'TIIE MICHIGAN DAILY

rA

THE MICHIGAN BAILY PA(~

, ,


Uphill Climb
Early Losses Forgotten
After Victory over OSUI

Nets

'M' Last


Grid

Title

By BOB BOLTON
From an upset defeat on a
bright September afternoon to an
f upset victory in a whistling No-
vember blizzard the toad to Mich-
igan's last fonference football title
was a rocky one.
The Wolverines grid star faded
before the 1950 season had begun.
CM opening day the Spartans of
Michigan State shocked Michigan
by defeating the Maize and Blue
for the first time in 13 years, 14-7.
Following the opening day de-
feat Michigan embarked on what,
appeared at best to be a mediocre
season. They won one week and
lost the next. When they were
good they were very good but when
they, were bad they lost.
Wolverines Catch Fire
Suddenly, with but three weeks
remaining in the season, the Wol-
verines caught on. Fifth string
wing back Wes Bradford came off
the bench to lead a 20-7 rout of
Indiana. The next week Michigan
outscored Noithwestern's Wild-
cats, 34-23.
Opportunity now knocked at
Michigan's door but in front of
%he doorstood mathamatical odds
so fantastically high that the Wol-
verines. needed two miracles to al-
low them to answer the knock.
In the.last game of the season
Michigan faced the Herculean task
of defeating mighty Ohio State.
However, this feat alone would
not be enough. Northwesterr the
conference doormat; had to lend
an assist and.knock off p formid-
able team from Illinois before the
Wolverines could lay their hands
on the title and the coveted Rose
Bowl bid that went with it.
Blizzard Hits Midwest
The gods must have been look-
ing after Michigan because on the
morning of the fateful Saturday
of "The Game" the worst blizzard
in many a year hit the Midwest.
In Columbus the wind and snow
whistled through Ohio's horse-
shoe stadium creating a weird and
proper stage for the strangest
football game of modern times.
Under such adverse conditions
the game became a throwback to
the Yost era of punt and pray ...
and oni that day Michigan's pray-
ers were answered,
* OSU Takes 3-0 Lead
Vic Janowicz, Ohio's great All-
American, warmed the Buckeyes'
S heartswhen he split the uprights
with a 30, yard boot in the first
quarter to put OSU ahead, 3-0.,
The Wolverines refused to be
counted out and with the aid of
punter Chuck Ortmann's mighty
foot they pushed the Bucks back
to their four yard line.
Janowicz attempted to punt
from the shadow of his goal post.-
Wolverine guard, Allen Jackson,
knifed through the Ohio line to
block the kick. The pigskin
-bounced out of the end zone and
Michigan had two of the three
points back.
Bucks Set Back Again
The payoff came with 47 sec-
onds remaining in the first half.
Ortmann had once again kicked
Gridders Seek
New Record
In Attendance
Seven home games, including
? two against outstanding non-Con-
ference opponents, raise hopes
that 1956 will see Michigan's foot-
ball season attendance record
broken.
Capacity at the huge Michigan
Stadium - largest college owned

stadium in the world-has been
increased to 100,000 from 97,239
with the addition of the new press
box above the stands
Three Sellouts in '55
Last year, with three sellouts
among the seven home contests,
the ,Wolverines drew almost 550,-
000 fans for the season The three
capacity crowds were attained for
the 'Army, Michigan State and
Ohio State games.
This "fantastic total, however,
fel 15,000 short of the all-time
record set in 1949. That year the
Wolverines, who tied with Ohio
State for the Big Ten champion-
ship, played only six games in
Ann Arbor, but had four sellouts
to achieve an overall attendance
mark of 503,363.
Every one of the 97,239 seats
was filled in 1949 for Michigan
State, ,Army, Indiana and Ohio
State.
Three Return
The first three of those schools
will Journey to Ann Arbor again

the Bucks into a hole on their own
nine yard line.
On third down Janowicz drop-{
ped back to the end zone to kick.
Center Tony Momsen crashedI
through the line, blocked the boot
and, covered it for six points. Har-
ry Allis added the seventh and to
all intents and purposes the game
was over with Michigan winning,
9-3.
In the fourth period it was an-
nounced' that Northwestern had
completed the double miracle by
defeating Illinois, 14-7.
So Michigan, gaining only 27
yards rushing and without the aid
of a single first down became the
"Champions of the West" for the
last time in recent years.
The Wolverines, a team beaten
by Michigan State, crushed by
Army, humiliated by a tie with
Minnesota and defeated by Illin-
ois added the proper Hollywood
ending on a Cinderella story by
scoring twice in the final six min-
utes to defeat California in the
Rose Bowl, 14-6.

