THE MICHIGAN DAILY
PAGEI
THE MICHIGAN DAILY PAGE
Myers, Swingle
Start Impressively
IN ONE ACT:
Injuries? Not In Wolverine Camp
High Llama. H. O. Fritz Crisler made one of his infrequent pub-)
lie speeches the other day to the touring group of sports writers,
tagged the skywriters, and in the process broke a time-honored Big
Ten rule by letting himself be pinned down on a subject. In fact he-
pinned himself down. The occasion was a personal blast at helmet
face masks and other football equipment which he claimed were not
living up to their original designs.j
Hkis contention is that the face mask, originally designed to pre-
serve the social order of football players by protecting certain' facial
features, is the direct cause of many crippling and death-wielding
neck and back injuries. This theory is' backed up with considerable
validity by football players both new and old, and a large number of'
doctors and trainers.
The injury, described by Michigan trainer Jim Hunt, occurs
when the face bar, which protects about four to six inches from
the face, bends upon impact with another object, thus creating
a whiplash effect. The chin strap is very unyielding, so the head
is snapped back quite violently, giving risk to a neck injury.
The professionals originally started the idea of a face mask,
and with good reason. When you make your living at a sport, you
desire safety precautions. It seemed like.a good idea, then.-
Need a Solution ...
Of course when something is discovered to have been a bad idea,
there must be a solution. Crisler, who has introduced such things to
football as the two point play (called the Crisler conversion in some
circles) favors the complete elimination of the mask. Tom Harmon,
former Wolverine great, said the same thing in anational magazine.
The one difficulty here is that there has to be a universal
application. Playing without a face mask while somebody else
wears one would be an awful think to ask of your nose.
Hed Coach Bump Elliott, who bears no noticeable marks from
his playing days, interrupted Crisler long enough to explain why Mich-
igan gridders can still be seen wearing the gear in question. "We
don't require Michigan players to wear the face mask, but you pretty
much have to wear one to protect yourself from the other face masks."
It seems there is one person who didn't exercise the prerogative-
Forest Evashevski. Dennis Fitzgerald, who gained fame for picking up
Yardage on sheer gumption and also winning three Big Ten wrestling
titles, was the last player to perform without face protection.
The thought here is that Crisler, et al, are asking too much
when they request the elimination of face gear. It's questionable
whether many players want to inject their nose any more prom-
inently into the football wars.
The best idea seems to be that a better safety device will be
discovered. Last year foam pads made an appearance on the back of
Michigan helmets, and just recently the Detroit Lions experimented
with a chin strap which unsnaps upon being subjected to a certain
amount of impact.
Whatever the solution, it must come quickly. As Crisler so aptly
points out-"I'd rather have a boy of mine lose a few teeth than see
him on a slab in the morgue."
No matter how many times someone says that there are just
more people playing football than before, it still does not excuse
death.
Two More Problems...
There are two other football improvements which have back
fired into serious causes of injuries. One is another pet peeve of Cris
ler-football cleats. The other is the well kept and firm sod on today's
gridiron.
"Those long cleats they wear today we used to call mud cleats,"
Crisler said. "When you plant those long cleats itno the ground and
then get hit, something has got to give." The cleats don't and the sod
doesn't, but the knee does. Last year there were more knees in surgery
than appendixes. It's a sad sight to see a person with a permanent
limp acquired through a football accident.
"When I was a head coach, I had two of the cleats taken off thea
shoe. There wasn't any noticeable loss of traction and we didn't have
many knee injuries."
Crisler also found time to explain how some coaches today
teach their players how to use the hard plastic helmet to plough
into the stomachs of opponents and how to drive heavily taped
forearms into the head. In all it made for an educating afternoon.
As head of the NCAA football rules committee, Crisler may be
able to lead legislation against these no longer safety devices.
It's pleasant to see someone remain sane in this era of football
growth.
Just last week three more groups, including the coaches associa-
tion, joined the battle to combat neck and back injuries. Full scale
investigations are under way to determine the future of the face
bar. Public opinion will soon force all coaches to concentrate a little
more on safety.
a fresh breath of hope for the '62
grid season.
