sun., Oct. 13. Remainder of games to be played as sched- uled. As a result Mason had to start at the bottom of the coaching ladder, high school. For the de- cade 1953 to 1963 he was football coach at first Brookfield and then Niles McKinley High Schools in Ohio. "I had to start out in high schools, and not just for a year or there were two gan. First; it is a big v ball, and second; Bump with big football, and second, effect on Mason. But the backfield Bump Elliott." mentor refuses to place any blame This led to discussion of the for the play of the team on any- unfavorable press Bump has re- thing or anyone else but himself. ceived, the past year in particular. "The mistakes the backs or any- M4ason is extremely high on one else I coach make in a game Elliott. "If you give him a I have to take the blame for," thorough-bred, he'll produce a says Mason. winner" This is the first year for Mason wnr.: ;: as the offensivebackfield coach. I Needless to say, the portly coach reasons I came to Mich- was not pleased with the team's play in the loss to California, but iniversity with big foot he does want some of the team's present problems understood. Elliott. "One problem is depth. Two two. I had to produce winners over a period of years to show any1 success I may have had wasn't a fluke," Mason explains. "My teams had to play the best and beat the best." This Mason did as he compiled an 87-9-7 overall won-loss-tie re- cord as a high school coach. He had several undefeated teams and the Niles McKinley team of 1961 was rated the number two high school team in the nation., Then in 1964 Mason was offer- ed the offensive line job at Mich- igan. "I had many offers to coach at other schools. In fact I received several offers at almost the same instant I got the call from Bump Elliott," reminisced Mason. "There were two reasons I came to Mich- igan. First, it's a big university Ohio, Indians SACATON. Ariz. (P) - The Gila River Indians, citing their military and historical heritage, denied use of their reservation yesterday for a proposed Cassius Clay - Zora Folley heavyweight fight Oct. 26. "The reason I oppose having this fight here is it would dese- crate the land some of our brave boys have walked on," said Mrs. Mary Anna Johnson, a member of the tribal council. Mrs. Johnson and other council members referred repeatedly to the Gila River youth who have served in the armed forces, in- cluding the legendary Ira Hayes, a medal of honor winner as a Marine on Iwo Jima in World War II. The vote was unanimous against allowing a fight involving Clay, who was stripped of his title after his conviction on charges of re- fusing to be inducted into the U.S. armed forces. He has an ap- peal pending. Folley, Clay's last opponent be- fore the ex-champions career was interrupted, announced that he had signed for the match on this desert reservation south of Phoenix. The former heavyweight champion said in Chicago t h at "everything is on" for the fight. "Michigan has only 30 to 35 foot- ball tenders to offer every year, while many schools have 45 to 50. Then a Big Ten rule limits a team to carrying only 44 players on its traveling roster, while the non- conference teams we play bring as many as 60." These problems and limitations upon the team have a proportional. daily sports NIGHT EDITOR: ELLIOTT BERRY more sports on page 6 years ago we had Sharpe, and Johnson behind Wardhand Fisher Now . . . " and Mason let the sent- ence hang. "Our other big problem is in- juries," explains Mason. "The in- jury to Kramer was especially crippling. And his back-up, Jim Wilhite, has a bum shoulder. Some of the passes John Gabler dropped were related to a sore shoulder he is nursing." A good summation might be that winning teams of healthy players are made. And a winner is what Mason feels Michigan can be this year. Mason has no fear of confer- ence power houses Minnesota. In- diana and Ohio State. "We haven't played them so they haven't proved anything to me yet." And he adds, "A team doesn't win its games on paper." But while Mason may seem over By JEFF LISS Last week's spoilers and spoiled, surprises and disappointments, and favorites and underdogs will clash again asscollege football heads into its second full week. Highlighting the national scene are two important battles in the southwest. Oklahoma will try to rebound from its 45-21 thrashing at the hands of Notre Dame, with North Carolina State providing the op- position. The, Sooners" offense, spearheaded by quarterback Bob Warmack, registered a respect- able total against the Irish, but the defense was porous. Compounding Oklahoma's woes, NC State scored 38 points in its opener against traditional rival North Carolina. If the defense pulls together, the Sooners could dispense of the Wolfpack very easily. But if the game turns into a wild offensive spree, anything could happen. At Texas Tech, the Red Raid- ers will host the Texas Longhorns. Tabbed as a possible national champion, the Longhorns escaped with a 20-20 tie against Houston last week. They will run iito a Raider team which traditionally reserves one of its best efforts for them. In the deep South, Miami and Georgia Tech will test their un- TONY MASON confident, he is not. The. inten- sity of his speech convinces you the Wolverines just might win. You begin to feel the upcoming game is like starting the season all over again, and that no chance exists for the previous week's mis- takes to be repeated. So if you see a heavy-set man of medium height, smoking a cigar, and wearing a short-sleev- ed shirt in a blizzard, prepare to look with optimism on Michigan football. It could be Tony