TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 195$ THE MICHIGAN DAILY ol verines Plagued by Series of 'Family Sqt abl3rJE V. iables A r £Au nfAle64h... WITH PHIL DOUGLIS Daily Sports Editor EOPLE make mistakes every day-and most of them never get in headlines. But when an athlete makes a mistake, he must pay a bitter price, for his career is public domain-and his supporters feel it their right to know the reasons behind his downfall. Such is the case of Jack and Bert Wardrop. Such is the case of Don Haney. Such is the case of several Michigan basketball players. As a sports editor, we are torn between many factions. You, the reader, deserve the real facts, for the reasons stated above. Yet think for a moment of the athlete. If you were in his shoes, would you want your dirty linen washed in public view? I doubt it. For this reason, many sources cover up the real facts in order to protect the individual in question. What the reader gets is a watered down version of the truth from second hand sources. This writer has a duty to both his readers and the institution which he writes about. In line with this, then-we will try to present to you the stories behind some of Michigan's athletic squabbles as fairly as we can-to both sides. Is there an overall ugly shadow looming behind the events of recent weeks? Is one single factor to blame for the Ohio State football fiasco,. the suspension of two hockey players for "expense money" charges, the dropping from competition of two swimmers and a wrestler, and wild rumors of dissension on the basketball team? Our answei is a simple-NO. Every single case has its own causes, and it is just an unfortunate coincidence that they all had to occur within four short months. It is our purpose here to take a brief look at a few of these cases- and we will let you be the judge as to who is right, and who is wrong. As Michigan's Athletic Director H. O. "Fritz" Crisler put it to us yesterday-"personnel troubles are commonplace on most athletic teams, and our trouble here this weekend was unfortunate to be sure -but in the coming weeks and months it will be forgotten. It was an unhappy Saturday afternoon for those two boys.' I think they made a mistake, and they realize it." Victims of a Culture Clash .. . THERE is no doubt about it-the Wardrops did make a mistake. The causes behind it however, were partly due to something be- yond the personalities of these world famous swimmers. The Wardrops were victims of a culture clash. In the British Empire, it is the cus- tom to recognize superior achievement with acknowledgement. This acknowledgement comes in the form of the captaincy of a team. At Michigan however, the captains are elected by the team on the basis of leadership. The Wardrops, probably the best in ability, came out second-best in the election. An American would shake his head, and forget it. But to people who have been accustomed to an entirely different tradition, it goes much deeper. And it went too deep for Jack and Bert Wardrop. They were the victims of an unfortunate circumstance. How- ever, their behavior following it, was not what any standard would term desirable. They made a mistake in this respect. The real story behind the election and other difficulties are not known. It was, however, an unfortunate turn of events for Michigan and for swimming. Coach Gus Stager is not to blame for this altercation. It hadt entrenched its roots before he even took over last year. He did his best, and now that it has exploded he finds himself with a weaker, yet better integrated team. The direction should be upward from now on in. A similar problem existed with Wrestler Don Haney. Haney - quit his team for a while due to a personality clash. However, in thist case, he realized shortly that Michigan and its family of students and alumni stood above his personal problems-and he rejoined the team. He currently is regaining his old form, and the unpleasantness of the past is receding rapidly into the background.s * * * *. Eyebrows Rise as Cagers Fall... A THIRD facet of Michigan's recent problems has been the current decline of its basketball team, which fell to a Big Ten foe for the sixth straight time Saturday night. In a team game like basketball, everybody is a grandstand coach --and it appears from the grandstand that Michigan has been playing rather uncoordinated basketball, to say the least. This has given rise to rumors of dissension-and the more they I multiply, the more they are believed. We asked Criser point blank about these rumors, and he said, "When your team is losing in any sport, you get second guessing. Pretty soon even the players start second guessing. When they start 1 doing this out loud, it is labeled as dissension. I don't believe there t is any dissension on Michigan's team . . . only individuals speaking out their personal beliefs." 0 I guess the only tonic for this ill would be a few victories. How- t ever, time is running out-and it will take a lot more unified play q to achieve these lofty heights. C c Crisler summed it all up, when he said, "We shouldn't do so much S worrying about intra-family squabbles. Let's concentrate on the goals and objectives of inter-collegiate athletics instead, and we will t be a lot better off." I heartily agree. e 4- Suspension of Wardrops Brings VariedOpinions (continued from page 1) Cage Rankings rBIG TEN STANDINGS Scores WV L Pct. 1. San Francisco (20-0) 1,301 Illinois ................ 10 0 1.000 2. Illinois (16-1) 1,078 Michigan State 96,-Northwest- Iowa..................9 1 .900 3. Louisville (21-2) 809 ern 93 Ohio State.............7 4 .636 Purdue ............. ...6 5 .545 4. Dayton (20-2) 782 Ohio State 79, Wisconsin 71 Michigan state ........ 5 5 .500 5. Vanderbilt (18-2) 529 Iowa 87, Indiana 83 Indiana ................5 6 .455 6. N. Carolina St. (19-3) 509 Illinois 102, Purdue 77 Minnesota.............. 