FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 1945
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
PAGE T
Ferry Field, Once a Cricket Park,
Now Center of Athletic Activity
li
Colorful History of
Site Is Recounted
By MARY LU HEATH
Of the various facilities incorpor-
ated in the University athletic plant,
which started as a single gymnasium-
tent in 1858, none has a more colorful
or complicated history than Ferry
Field.
Since the first makeshift structure,
the athletic setup has undergone
Fields, and the women's field at
Palmer.
Ferry Field itself was purchased by
the Board of Regents for $3,000 in
1891, when it was realized that the
play field near the campus gymnasi-
um and the fair grounds in the south-
eastern part of Ann Arbor were be-
coming inadequate. First recognition
of the need for outdoor facilities came
in 1865, however, when the Board ap-
propriated $150 in two years for the
care of a cricket field.
000 people who were part of a record
crowd that day.
The heyday of Ferry Field as the
site of all important Michigan athlet-
ic spectacles was not ended until 1927
when the present Stadium was built
and football games were shifted there
from their old home. But before this
happened, many elevens were to set
foot on the field.
In 1906, the gridiron was moved to
the northern part of the area, sur-
rounded by the present quarter-mile
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I-M BUILDING--One of the Ferry Field group, this structure houses the Varsity swimming pool and has
facilities for a wide variety of other indoor sports such as tennis, squash, basketball, boxing, and wrestling.
many changes, moving from the orig-
inal site, where the Physics labora-
tory now stands, to the South State
stronghold it occupies at present. In-
cluded in the current group of build-
ings is the mammoth stadium, the
Sports Building, Yost Field House, the
Coliseum, and the Administration
Building. Waterman and Barbour
Gyms, of course, accommodate both
men's and women's physical educa-
tion classes.
Field Purchased in 1891
Of the outdoor fields, besides the
Stadium, the plant includes the Fer-
ry: Field track, the baseball diamond,
the University golf course, tennis
courts both on Ferry and Palmer
Thomason Is
Varsity Track
Find at Only 16
Cinder Coach Predicts
Big Things for Miler
By BILL MULLENDORE
Daily Sports Editor
A lot of people have said that col-
lege freshmen are not capable of
holding their own with older athletes
in normal times, even though they
have done pretty well under relaxed
wartime eligibility rules. But the
Michigan track squad last year boast-
ed at least one good argument against
that notion in the person of Bob
Thomason, 16-year old distance run-
ner.
Thomason, a freshman from As-
bury Park, N. J., is the youngest var-
sity athlete in Michigan athletic hi-
story. Apparently, youth is no handi-
cap to him, for he has done more
than all right against older, more
mature athletes.
Track Coach Ken Doherty has
nothing but praise for his protege and
sees a brilliant future for the boy
"who is as good now as the Hume
Twins were as freshmep." Comment-
ing on the performance of Thomason,
Doherty enthused, "He has made rap-
id improvement and should develop
into a first-rate miler. Bob has a
fine running style and good compet-
itive spirit."
Thomason has been a miler for
most of his cinder career but also
does a competent job in the half-
mile. Coming here more or less un-
heralded, the long, lean New Jerseyite
drew Doherty's eye early and soon
established a reputation for himself.
Thomason's best performance came
when it was most needed-at the
Conference Indoor meet this year.
There, he ran a 4:27.5 mile, good for
a three-way tie for second place and
incidentally almost four seconds fast-
er than his best previous time. He
also doubled back for a much-needed
fourth place in the half-mile at a
time when every additional point
could have meant the difference be-
tween victory or defeat for the Wol-
verines.
With teammate Archie Parsons,
another newcomer to the Wolverine
squad, Thomason entered the Na-
Mnnl A ATT 1 Af...-rr vrun nadfi-
But Michigan was destined for big-
ger things than cricket. The original
purchase included the south ten acres
of the present Field, which had to be
graded and drained before a quarter-
mile track surrounding a baseball
diamond and gridiron could be laid
out.
Called "Regents Field," the name
was changed to the present title in
1902 when the Hon. D, M. Ferry of
Detroit donated 21 additional acres
north of the original ten. Two years
later, a brick wall was constructed
around three sides of the field, and
later gifts of Ferry made possible the
building of gates and ticket offices.
The entire plot now covers approxi-
mately 80 acres.
