SECTION TWO Y 41k iganil Iait SPORTS NEWS VOL. XIX.-No. 2 Z-323 ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, TUESDAY, SEPT. 27, 1938 PRICE, FIVE CENTS Kromer Impresses With Passing In Saturday's PR ESS PASSES By BUD BENJAMIN _', The Spartan Viewpoint,... CHAtRLEY BACHMAN munched a healthy mouthful of hot dots and catsup and quite casually remarked that 92,000 was one helluva crowd. There were six of us enjoying a Saturday snack in the beautifully paneled cafeteria of the Michigan State union. Besides our host, the amazingly genial Mr. B., were } a Mr. Hannah, connected with the athletic Department of Michigan State, Dan Wheeler, wvho leads Spartan cheers, Pete Lisagor, former Dily sports ed, Stan Swinton and myself. ' We had quite surprisingly run across the Michigan State coach in the Spartan administration building. Iwas three hours before the Wayne game, but he was quite unconcernedly pushing his way through a crowd of boy scouts and freshmen looking about as worried as a man on his way to a turkish bath. He remembered 'Pete and me after our visit of last fall and invited us into his office. There were a couple of gentlemen fom a Detroit paper on hand and not enough seats for all, so we stood and the questions began. Tackles! What about those very important tackles of your, Mr. B? Understand they're weak. "Weak?", he replied. "No they're not weak. Just new, Sou know. Wish I had a few more games to get them acclimated. Yeh, that Michigan game should be later. Too big for this time of year." I reminded Mr. B. that we had a few sophomores on tap who were far from acclimated. And they were causing considerable concern in the old home town. "I suppose so," he replied. "You've got some backs this year, I hear. You've needed them. Too bad that Cooper boy got hurt. He was tough. That Trosko won't hurt you either." " HE DETROIT gentlemen had left, and I began to wonder if perhaps we're not detaining this gentleman who is supposed to coach a football team in a few hours. So we stood up and made for the door. "Where yuh going?" Bachman asked. "Stick around, and we'll have lunch together." Lunch? He's asking us to lunch the day of a football game. The three of us looked at each other and wondered whether the noble Mr. B. was living us the rib.u He wasn't. We waited while he made a phone call, and I took the oppor- tunity to glance around the office. It's only a little cabby hole but it's steeped in football tradition. Pictures of Slip Madigan, Jimmy Phelan, and Harry Stuhldreher bedeck the walls, all with a warm greeting to Bachman. There are pictures of his teams, of his friends, and over the door hangs the most treasured shot of them all. The ink is fading on the signature, and thpiW S becoming blurred. But you can still make out the name. "To my dear friend Charley.. . . Knute Rockne."' We headed across campus with Bachman smoking a cigaret, per usual. Students passed, apparently unimpressed by the fact that here was head coach Bachmnan on campus. "Hi Coach," they would call, and he'd return a Hi Bill, Joe, or what ever it happened to be. * . LUNCH was fine. We waited in line along with the other students, found stuffed peppers. mashed potatoes. rolls, glaced apples, and beverage a quarter's delicacy, and began the serious business of eating. Bachrman eats the same way his football teams play-carefully, quickly enough, and 100% efficiently. "Yep," he commented, "92,000 is a lot of people to put in one acre." "There's a lot of bonds in that acre," remarked Swinton. Bachman laughed: '"And how'," he returned. "Bet the old mah will be pleased. It'll be helluv ball game." How's Michigan State began to creep into the conversation. "Well," he mused, "I'll tell you better after this afternoon. I think we've got a god ball club. Now those tackles . .", Yes, we knew about the'tackles and how about the rest of the boys. "The ends are fine," he said, "and Rockenbach and Dudley can handle the guards. My centers have been pretty well banged up but they'll be in shae. The backfield are all veterans and I don't bother with them much. Three of them are seniors, and I figure by N the time a fellow's a senior he doesn't need coaching. We coach sophomores." "Pingel," he rontinued, "is better than ever and Clolek is a capable substitute. You know Pingel had the best kicking average in the country last year, and he does everything well. Now those r tackles . . Yes, yes, we knew about the tackles. But how would it seem to play a team you'd never scouted before. Last year's scouting reports wouldn't help with a new coaching regime. "Doesn't make much difference," he said with a yawn. "You enter it blind anyway. You'll have trick plays and so will we, and scouting reports won't mean so much."' The conversation turned to broadcasting. "Say, I'm glad Wisner is carrying those games," he commented. "I brought him up from Florida with me. He'll do a good job.' "You know," he continued, "I wouldn't be surprised if a net- work carries that game next week. I hope Husing doesn't come here though. He sure