THE MICHIGAN DAILY PM
FEDERATION CHAMPIONSHIPS:
Ann Arbor Track Club
Readies for Next Meet
it
Wilcox Rejoins Team, Makes Good
Babber Bows Out
Two years ago, Ken Reardon, talent hawk for the Montreal
Canadiens, peered over the edge of the Coliseum press box, pointed a
finger and said, "there's a real fine hockey player-if you had 15 of
him you wouldn't lose a game."
Reardon was supposed to be watching Red Berenson, whom he
later signed to a Canadien contract, but he found his eye wandering.
Red wasn't having a very good game, particularly on defense, and
Reardon found another player to watch. "He's a smart little bugger,"
Reardon added as Larry Babcock set up a teammate on a blind pass,
after some smart stick-handling. ' '
That was two years ago when Larry was just a sophomore,
but it could have been any of Michigan's games, because Larry
never had a bad one.
I first started following Larry's hockey career 'when he, and
I started out together he in a Michigan jersey and me on the
front page with my first cover. Looking back, it is clear that he
made a much more auspicious appearance than I, scoring three
goals in his second WCHA game, while I drew criticism from my
boss.
But then, Larry had been at his job much longer, playing hockey
at his Chatham, Ontario, home almost before he could walk. Two
years of junior hockey followed high school, then his father gave
Coach Al Renfrew a phone call and mentioned Larry was interested
in going to school. Renfrew hadn't heard of Babcock, but he saw one
game and hustlem him off to Ann Arbor.
Saturday, Larry, or "Babber" if you like, played his last game be-
fore the home crowd and it would make a good story to relate that
he ended his college career with a
hat trick or at least the winning
goal, but he didn't. He only had
one assist-on the winning goal-
but then that isn't bad considering
his left wrist was so swollen from
a broken bone that he could bare-
ly hold onto his stick. It goes with-
out saying that he logged more
than his share of ice time and
never complained once. He injur-
ed it five games ago, but it's
doubtful that he missed a turn on
>: :.:...: the ice.
The years of watching Larry
play hockey have gone fast. It
seems only a short time ago that I
was interviewing Renfrew after
that first hat trick. There's some-
thing of a creed between writer
and coach so that when you go
LARRY BABCOCK itno the locker room you say,
"How'd it go?" and the coach tells
who played well. This works especially well if the coach has won and
on this 'instance he had so Renfrew obliged with three names, then
added, "of course we can't forget Babcock."
Renfrew/didn't really need to single out .Larry and he knew
it. It became a standard for hockey writers who had written short
to adi a quote from Renfrew saying Babcock had played his
usually fine game. Renfrew would never argue about being mis-
quoted. "He's never done anything less than his best out there,"
Renfrew said. That's why 'enfrew never had to single him out.
There was a time at a practice session when Larry made a bad
pass and slapped his stick at the ice. "That's the only mistake he's'
ever made," a teammate on the bench commented. It wasn't very
far from the truth. He's always in position, never dogs it and makes
few bad passes. He's only had one penalty all year, a five-minute
match penalty for fighting. You have to excuse that one, however,
because if Larry was drawn into a fight, anybody would have been.
In the opinion of his teammates the only other mistake he made this
year was getting married, but Dorothy doesn't think so and if you've
seen her, you wouldn't either.
By DAVE GOOD
When the Ann Arbor Track
Club made its public debut in the
Michigan Relays here three weeks
ago, it was so disorganized it had
to recruit a runner from the stands
to fill out its only relay team.
Now, two days before its next
outing-the Michigan Indoor Fed-
eration Championships at Yost
Field House Saturday-the AATC
is still disorganized, but things are
getting better.
Don McEwen, secretary-treasurer
of the club, reports that its bank
account has mushroomed to $77
and that it has even been incor-
porated as a non-profit organiza-
tion.
Mostlly Grad Runners
Right now, the AATC is still in
the germination stage. Wally
Schafer, a middle-distance runner
on Michigan's Big Ten champion-
ship team of 1961, and now presi-
dent of the AATC, got it rolling
last 'fall and now has a nucleus
of about addozen former cllege
athletes doing graduate workhere.
McEwen says that the club has
a chance to grow into one of the
outstanding groups of graduate
trackmen in the Midwest. "It's
not our goal, but it would be icing
on the cake and something I would
'like to shoot for," he explained.
McEwen was Michigan's 1952
track captain and a former Ameri-
can record-holder in the two-mile
run. He is now a student counselor
at Ann Arbor High.
"For instance, we could have
one of the best two-mile relay
teams in the country next year,"
McEwen pointed out. The AATC
is hoping to add three half-milers
to its membership next year-
Charles Aquino, this year's Michi-
gan captain; Howie Deardorff,
Penn State senior who set a Yost
Field House record of 4:08.5 in
the mile last Friday; and Dave
Lean, former Big Ten champion
and record-holder from Michigan
State and Australia.
Distance Depth
These three, plus former Penn
State distance man Steve Moor-
head, former Michigan captain
Earl (Buzz) Deardorff (Howie's
older brother) and Schafer-all
current members of the AATC-
would provide depth in the middle
distances.'
Others on the club now are
John Gregg, Jackson Steffes,
Charles Snygg, Rod Denhart,
Marsh Dickerson, Charles Proud-
fit and Steve Williams. All are
ex-Michigan trackmen with the
exception of Snygg, who ran
cross-country at Swarthmore.
The AATC is doing its part for
women's athletics, too. Two girls
--Sperry Jones, a Michigan sopho-
more, and Francie Kraker, a high
school sophomore-are promising
sprinters, according to McEwen.
