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WFDEDNsAY; JM~tAR 9%11 46
THE MICHIGAN DI.LY
PA(C:ETUUP1T
OF THE KEYBOARD
By MARY LU HEATH
Associate Sports Editor
UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE last week of Tony Cuccinello, 37-year-old
veteran third baseman for the White Sox, is significant of the trend
in baseball and other professional sports these days.
Cuccinello was not the victim of a bad season in 1945. In fact, the
aging infielder was leading the American League batters going into the
final day of competition this fall. He relinquished first place to George
Stirnweiss, Yankee batsman, before the day was over,
Presumably, he would have been one of the last men the Sox would
want to turn loose for the coming season. He evidently has no intention
of retiring, according to the Associated Press account of his release, which
states that "Cuccinello has ambitions to continue as an active player." As
a free agent, he can sign with any other club desiring his services.
The plain fact is that the White Sox, like the other Major League clubs
this year, will be turning all of the old-timers out to pasture. There is no
place on the nines of today for the veterans who kept the game going during
the war.
THE DISCHARGED SERVICEMEN are coming back into baseball. The
Wakefields, Williams, and Di Maggios, with their agility and power, are
causing big league managers to put the accent on youth in 1946.
It seens almost ungrateful on the part of the owners to rid themselves
of superfluous talent at the expense of the veterans. Baseball was admittedly
on its last legs in 1945. Many doubted whether the 16 teams would be able
to field 144 pltyers this year if the war continued. The transportation diffi-
culties were as bad as ever.
Only the persistence of veteran players, many of whom had no business
playing, kept the sport alive last year.
It is certainly regrettable that they are deprived of their chief liveli-
hood (in most cases, it isn't their only one) now that they have outlived
their usefulness. If they feel resentment toward the youngsters, that is
understandable.
They should, however, and will, bow out gracefully. They were hopeful
youngsters once themselves, with the same infinite enthusiasm and amazing
resilience in their legs. They should be able to understand that standards
change in the flicker of an eyelash.
Wrestlers Hold Try out Matches
For Starting Berths on Saturday
RECONVERSION . . . ELMER SWANSON, star hurdler from 1943-44,
back after more than a year in service for a crack at the existing Field
House records.
CAN HE DO IT AGAIN?
ueI rn of Star Hurdler Raises
Querie o-. Servicemen Athletes
Quintet Splits
Parl; of Upsets
0er Weekend
SuirprPes llini Five
Then Is Spilled by MSC
By HANK KEISER
Michigan's basketball squad went
from one extereme to another in the
short space of three days, winning a
dog-eat-dog battle from Illinois, one
of the ton teams in the country, last
Saturday, then dropping a match, in
which they were favored, to an up-
start Michigan State team, Mon-
day night.
In one of the most thrilling con-
tests ever played at Yost Field
House, a near-record crowd of
seven thousand spectators watched
Coach Bennie Oosterbaan's Wol-
verines fight it out with the Illini's
highly-touted quintet, last Satur-
day, overcoming a six-point deficit
to tie up the game with a minute of
rlay remaining. The winning point
was made by Glen Selbo, who was
awarded two free throws, at this
point, as a result cf a pushing pen-
alty called against Illinois. The
final score read, 49-48.
Monday evening, however, was a
different story asCoach Ben VanAl-
styne's MSC Spartans bounced back
from a 47-39 beating at the hands of
the Wolverines earlier this season, to
down the visiting Michigan crew,
49-36.
There were 8,549 enthusiastic fans
who saw the two quintets play a
neck-and-neck first period to a 19-18
halftime score. After the start of the
second frame the Spartans pulled
ahead of Oosterbaan's five to rack up
30 points to Michigan's 18 in the re-
maining time. At first the shooting of
both teams was inaccurate but as
the contest progressed MSC found its
eye sufficiently well enough to lead
by 13 points at the game's conch-
sion.
"It was just like the Ohio State
game earlier this season," com-
mented Oosterbaan, "The boys
were tense and keyed up and
couldn't seem to click. I don't think
they had enough rest after their
tough game with Illinois, two days
before."
Bob Harrison, the Maize and Blue's
high-scorer to date garnered the top
individual Wolverine score of 11
points. He was closely followed by
Selbo, with ten markers. The high-
est point total for both teams was
racked up by MSC's center, Matt
Mazza, while Spartan forward, Sam
Fortino, copped second place honors.
Mazza sunk 14 points worth of bask-
ets, and his teammate put in 12.
Michigan's quintet will play a two-
game series away from home this
weekend. Friday night they journey
to Chicago to meet the University of
Chicago Maroons. The following eve-
ning they face Northwestern at
Evanston.