Tomn Myers, a six-foot, 183-lb.
sophomore, added 23 yards rush-
ing in six tries during his Big Ten
debut, while heaving two touch-
down passes and personally chalk-
ing up a third. He's Coach Ara
Parseghian's dream answer to
"gasing" up a Wildcat offense that
sputtered to a 4-5 mark last year.
Prep Standout
The Northwestern coach found
Myers starring at Troy, Ohio,
where he earned all-state recogni-
tion as a prep quarterback, played
guard on the basketball team and
was a pole vaulter in track. Myers
threw for 73 TD's in high school
and is just' as deadly on the
ground, giving NW a top offensive
threat in option-play strategy.
When Myers isn't toting or
throwing, enemy defenders are go-
ing to be having their hands full
containing fullback Bill Swingle,
who led, the Wildcats in rushing
against South Carolina, Saturday,
with 75 yards in 18 tries. Swingle,
who scoredsthree touchdowns in
his first varsity game for the Wild-
cats, is back after a knee injury
kept him out of the lineup for the
last half of the 1961 season.
First-game success has seen the
hope meter rise at Northwestern.
But the season isn't quite over yet.
The Wildcats are vulnerable to
tough.luck -- usually in the form
of key injuries. Swingle and Myers
have yet to hit the tide of stiff
Big Ten competition, and the de-
fense is' still a question mark.
Injury Plagued
Ill fate hit the Wildcats last year
more often than opponents did.
Injuries to key players, like Swin-
gle,. cut deep into NW conference
hopes, and; three defeats were by
the margin of a touchdown or less.
The. Wildcats are relying on the
law of averages to boost Myers and
company into the top Big Ten
ranks this time around.
There's one thing for certain,;
though, and that's the fact that
Northwestern is going to get the
full grid test this fall. They'll
tangle with Minnesota on October
13, and if the question of the
solidity of the Wildcat. defense isn't
answered by the Gopher encounter
it will be the next week when Par-
seghian's crew bumps into Ohio
State.
Northwestern also meets Michi-
gan State, Wisconsin, Indiana,
Notre Dame, and iMiami. The
Wildcats will be idle this weekend.
By STAN KUKLA
(Setting: The varsity football
practice on Ferry Field. A late
September day, a bright but hazy
sun, a cool breeze - a day like
yesterday.)
Actors: Head Michigan Coach
Bump Elliott, several assistant
coaches, the Wolverine squad, a
newspaper reporter. .n
Action: The Wolverines are run-
ning through warm-up drills be-
fore starting to work on defensing
pass plays. Their opening game
comes in two days, so the practice
is an easy one. The players have
learned the fundamentals long ago
and now they are sharpening their
execution of them.
Gritty Workout
Then the team moves into more
serious play. Elliott has one team
run through the plays of this Sat-
urday's opponent (N e b r a s k a)
while the first string defensive unit
tries to stop them. Things go slow
at first.
Suddenly, the defense begins to
stiffen and the sun begins to shine
a little brighter.
But, what is Elliott doing dur-
ing this, time?
He is taking an avid interest in
the execution of the plays but,
when one of his players is about
to be tackled, Elliott's eyes shift
to the ground and he appears to
be searching for something.
Once in a while he stoops over,
picks something up, and puts it
into his pocket.
Finally Elliott sends his charges
over to the tackling dummies and
puts them through a brisk 15-min-
ute work-out before sending them
to the showers.
(A reporter enters to interview
Coach Elliott."
Reporter: Pretty light work-out
today, Coach.
Easy Does It
Elliott: Yes, Well, with the open-
ing game just two days off, we're
starting to taper off on the prac-
tices. We don't want to take any
chances with our boys so close to
jthe game.
Rep: Speaking of taking chances
. .. You've had a relatively injury-
free fall practice. Have you dras-
1tically changed your tactics from
last fall, when you were plagued by
I knee injuries?
Elliott: We've done nothing dif- tdone real well, injury-wise, thisI
ferent. It just seems to be one of
those things. Last year everything
seemed to come at once. This year
-nothing.
