THE MICHIGAN DAILY
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1953
Swimmers
Set
for
Best
Year
7
FOUR DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS-of Michigan's top-flight coaching staff are pictured above. Left to right they are Bennie Oos-
terbaan, head football coach; Vic Heyliger, hockey coach; Matt Mann, swimming mentor; and Ray Fisher, coach of Michigan's recently
crowned National Collegiate Baseball Champions. Oosterbaan celebrates his 25th year on the Michigan coaching staff this autumn.
He was a star athlete in his undergraduate days here at the University and has remained on the coaching staff since his graduation
in 1928.
, , ,
* 9 *
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Top-Flight Coaches Guide Michigan's Athletic Squads
The four coaches pictured above
are distinguished representaitves
of the great coaching staff of the
University of Michigan.
Each has a superb record in the
sport of his choice, and each is a
nationally renowned personality
in the sports world.
BENJAMIN Gaylord Oosterbaan
is perhaps the greatest athlete in
the history of the University. He
was an All-America selection at
end on the teams of 1925-26-27.
He teamed during the first two
years of his playing career with
the great forward passer Benny
Friedman to form the feared
"Benny to Bennie" combination
that .sparked Fielding Yost's last
two Michigan teams to national
gridiron glory.
Bennie's activities were by no
means confined to the football
field, however. He was a two
time All-America selection in
basketball in 1927-28, and a na-
tionally recognized first base-
man on the team coached then,
as now; by Ray Fisher.
They said of Bennie in his un-
dergraduate days that he could
have been a champion discus
thrower, but he never could find
time to go out for that sport. In
his senior year, in addition to cap-
taining the football team, Bennie
won the Western Conference Me-
dal for Proficiency in Scholarship
and Athletics.
IN THE dedication game at Mi-
chigan Stadium in his senior year,
Bennie turned from a receiver to
a passer and three three touch--
down passes to Lou Gilbert to de-
feat Ohio State, 21-0, and send a
crowd of 87,000 Michigan fans
home happy.
When Bennie graduated, he
was quickly grabbed up by Ath-
letic Director Fielding H. Yost
and placed on the coaching
staff, where he has remained
ever since. He was backfield
coach under Fritz Crisler in 19-
47 when the Wolverines came
up with a team which may have
been the greatest in modern
football. Well schooled in the
art of winning football by great
coaches like Yost, Harry Kipke
and Crisler, Bennie put his good
training to excellent use as his
first three Michigan squads cap-
tured Big Ten Championships.
Included in that record were a
National Championship in 1948
and a Rose Bowl title in 1951.
This is Bennie's sixth season as
head football coach. Three Big
Ten titles in the past five years,
stamps him as the winningest
coach in the conference.
*, * *
VIC HEYLIGER, like Ooster-
baan, is a former athletic great
at Michigan. He was a sensation-
al hockey player in the late thir-
ties and also performed for the
baseball team.
Heyliger's coaching record is
the greatest in collegiate hockey.
In- the six years in which the
N.C.A.A. has held its champion-
ship tournament at the Broad-
moor Ice Palace in Colorado
Springs, Colorado, Michigan has.
been present six times. Four
times, the last three years run-
ning, the Wolverines have ruled
as National Champions. In 19-
49 and 1950 they were held to
third place.
Matt Mann, who begins his fin-
il year as Michigan's swimming
coach, is unquestionably the fin-
est in his sport. He has coached,
more national title - winning
squads (13) than any other men-
tor. He has seen 'his Michigan
teams win 16 Big Ten crowns,
which is also tops in that depart-
ment. In addition, Mann has tu-
tored more Olympic swimmers
than any other coach, and as a
clincher, he coached the American
Olympic team to victory at Hel-
sinki last year. The points earned
oy his swimmers made the United
States triumph over Russia in the
games possible.
Ray Fisher, the dean of col-
lege baseball coaches, has seen
his Michigan teams win 16 Big
Ten titles in his 32 year coach-
ing regime. Last season,- the
Wolverines won the National
Championship as well. It mark-
ed the first time Fisher has tak-
en a team to the national tour-
nament, and Michigan took
home the title by beating an
overconfident Texas outfit in
the final game, 7-5.
Fisher has posted an unbeliev-
able coaching record during the
last dozen years. His Michigan
teams have won 10 conference
titles in that time. Michigan has
been playing at a .687 clip dur-
ing Fisher's 32 year tenure. The
varsity has won 547 and lost only
228 games during those years.
'21'Loaded
WithTalent''
By PHIL DOUGLIS
Matt Mann's twenty - ninth
Michigan swimming team may
well be one of his greatest.
Mann will add five highly-rated
swimmers from last season's fresh-
man squad to virtually the same
team which swept undefeated
through eight straight dual meets,
finished second in the Big Ten
meet, and third in the NCAA meet.
* * *
MICHIGAN loses only one out-
standing swimmer from last sea-
son, distance man Wally Jeffries.'
True, his loss will hurt, but Mann
has come up with some real depth
to more than counter-balance'
Jeffries' loss.
Mann has been conducting a
re-building program for several
years, and it appears that it is
ready to blossom this season. He
has come up with such boys as
the famed Scottish twins Bert
and Jack Wardrup. Jack, the
captain of the British Olympic
swimming team in 1952, finished
fifth in the quarter-mile at Hel-
sinki, while his brother Bert was
the top backstroker of the Brit-
ish Isles, and finished sixth in
the Olympics.