Buy Victory Bonds!
i 3
Torri-td Pace
In ockey Scoring
LeasTa uates with 21 Point Total;
Squad Eyes Record Goal-Getting Mark
By DES HOWARTH
While the rampaging Michigan hockey team has been sweeping all op-
position before it and setting several new scoring records, a terrific battle
for scoring honors has waged among the members of the squad, with Gord
MacMillan currently setting the pace.
MacMillan, fast-skating center on the number two line, has banged
in nine goals and has 12 assists for a 21 point total. Close on the heels of
i
the Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, star
are his two wingmen, BillJacobson
and Al Renfrew. Renfrew has scored
eight goals with 10 assists, while Ja-
cobson also has eight markers and
two gaines to Toronto University re-
cently by big margins, but Coach Vic
Heyliger does not expect the Wolver-
ines to have any easy time as Colo-
rado has always proved tough for
Michigan in the past.
Michigan's chances for victory in
the Colorado contests were brightened
yesterday, however, when it was
learned that Ross Smith, stellar Wol-
verine defenseman, has again been
declared eligible for competition fol-
lowing clarification of his scholastic
status.
Ind uvidial Scoring
Center MacMillan
With its opening dual match'
against Indiana, Jan. 19 in Bloom-;
ington fast approaching, the 1946
varsity wrestling team will hold the
first of the tryout matches to deter-
mine starting berths on Saturday,
Jan. 12 in Yost Field House.
Winners To Compete
The winners of these bouts will
probably get the nod in the Indiana
meet. Favored in 121-pound class are
Lamg, and Forrest Dayton. Dayton,
thought, is still suffering from an
arm injury'incurred in the all-cam-
pus wrestling tournament.
Since Art Sachsel has quit the
team, John Allred is the sole com-
petitor at 128 pounds. The top man of
the 136s is Navy trainee, Dale Rich-
ardson. Wayne Smith, freshman
from Fort Dodge, Iowa, heads the 145
pound division, but he is closely con-
tested for the head spot by Pete
Celments and Bob Jobson. The fa-
vorites of the 155 pounders are Stu
Snyder, Navy student who won his
division's title in . the all-campus
tourney, Marty Cranston, runner-up
in the 155 class, .and Earle Russell.
No competition will be offered Cap-
Feller Agrees
On '46 Contract
CLEVELAND, Jan. 8 - (OP) - Bob
Feller, speedball king of the major
leagues, announced an all-star roster
of instructors for his ex-servicemen's
Baseball School today after signing
the "best" one-year contract of his
career with the Cleveland Indians.
The strikeout star said no bonus
clause' was attached to his 1946 con-
tract, but asserted the paper was "the
best I have ever signed." This year's
figure was not announced but Fel-
ler's previous top salary was a re-
ported $40,000 in 1941, including a
$10,000 bonus based on attendance.
Feller and Tribe Vice-President
Roger Peckinpaugh agreed they were
"happy" about the contract signing
Leading the list of instructions at
the Tampa, Fla., training session for
players returning from the armed
forces will be Buddy Hassett, Tommy
Bridges, Hugh Mulcahy, Bucky Wal-
ters, Joe Dimaggio, Dizzy Dean, Char-
ley Keller, Al Lopez, Lou Fonseca
and Harold (Muddy) Ruel, assistant
to Baseball Commissioner A. B.
(Happy) Chandler.
tain Bill Courtright, who is the top
man at 165 pounds. The grapplers
who tip the scales at 1.75 pounds will
have a wide open chance to cop the
starting berth. The favorites at this
weight are Bob Bosworth, holder of
the 175 pound crown from the tour-
nament, footballer George Chiames,
and Ward Peterson, an Ann Arbor
product.
At the present time, Walt Blumen-
stein heads the heavyweights, but
he will be forced to the limit by var-
sity gridders Dan Dworsky and Stu
Wilkins, neither of whom have wres-
tled before.
Coach Cliff Keen said that he had
no way of telling how the team will
By WALT KLEE
With the return of Elmer Swanson
to the scene of his former triumphs
on the cinderpaths, the sports fans
of the Midwest will be interested to
see if a track star can return to the
same form he had before his entry
into service.
Swanson, before he went into
service, was Michigan's best man
in hoth the high and low hurdle
events. In 1943, his first year of
competition, he garnered a second
and a third in the high and low
Crisler, Fisher,
Munn Atternhng
Athietic Meet
Athletic Director H. O. (Fritz) Cris-
ler, Line Coach Clarence (Biggie)
Munn, and Baseball Coach Ray Fish-
er are in St. Louis this week, attend-
ing meetings of the nation's top ath-
letic officials, which began yesterday.