Mason. Or prepare to be sick. It could be Woody Hayes. last weekend. nix Clay bout It was announced by the promot- ers that proceeds from the fight would be used to build a swimming pool for Indian youths, with Clay contributing part of his purse. Meanwhile, the Columbus Box-' ing and Wrestling Commissionj apparently will reject a bid by Clay to fight in this city. Clovis J. Nogawick, the Com- mission's recording secretary, said today that Clay's request for a permit would be rejected at a meeting Friday evening. - fBillbod The Advisory Committee on Recreation, Intramurals, and Club Sports will hold an open meeting on Tuesday, October 1, at .7:30 p.m. in the Student Government Council chambers on the third floor of the S.A.B. All interested persons are invit- ed. * * * The Michigan s o c c e r team will meet Cleveland State today at 2 p.m. on Wines Field. To- morrow they face Waterloo, same time, same place. beaten records against each other. The Hurricanes blew a 28-7 storm over Northwestern last Friday, while the Engineers topped TCU 17-7 the next day. Clemson and Georgia, both par- ties in ties last week, will look for their first win at Georgia today. Clemson tied ACC favorite Wake Forest, 20-20, while Georgia fumbled away several shots at a~ victory and settled for a 17 - 17 tie with Tennessee. Florida, pre-season favorite in the SEC, will journey to Florida State, a highly-regarded indepen- dent. The Gators sneaked by Air Force, 22-20, last week, while the Seminoles trounced Maryland 24- 14. Quite a bit is at stake for both teams, as each has high hopes for nationa'l recognition. A 12-6 victor over Missouri last week, Kentucky will stretch its luck against Mississippi, which triumphed over Memphis State 21-7. The game promises to be a defensive clash. In the East, Penn State should have little ' trouble with Kansas State. The Nittany Lions easily topped Navy, 31-6, while Kansas State shut out Colorado State 21-1 0. The ranking power of the East, Penn State should show too much strength for its rently rejuvenat- ed opposition. Counted on to be a powerful independent, West Virginia looked and played the part last week. While its opponent for this week, Pittsburgh, was bowing to UCLA, the Mountaineers blanked Rich- mond 17-0. Pittsburgh is vastly improved,; though, and certainly will not roll over and play dead. AAWU contender UCLA will host Washington State, a team which should be easy prey for the Bruins. Oregon State will try to rebound from its upset loss to Iowa when the Beavers visit Utah. California, Wolverine killers last week, will try to continue its success against Colorado. Meanwhile, Stanford, which ran up an amazing 68 points against San Jose State, should run into some tougher opposition in Ore- gon. The Indians are favored. Finally, in the biggest match of the week, St. Norbert visits Riv- er Falls. St. Norbert carries the smart money, but the fierce riv- alry generated by these two teams insures that neither will escape I with an easy win. ..:{..,. *KA :'": .J...L. .1 . M.. .. E R.'; .M ^. M.1 sY One, more vote for Gibson r "i4 i Happiness is Rugby Following last weekend's 35-0 whitewashing of Windsor, the Michigan Rugby Football Club wil try for its fourth straight victory in Southwest Ontario league action at Sarnia tomorrow. An 'A and 'B' team will travel to John Carrol today, looking for its first victory in the Mid-west Rubgy League. SOCCER TODAY 2:00, Wines Field vs Cleveland St. University Tomorrow 2:00, Wines Field vs University of Waterloo Come see the Wolverines extend their unbeaten record against these fine intercollegiate soccer teams By JACK HAND ST. LOUIS (I)-Bob Gibson's pitching makes the well- balanced St. Louis Cardinals the 8-5 favorites over the slugging Detroit Tigers in the World Series opening Wednesday at Busch Stadium despite the threat of the Tigers' Denny McLain, base- ball's first 30-game winner in 34 years. Gibson, winner of five straight Series games, will be trying to tie the Series record, held jointly by Lefty Gomez and Red Ruffing of the old New York Yankees, when he faces McLain in l the big showdown battle on opening day. Most batters, especially lefthanders, love to hit in Tiger y Stadium, although the mileage in right field, 325 feet, is only five feet shorter than St. Louis. Busch Stadium is a symetrical park, 330 feet down each line and 414 up the middle. Detroit measures 340 in left, 365 in left center, 440 in penter 370 in right center and 325 in right. Both clubs clinched the pennant early and have been playing indifferently in recent days. The Cards waltzed all the way after a slight relapse in late May but have been in a batting slump for weeks. After Gibson and McLain meet in the opener, it is likely that Nelson Briles of the Cards and Mickey Lolich of the Tigers will hook up in the second game. That would leave Ray Washburn of the Cards and Earl Wilson of the Tigers for the third gameat Detroit on Saturday. They probably will go back over the same route in the fifth and sixth games if Gibson and McLain do meet three times. Mayo Smith, the Detroit manager, has been trying to decide between Lolich, a lefty, and Wilson, a good-hitting right-hander, for the second game with both due for tuneups in the final game of the regular season Sunday. The Tigers pack havy power. In gamesthrough Tuesday, Sept. 24, they had hit 183 home runs to 72 by the Cards. The National League champs had the batting edge, .248 to .235, and had stolen 107 bases to 25 by Detroit. I I BLACK POWER CONFERENCE ADAM C. POWELL DICK GREGORY JULIAN BOND Sept. 29-2:00 P.M.-Hill Auditorium Sponsored by CONTROVERSY '68 ii i I1I