WEDNESDAYMR , 19I CIGANDAIL oe Louis Officially' uitsRino &r'id te idn880_Tilt or .....Of C .%- Jde To Give FTitday's Bi Ninte Events, SHORT STUFF: Mikulich Topnotch Cager Despite Medium Stature 11 IALKNP4 ~flVJ with Bud Weidenthal Associale Sports Eiditor r Il Promoters I Crucial for M' Tauitren I DESPITE NUMEROUS reports to the contrary, Michigan's improv- thinclads cannot be considered favorites to win the Western Con- ference track and Field championship held at Champaign this week- end.. . By no stretch of the imaginations can the Sophomore-laden Wolverines be figured on paper to amass enough points to overtake the powerful Ohio State Buckeyes, who will be defending the title they won last year. OSU Depth Should Wiii IN OUR BOOK it should be Ohio all the way, with ease . .. the Scarlet and Gray, under the leadership of Larry Snyder will bring to the Illinois Armory virtually the same squad that won the crown for them last year, plus Olympic champion Mal Whitfield who was in- eligible for the 1948 tourney. Although the Buckeyes, by losing in a duel meet to the Maize and Blue, exhibited a lack of depth and overall team strength, wealth of individual talent will provide them with more than enough points for victory. In only five events, the quarter mile, the 880, the mile high hurdles and the mile relay, the Ohioans could amass enough to outclass the field.. . Mal Finally in Shape TilE RETURN of Whitfield to the Ohio squad is the deciding factor,. of course. There had been some doubts as to whether he would be in shape in time to run well in the conference meet, but after watching him loaf to a 49.5 win in the 440 Saturday night--and do it the hard way-we're convinced he's back to Olympic games form. We talked to the long-legged speedster while he was in town and he assured us that he would be ready to go in the half this week-end.. . His presence on the squad alone will add considerably to the Ohio point total .. ,. he had to be figured for a first in the quarter, at least a second in the 880 and an anchor leg of the mile relay quartet that should win easily. On the basis of five points for first, fotu' for second, etc., and ten markers for the mile relay, the addition of Whitfield gives the Bucks 19 points rl4ht off the bat. Buckeye Hurdling Sharp ADD TO THIS the prowess of hurdlers Lloyd Duff and Dick Max- well, the best in the conference, and last year's quarter mile champ Harry Cogswell. Duff and Maxwell must be figured for a first and second in the.highs and at least a third and fourth in the lows while the red- headed Cogswell should have little trouble fPnishing second be- hind Whitfield in. his speciality. These men could boost the Ohio total to 37 points in merely five events! And they'll only pick up. approximately eight more in the re- maining seven. That's a real concentration of strength. Their total of 45 points will put them well in front of their near- est rivals which should be Illinois and Michigan in that order. Thee Wolverines and the Illini both possess team balance but lack the individual standouts that make the Buckeyes a sure thing. Unless there's a decided reversal of form in the Scarlet and Gray camp, we'lt bet our reputation on it.. " s} Competition MIAMI BEACH, Fla.-(,P)-Joe Louis resigned as undefeated World Heavyweight Boxing Champion today to become a fight promoter. The Alabama-born Negro who has held the Heavyweight Crown longer, and defended it more often, than any man in boxing history made his formal resigna- tion by letter to the National Box- ing Commission. HE ASKED FOR and received NBA permission to promote a match between Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott in June for the NBA-recognized World's Heavyweight Title. Louis' resignation was sub- mitted to NBA Oommissioner Abe J. Greene, of Ptterson, N.J., visiting here, and Flamen D. Adae, NBA president, of Miami Beach. A new fight promotion alliance with Arthur M. Wirtz, James D. Norris, owners of the Chicago Stadium, and Louis sharing equal ownership was formed. It is to be called. the International Boxing Club. BOTH CONTENDERS, Louis said, have been recognized by the NBA and "other recognized and competent authorities as the top ranking contenders. In the 12 years during which Louis reigned the undisputed King of the Heavyweight Box- ing World, he defended his title 25 times. The only comparable heavy- weights to resign were John L. Sullivan, who held the title 10 years and 7 months and James J. Jefferies, who came out of retire- ment to fight Jack Johnson for the Championship just over 11 years after he had won it from Bob Fitzsimmons. Louis was the youngest boxer ever to win the crown. He was 23 when he whipped Braddock, while Sullivan, Jefferies and Jack Dempsey were 24 when they be- came