gave us a raw deal last year in that New Year's broadcast at Miami. We didn't even look good running out on ,the field actcordinig to him. Too hot that day for us. 84 degrees under a boiling sun. Not used to it." If this gentleman is going to do any coaching he'd better leave now, I thought. Mr. B. yawned again, looked at his watch, and headed out of the cafeteria-with our checks. "So long," he called. "Take it easy on us next week." T HKRE WASN'T much to the game. State swamped the Waynes 34 to 6 and could have doubled it if Bachman would have left his first team in longer. I sat next to Michigan scouts Cliff Keen, who always looks grim, and Ray Courtwright, who never does, and those two gentlemen took scarcely a note. Buckeyes Still Strong Despite Graduation Toll Soph Stars, '37 Reserves, Razzle Dazzle's Return, Brighten State Hopes Ordinarily, when a Big Ten football coach is robbed by graduation of all but four of his regulars, he's in a sad, sad state, and ready to accept con- dolences from all his cronies. But that's not the case with Fran- cis Schmidt at Ohio State. Despite 'the loss of such stars as Jim Mc- Donald, Nick Wasylik, Dick Nardi, and Jim Miller from his backfield, in addition to" ends Fred Crow and, Charley Ream, guards Gus Zarnas and Sol Maggied and center Ralph Wolf, the tall Texan is still wear- ing a wide smile. And the reason is simple. So good is the present sophomore crop, and so great is the improvement shown by last year's reserves, that only one of the quartet of holdovers is being counted upon for a regular berth. Kaplanoff Back There won't be any displacing co- Captain Karl Kaplanoff. The giant tackle will be at his customary post, when the Buckeyes launch their sea- son against Indiana Saturday, and barring accident will lend his 245 pounds to the Ohio cause when Coach Fritz Crisler's Wolverines in- vade Columbus Nov. 19 in the sea- son finale. However, even Alex Schoenbaum, a consistent All-Conference choice at right tackle the past two years, is finding it rough going. At present big Alex rates a step behind Joe Ales- kus, a senior reserve. The latter weighs a mere 210 to 230 for Schoen- baum, but Schmidt can afford to sacrifice beef for speed this year. ; And here's good news for the fans.t The fan ous razzle-daZle istcoming1 back. Last season, lacking the cor- rect type of backs to fit into his "who1 hastheball?" system, Schmidt his_ style, depending on the power plunges of DickrNardi and Jim McDonald for his scoring punch.1 Razzle-Dazzle Returns Yes, the razzle-dazzie is coming back, but nevertheless, the days of1 the pony backfield are over. There! won't be anyone of the Tippy Dye, Nick Wasylik, Joe 'Tilliams type lug- ging the ball for the Buckeyes this fall, even though it was this midgetE trio who first brought fame to Schmidt and his razzle-dazzle. t Key man in the new attack will be Don Scott, a 206 pound sophomor , labeled as the greatest triple tnreat prospect to hit the Columbus campus{ in more than a decade. He's listedt as a left .halfback, which means tat, co-Captain Mike Kabealo will spend (Continued on Page 14) He'll Be Ready To Start Ed Christy, the Wolverines' ablest plunger, played only a short time in Saturday's scrimmage due to a bad shoulder but to all indications he will be ready to play in the opener against State, perhaps in the start- ing lineup. Ki ke Will Return ToaWolverine Grid War - Announcer The once familiar "Good afternoon, Michigan football fans, this is Ty Ty- son speaking," will not be heard this' year as far as play-by-play accounts of the Michigan football games are, concerned. Ty, who broadcasts all De- troit Tiger baseball games as well as the past Wolverine gridiron contests,I has given up his football chatter, for; the present at least. Taking Ty's place at the "mike" will be Harry Kipke, former Wlverine-' gridiron coach, and Harry Wisraer,1 popular Michigan sports announcer., Wismer will give the actual play-by- play details of the contests, while "Kip" will fill in between the quarters and halves with opinions, criticisms, and views of the =game as played by' both teams. Being such an experi- enced hand, Kipke will be able to give a clear and accurate picture of the games as he sees them, from a spectator's point of view rather than a coach's. All home games will be broadcast over station WJR, with WWJ tenta- tively engaged., All games to be played away from Ann Arbor will be heard through WJR. Wildcats Loom In Conference Title Scramble Veteran Line To Be Lynn Waldorf's Chief Power In Big Ten Drive By glancing over the predictions of the pre-season dopesters as to which team will take the Big Ten football championship this year, in each case one team that is always placed near the top is the one coached by Lynn Waldorf-namely the Wildcats of Northwestern. There is little doubt that the Goph- ers and the Buckeyes will be ranked as the number one and two possi- bilities to take the title. However a great many followers of the leading fall sport fail to see the, what may be called advantage position, the