JN.. 8,: 193 7T THE MICHIGAN DAILY PAGE Taml _ __ VarsityCagers Make Big Ten Debut At Illinois Tomorrow Puekmen Lose hull Dance for Rest of Season ilness, Studies Place Wingman on Sidelines; keichert Takes Over A serious blow to the fortunes of th , ichigan hockey team came last right when Coach Eddie Lowrey an- nounced that wingman Bill Dance Would be ineligible for the rest of the semester. Dance, who spent more than three weeks in the hospital because of a ser- ious attack of pneumonia, was forced to drop several courses. Because he is not taking the required twelve hours, he cannot participate in any varsity sport. Wing Spot to :Reichert :Billwho returned to the first line fr. the Point Edward game after just two days of practice, will be replaced by EdReichert. He hopes to rejoin the squad after the end of the cur- rent semester. This loss will be felt in the game with Port Dover this Saturday night; texteven more so the following week- end. The team' will travel to Minne- apolis'for the opening of the Big Ten season against the Gophers of Min- esota. . Two games are scheduled there Jan. 14 and 16. It may well be that the winner of these two games will b~e crowned champion of the Western Conference. Los Not Fatal Although the Michigan first line wiflbe losing some of its offensive er, the cause is by no means lost. Opland and Bob Kemp who have figured in three of the five Wolverine scores can be counted on to continue. Then too, Reichert has improved much of late. Withi the exception of this change Michigan's lineup will be Sthe same..next Saturday night when it: meets-port Dover in the Coliseum. Illini's 'Whiz Kid' Five SGven Pre-Game Edge Conference Champs Show Class against Stanford; Mel Comin May Start Game at Forward Position " Montgomery Fights with Rico Tonight ---, BENCHCOMBER ,t Michigan's spotless record gets its initial Conference airing against Illi- nois tomorrow night at Champaign, Ill., and it's going to take plenty of work to keep it unspotted. For fresh from their ;smashing 38- 26 win over Stanford's NCAA champs ,a week ago, the Illini are already see- ing visions of another Conference crown in their fold. And a Michigan scalp would be swell for a starter. To support their optimism, Coach Doug Mills' lads need only point to the facts. They have experience, all five starters having played together on last year's championship Big Ten team. They have height, averaging a mere 6-foot-3 per man. And Stan- ford can attest to their speed and general all-around ability. Mathisen Is Key Man, That gives a general idea of what Michigan will have to contend with, but there are five specific reasons, too: namely, Andy Phillip, Ken Men. ke, Art Mthisen, Jack Smiley and Gene Vance.. Pivot man Mathisen is the only se- nior on the starting five, the others being juniors. At 6-foot-5 he is the team's tallest man andsthe hub of Illinois' 'revolving. offense. Big Art tips the scales at 213, but, despite his "football" build, he does just about everything smoothly and moves about the floor with unusual speed. Phillips Back Again High-scorer of the Whiz Kids to date is forward Menke. Ken has racked up 69 markers in six contests to average better than 11 tallies per ticularly remember Phillips as the man who really got into Michigan's hair last year. Andy paced the ,Ills- nois ;scorers to both their wins over the Maize and Blue. To appreciate the work of Coach Mills' guards, Vance and Smiley, you need only. looks at the Illinois defen- sive record, In only two of their sixj contests have the Whiz Kids yielded --- 0".;'-.k NBA Tabs Battle as 'One' in Nationwide Tourney for 135 Title NEW YORK, Jan..- (P) - The lightweight fistic follies. a production that has provided this season with its most hilarious laughs and sinister plots, adds another skit of songs and patter in Madison Square Garden to- morrow night with a 15-round punch-party between Bob Montgom- ery and Chester Rico. Just how this one fits into the somewhat mumble-jumble pattern to name a successor to Sammy Angott's abdicated 135-pound crown depends on just where you live and which part of the comedy you've applauded up1 to now. Around here, Chairman John J. Phelan and his fellow members of the New York State Athletic Commission, who insist their left hands do know what their rights are doing at all times, already have "blessed" Beau Jack with the championship through his recent victory over Tippy Larkin. As a result, the Empire State's august solons of sock say the Montgomery- Aico run-in is simply one of the matches in a tournament to decide a challenger for Jack. On the other hand, the National Boxing Association, spread out over most of the rest of the nation, is going along on the theory that cham- pionships are won and lost in the ring and that there are a dozen or more capable clouters around who should have a crack at the title be- fore it's handed to anyone. So the NBA. tabs tomorrow's tussle as one in a nation-wide tournament, the winner of which will be crowned with Angott's bauble. One.' way or another tomorrow's shindig adds up to a brawl as close as the buttons on your vest. In fact, the better betting emporiums along Forty-Ninth St. are having some dif- ficulty splitting the two thumpers and have installed Montgomery a mere 2-to-3 favorite over the slim New Yorker, whose chief claim to fame is that he boasts a draw with and a disputed defeat by Beau Jack in two recent outings. The return of the busted beak in- dustry to the Garden after the