Among the organizations in ses-
sion are the National Collegiate Ath-
letic Association, the American Foot-
ball Coaches' Association, and the
American Association of College Base-
ball Coaches.
Crisler will attend the special meet-
ing of Big Ten representatives, which
Western Conference Commissioner K.
K. L. (Tug) Wilson called when he
learned that nine of the Conference's
athletic directors would 'be in St.
Louis this week.
Fisher, who is a vice-president of
the baseball coaches' group organized
last spring, will attend an executive
session of the organization, while
Munn, one of the representatives of
football teams in this district, will
give a report on the recent season.
Phis will be one of Munn's last offi-
cial acts for the University before he
leaves to take over duties as head
football coach at Syracuse March 1.
An unprecedented number of foot-
ball rule changes will come up for
consideration in the first post-war
session of the NCAA, including fresh-
man eligibility.
hurdles in the Big Ten Indoor
Championships in Chicago.
A year later he took the individual
titles in both events with the sur-
prisingly good times of 8.9 seconds
for the 70 yard high hurdles and 8.1
second for the low hurdles.
In dual meet competition in Yost
Field House, Swanson has turned in
times just one-tenth of a second off
the records held by another Elmer,
Elmer Gedeon, of the 1938 and 1939
Wolverine teams.
The question of a veteran return-
ing to pre war form has already been
answered affirmatively in several
other sports. Baseball has seen Hank
Greenberg, Virgil Trucks, Charlie
Keller'and others start in right where
they left off. But as many baseball
stars played everyday on service
teams it was merely a matter of
changing uniforms. In other cases
the men experienced difficulty.
But track is different. There is
no opportunity to keep in condi-
tion. The muscles called upon in
the sport are seldom used in ordi-
nary walking and running. The
question remains. Can Swanson
carry on where he left off.
In practice so far the hurdler has
shown up well. If he continues to im-
prove at the same rate as in the past
weeks we may see the Field House
records change hands from Elmer to
Elmer, Gedeon to Swanson.
G
MAC MILLAN.. 9
RENFREW .... 8
JACOBSON . 8
CELLEY ......9
GRANT........8
HILL ........ .1
SMITH.........2
KUZNIER..... 2
ARNOT ......, 2
SULENTICH 2
COS SALTER.
STARRAK 1
MARSHALL. 0
STEADMAN. 0
JOHNSON . ... 0
TOTALS 52
A Pts
12 21
10 18
9 17
6 15
4 12
6 7
3 5
1 3
1 3
0 2
0 2 2
0 1
1 1
0 0
0 0
55 107
Pen
0 Min.
2 "
0 "
0 "
10 "
9 "
0 "
4 "
2 "
10 "
2 "
6 "
2
2
55
NEIL CELLEY - Eveleth, Minn.,
wingman who is one of the leading
Wolverine scorers.
nine assists. Altogether this line has
totaled 56 points, or an average of
eight per game.
Neil Celley, Walt Grant, and Wally
Gacek, the number one Michigan line,
trail with 37 points. Celley, who has
notched nine markers, leads this trio
with 17 points. Grant, who scored
four goals in the Sarnia game, ran
his season's total to eight and has
added four assists. Gacek has 10
points.
In the seven games to date the Wol-
verines have tallied 52 goals and need
only 24 more to beat the all-time
high set in the 1936-37 season. The
Wolverines need seven more victories
to set another mark in the win col-
umn and eclipse the record of 13 es-
tablished in 1937-38.
Tomorrow the Wolverines will leave
for Colorado Springs to meet Colorado*
College in a two-game series on Fri-
I-M Results
Allen Rumsey "B" 29, Fletcher
"B" 26
Green "B" def. Tyler "B" (for-
feit)
Allen Rumsey "A" 33, Wenley
House 14
Fletcher "A" def. Baldwin "A"
(forfeit)
Green House "A" 30, Lockwood 17
Hubbell Re-signs Contract
NEW YORK, Jan. 8---(P)-Carl
Hubbell, who pitched for the New
York Giants for 16 seasons and has
served as director of the club's farm
system for the past two years, has
signed a new five-year contract as
farm director, Secretary Eddie Ran-
nick said today.
i
day and Saturday. Colorado dropped
-
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CLIFF KEEN will be holding an
intra-squad contest this weekend
to determine who will wrestle for
the Wolverines against Indiana.
fare during the campangn, as there
is no knowledge of the opposition
available. Kenn expressed that he
was pleased with the work of the
squad and the fine spirit shown to
date and stated that such work does
not stay unrewarded.
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Don't let your studies
get you down!
Attend the
Navy Musical Comedy
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