s 41turn To Brighten Michigan's Grid Prospects By DICK KRAUS There'll be plenty of reinforce- ments on the football front this fall for Coach "Fritz" Crisler's 1945 "Baby Wehrmacht," which featured six 17 year olds in the starting line- up that piled up seven victories as against three losses to top teams in the nation, Army, Navy, and Indiana. In fact, if Crisler chose, he could field an all-ex-GI eleven come next September. He could even play a squad of dischargees made up en- tirely of returnees from the 1942, '43, and '44 aggregations. Vet Backfield Possible For a backfield Crisier could choose from Ralph Chubb, right half, Gene Derricote, and Bill Culligan, who shared tailback duties in 1944, Paul White, '42, and '43 right half, Bob Chappuis, Bob Vernier, and Don Boor, left half, quarterback and full back on the '42 squad and Bob Wiese, last of Michigan's great spin- ning fullbacks, who carried the mail in '42 and '43. Up front, returning servicemen in- clude a trio of top flight ends, Bruce Hilkene and Jack Petosky, of the '43 squad, and Elmer Madar. Madar and tackle Bill Pritula who is also' re- turning are the last of the "Seven Oak Posts" of 1942. For center line duty other available ex-GI's include Walt Freihofer, '42, Frank Kern, Quentin Sickels, and George Krager, who all played in '43 and George Burg, '44. A miscellaneous but very handy returning item, is the educated toe of "Automatic Jim Brieske. Brieske booted field goals and extra points wit monotonous regularity back in '41, and '42. But tough as this demobilized power-pack threatens to be, there's a host of other rugged footballers among the record shattering turnout, which is expected to hit the 150 mark, who will have plenty to say about the top spots in Crisler's plans. Last Year's Frosh Back First, there's the remnants of Michigan's freshman-studded '45 out- fit, the same hopped-up youngsters who played Blanchard, Davis and Co., off its feet for a full thirty min- utes to give the mighty West Point- ers the biggest scare of the season. Frosh Acquire Polish Last year's ferocious frosh will bring the added polish of ten tough games plus a little more maturity into the pre-season battle for starting positions. Tony Momsen will have another) crack at heavy 'duty from the pivotj spot. At the ends Lennie Ford, the' pass-grabbing 6 ft. 5 in. Negro, and Ed McNeill are good bets to see' a lot of action. McNeill was shifted to quarterback during Spring practice, but with the return of Joe Ponsetto and Howard Yerges he may be re- turned to the end position. Weisenberg, Renner Return Jack Weisenberger, who can play left half or fullback, and Captain Art Renner, end, were two of the few veterans on last year's eleven, and both are back for another season's activity. To make Crisler's selecting job even more difficult a crop of new candi- dates blossomed out of Spring prac- tice. A quintet of promising tackles caught the eyes of the coaching staff and will come in for a lot of scrutiny before the season opener against In- diana rolls around. They include, Bob Ballou, who won the Chicago Alumni trophy awarded to the player show- ing the most improvement in Spring practice, Jack Carpenter, Dick Brown, and Elmer Phillips. Best of the new backfield prospects on the basis of Spring showings are Allen Traugott, and Mike Yedinak a couple of hard hitting backs. There's talent aplenty for Crisler to chose from, but the football fields of the Nation are all producing a bumper crop of pigskinners, and only the long Saturday afternoons next Fall will tell just how high up in the national scene Michigan's football talent harvest will rate. BLOTT new line coach OOSTERBAAN . .number 1 football aide CRISLER .. . looks over 1946 candidates SPORTS Y 1MwF :3aA6Fi SPORTS SUPPLEMENT SUPPLEMENT VOL. LVI, No. 34S ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 1946 PRICE FIVE ( wr w nsrs i Army Battle Tops Seven Home-Game Schedul 1 * * * * * * Ozzie Cowles Appointed New Basketball Coach Dartmouth Mentor Replaces Oosterbaan Osborne B. (Ozzie) Cowles, former Dartmouth basketball coach, became the latest addition to the Michigan athletic general-staff this month when he arrived to replace Bennie Oosterbaan as the Wolverine head cage mentor. Oosterbaan, newly named chief backfield coach on the football squad, is now in the position of Number One aid to Bead Cohch H. O. Crisler and the added responsibility makes it impossible to work with both foot-- ball and basketball. Dartmouth 8 Years Cowles has been at Dartmouth for the past eight years and during that time has produced no less than seven Ivy League championship teams; the other was a second place. Under his direction the Indians have won 74 of 92 games for a 8- year percentage of .804. They drop- ped only three contests on the home court during the whole period. His Dartmouth fives have been in- vited to participate in three NCAA basketball championship tourna- ments, the only cage outfit