Wildcats hold. Champions In 1936 In 1936 Coach Waldorf's men played both Ohio State and Minne-! sota-and in that year they won by scores of 14 to 13, and 7 to 0 respec- tively. By winning these two games along with wins over Illinois, Wiscon- sin, and Michigan, the Wildcats took undisputed first place when the Con- ference battle was brought to a close. This year's Wildcatteam is again in the same position, and one may add that they hold a better one this time because of the available letter- men that Coach Waldorf can call up- on. ] n 1936 it was the fast charging line of Northwestern that annexed the championship. It's Up To Line Again in 1938 the line is going to make or break the Wildcat team. In looking over the men available at the present time it seems that Coach Wal- dorf will have more than one ace in his hand when the final cards arer shown: as to who .will hold the title- Ohio State or Minnesota. h - Barring injuries - Northwestern's opening line will be full of veteran1 and experienced linemen such as Cap- tain Cleo Diehl and Tom Eby at the ends, Bob Voights and Nick Cutlich filling the tackle positions, with Dick Wells and Don Gurtz at guards. Johnj Haman will hold the same spot that Archie Kodros holds for the Wol- verines. Have Ample Reserves To back these starting men up Coach Waldorf has a second team, which is composed of men who rank' on a par with those who will start the games. Thus, again barring in- juries-the Wildcats have their for- ward wall situation pretty well in hand. The backfield is a different prob- lem with the absence of Don Heap. (Continued on Page 10)j Stars In Scrimi Paul Kromer, sophomore half- back from Lorain, Ohio, and Kiski Prep, starred in last Saturday's scrimmage when he completed sefen out of 11 passes, two for touchdowns, in the Blues 13 to 7 victory over the Whites. He was also the oustanding running back in the game, getting away repeatedly for substantial gains. B arber Straw Vote Foresees M iigan W in Here's the insie dopeh Michigan will beat Michigan StateI That's the concensus of opinon in Ann Arbor's campus barber shops and if you begin doubting. your barber's word you have lost faith in America's greatest institution of public opinion. In a special Daily survey through- out Ann Arbor's scalp emporiums, opinion ranged from Groomwell's "We'll wipe up the ground with 'em" down to the Arcade shop's skeptical "I don't know, just wait and hope." No Michigan State takers' were in evidence throughout therprofession, however. Perhaps the most accurately voiced opinion came from chair No. 2 in the State St. shop. "Michigan was on the up-grade last year," quoth No. 2 "and State was fortunate enough to win that. game. Last year also we had no spark- plugs on the team such as we have this year in the persons of four or five of those promising sophomores. "Our coaching staff is more united in one unit this season and the fel- lows won't be told one thing by one coach only to be told something dif- ferent by another. These men have all worked together and work along the same lines." "Put your money on MVichigan," con- cluded No. 2. "But not very much of it," piped up a lathered face in chair No. 1 as skepticism reared its ugly head. Over at Groomwell's, rugged optim- ism had been encouraged by John Nicholson, varsity end. It seems that in the course of having his ears low- ered, John made a few forceful and violent statements about what he would do when he got his chance on Oct. 1. Perhaps State fans will learn not to bring up this ticklish subject while' in a Union chair. One Lansing tran- sient changed his mind about the re- spective merits of the Wolverine and Spartan squads the other day while being shaved. Of course the fact that he was debating against a man with a razor may have had something to do with his final decision. Serimniage nage Soph's Tosses Win For Blues By 13-7 score Injuries Hit Ends Hard As Gedeon Misses Opener; Valek Shows Up Well Meyer, Renda, Score By HERB LEV Behind the locked gates of the Stadium last Saturday afternoon, with only newspapermen for an audience, Coach Fritz Crisler sent his charges through their last important scrim- mage before the approaching Michi- gan State Game, and in doing so utn- earthed a new triple threat hope, cap- able of matching State's renowned Johnny Pingel, toss for toss and yard for yard. Heretofore obscured by the pres- ence of the highly publicized Tom Harmon, Paul Kromer, 160 pound halfback from Lorain, Ohio, estab- lished himself as the Wolverines' chief offensife threat, as he led his Blue team to a 13-7 victory over the Whites in an inter-squad game played be- tween two evenly matched teams. Clieks On Passes Alternately hitting the line, circling the ends, and tossing bullet passes to his ex-Kiski teammate, Jack Meyer and little Herc Renda, Kromer per- sonally ° conducted his team's two touchdown marches. Regardless of the brilliant perfor- mance of Kromer and several other individuals, Coach Crisler was of the opinion that great improvement must ae shown before Saturday. In