i-M SPORTLIGHT
... by bob bolton
GOMBERG. Sigma Phi Epsilon, Nu Sigma Nu. Education . . . all
familiar names to anyone who follows the fortunes of intramural
sports at Michikan...
And once again at the end of the 1955-56 season these names
were in familiar spots, on top of their respective I-M leagues.
Only one expected name is missing from this charmed group of
winners. In the independent league the long seven-year tenure of
Newman Club was broken by a newly formed group, the Seldom
Seen Kids.
The Kids, as one member put it. are a bunch of frustrated ath-
letes who thought it was time to take the title away from Newman
Club.
How well they performed their task is a matter of record. The
Kids piled up a total of 1163 points and swept eight individual titles
on their path to the championship.
Kids Clinch Title Early . .
SO POWERFUL were the Kids in the fall ane winter sports that the
crown was in their hands by the middle of April. Newman Club
stumbled home in third place behind the runner-up Evans Scholars.
The "Big Red Machine" of Gomberg rolled to its fourth straight
residence hall title. In cutting their path to the championship, the men
from South (Quad amassed an awesome total of 1818 points and nine
individual crowns.
For the first time since Gomberg began her hold on the title,
however, she was closely pressed by the second place house. Williams,
coming from the depths of the also-rans in the 1954 standings fought
the "Big Red" all the way, finishing but 86 points out of first.
Cooley House, bridesmaid to Gomberg in previous years, faltered
badly in the Spring sports and fell to a .fourth place tie with Lloyd.
Among the social fraternities the big success story was written
by Sigma Phi Epsilon as it gained its sixth crown in eight years.
Virtually out of the race for top honors at the end of the winter
season the Sig Eps claimed three titles-softball, water po and golf
-in the last week of competition to unseat last year's champion Phi
*Delta Theta by 20 points.
SAM Dr ops Notch ...
SIGMA ALPHA MU lost her 1954 second place spot to the Phi Delts
*while Alpha Tau Omega the league's early pace setter fell to fourth.
The professional fraternities, at least as far as the first three
positions, repeated to almost the exact point totals of the 1954
standings.
Nu Sigma Nu annexed her second straight championship but only
a scant 26 points separated her from second place Phi Alpha Kappa
and third place Delta Sigma Delta was only 32 points -out of the
money.
In the faculty division Education claimed the title for the sixth
straight year. The teachers stacked up an overwhelming total of 880
points leaving their nearest competitors over 300 points behind.
After Education, however, the next four teams finished within
105 points of each other. Air Science, Cooley, English, and Chemistry
rounded out the top five in that order.

GREAT FOOTBALL DRAMA-In a major blizzard, Michigan played one of the greatest defensive games in its history against Ohio
State at Columbus in 1950. Capitalizing on the great punting ability of Chuck Ortmann and two blocked Buckeye punts, the Wolverines
defeated Ohio State without the benefit of a first down, 9-3, in the final game of the season. Combined with Northwestern's upset
of Illinois, the victory put Michigan Into the Rose Bowl where it downed California, 14-6.

MAJOR COORDINATION JOB:-
Athletic Administration Guides Michigan Sports

As would be expected, the sports
program of a school like Michigan
must have a central coordinating
agency.
Housed in a beautiful one-year.
old building at the corner of Hoo-
ver and State, the Athletic Admin-
istration is this body creating the
policy for the Administration is
the Board in Control of Intercol-
legiate Athletics.
Together they guide the activi-
ties not only of the Varsity teams,
but also of the intramural pro-
gram and several minor sports
groups. Physical education and
general sports facilities are other
matters with which they deal.
Best Known Functions
Possibly the two best known
functions of the Board in Control
are those that involve Michigan's
role in the Big Ten and that con-
cern the great building program
that has developed for Michigan
one of the greatest sports plants
of any college in the country
It is the Board that must decide
Michigan's vote in Western Con-
ference 'affairs,- such as Rose Bowl

4 _.

policy, eligibility matters and
schedule plans
Members of the Board include
Director of Athletics H. 0. "Fritz"
Crisler, 10 faculty and University
representatives, three alumni and
two students. Professor Marcus L.
Plant acts as. Michiga's. Board
representative to the Big Ten.
Beehive of Activity
Following the decisions on pol-
icy and appropriations set down
by the Board, the actual Athletic

Administration is a beehive of ac-
tivity during the school year.
Each of the varsity coaches has
an office in the' Administration's
Building. Here they have their
press interviews in the off-season
and their appointments with visi-
tors having various missions.
Correspondence, also a large
task for coaches of a major uni-
versity's varsity sports, is handled
by a corps of efficient secretaries.
Two continually busy sections

of the Athletic Administration
Building are the Public Relations
Office and the Ticket Office.
Etter Handles Publicity
Les Etter is Michigan's Sports
Publicity Director. All press re-
leases for national distribution on
Michigan athletes and Michigan
sports in general emanate from
his office.
Etter is also responsible for pro-
viding press box facilities among
all qualified reporters who wish to
use them in covering any Michi-
gan sport.

Especially during, the busy foot-
ball season, Etter's job is mam-
moth in allotting necessary space
to the scores of journalists, pho-
tographers, b r o a d r a s t e r s and
transmitting machine operators
who demand it
Ticket Manager is personable
Dbn Weir whose job is also at a
peak of activity during the grid
season. Selling up to 100,000 tick-
ets per game is sifficiently diffi-
cult, but the overwhelming call for
ideally situated seats adds to
Weir's burden.

Try FOLLETT'S First
USED BOOKS
at
BARGAIN PRICES
STATE STREET at NORTH UNIVERSITY

_ . _..

--



C CflMELET BROTHERS SPORT Jf4CKETS v
-..}0
...: ..**< ...... .. . .. . .. .. . .. .
r$0
of
.. . . . . . .. . . . . . .
:: :: .. . .. ... . ..
.. . . . . . S "
I v. vp
V0
0; frm$4V
^6
0 Only years of specialization in fine tailoring and designing in traditional univer-
sity clothes could have attained the perfect ease and casual lines of this jacket.
Ii The cloths are the finest produced in the mills of England and the cottages of
Scotland-in selected patterns and weaves that best complement the jacket.
0IN STOCK-SIZES REGULAR AND LONGp
L i -V
^ O
c
ri l - i,

/
/