in the, nation to receive such honor.t Cowles was born in Brown's Valley, Minn., 46 years ago. After starring in high school athletics there, he be- came an outstanding athletic in three sports at Carleton College. He cap- tained the college five for two sea- sons, averaging 16 points per game from his guard position during his j unior year. First Coaching Job His first coaching job was at Ro- chester, Minn. high school. His first football team won the state cham- pionship, and his initial basketball squad reached the state semi-finals. After a year at Iowa State College he returned to Carleton to coach basketball for six years, his last three squads being midwest conference champions. His Carleton fives lost only four games. He coached River Falls, Wis., Col- lege basketball for three years before going to Dartmouth in 1937. During the war he served 221/2 months in the Navy as a lieutenant. He is mar- ried, with one son, who served in the Army, and one daughter. OZZIE COWLES ... outstanding Ivy League mentor, was appointed this month to succeed Bennie Oost- erbaan as head basketball coach for the University of Michigan. Oosterbaan and Valpey Shifted In Grid Staff Bennie Oosterbaan was named backfield coach and Art Valpey 'ele- vated to end coach in the only changes which Head CoachH. 0. Crisler made in his gridiron staff for the coming season. The rest of the organization re- mains as it was last Spring. Jack Blott is head line coach, with For- rest "Butch" Jordan as assistant, and Ernie McCoy will act as chief scout and coach both backs and ends in practice. Oosterbaan was shifted to the backfield from his original position as end coach. An All-America flanker for Michigan for three years, 1925- 26-27, he came to the Wolverine coaching heirarchy in 1938. Valpey was formerly assistant scout, and was also a varsity football 'M' man in 1935-36-37. He played un- der Coach Oosterbaan. Butch Jor- dan was a guard on the Michigan 1938-39 elevens, Crisler Lauds, End of Early Grid Practice Big Nine Imposes Five Week Workout Limit By ALYS GEORGE For the first time in three sum- mers Michigan's football forces are taking life easy, and both Coach H. 0. "Fritz" Crisler and his players welcome the change with open arms. Although stating that the sum- mer practice sessions during the war years were valuable in conditioning freshmen to take the place of more experienced players, Crisler believes that under normal conditions it is too hot in July and August for the gridders to get enough benefit out of summer football practice. Rules Relaxed Before the war Big Ten rules limit- ted grid practice to three weeks before the season's opener, thus all teams started off on an equal footing. But with the uncertainty of player ma- terial and the introduction of a reg- ular summer term, the Conference rules were relaxed; and in 1943 a four-week summer practice session was allowed. This extra time alloted for football practice was needed to condition the 17 and 18 year-old freshmen, upon whom many schools depended to car- ry on their gridiron campaigns. Many football candidates were al- so drawn from the Navy and Marine trainees stationed on campus. As students the gridders had to take part in the PEM program anyway, and their time could best be spent in learning the fundamentals of the Crisler system. PracticesStarted Earlier In 1944 and 1945 summer football practice in the Big Ten was begun even earlier. Coaches could never be sure of the player material from one day to the next and more time was needed to develop their teams, which had to be formed around a small nucleus of returning letter- men. With the end of the war-time emergency and the return to a regu- lar two semester school year, the Western Conference, has begun to reinstate its athletic rules. Although freshmen are still eligible to roam the gridiron this fall, the return of so many veterans to school will make it difficult for 17 and 18 year-olds to break into the line-up. THE BATTLE'S VERDICT-Shown here is one of Michigan Stadium's giant score-boards, which has for 19 years recorded the triumphant elation-or defeated dejection-of Michigan's football warriors and their followers. The big question of '46 is how many points will be flash- ed after 'Michigan' and how few after 'Visitors'. FOR 67 YEARS: Outstandmg Record Compiled By Michigan Football Teams 4) balTem By DICK KRAUS King Football's collegiate capital for the 1946 campaign will be Ann Arbor, where Coach "Fritz" Crisler's Wolverines will tangle with seven of the most talent-packed teams in the land, including West Point's invinc- ible Cadets complete with Davis and Blanchard. . The Autumn monarch's followers in the Mid-West will have their grid- iron appetites stimulated in the sea- son opener, Sept. 28, which will pit Michigan against Bo McMillin's de- fending Big Ten champs, the Hoos- iers of Indiana. Mjichigan will be out to avenge two straight losses to Bo's "Pore Li'l Boys." Iowa