All except Gregg and Moorhead
will be competing Saturday to
pick up where they left off in the
Michigan Relays, when Denhart
won the pole vault and Williams
placed third in the high jump.
Their high spot of the meet
came when the pick-up sprint
medley relay team - Schafer,
Gregg, Moorhead and Dickerson
(who went as a spectator but
wound up running a 220 leg on
the relay) - beat the Michigan
varsity entry under Coach Don
Canham.
After Saturday's meet, McEwen
says he isn't sure where the AATC
will compete next. "With $77, we
can't afford as a club to pay
members' travel expenses to meets.
Obviously we can't go very far
on this kind of financing," he
commented. The money so far has
come from membership fees and
contributions from former Michi-
gan trackmen, who may become
"associate members."
He explained that the club will
send individuals to meets like the
National Federation Indoor Cham-
pionships at Milwaukee, but he
said he doubted whether trips to
the Penn or Drake Relays would
be feasible till next year.
"Until we can figure out a
budget and have some wealthy
philanthropist donate a substan-
tial sum, we'll just have to tramp
it," he grinned.
By JERRY DILLER
Gary Wilcox, though joining the
team only at the beginning of this
semester, has won himself a start-
ing berth on Ccach Cliff Keen's
wrestling squad.
Wilcox has been given the per-
manent nod at the 137-lb. slot by
Keen by virtue of his two wins
in as many starts. In his first
start of the year the junior pinned
Wisconsin's Dick Nalley in 5:38;
in the Indiana meet the follow-
ing day he decisioned Dave Cou-
sino 8-2.
"Gary made good progress as
a sophomore last year, and after
joining the squad a semester late
and winning two, he looks like he
may be in at 137-lbs. for good,"
explained Keen.
Keeps in Trim
During the first part of this
year Wilcox kept in shape for the
Wolverine squad by working out
with the high school team of his
hometown, Vestal, N.Y. For Wil-
cox it is now only "a matter of
getting his old moves back."
As a high school student in cen-
tral New York, he placed second
in sectional meets for two years.
He did not become well known
though because the state holds no
statewide wrestling contest.
Wilcox had a good first year
with the Wolverines with a 4-2
season mark and a third place in
the Wilkes Tournament. He had a
bit of bad luck in the Big Ten
meet when he drew Iowa's Tom
Huff in a semi-final match. Huff
went on to take the title.
Two In a Row
Upon returning to Ann Arbor
the grappler found himself wres-
tling on two consecutive days.
He also discovered that the long
layoff had resulted in his being
plagued with the wrestler's perpet-
ual problem-that of keeping his
GARY WILCOX
. . . grand re-entrance
DENVER LEADS LEAGUE:
M' leers Share Cellar with Spartans
By BILL BULLARD
Winning its second and third
league victories of the season last
weekend, the Michigan hockey
team moved into a last place tie
with next weekend's opponents,
Michigan State.
The Wolverines defeated Mich-
igan Tech 4-1 and 5-4 last Friday
and Saturday nights. These losses
dropped Tech down to fourth
place from second. Michigan was
boosted into a tie with State with
its two victories and two State
losses to Minnesota.
Denver dumped North Dakota
twice last week, 3-2 and 3-1, to
take over first place from the
Nodaks. Dakota fell two slots into
third place.
Gophers Rise
Minnesota slipped into second
place due to its two wins over
Michigan State. The fifth place
team, Colorado College, remained
in that position despite being de-
feated twice last week by North
Dakota.
Wolverine sophomore Gary But-
ler, scoring a goal in each of the
games with Tech, now leads the
WCHA in goals scored and is tied
for total points. Butler is tied
with Louis Nanne of Minnesota.
Both have 24 points.
Third in tle conference in scor-
ing is Denver's Bill Staub with 23
points, 12 goals and 11 assists.
He is followed by five players all
tied at 20 points apiece.
Michigan State's Dick John-
stone, Michigan Tech's John Ivan-
itz, and Staub are tied for second
in goals with 12.
Nanne, a defenseman, leads the
league in assists with 16. He has
eight goals to give him his 24-
WCHA Standings
point total. Butler has 13 goals
and 11 assists.
Dubious Honor
Michigan's only other leader
was in the penalty department.
Defenseman Wayne Kartusch has
been whistled down for 29 pen-
alties. He has been in the penalty
box for 72 minutes.
Junior Gord Wilkie has the sec-
ond highest number of assists
with 14. He has four goals to place,
in a tie for ninth in total scoring.
Gary Bauman of Michigan Tech
and Joe Lech of North Dakota
again lead the WCHA in allowing
the fewest number of goals per
game to be scored against them.
Both have 2.6 goals-against aver-
ages. Bauman is the only goalie in
the league to post a shutout this
season and he has three.
John Chandik, an All-American
goaile for Michigan State last
season, has the highest goals-
against average in the league for
those goalies who have played
eight games or more, Other teams
have averaged six goals a game
against him.
Michigan goalie Bob Gray who
returned to the lineup last week-
end after an injury, gave up five
goals in the two games. He now
has a 3.4 goals-against average.
The Wolverines travel to East
Lansing this weekendfor games
with Michigan State tomorrow and
Saturday nights.
Denver
Minnesota
North Dakota
Michigan Tech
Colorado College
Michigan State
MICHIGAN .
W L
11 5
9'4
85
8 6
6 8
3 9
3 11
TI
0
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Pct.
.683
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.563
.429
.250
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Never Criticizes...
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