an- nual holiday lay-off has Promoter Mike Jacobs expecting a $25,000 house with a turnout of about 10,000. By BUD MENDEL Daily Sports Editor Editor's Note: As is the usual custom of The Daily sports staff, each junior writes one column before the next semester's appointments are made. Today's guest column Js written by Clark Baker. By CLARK BAKER SINCE OUR MIND runs in streaks from day to day and we've been think- ing about things in general this week, today's column goes under the head of musings on "things in general." First thing that comes to mind is Dr. Phog Allen's excellent sug- gestion about improving the game of basketball. Dr. Allen, who among other things coaches the Kansas basketball team, decries the use of "glandular goons" or in plain English, those seven-footers, that seem to have become the fad these days on "better" basketball teams. For after all, why should a great big horse of guy, seven feet tall, be the toast of the cage world just because he can stand under an opponent's basket and bat the' ball out of the hoop as it descends? It doesn't take any skill to play basketball that way and yet it does win games. Dr. Allen doesn't stop with this criticism. He suggests that baskets be raised to a height of 12 feet above the floor instead of the present 10 foot level. Then these seven-foot giants, whose only value lies in their excessive stretch, would be of little good. In other words, Dr. Allen proposes to return basketball to its place as a game of skill, not a contest of "freaks." WE HAVE READ a lot of criticism of the Big Ten for remaining so ada- mant against the use of freshmen on varsity teams, but little praise for the big contribution to the war effort which the Conference officials made by altering the basketball schedules to reduce travel mileage by about 25 per cent. Then we read of Oregon State, Stanford, and Southern California, to mention but a few, who utilized valuable space on trains, buses, etc. to send their squads 3,000 miles and more across the country and back. But then, it's a mighty profitable trip financially and otherwise for all concerned. While on the subject of schedules, we were interested to see that Mich- igan plays the three toughest teams in the Conference (Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana) during the first half of its schedule. Bennie's boys had better reach their peak early if they covet any hopes of walking off with the Conference title this year. Still with Michigan, it's interesting to note that the Wolverines' only Big Ten basketball championship came in 1927 when Head Coach Bennie Oosterbaan and Assistant Coach Ernie McCoy were two of the bright lights. - * * * * NEWS ITEMS from Ohio State these days seem to convey nothing but bad news ... from the standpoint of the Buckeyes. First it was Bob Shaw, the Ohioans ace basketballer, who fell under the ineligibility axe. Latest report is that the Bucks' star trackman, Bob Wright, has joined Shaw on the sidelines for like reasons. Trackmen Are Improved over Last Season Doherty Sees Better Year for Thinclads; Ufer, Matthews Back By ERIC ZALENSKI "It's a good team, and a definite improvement over the performances of last year's squads." And so Varsity Coach Ken Doherty summarized the results of three months of conditioning at Yost Field House with his Maize and Blue thih'- clads just three weeks before the op- ening of the current indoor campaign. The task of developing an outfit powerful enough to blast Ohio State right out from under its indoor Con-, ferenceucrown will be especially tough for Doherty this season as he has only nine lettermen to work with. The Wolverine' coach, a former Olympic decathlon star, can count for a lot of first-place points on his ace half-miler, Captain Dave Matthews, and the nation's champion of indoor quarter-mile stars, Bob Ufer. Ufer set his national record of 48.1 seconds at the indoor meet in Chicago a year ago next March. Another returning letterman who may have his best season this year.is hurdler Chuck Pinney. Doherty is also counting on the blonde speedster ii the 60-yard dash and the running broad jump. Long-legged Johnny Roxborougli, Willie Glas, Johnny Ingersoll and Ernie Lombardi are the four oth~k lettermen whom Coach Doherty is banking on. in the distances.;1Roxy won his spurs in the half nile, while Ingersoll and Glas are milers. Leonar- di is the squad's only two-miler. The weakness of the squad l .the field events is apparent with only two lettermen back, slotputte George Ostroot and pole vaulter qb Segula. And there is a possibility that Segula may be lost next month. N Two other point winners on whom Doherty had been depending but W1k) are lost because of concentration on studies, are Frank McCarthy and' Gene Hirsch. McCarthy, the squad's only triple-threat trackman, was .a cinch for points in the high hurdles, running broad jump and running high jump. Hirsch had been counted on for a first or second in the shotu t. The squad's first test is tentatively" slated for Tuesday, Feb. 9, andw11l be a triangular meet with Michigan State and Michigan Normal at Yo$t Field House. , ANDY PHILLIP ... all-Conference guard " as a sopholoore last year, he led Coach Doug Mills' five in scoring. GOOD NEWS FOR STACKHOUSE: High School Stars, Prep Flashes Head Freshm. State high school champions and prep school flashes make the 1943 University of Michigan Frosh track squad one of the most unusual in many years. Heading .the list of lads who gained fame on