WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 1964 THE MICHIGAN UATT.V WA 8u a' fr MIC WTa a tlt nl-f Li ' PAGE S a CHIPS... by Mike Block Te Not-So-Silent Spring Two years ago, in the unenlightened days before the advent of the trimester system, reigning Michigan baseball coach Don Lund foresaw clouds of gloom. The Wolverine bossman, who was to lead his team to the national collegiate championship and then resign his post to take over as director of player development for the Detroit Tigers, predicted that the school's conversion to the three-semester schedule would create certain problems for the spring sports program. Basically, Lund asked the world in general and the Univei'- sity's administration in particular, "What do we do when school is over?" He couldn't quite see athletes sticking around after exams were over for the sole purpose of participating in inter- collegiate contests. What especially concerned Lund was that athletes might tend to snap up summer jobs which they couldn't get if they waited to finish out the spring season. Looking into the more distant future, Lund thought that eventu- ally enough schools might have full-time summer programs so that sports which are now conducted in the spring might be shifted a month or so later in the year. But until then, he anticipated, spring sports at Michigan would suffer considerably Now that the administration has taken the big plunge into tri- mester waters, the situation outlined by Lund has become a reality. Already this year, the first on the new timetable, all four intercol- legiate spring sports have schedules extending beyond the end of classes. The baseball team ends its schedule on May 23 (a week after th end of finals), while the conference meets in track, tennis, and golf culminate on the same day, which also happens to be Michigan's commencement. Pro and Con .,.. Within the athletic department there arise two surprisingly con- tradictory views as to the effect of the new schedule on spring sports. Lund's successor, Moby Benedict, and track coach Don Canham differ greatly on whether or not their respective squads will be influenced by the increasingly earlier ending of the school year. Canham, to say the least, is not optimistic. In fact, as he freely admits, "I'm worried about the future of outdoor track at Michigan. I'm afraid that most of the team will drop off when school is over in order to get summer jobs. And I don't know what we're going to do about it." Canham noted that the Big Ten meet this year is close enough to the end of school so that he'll be able to take a full team to it, but added that "the NCAA meet (which comes at the end of June) isalready out of the question and in a few years the Big Tens will be also, as final exams come even earlier. We took a survey on the track team to see if any of the members would go to school during a summer semester, and not one said that he would. Therefore, outdoor track would be in a pretty bad way." Canham doesn't confine his analysis to track, but also charges that the trimester is a "blow to athletics in general. For example, several football players come to Michigan because of the added attrac- tion of good track competition. Dorie Reid and John Rowser are al- ready finding out that the new schedule is creating problems for them. The chances are very good that Bennie McRae (former Wol- verine grid and track star, now on the Chicago Bears) wouldn't have come here if we were on the trimester at that time." Moby's Outlook Rosy... On the other hand,if you talk to Benedict, the picture is very, bright indeed. "I don't think that the trimester system will hurt the baseball team," he asserts. "If anything, I think it will help us. After all, the men are on the team because they like to play ball, and they aren't going to leave what they want to do the most. "Two years ago, for instance, when we went to Omaha for the NCAA championships and then to Hawaii for the world champion- ship, you didn't find anyone quitting the team, and that year they played almost into July." How can trimester help the team? Benedict declares thatl "with exams coming in the middle of the season, the men will be able to play the final games with nothing to concentrate on but baseball. They won't have to stay up all night studying for. exams, and in general they'll be able to relax and enjoy themselves. "In addition, it used to be that when we got into the regional playoffs, those games would be during exam week and a player would have to take a test in the morning and go out and play that afternoon. Now, that problem has been eliminated." It must be conceded that the differences between Canham and Benedict depend largely on the nature of their respective sports. Baseball, in which there are many encounters, would tend to keep a players's interest up before finals so that he would remain on the 9 team afterwards, while in track, M' Fac By GIL SAMBERG A young Wolverine nine will open the Michigan baseball season at home today when it meets Bowling Green at 3:30 p.m. at the Varsity Field. The opener, originally planned for last Tuesday at the Falcon's Ohio campus, was rescheduled when the rains made play at their field impossible. Freshman Golf There will be an organiza- tional meeting for all those in- terested in trying out for the Freshman Golf team in the basement of the Athletic Ad- ministration Building at 4 p.m. on Thursday. "It's hard to tell what they have," says coach Moby Benedict. "They haven't sent out any re- leases on themselves." Last year, however, Michigan downed the Falcon's with the 3-1 decision picked up by Jim Bobel, who is a candidate for today's honors also.