FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 1948
Pucksters Face Boston College In First V(
,AA Tilt
JUST KIBITZING:
They're Taking 'Bennie' Seriously Now
By DICK KRAUS
Daily Sports Editor
It's only been a few years since
the football men first realized
that Bennie G. Oosterbaan was
more than just the comedy reliet
in the Michigan football setup.
They first began to suspect it
when 'Bennie moved into the
backfield coaching job two sea-
sons ago.
Even when his boss, Fritz Cris-
ler, termed him "the best assist-
ant I ever had," and lauded him
for his ability as an offensive
strategist, a lot of people still re-
fused to take Bennie too ser -
iously. They admitted that he had
a peculiar value.
His good nature kept the boy
from tightening up, and some
of his tricks are traditional
laugh getters. Bennie, who
weighs the same today as he
did 20 years ago, never leaves
the locker room without
stepping on the scale, and he
can still juggle a football as if
it were a marble.
is good for laughs." Even theta
"Okay," they said, "so Bennie
is good for laughs." Even the
doubting Thomases' were forced
to admit that Osterbaan supplied
more than that to Crisler's great-
est ball club. It was the Ooster-
baan backfield that developed into
one of the smoothest functioning
units in football history. Some of
the plays that made it go were
Bennie's. Along with all of Cris-
ler's staff he did a perfect job.
But now he's on his own and
he's on the spot from the begin-
ning, He is left with the nucleus
of the best, or at worst, the sec-
and best team in the Big Nine.
He has two topflight ends, Ed
McNeil and Dick Rifenburg, plus
three more adequate subs. He has
the entire defensive unit back in-
tact with the exception of Len
Ford.
Fencing Club
Enters Meet
The Scimitar Club, "unofficial"
Michigan fencing squad, will par-
ticipate in the Intercollegiate In-
tra-State Fencing Competition to
be held in Detroit, Saturday,
March 20.
The fencing strips at Highland
Park Junior College, host school,
will also be'occupied by the fenc-
ing teams of U. of D., MSC, Oh-
vet, Wayne, Lawrence Tech,
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FRITZ CRISLER and BENNIE OOSTERBAAN
" . the best assistant I've ever had"
,ie * *
In addition, Dom Tomasi and
Stu Wilkins of the offensive line
will be back. While Bennie has
lost his entire dream back-
field,' Gene Derricotte, Pete El-
liott, Walt Teninga, Tom Pet-
erson, and Dick Kempthorn pro-
vide the material for an equally'
devastating attack.
Bennie's new job is a well-
earned advancement, but he has
been promoted into a coaching
bramble patch. If he comes
through successfully, the fans and
experts alike will attribute it to
'Crisler; if he flops he does it on
his own. Crisler, naturally, doesn't
want it that way any more than
Bennie does, but that is the way
of the gallery gods.
He is in exactly the same posi-
tion that Harry Kipke found him-
self under Fielding H. Yost.
Bennie is a very popular guy,
which may not impress the op-
position, but he's got the whole
football team, and all the alumni
with him and that should ease
the birth pangs of the new Oos-
terbaan football dynasty.
M' Natators Devote Practice
To Next Week's NCAA Meet
Busy swimmers keep the I-M
pool crowded these afternoons as
Matt Mann prepares his Con-
ference Champions for the NCAA
meet here next Thursday, Friday,
and Saturday.
Though they have already
tucled away a good deal of what
they were after this year-a dual
meet victory over OSU and the
Big Nine title-the swimming
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(6~
DON'T MISS IT!
Miss What?
The opening of the
WOLVERINE DEN
OPENS TONIGHT!
Refer to our ad in today's Daily
team can't stop to catch its
breath just yet.
NCAA Is Toughest
The NCAA meet will be the
toughest encounter yet for the
natators. This three day affair
does not depend on a sectional
elimination process to select its
participants as do basketball and
hockey, but invites all schools and
swimmers to travel to Ann Arbor
so that the team and individual
NCA champions can be deter-
mined.
If winning the Big Nine Cham-
pionship was a job, capturing the
NCAA title will be even more dif-
ficult.
OSU's point-getting machine is
practically constant. The diving
combination of Anderson, Harlan,
Calhoun, and Billingsley will get
little competition from the rest of
the collegiate circle except in the
form of Michigan's Gil Evans.
26 Points ins Diving
This diving strength gives OSU
a probable 26 point head start and
Smith, Hirose, deGroot, Zemer,
and Adell plus a couple of relay
teams should add about 26 more.
The Wolverines, however, who
depend on the swim events for the
majority of their points, will run
into trouble of a natiaonal aspect.
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