high school and academy s4uads is Bob Howison, Midland youth, who has 'held the state scho- lastic 440-yard championship during the past two years. A, Monroe "distance runner, Bob Conlisk, won high school recognition as a half-miler by placing second in the 1942 state !meet last summer. Three vaulters have caught Coach Chet Stackhouse's eye,: including Keith Chapman, Boston, Mass., and Eugene Moody, Oak Park, Ill., who have already proven themselves. Chapmian has, vaulted 12 ft. 6 in., while Moody has cleared 12 ft. John Donheiser, Saginaw, is also a pros- pect. : Boast Four HighJumpers Michigan, traditionally weak in the high jump, can now boast of four definite prospects on its Frosh squad, all having cleared at least six feet be- fore coming here. Heading the quartet is Bill Dale, class -B state champion from Wayne who leaped 6 ft. 22/2 in. in taking the title. Fred Weaver, Detroit, was city champion in 1940, but did not com- pete the past two years. Paul Bander, Royal Oak, placed in the 1942 state meet, while Bob Gardener, Miami,, na Track Squad Fla., left a fine high school record behind. One of the best high school shot- putters since Bill Watson, Michigan star of a few years back,. is George Kraeger, husky Indianapolis, Ind., youth and star lineman of the Uni- versity frosh eleven. George tossed the 12-pound ball 53 feet for a high school record. Gardener, besides being a highjumper, has heaved the 16-1 pound collegiate shot over 40 feet. Gains State Ronors From the home town of Bob Ufer, varsity quarter-miler and 1942 na- tional indoor champion, at;Mt. Leba- non, Pa., comes Bob Bell, crack high hurdler who also starred at Mercers- burg Academy, Pa. Along with Bell is red-headed Jack Martin who runs the low hurdles and sprints. Flint Central has sent two of its best athletes to Michigan, Henry Clark, powerful middle distance run- ner, and Auldin Nelson, rangy blonde speedster in the low hurdles. Out' of Cleveland, O., have come two prospective middle distance run- ners, Dick Holl and Don Sternisha, while P.E.M. has turned up seven prospects in the distance events, in- cluding Louis Eaton, Bill Fikinger, Dick Clark, Charles McKean, Sher- rold Adams, Bill Matney and Jack Morrison. On the whole, the 'current frosh squad appears to have more balance on the track and in the field than any other in years. Wright, captain of the Ohio'State track team for two years, has been the Buckeyes' top scorer during that time. Last year he walked off with Conference high and low hurdles honors and pIaced "second in the Millrose games. He also holds the National AAU low hurdle title. BIG CENTER STILL TOPS: Mandler Leads Wolverines in Scoring; Wiese, Doyle Follow <" ART MATHISEN . . . hitting 6-foot-5, the lanky center is rated the key man in Illi- nois' revolving offense. more than 30 -points. Altogether the combined opposition has been stopped with an- average of less than'33 points per game. For the invading Wolverines three men, Jim Mandler, Dave Strack and Bob Wiese, appear certain to draw starting berths. However, Coach Ben- nie Oosterbaan is having a tough time choosing between Ralph Gibert and the up-and-coming Mel Comin to pair with Wiese at the other for- ward spot while Don Lund and Leo Doyle are waging a neck-and-neck struggle for the remaining guard post. r . . .ice. . i r i. ii. . _ - - - w w w w w w W W W r )I. c64 BILL SAWYER Both Big Jim Mandler still reigns su- preme among Michigan's cagers. The Wolverine captain has poured baskets through opposing hoops at an average of 10 a game to pace the Maize and Blue scorers with 51 points. Trailing Big Jim are Bob Wiese and Leo Doyle. Bob, whose forte is one- hand shots, has totaled 37 tallies in five games while Leo has hit the strings for 28 markers. After this trio Another Tiger Leaves for National Service DETROIT, Jan. 7.-(P)-The De- troit Tigers today placed the 18th ;tar on their service flag and added to the national defense service list the name of Anse Moore, young outfield- er from Beaumont of the Texas Lea- gue, who has entered the Signal Corps at Camp Howze, Tex. Moore played left field in Beau- mont's prize young outfield last sum- mer under Steve O'Neill, new Tiger manager. Center fielder Walter (Hoot) Evers also is in the Army, and only Dick Wakefield, former Michigan collegian, is left. WINGS, RANGERS TIE DETROIT, Jan. 7.- (fi)- The New York Rangers came from behind in the last period to play the Detroit Red Wings to a 2 to 2 tie in a Na- tional Hockey League game tonight before 7,886 spectators. Bryan Hex- tall's shot squared the count after Jimmy Franks had turned in a super- lative job in the Ranger nets. Strack................. Lund................ Comin .................. Gibert .................. Mullaney.............. Bikoff .................. Anderson ............... Pregulman .............. MacConnachie .......... the scoring is pretty well divided with Ralph Gibert, Dave Strack, Don Lund and Mel Comin fighting it out for honors. T c* * The scoring: Important SALE for better Michaels Stern SUITS OVERCOATS TO PCOATS 20% off $30 values .... now $24. $35 values .... now $28. $40 values .... now $32. $45 values .... now $36. $50 values .... now $39.50 All Sport Coats reduced to 15.95 16.95 This sale is more important to you than ever. Our clothes are G Mandler ................23 W iese ..................17 Doyle .............. ..11 F 5 3 6 T 51 37 28 8 7 5 7 1 2 1 0 1 2 18 3 17 7 17 2 16 2 4 0 4 1 3 2 2 0 2 1 0%o All- Wool SOX Plain or Argyle El