Jack and Bert both looked very
impressive last season in winning
several AAU events, and they oc-
casionally led the freshman squad
to victories over the strong var-
sity. Bert gives the Wolverines
strength at a crucial weak-spot,
the backstroke.
* * *
OTHER NEW men who will be
much in evidence come January,
will be Ron Sharpe, an Australian
breaststroker, who finished third
in the British Empire Games last
year, and -Jim Kruthers, National
high school backstroke king two
years ago. This gives Michigan
much needed strength in the here-
tofore weak breaststroke.
A fifth member of last season's
frosh who may be heard from
this season is Bob Knox. Knox
set a national interscholastic
record in the 100 yard free style
while in high school, and gives
the Wolverines much-needed
depth in the sprints.
Any follower of collegiate swim-
ming well knows who Mann has
returning from last year's squad.
Such names as Bumpy Jones, Ron
Gora, Don Hill, Jimmy Walters,
Tommy Benner, and many others,
will once again fill the headlines.
BUMPY JONES is probably the
world's greatest all around swim-
mer. This is shown by the fact
that he is the world's top individ-
ual medley swimmer, a race which
consists of back, breast, and free-
style strokes.
The "Bumper" as Mann calls
him, is defending Big Ten and
National champion in the 150-
individual medley, and is only a
junior. Jones, who smashed
many records while prepping at
Detroit's Redford high school,
was undefeated last year, and
may well turn in the same kind
of showing this season. He swam
in the Olympics in 1952.
Ron Gora is another magic name
in swimming circles. Gora teamed
with Jones last season as the soph-
omore sensations of the Michigan
squad. Another Olympic swimmer,
Gora was ineligible his freshman
year and the first part of last sea-
son, but once he regained the right
to compete, he was a big gun in
the Michigan attack.
* * *
UNDEFEATED during his fabu-
lous high school career at Chi-
cago's Lane Tech high school,
Gora helped spark Michigan's
smashing victory over Michigan
State at Lansing with a double
victory. Gora swims in almost anyI
middle distance race, and can
sprint also. His long layoff from
actual competition did hurt him
somewhat, but he is expected to be
in top shape for the coming sea-
son.
Jimmy Walters once again
carries Michigan's diving hopes
on his shoulders. Walters, Illi-
nois state diving champion from
New Trier high school, won in
many dual meets last season,
and was third in the conference
three meter diving, and fifth in
the one meter. Walters is an-
other one of the many juniors
on the squad.
Senior co-captain Don Hill was
Michigan's top sprinter last sea-
son. He lost the conference 50 yard
freestyle title last season by one
inch to Northwestern's Keith Pet-
erson, but won most of his other
starts.'
* * * ,
OTHER RETURNING vets in-
clude co-captain Tom Benner, a
speedy sprinter, John Chase,
Mann's top choice in the back-
strike last season, Glenn Miller,
who was the top Michigan breast-
stroker last season, and John Reis,
a sprinter used in the relays.
Others include medley men
Barry Wayburn, and Ed Furdak;
Bud Hurd, the number two div-
er; freestyler Pete Dow; back-
stroker Tom Case, breaststroker
Bob Marans, and backstroker
Don Potter.
Michigan swept undefeated
through eight straight dual,
meets last season. The Wolver-
ines opened their campaign at
Evanston, where they tore apart
a helpless Northwestern outfit
62-31, as nine out of ten events
went to Michigan.
The following week, Mann's
team ran all over Iowa 62-31.
Michigan hit the road again, trav-
elling to Purdue, where it too. the
Boilermakers into camp 54-3I,
with Jones and Hill getting double
wins.
* * *
BOWLING GREEN served mere-
ly as a workout, with the Wolver-
ines annihilating the Falcons, 74-
10. Then the Ann Arbor lads rode
into the East Lansing, and smash-
ed a Spartan unbeaten streak at
five straight meets. Ron C'ira and
Bumpy Jones led the 55-32 tri-
umph over MSC with double wins.
Back home came Michigan,
to take on Iowa State, and the
Cyclones were no match, fall-
ing 63-30. The next day, Min-
nesota came to the, I-M Build-
ing Pool, and Michigan made
quick work of the Gophers, 67-
26.
The stage was set for the big
one. Ohio State held three straight
dual meet wins over Michigan, and
was trying for its fourth, but Mich-
igan turned on the power before
a Jammed-packed house and whip-
ped the favored Buckeyes 50-43.
* * *
THE BIG EN meet at Iowa
City saw Ohio State run away from
the field. OSU polled 102 points,
to runner up Michigan's 68. Mich-
igan State was a far third, with
48. The meet saw Bump Jones
win the conference individual med-
ley crown and the 220 freestyle
title. The 400 freestyle relay squa#
also won a crown, the team 00mi
posed of Hill, Benner, Gora, an4
Reis.
The Michigan team ended it.
season at Columbus on March 28,
as it placed third in the National
championships. Yale won the
crown, with Ohio State right be-
hind.
Michigan's great 400 yard, free'
style relay team took the national
title, with a record tine of 3:24.0,
a mark which smashed Michigan's
1952 mark of 3:25.7. The always
reliable Jones easily took the NCAA-
individual, medley crown.
f
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