champions. Louis earned the most money. During his boxing career he piled up $3,887,323.72 from official matches. How much he has picked up in personal appearance tours, exhibitions and investments is known only to his managers and the Internal Revenue Department. EDIiT"OIS NO T-TAxis is t he sec'znd of thtree articlies dealing withi the Westtern Conerence swimn ni g meet at Purdue, March 3, . and 5.) By MERLE LEVIN Friday night will be one of those 'crucial nights' that sports writers love to prattle about as Michigan's tankmen continue defense of their Big Nine crown at Purdue. Should the Wolverines end the evening at the head of the pack -and this is improbable-they will be almost a shoo-in for the crown. SIX EVENTS, the 50 and 2201 yd. free styles, the 150-yd. back-j stroke, the 200-yd. breast stroke. the 1-meter dive and the 300-yd. medley relay will be run off that night. event and who will take second is anybody's guess. In a class by himself and al- most a (,inch for fifth is Michi- gan's old reliable, Gus Stager, who cannot touch these four men and is about two seconds faster than anybody else in the conference. THE BREASTSTROKE should be a three-cornered affair featur- The Michigan Sailing Club's first meeting will be held at 7 p.m. tonight in the Union. All new members are urged to attend for plans of the com- ing season will be discussed. Starting tonight and continu- ing through April, on-shore schooling is scheduled to famil- ! ...4i. 41.' And in at least two events the iarize everyone with tne club's Maize and Blue is scheduled to rules and boating duties. Movies take a bad beating. will be shown. In the backstroke. especially, the Wolverines figure to be out ing Michigan's great duo of Char- in the cold. Iowa's Duane Draves lie Moss and Bob Sohl against de-I rates as the pre-meet favorite fending champion Keith Carter. with team mate Dick Maine, Behind these men, Iowa's Ohio's Ralph Knight and Bob De- sophomore sensation, Bowen Groot right behind him. Ohio's # Stassforth rates as the best Bill Rodenbach also rates slight- available and another dogfight ly ahead of Michigan's best, Ber- for fifth looms with Mel Ivonen nie Kahn. of Minnesota and Bob Bartels Bob Tannehill of Northwestern of Ohio as the chief contenders. and Rog Ahlman of Minnesota are Michigan's Bill Upthegrove right around Kahn's times and could also get in on the argu- the battle for fifth place should nent if he hits his stride. be a real humdinger. But the The 300-yd. medley relay looms Wolverines can only hope for fifth as a tussle between Michigan and at best here. Iowa with Ohio rating a probable third. The uncertainty of the THlE LOW BOARD diving Is! makeup of the relay teams makes another event where Ohio State an accurate appraisal of compara- rates high with Bruce Harlan and ltive strength impossible but Mich- Jack Calhoun almost sure to rank igan and Iowa have consistently one-two. Hobie Billingsley, a for- been around 2:56 with their best mer NCAA winner, and John men. Simpson will round out the Ohio (Tomorrow: Saturday's events) brigade and both men are cap-! able of scoring points. Ralph Trimborn, George Eys- -M EW S ter and Frank Keller will head the Michigan delegation and it is possible that one of these men The weight departments of the can go as high as third although Tntramural Building and Water- the best bet to crack the Ohio man Gymnasium have announced monopoly is Northwestern's that a new event, weight lifting, Chuck Chelich who whipped will be added to the I-M Open Billingsley in the NCAA's last House which will be held March year and Calhoun in a duel meet 23. The lifts will be Olympic with this season. standard body weight divisions. The 50-yd. free style figures to All men interested in participat- be a battle between Wolverine ing may sign up at either Water- Dick Weinberg and Keith Carter man Gym or the I-M Building. of Purdue but in a race as short Medals will be awarded for out- as this anything can happen. standing performances in each di- * * isinx (I DII'OWS' NOTE: This is the first il a series of articles ol the Western C'onference track meet to be held at Illinois, March 4th and 5th.) By BILL CONNOLLY What figures to be one of the greatest races in the history of the Western Conference will be run this weekend when Big Nine trackmen gather in Champaign to battle it out for the indoor track championship. Featured in the 880 will be Herb Barten, Michigan's defending Conference Champion, Mal Whit- field, Olympic Champion from Ohio State, and Don Gehrmann of Wisconsin. the nation's out- standing miler. THE EDGE, on the basis of comparative times for this sea- son. is given to Gehrmann. He has been credited with an amaz- ing 1:51.8 half mile, which is a full two seconds better than the