First Gridders Played There
In 1893, stands with a seating ca-
pacity of 400 -- a drop in the bucket
now -were built for football specta-
torA, but in 1895 they were destroyed
by fire and consequently rebuilt, this
time accommodating double the old
amount. A ground keeper's house was
also raised at that time, showing that
Michigan was right in step with
''progress."~
When the final football game onI
the old site was played in 1906, theI
stands had been expanded to the
point where they could seat the 17,-
I
3
I
t
t
l
cinder track. Wooden stands accom-
modated spectators until 1914, when
the concrete stands were constructed.
Although this south unit, seating 46,-
000, was the only one built, plans
eventually called for a U-shaped
structure to surround three sides of
the track. Meanwhile, the wooden
stands were moved to the new base-
ball diamond in 1912, which lay on
the site now occupied by Yost Field
House.
Baseball. .
(Continued from Page 1)
Golf Team Will
Miss Marcellus
Served Four Years
As Varsity Linkster
By RUTH ELCONIN
When "Old Man Weather" brought
a premature spring to Ann Arbor this
year, several of the Wolverine golfers
took advantage of the early oppor-
tunity to begin practice for the 1945
season, among whom was Phil Mar-
cellus, one of the most consistently
accurate players on the squad, who
was completing his fourth season as
a member of the varsity.
Marcellus entered the University in
1940 and earned his freshman numer-
al playing tackle on the same team
that boasted the services of Tom Kuz-
ma, Paul White, and Julius Franks.
In his sophomore year, he won his
first varsity golf letter, also getting
one in football. In 1942, he played
guard on the varsity eleven.
Brief Sojourn in Army
In March of the following year, his
college career was interrupted when
he entered the Army, but after two
months he was back on campus with
a medical discharge and was ready to
resume his studies asaan architectural
engineer.
During the 1942, '43 and '44 seasons,
Michigan's linksmen captured the Big
Ten golf title. Marcellus has been one
of the most influentual factors in the
victories, probably because of his ac-
curacy and the fact that he can be
counted on for long, powerful drives,
or for good green play when precise
putting is needed. In the 1944 indi-
vidual Conference playoffs, Marcel-
lus, the team captain, was runner-up
to teammate John Jenswold, who
captured the title when he nosed out
Marcellus by two strokes.
Snniwht loantrol
tered an amazing record as he pitch-
ed eight games, the most in which a
Wolverine moundsman was started,
winning every one of them. He also
tied for the lowest earned run aver-
age on the team with a 1.13 percent-
age.
After losing the opener with West-
ern behind Bowman, the Wolverines
came back the following day to de-
cisively overcome the Broncos, 5-1,
on Louthen's four-hitter. Their sec-
ondand third wins were easily salted
away in a doubleheader with the
Grosse Ile Naval Base, won by 11-1
and 9-5 scores.
Pass First Crisis
The first big test for the nine came
in its Western Conference opener
with Illinois. As, it developed, how-
ever, the Wolverines had little to wor-
ry about, nosing the Illini, 3-0 and
1-0, behind Bowman and Louthen.
This eternal duo again paved the
way for Michigan victories the fol-
lowing weekend, when the Wolver-
ines swamped Notre Dame, 6-1 and
12-4.
The University of Detroit fell next
before the Michigan nine as it pre-
pared for all-important clashes with
a veteran-studded Minnesota club.
These games never took place, how-
ever, as rain cancelled both of them.
A return game with the Irish saw
Louthen pitch a four-hitter which
resulted in a 12-3 win for Michigan.
Beat Hoosiers, Take Lead
Bowman, Louthen, and Company
dumped Indiana, 4-2 and 12-5, in
the next Western Conference con-
tests, taking undisputed possession of
first place in the Big Ten. In a
warmup for the Wisconsin games
scheduled for the following Saturday
the nine defeated the Romulus Air
Base, 6-2.
When the Badgers met disaster at
the hands of Bowman and Louthen,
11-1 and 8-1, Coach Fisher's crew
moved to within striking distance of
the title. With every game, the Wol-
verines had become stronger in both
the hitting and fielding departments,
and they trounced Western, their
first-game nemesis, 10-5 and 10-3,
as they warmed up for the Confer-
ence clincher with Purdue.
16th Title
In the doubleheader with the Boil-
ermakers, the Fishermen swept to
their 16th Big Ten title, downing their
last-barrier opponents, 9-2 and 4-3,
behind the customary combination of
Bowman and Louthern. Preparations
for the final games with Ohio State
were anti-climactic, and rain can-
celled these last two contests.
Special laurels should go to Stev-
enson, Louthen, Bowman, and Lund,
the mainstays of the club. In "Big
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