Yes, That's True
Rep: Yes, that's true. The only
real injury to a player was Mel
Anthony's sprained and re-
sprained ankle.
Elliott: Well, I can honestly say
that our first three strings have
fall. Knock on wood.
Rep: Last year the Wolverines
suffered about six knee injuries
and this year there have only been
two ...
Elliott: Don't forget - we have
two days and nine weeks to go.
Rep: Right, but you must be
doing something different - if not
in practice, how about in taping
them or something?
Elliott: Like I said, we aren't
really doing anything different. I
think - we've been lucky. You saw
me picking up things during prac-
tice.
Rep: Yeh, I was going to ask
you about that.
Elliott: I've been collecting four-
leaf clovers. See my collection?
Let's see, the three today make-
um-11 . . . 12 . . . 14.
Rep: Good luck Saturday, Coach.
E B Brewing co., Inc. Detroit?, Mich.
i
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TOM MYERS
... soph standout
Liston Wants Title Rematch
BUT
NOT AO
A LOT
TOO MANYO
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CHICAGO (P)-A smiling, wise-
cracking Sonny Liston promised
today to keep his word about giv-
ing Floyd Patterson a rematch-
even if it has to be held in a train-
ing camp. After that, the new
world heavyweight boxing camp
said, he would fight the contend-
ers, "as they list them in the
book"
Liston appeared at a noon news
conference with the harrassed
promoters who tried to explain
the government's move in seizing
some $5 million of the receipts
of last night's fight. The 28-year-
old champ abandoned his train-
ing camp scowl, chewed gum and
grinned as he parried the ques-
tions asked by some of the several
hundred newsmen.
Liston said he would wait for
Patterson to make up his mind
and then would keep his word.
"I would have given him a re-
match last night after his head
cleared," he said. "If we can't
get any money for a rematch, I'll
go to his camp or he'll go to
mine. There'll be a return."
There was a $1 million penalty
clause in ' the contract to make
sure Liston would go through with
a return bout and all but $50,000
of his purse, estimated at about
$282,000 was held in escrow.
The Bolan Brothers reported a
crowd of 18,894 paid a gross $665,-
420 gate at Comiskey Park for the
fight. Martin Smith, president of
Graff, Reiner and Smith, which
held the closed circuit television
contract, said about $700,000 of
their 1 million seats were sold at
approximately $6 each, or over 4
million.-
Estimates of t h e probable
purses, when the accountants and
tax people finish their work, came
to $1,185,000 for Patterson and
$282,000 for the new champ, who
gets 30 per cent in the rematch
instead of 121/2 per cent.
The Internal Revenue Service
announced today an unprecedent-
ed nationwide drive to seize up to
$5 million of the proceeds from
last night's heavyweight title fight.
IRS said the purpose was to
make certain that organizers of
the fight pay an estimated $3.9
million in taxes on their receipts
from the dramtic, one-round bout.
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MONTH-END SALE!
.A LETTER; FROM THE
INTERFRATERNITY COUNCIL
PRESI DENT
Dear Rushee:
Fraternity rush is a unique, educational, and enjoyable experience.
As a new semester begins, many undergraduate men discover
that they have already had a sufficient opportunity to observe and ex-
perience campus living in the University Residence Halls.
The Michigan Fraternity System wishes to extend to each of you
a most cordial invitation to become aquainted with organized college
life as it exists in our respective chapter houses. .By availing yourself of
this opportunity, you will be able to view at first hand the system under
which 2500 Michigan undergraduate men are living.
Even for those of you who wish to join a fraternity at a later
date or who may not be interested in fraterniy living, rushing creates
no obligation on your part to pledge and provides an invaluable experi-
ence for any future contact with the fraternity system.
Fraternity affiliation is more than just a housing arrangement;
it involves life-long obligations and privileges. The Inter-fraternity
Council does not ask each of you to pledge; we urge only that you
make your own decision after you personally have judged Michigan
fraternities.
Good luck in Rush!
III
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III
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