, FEB. 16, 1939 THE MICHIGAN DAILY AGE FEB. 16, 1939 - PAGE PRESS PASSES By BUD BENAMIN (Editor's Note: In the absence of Bud Benjamin, the column this week will be hpndled by former sports editors of the Daily still on campus. The second in the stries is the product of Bill Reed, sports editor in 1935-36, who wrote THE HOT STOVE.) A Boost For Bennie . By BILL REED As Henry McLemore might say, I was flattered then Bud came around to my little counterfeiting shop some time ago and asked me to appear in this column. I forthwith decided to honor the Benjamin profile on my new twenty-dollar bills. However, Bud's kindness has not extended to the point of selecting a fit topic for consideration here, and the same problem that faced George Andros Tuesday now confronts me. I might take up the chal- lenge that George so subtly hurled in his contribution, but instead have decided to let the track team speak for itself. Or, as the senior of this week's contributors I might do a little reminiscing, but I fear that is out- lawed by the fact the presence on the campus of some of your con- temporaries, Norm Nickerson, Freddie Olds, or Little John Emery, must certainly go back as far as I could reach. Therefore, with some particular reasons, I resort to the figure whom I have had occasion, as a regular contributor on this page, to describe as my favorite character.in Michigan athletics, player and coach--Bennie Ooster- baan. To speak ofBennie necessitates some comment on his first basket- ball team, and with no thought of an apologiwun, I take recourse here to the answer I have consistently given my friends in the provinces from which I hail when they ask "What's wrong with that Michigan team?" Without succumbing to the temptation I have felt to refer them to the results of Bennie's meetings with Michigan State College, for I suffered greatly at the hands of my provincial friends until last fall, I have simply answered as I felt-there wasn't much to begin with. With more than considerable respect for the spirit of Leo Beebe, Ed Thomas and their teammates, I think it must be recognized Jim Rae was Michigan's only really good basketball player as the season opened, although Tom Harmon has stepped in with his offensive guns of late. That there stands an impressive non-Conference record and a not-hopeless Confer- ence situation makes for confusion and stands only as a tribute to Rae's ability, the courage of his teammates and the spirit instilled by Oosterbaan as coach, the subject I had in mind when I turned this piece towards him. Bennie, of course, was one of the most remarkable athletes ever pro- duced in an American college. His records are familiar, his feats fast be- coming legendary, and all the result of a superb co-ordination of brain and body. When Bennie's athletic feats are mentioned there is always re- called the air of nonchalance which he affected at all times, the ulti- mate in relaxation which was his to an extent probably unequalled by any other athlete. Unknown, however, was the inner tenseness that was his before every contest, product of his desire and determination. To me ,it was a revelation when he casually explained one afternoon that he was never able to eat for a day before a football game. And it ws that inner tenseness and resolve that Bennie today believes was his greatest asset as an athlete, far greater than his superb gifts of physical co-ordination. There are other features of Bennie's makeup, too, that I believe are little known, hidden by his years in a "sinecure" coaching job and the jibes at his "hands-on-hips" manner on the coaches bench. For all his apparent in- difference and affected facetiousness I have found him basically the most serious of men, the consequence of an innate honesty which reminds one of his friend, Franklin Cappon, and reflected in a sincere concern for boys and the problems of athletics. But as these features have been obscured, Bennie's job was a tough one when he took over as head coach this year-I like to say "came of age athletically." Nevertheless he set himself deliberately at the formulation of a coaching program, and it of course was the fruition of his own experi- ences-as a player, as an assistant to Cappon, whose honesty with men is universally admired, and as a consequence of his intimacy with, the new football staff, in whom he saw the same qualities he cherished in Fielding Yost when he was Yost's most brilliant protege. That program, or rather philosophy of coaching, resolves itself into simple terms-that the best results in athletics, both As for the record and the ultimate good of the athlete, are achieved upon the basis of a single element, spirit. As intangible as that may be, it has real meaning to the athlete who is willing to give his utmost, of himself and for his team, and to get the ut- most in inner satisfaction from the game. That is all Bennie has asked of his team and he has placed prime emphasis upon it with an effort to dedicate himself entirely to his squad and their interests. 