several departments, the team showed need of work. Especially in blocking they showed room for improvement, but taken as a whole, the results of the . scrimmageawere gratifying. Line-up In Doubt . Saturday's work-out gave no direct indication of a starting line-up for- the State game, because in an effort. to make the Saturday game an even battle the pertormers were pretty well mixed up, arid because several potential first-stringers saw no action due to illness, and injuries. Forest Evashevski and Howard Me- haffey, two of the best of the sopho- more backfield crop, were on the side- lines due to bad colds, Elmer Gedeon and Danny Smick, veteran ends, saw no action due to leg and shoulder in- juries respectively, Bill' Luther, an up an coming passer was nursing a bad shoulder, fleet Derwood Laskey was still bothered by a back injury, and big Joe Savilla rested his injured face. Gedeon Is Out It is believed that all the above will be in uniform this week, with all but Gedeon ready for the State battle. The rangy senior flankman should be in shape for the Chicago game, a week from Saturday. The flanks now offer a definite problem. With Gedeon definitely out and Smick in a doubtful condition, the situation was further complicated when John Nicholson, regular last season and Ed Frutig and Ed Czak, two outstanding sophomores, suffered minor injuries Saturday. They'll all be ready for the Spartans but they won't be in tip-top shape due to miss- ing several days of practice. Valek Shows Well Meanwhile. Vince Valek, junior from Holly, who saw no service last season, established himself as a strong contender for a regular wing berth with a fine exhibition of blocking and tackling. Paul Nielson, the local boy, previously known as a place kicking specialist, distinguished him- self both as a pass-receiver and on defense, after he had replaced the in- jured Czak in the White line-up, and the veteran Harold Floersch proved that he is rounding into condition after a late start. After a drab first period, the Whites, with Harmon leading the vay, began a steady march down the field to score early in the second quarter. On third down with the ball deep in his own territory, Norm Pur- ucker circled his own right end for 20 yards, then picked up 10 through tackle, bringing the ball well past mid-field. After gaining about three yards in a try at the line, Harmon tossed a short pass to Wally Hook, who behind excellent interference ad- vanced to the Blue 17. Purueker Scores On first down Harmon plowed IIII 1/ -__ _ I I//1 1 I Bruises And Blondes Play Important Part In Captain' Fred Jane's Life By MEL FINEBEUG It ,was in a crowded Union lobby that we started to talk with Fred Janke. He was with Stark Ritchie. Janke, for those of you who are either new on campus or have been immersed in the more serious side of life, is, among other things, captain of this year's hopeful football squad. Ritchie, now a law student, was a halfback on some of Michigan's worst grid squads. This, of course, is no re- flection on Stark's merits; he was dis- tinctly one of the bright spots in those too-dreary years. Janke and Ritchie were roommates last year but in spite of this are fast friends. Stark Spills It We were interested more in Janke than in Ritchie but the fun-loving Stark insisted on giving us the more intimate side of Captain Janke's life. It was Ritchie who volunteered the information that the 200 pound, 6 foot tackle was more worried about a cer- tain blonde than about the approach- ing Michigan State game. But Janke was quick with a ready denial and punctuated the refutation with a baleful glance at Ritchie and us. But duty calls and the truth must be printed. The Janke interview went on apace in spite of the incessant interruptions from the effervescent Ritchie. Fred went to Jackson High School in Jack- son, played football there, came to , a 1 (' i I i F I l z, CAPT. FRED JANKE COACH FRITZ CRISLER proved a wonderful healer and 1o, when the call was sounded in 1937, there was Fred, prancing around like a shag dancer and eager to return to the football fold. But fate, who was personified by Harry Kipke, decreed that tackles were a dime a dozen (this later proved to be correct but not in a manner favorable to Mr. Kipke- and the former varsity halfback needed. And so it came out that this was the first time that Ritchie had played with the help of a caddy and he was frankly nervous. Ritchie Leaves But finally, with Janke's spiritual aid and, in spite of his earlier protes- tations, a dollar, Stark left for the Near Sellout Predicted For Opener With State Fritz Crisler's first Wolverine foot- ball team will receive an enthusiastic welcome Saturday if advance ticket sales mean anything. A crowd that will better last year's turnout of 71,800 for the State -game is a virtual certainty and, according to Harry Tillotson, who is in charge of ticket sales, a complete sellout is not beyond the realm of possibility. Only in 1929 when the Ohio State game drew 87,000 has the stadium ever been jammed to capacity but