- The Wolverines, back from their Arizona trip with a 4-8 record, are a team much improved in hitting, with a team batting average 26 points higher than last year's ending figures. "We've had 2 to 3 hours of batting a- day for 6 to 7 weeks now," is Benedict's ex- planation. es Bowling Green ' However, pitching was sore spot on the spring trip. Last year the hurlers compiled a solid 3.11 E.R.A. as opposed to this spring's bloated 5.40. Jim Bobel, one of the deans of the staff lost both of his games and came back with a 4.96 aver- age, although "he could have won the second game if it hadn't been for sloppy infielding again" in spite of the fact that "he wasn't too sharp," says Benedict. Two Seniors Today's lineup will probably show only twoseniors. Veteran Ron Tate, the only returning let- terman in the outfield, is being switched to center this year. He finished the spring circuit with a team-leading .346 average, play- ing in only 9 contests because of some shoulder trouble. "He's still a little tender but he'll play," adds coach Benedict. Lefty-batting junior Earl Meyers, who is now sporting a .308 batting average, will probably take over the left field position. He finished the spring with a .462 slugging percentage, second best on the team. In right field will be soph Bob Gilhooly, a converted second baseman, whose batting average stands at .233 for 12 games. The infield consists of a group which notched 8 of the team's 13 double plays for the spring while the line-up was being juggled. Captain Dave Campbell, a senior, leads -the foursome with a .300 BA at this point. Coming to Michigan in Home Opene, DAVE CAMPBELL WAYNE SLUSHER GEORGE SKAFF JIM BOBEL as a shortstop, he was switched to first base as a soph. Because of the loss at graduation, he was returned to his old position. His .500 slugging percentage led the team this spring. Simonds at First Soph Chan Simonds, a lefty from Detroit, will be at first base. He finished the training season with a healthy .279 average and a solid hold on his position. Second baseman Tom Laslo was ineligible last year, but returns to start this. year as a junior. He is considered a consistant hitter (.243) as well as a steady fielder. At third base will be George Skaff, a junior whose improved play won him a place in the opening day line-up. A .268 hitter this spring, he is expected to provide, some of the power on the club. Soph prospect Ted Sizemore will open as catcher today. In 10 games in Arizona he batted .342. Size- more parlayed his speed, strong arm, and hitting (.447 slugging SPARMA STAYS TOO: EX-MA Ace Fisher Gains Berth with Tigers Fritz Fisher, the pitching ace of the Michigan baseball team last year, -will start the season with the Detroit Tigers it was announc- ed yesterday. Fisher, a lefthander from Ad- rian, Mich., led the Wolverines in victories and earned run average in the '63 season. Probably his most spectacular game was against Central Michigan at Mt. Pleasant in which he struck out 16 batters in seven innings before he retired with a chest cold. The blond southpaw was sign- ed soon after the season by De- troit for a bonus of $30,000. After he graduated he reported to Knox- ville in the Sally League where, after being battered initially, he came back with several shutouts to finish with a winning record. Fischer throws an assortment of pitches including a fastball, curve, slider and change-up. With the announcement of the retention of Fisher came word that one of his opponents while he pitched for Michigan, Joe Spar- ma of Ohio State, is also being kept by the Tigers. Sparma was second string quar- terback for the Buckeyes during his junior year and a stalwart on their pitching staff. He signed for a bonus after his third year. Many Michigan people remember Spar- ma for his no-hitter he threw against the Wolverines in his last season in a crucial conference game. It was also announced that Pete Craig, formerly of the University of Detroit, was available on waiv- eri for $8,000 and Billy Roman, another Michigan alumnnus,,was being returned to the Tiger's Syra- cuse farm team. Unseld Holds Integration At Kentucky LEXINGTON, Ky. (/P)-Racial integration of Southeastern Con- ference athletics next year ap- parently rests on the decision of 18-year-old Westley Unseld, and he hasn't made up his mind yet. Sources at the University of Kentucky, the only SEC school that has announced plans to in- tegrate athletics, said the only Negro athlete being . considered now is Unseld, a basketball star from Louisville. Some feel the 6-foot-8 Unseld will follow his high school coach Bob Mulcahy, to Kansas Univer- sity. Mulcahy has been hired as an assistant coach at Kansas. The feeling at Kentucky is that the first Negro football or basket- ball players to be signed must be of top caliber in athletics and in the classroom. Unseld is both. Indian Relish l I Exhibition Baseball Cincinnati 6, Philadelphia 4 New York (A) 4, Los Angeles (N) 3 Kansas City 8, New York City (N) 5 St. Louis 3, Pittsburgh 2 Chicago (A) 3, Baltimore 1 Minnesota 5, Washington 4 Los Angeles (A) 3, Cleveland 2 Chicago (N) 4, Boston 1 Detroit 4, Houston 1 11 Clay Puts Price On His Verbiage LOUISVILLE, Ky. (P)-Heavy- weight champion Cassius Clay lsaid . yesterday he only asked newsmen for $300 an interview when he didn't want to be inter- viewed. That was the price he quoted to newsmen early Tuesday in Cin- cinnati police court where Archie Robinson, Clay's personal secre- tary, was charged with assault and battery. Frank Jones, a television sta- tion photographer, claimed Rob- inson shoved a .camera into his face when he tried to take a pic- ture of Clay at 4 jazz concert. where the overriding emphasis is placed on the conference meet, it might not seem worthwhile for the athlete to stick around a few weeks Just for one big meet. Be that as it may, it is quite evident that the new schedule has caused some rather pronounced dislocations in Michigan's athletic department, but the obstacles aren't surmountable. For instance, if the Big Ten track meet were scheduled earlier, some of Can- ham's fears would be allayed, and this could apply to golf and tennis as well. Finally, if Benedict's fu- ture nines are as successful as Lund's last one, the players aren't going to mind playing until Oc- tober, as long as they keep win- ning. r m T TI GRADUATES of Madras shirts exclusively Gant I I CHECKMATE FOR BETTER VALUES I a q IF YOUR MAJOR IS IN THE FIELD OF: CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY CLINICAL SOCIAL WORK SPEECH AND HEARING SPECIAL EDUCATION PHYSICAL THERAPY OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY SALARY RANGES: $5,200 to $10,795 with anticipated increases as of July 1, 1964. There are many new positions and opportuni- ties available at Michigan's outstanding Plymouth State Home and Training School located between Ann Arbor and Detroit. Energetic and dynamic individuals in any of the above fields relating to the mentally retarded are invited to apply. Opportunities to participate in research, teaching, community education, inservice training and program development. Salaries depend upon education and experience. 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