1 There must exist some question as to the efficacy of his program. But to me it was the most logical approach to a squad as I have described the present squad to be, and in my mind the early-season record with a healthy combination winning consistently from favored opponents stands as a monument to the spirit which Bennie cultivated and his team achieved. Bennie himself has had serious doubts as to the logic of his program. He had them after the Minnesota game when he explained the result simply as a matter of superior coaching. And he;must have had them after Mon- day's game. But I, for one, hope he won't give up. For his ambitions and his ideals are something to look to and tie to in this sometimes threatening sea that is intercollegiate athletics. Revamped Ice Squad Defeats Woodstock, 6-2 Les Hillberg Collects Fiv'e Markers; Ross Scores Other OnPenalty Shot (Continued from Page 1) was called on Woodstock and Chuck Ross drove the puck into the visiting net. Although failing to make a tally the second forward line of Jim Tob- in, Ross, and Gil Samuelson was able to keep the Trojans from scoring. Bert Stodden, although visiting the penalty box every period, played a fine game at one of the defense posts as did Larry Calvert. Over- anxiousness caused George Cooke to miss several set up shots after he soloed down the ice leaving all Wood- stock players well behind him. Decisive Victory Woodstock Pos. Michigan Buggs G James Rennick D Calvert Rockett D Stodden Kennedy C Hillberg heave W Chadwick Dolson W Cooke Woodstock spares: White, Loft, Weiler, Hemmings, Watson, Cle, and Henderson. Michigan spares: Tobin, Lovett, Ross, and Samuelson. FIRST PERIOD Scoring: Hillberg assisted by Chad- wick 7:22, Kennedy 19:05. Penalties: Rockett, Loft, Stodden, and Kennedy. SECOND PERIOD Scoring: Hillberg assisted by Chad- wick, 10:36. Hillberg 15:22. Ross pen- alty shot 16:32. Dolson assisted by Neave 18:54. Penalties: Stodden. THIRD PERIOD Scoring: Hillberg 17:44. Hillberg from Chadwick 19:24. Penalties: Stodden and Rockett. FROSH BOXING All members of the freshman boxing squad who do not report for workouts by the end of this week will automatically be dropped from the squad and put in gym classes. Vern Larsen, Coach. Spartans Edge Temple EAST LANSING, Feb. 15.-(P)- Making the most of free throw oppor- tunities throughout the game and running up four additional points in an overtime period, gave Michigan State's cagers a 29-25 victory over Temple here tonight. I-M CALENDAR Independent Events Relays-February 21 Wrestling-February 27 Foul Shooting-March 31 Track and Field-March 29 Swimming-March 30 Sophomore Hopeful Casualties Still HinderCagers Oosterbaan Drills . Team For Chicago Saturday If one Mr. Benjamin Ooosterbaan can scrape enough players together, the Michigans will engage the Chi- cagos in basketball Saturday night in Maroon territory-that's the latest word from the Field House following yesterday's diagnosis. It is no wonder that Bennie feels rather uncertain about the whole thing. A survey of how things stood at a late hour last night revealed the following: Four Men Missing (1) First string center Jim Rae is in bed at home with an injured back that may keep him out for the rest of the season. (.2) Second string center John Nicholson is in bed at the Health Service nursing d' case of jaundice. (3) Two of Michigan's better re- serves, Dave Wood and Herb Brogan, are ineligible for further competition this semester. Other than that the squad is in pretty fair shape as they prepare for the trip to the Windy City to meet the cellar-dwelling Chicago team which has won but one game this season. For, the past two days the team has been drilling against the Maroon's zone defense as set ap by Coach Ray Courtright who scouted the Indiana-Chicago battle Monday night. No Pushover And that game should be enough to convince the optimists that the Wol- verines' next contest will be no push- over despite Chicago's unimpressive record. The rangy boys from the mid-way threw quite a scare into In- diana's league leaders although final- ly succumbing to them 46 to 33. The Maroons were only two points behind with but 10 minutes left to go. As Minnesota's Coach Dave Mac- Millan has put it, "Those big boys are mighty hard to get around with their zone defense." wolverine-Buckeye Swim Feud To Be Continued At Columbi i By MEL FINEBERGI When Michigan's swimming teaml meets Ohio State Saturday afternoon in Columbus, the meet will be more than a mere test between two of the best teams in the country. It has amassed the proportions of a grudge battle, a Northern rejuvenascence of the Hatfields and the Coys. The feud had its inception in an entirely natural manner. It was only logical that the two teams who fought it out for national swimming su- premacy should retain vestiges of rivalry. But the more immediate seeds were sown at the last meet be- tween the two schools on IJan. 20,1 Matmen Meet State Saturday' Combs And Savilla Return To Bolster Wolverines Coach Cliff Keen warned