4 6 .400 7. Alabama (16-3) 403 Kentucky 76, Vanderbilt 55 MICHIGN............ 3 7 .3 8. Kentucky (16-4) 308 Wake Forest 76, Maryland 60 Northwestern...........0 10 .00 Jack "was examined and had a respiratory infection." The doctor said the infection was not serious and he told Jack he could do himself no harm by competing. He said however, that Jack probably was not up to peak efficiency. Wardrop finished third in his. one event, the 220-yard freestyle in a time of 2:24. He set the world record for that distance last year by swimming it in 2:03.4. Another of the Wardrop's team- mates expressed the opinion that Stager .was possibly at fault for not suspending them sooner. He added that he did not believe the spirit of the squad would be vastly improved. A third member of the team had still another viewpoint. "We had trouble getting the team together all year." He felt that the appear- ance at practice of the Wardrops added a spark to the squad. He said that the team will now "lack the punch needed to beat the big teams." Not Available For Comment Neither of the Wardrops were available again today to comment on the story that they were-upset over last year's elections for team captain. The story, which also ap- peared in the Detroit newspapers said the Wardrops' poor attitud stems from last season when the3 were not chosen co-captains of the team. As far as the people the Ward- rops live with are concerned, the3 are ideal boarders. Said Mrs. Pres- ton Slosson, wife of the noted University professor, "I have never met more charming boys." The Wardrops live in a room in the Slosson home. Mrs. Slosson remarked that the Wardrops are "marvelous boys,' whom she couldn't recommend more highly. She said that "the adults at this house are 100% behind the Wardrops." e t. t aI eI CHEMISTS -ENGINEERS H. O. "FRITZ" CRISLER ... backs Stager THREE TOUGH LOSSES: Latators Win One Meet GUS STAGER ... "nothing new to add" Santee Asks Court Order Against .Ban NEW YORK (A-The Amateur Athletic Union last night advised track meet directors their organi- zations will lose AAU sanction "forever" if they permit Wes San- tee to compete. This will hold even if the premier American miler succeeds in ob- taining a court injunction against his lifetime ban as an amateur. The AAU announcement also said any athlete participating in any meet in which Santee was al- Walker 4-F EDMONTON (AP) - Art Walker, football tackle for Mi- chigan in 1954, has been de- clared'4-F by the Army, and will return to the Edmonton Eskimos, Canadian Grey Cupj football champions. An old knee injury kept him from passing his U.S. Army physical. owed to compete would "jeopard- ze" his amateur standing. Dan Ferris, secretary-treasurer of the AAU, said the meet direc- ors had been told the conse- quences of allowing Santee to ompete in an official telegram igned by Ferris. Only a few hours earlier, San- ee's attorney had said he expect- ed "quick action" on his attempts o have the courts nullify the ban imposed by the Executive Com- mittee of the AAU Sunday. By ALAN WINKELSTEIN (First of Two Parts) This just isn't a Michigan swim- ming year.. With the 52-50 loss to Indiana last weekend, the natators showed that they will more than likely have to adopt the old expression, "wait till next year." The Indiana meet demonstrated once again that ' Michigan just doesn't have quite enough to beat the top squads in the Conference. Prior to this meet, the natators had lost close decisionsto Michi- gan State and Iowa in Conference competition. Close Meets In all three of the meets, the losing margin was three points or under. One more victory, or even a second place finish, would have been good enough to give the team victories in each of these meets. Going into the final dual meet of the season against powerful Ohio State this weekend, the Wol- verines have the unenviable rec- ord of only a single wM, against Starting tonight at 7:30, and each Tuesday hereafter, there will be a body-building and-con- ditioning class at the I-M Build- ing in the weight training room. -Earl Riskey impdtent Purdue, and three losses, and one tie. Unless the team can pull a ma- jor upset over Ohio State, this will be the worst record that has been compiled by a Michigan swimming squad in many years. Coach Gus Stager commented that Michigan was defeated in each of these meets by teams that swam much better than expected. He also added that the Wolver- ine natators are not a bad squad despite their record. The Big Ten is stronger now, than it has ever been. Other Contenders This is the first time in a good nuiber of years that anybody with the exception of Michigan and Ohio State has even been con= The Dascola Barbers * distinctive 0individualistic 9 suave --Hair Problems Invited Men of Michigan! near Michigan Theatre sidered as a potential Conference title holder. Iowa, Michigan State and Indiana all have excellent teams that might possibly com- pete strongly for the Big Ten hon- ors. One of Michigan's biggest weak-, nesses has been the lack of cham- pionship sprinters. In all of the meets the Maize and Blue have been defeated, they lost on the final race of the program, the 400 yard free-style relay, a sprint re- lay race. Contact .. ti Pioneer and leading producer of silicones will have a representative on campus February 22 to interview 1956 graduates. PLACEMENT OFFICE for interview appointment Read and Use Daily Classifieds Lt ii IT nr r i i electrical * mechanical ENGINEERS, PHYSICISTS MATHEMATICIANS bachelor - master - doctor research development field engineering in computation communication instrumentation EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEWS will be made Feb- ruary 23rd and 24th, 1956. Mr. R. K. Patterson will interview candidates for St. Paul, Minnesota, location. Mr. D. A. Bowdoin will interview candi- dates for the Philadelphia, Pa. location. PLEASE APPLY THROUGH .J' n nDIAi A C CI'~ ku r c~ I California Division