existing Conference record! Potentially, Whitfield ranks as the best of the field by virtue of his Olympic title. But that was won last summer on an out- door track in London, and Whit- field is the kind of a runner who uses that long straightaway of a quarter-mile track to take full advantage of his tremendous stride. In addition to being handicap- ped by a shorter track, Whitfield will be troubled by a lack of con- ditioning. He was off the Buckeye squad earlier in the season, and has only been working out for three weeks since rejoining the team. Gehrmann is in excellent con- dition, with no injuries or handi- caps to hold him back. The only thing working against him will be the fact that he will enter the 880 after running a mile, where he may make an attempt to crack the ten-year-old record of 4:11.1. BARTEN, who beat Gehrmann in both the mile and the half- mile, to win both events in last year's indoor meet, will probably not defend his mile crown. Barten is listed as Mr. X- the unknown quantity-as far as this year's meet is concerned. Ile is still bothered by a foot injury sustained in a post- Olympic European tour last summer. His best time to date is the 1:55.9 he ran last Saturday night in the meet with Ohio State. He is better than this, as is proven by the fact that he is co-holder of the conference half mile record of 1:53.9. Barten, who first won the title in his freshman year, will be de- fending his half-mile crown for the third consecutive year. TUXEDO and TAILS RENTALS ALL NEW - ALL SIZES Locally Stocked See 1 . Min .PARR 119 So. Main St. 'Phone 6924 I lay PRES HOLMES One of the most rabid pro- ponents of the "ban hyp"rt"oids from basketball" movement is five-foot-eleven Bill Mikulich. Capable of being one of the out- standing players in the Confer- ence, Bill's cage career at Mich- igan has been, more thin some- what undermined because of his comparative shortness on the hardwoods. Ile has been able to demonstrate his abilityaonly against the shorter teams. NOW IN HIS LAST season for the Wolverines Mik feels that it's his best. This conclusion is due mainly to his performance in the Purdue game here where he was runner-up for scoring honors be- mind Mack Suprunowicz' record- oreaking 28 point total. Another factor which is very important, however, is the fact that the 25-year-old eager is playing forward again this year -the spot he played all through high school and for three years while in the service. For the two seasons prior to the present one, Bill played guard- under the direction of Ozzie Cowles. NOW THAT he is back at for- ward Mik says he feels much more at ease and natural, anl can play a much better game. Working at guard he felt awkward and un- sure, and naturally couldn't give the performance he is capable of. As pessimistic as his state- ment about the taller men now present on basketball squads seems, Bill really approaches the whole subject with an optimis- tic and carefree attitude. When it was mentioned that this was his last season, he quipped, "the old man is bowing out." He's at least two years older than anyone else on the squad, which he evidently feels qualifies him for the nomer of "old man." Bill approaches basketball, and his future, with the same carefree but determined attitude. He says, "you should have fun, but play hard, win or lose." U The Store Where You Al ways Save! _: 4 Z I PPER SPORTS SH I RTS $499 ALL WOOL SHIRTS All colors Reg. 7.50 $499 I ONE GROUP SPORT SHIRTS Regular 3.99 and 4.95 ODD LOT.................... wl V'1KJAUS1. OHIO, OF COURSE, has the perennial Hirose, a fine clutch swimmer, and Michigan will seek to pick up added points through Bill Kogen and Dave Tittle. After Bill Smith has taken the 220 freestyle for Ohio State the battle for second place be-j tween Matt Mann III of Miclh- igan, Bill Heusner of Northwes- tern and Iowa's Wally Ris fi- gures to be the closest one of the evening. Smith is virtually untouchable this year in this event, having set a new Intercollegiate record of 2:08.2 and generally conductedI himself in championship manner I but Ris, Mann and Heusner are all going about t~he same for this MONDAY'S BASKETBALL RESIDENCE HALL "A" Greene 36, Anderson 13 Adams 48, Cooley 21 Mich. 44, Vaughan 25 Tyler 34, Hinsdale 32 Chicago 33, Williwms 26 Winchell 28, Strauss 21 Wenley 39, Prescott 20 Fletcher 107, Allen Rumsey 33 RESIDENCE MALL "B" Cooley 30, Prescott 26 Williams defeated Fletcher by forfeit Winchell 23, Greene 18 Wenley 35, Vaughan 20 INDEPENDENT: Ba rbarians 29, Ramblers 27 Nakamura Co-op 31, Hurricanes 14 I CORDUROY SPORT SHIRTS $499( GABARDINESLCS ALL WOOL SOCKS PLAIN and FANCY C33 Irregulars-In first 1.50...... ANN ARBOR ® CLOTHING 113 South Main I *, I 49 Your Ensian Yearbook I i 0 now $5.QQ Mar 9 T 6UOO Buy Dduy I