his un- defeated Varsity wrestlers againstl overconfidence yesterday and made a particular point'in telling theth not to take Saturday night's meeting with the Michigan State Spartans too lightly. Hie cited the Spartan club as a very scrappy aggregation, quite cap- able of giving any club a real battle. The Wolverines will be facing a team which has walked off with four of its six dual meets to date and which boasts a record of two wins out of three starts against Big Ten compe- tition. State started the season in an "in"' and "out" fashion, swamp- ing Case School of Applied Science, losing to a perrenially strong Kent State outfit, defeating Wheaton Col- lege, and dropping a decision to the Ohio State Buckeyes. But the Spartans then deviated from what was fast becoming a habit and proceeded to take on and take over two Big Ten teams, Wisconsin and Northwestern. They routed the when a disputed free style relay v tory enabled Michigan to puil up t 42-42 tie. Ohio supporters felt that the i should have been called a tie, a cision which would have given Buckeyes the meet. Feeling that t. had been cheated out of a much- sired victory, the Bucks have brood over the injustice of it all, nurtui hopes of revenge in their bosoms determined to win this one Saturd just to show the world that "t done us wrong." But on the basis of the Wolvex performance against Yale, the Bu will be hard, pressed to show world. In spite of the fact that V ham Mathew "Coon-Dawg" Qu swims his best races against Mie gan, his best time, 52.5, is .4 seco slower than the amazing time WV Tomski, who just cleared the se lastic hurdle, turned in last weekc The duals between these two in century and probably on the and legs of the free-style relay mi wellodecide the outcome of the m The return of Tomski from limbo of ineligibility will undoubte enable Coach Matt Mann to shift team strength to pick up more v uable second and thfrd place poi Capt. Tom Haynie, who nosed Ohio's captain Bob Johnson for s ond place in the hundred in the meet, will probably be shifted to distances where he is double Big' 3hampion. Badgers last Friday, 22 to 8, and next evening turned back the W cats, 20 to 8. They hope to conti this streak against Michigan S urday. The return of sophomore Combs, 155-pound Oklahoman, conveniently filled up a gap which remained a question mark all seas Combs, who was ineligible last sen ter, has worked out with the to since the start of the season should be at peak form when he m Cliff Freiberger of the Spartans. Charles Barker versatile sopho- more swimmer, will be counted on heavily by Coach Matt Mann Sat- urday, when his crack swimming squad carries on a long-standing rivalry with Ohio State in the Buckeyes' pool. Watson Enters Shot-Put In National A.A.U. Meet Bill Watson, Michigan track cap- tain, will compete in the shot-put in the National A.A.U. championships to be held in Madison Square Garden on Feb. 26, it was announced yester- day by Lloyd W. Olds, vice-president of the Michigan A.A.U. Other ath- letes from the state who will compete are Bob Luby, Wayne quarter-miler, Allen Tolmich, former Wayne hurd- ler, and Tom Quinn, Michigan Nor-I mal middle distance runner. D 0 B B s HATS I l ARE LO OKIN G FOI tMEN WHO HAVE NEVER WORN Tracksters Prepare For Illinois Relays Michigan's track team went back to work yesterday after its impressive 77-18 rout of Michigan State Tues-I day night, with baton passing and more or less easy jogging making up the program. The next competition for the team will be the Illinois Relays, Saturday afternoon and evening at Champaign. Michigan dominated the individual events at last year's running of the relays as well as placing high in all the relays. Coach Charlie Hoyt has been forced to delay the naming of the squad which will make the trip because of 1 the prevalence of colds and injuries among' team members and he will not make his final choices until to- day. The Illinois Armory in which the meet will be held is larger than Yost Field House, only 6 laps being necessary to complete a mile as com- pared with 8 on the Michigan track. The spacious armory will be none too large, however, as over 400 athletes from 40 midwest colleges and univer- sities have been entered in the classic. Michigan entries in the individual events are expected to be Elmer Gedeon in the high hurdles, Stan Kelley in the low hurdles, Bill Wat- son in the shot-put and broad jump, Wes Allen and Don Canham in the high jump, and some sprinters to be named today. RADIO ,,SERVICE ANY MAKE DIAL 3694. W EDEMEYER'S 221 E. Liberty CAMERA OWNERS FOR YOUR NEGATIVES v Clean, spotless developing in best fine grain developer. * Hardening process to prevent scratches. FOR YOUR PICTURES * Careful printing. A DOBBS HAT It is no problem to sell a man his second Dobbs hat- or his thirty-second. Once a Dobbs man, always a Dobbs man. The dis- tinguished quality of the hat and' the dis- tinguished look it gives its wearer are unmistakable. 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