Here Oct. 5 The following Saturday, Oct. 5, Iowa will invade Ann Arbor with a team that promises to feature not more than one of last year's regu- lars in the starting lineup. For the football world at large Oct.' 12 will mark one of the season's out- standing games of the year-Army- Michigan. A freshman-studded Wol- verine squad gave Earl Blaik's jug- gernaut its closest scare last season and this year's rematch should be even closer. After Army a breather would be in order, but Michigan's schedule makers didn't look at it that way, and Crisler's men meet Pappy Wal- dorf's Northwestern aggregation on Oct. 19. The Wildcats are perennially tough and this season should prove no exception. Young and Illini Here After Northwestern the men of Michigan will get the opportunity to decide whether West Coast fans of last year were right or wrong in tout- ing Buddy Young as the best back in the nation. The fleet Negro will be in Ann Arbor with what promises to be Ray Elliot's finest Illinois team. After five successive home games, Michigan moves into Minneapolis, on Nov. 2, to attempt to retain pos- session of the "Little Brown Jug," in the traditional battle with the Gold- en Gophers of Minnesota. "B" Team To Play The Ann Arbor front will not be entirely devoid of action that week Indiana Champs Open Season on Sept. 28th Wolverines To Play Only Two Road Games; Clash With Minnesota, Ohio State Away inasmuch as the newly organized "B" team will be active. The "B" men will play a complete schedule with most games taking place Friday af- ternoon. On Nov. 9, the Wolverines will meet Michigan State in the annual intra- state clash and on Nov. 15, Wis- consin's Badgers' will come to town in the season's home finale. The Varsity will end the nine game season at Columbus, Ohio, in the con- test that may do much to deie final Conference standings. The last two Buckeye-Wolverine games have been thrillers with Ohio pulling out an 18-14 win in 1944, and Michigan grabbing a 7-3 last quarter triumph, last year. Maize and Blue 'Home Lovers' During 745-46 By CLARK BAKER "There's no place like home." At least that's the opinion of Michigan's athletes who ought to know. Out of 83 victories in 10 sports during 1946- 46. 52 were scored on the home grounds and only the Maize and Blue tennis team showed any par- ticular liking for road trips. Most obvious example of Michi- gan's ineptitude away from home is shown by the basketball record. The Wolverine cagers chalked up a sea- son mark of 12 wins and seven losses. Of the dozen triumphs, nine came on the Field House court where only Indiana was able to top the Maize and Blue warriors and then only af- ter an overtime period. Or take the hockey team with an overall record of 17 victories, seven setbacks and one tie. Vic Heyliger's crew fashioned an even dozen of those wins on home ice and were beaten only three times here. Yet the pucksters barely aked out a .504 mark on their 10 road trips. The Wolverine wrestlers and golf- ers were unbeatable at home, yet (Continued on Page 5) On May 30, 1879, Michigan played its first football game in history, downing a stubborn Racine College eleven, 7 to 2. With that initial victory as an in- spiring precedent, Wolverine grid- iron teams have marched through 67 years of football history, writing a record book which is the envy of col- leges throughout the nation. Enter- ing the 1946 season, Michigan has an all-time gridiron record of 375 wins, 108 losses, and 21 ties, a .776 average for a total of 504 contests. In compiling their average the Wol- verines have only finished on the de- ficit side of the win-lose ledger five times since 1890, the first ,time at least five games were played. And since that year Maize and Blue teams have had eleven undefeated seasons, seven of them unmarred by even a tie. 1932 Last Perfect Year The last such perfect unbeaten, untied year was 1932, when the Wol- verines raced to the Big Ten and Na- tional Championships. The following season Michigan was also undefeated,' but Minnes6ta fought them to a 0-0 deadlock. The record book also shows that the Maize and Blue hold an all-time (Continued on Page 5) D-DAY NEARS FOR 'OPERATION PIGSKIN': Western Conference Ready for Explosive 1946 'Gridiron No-dak w m F& Year III By JACK MARTIN A seething volcano on the verge of eruption is the best des- cription that can be applied to the Western Conference football situation as the 1946 season draws near. Reportstrickling ont of the various Big Nine publicity camps every day reveal more and more names of stars which have dominated gridironcircles for the past five years and are now being released en masse by the armed forces. Reading the ex- pected rosters of next fall's elevens is like looking at a list of All- has been spirited away. The Raven was drafted last month by the Army, while his fellow wingman has signed a professional con- tract with baseball's Cincinnati Reds. Reserve end Tom Schwartz is also in khaki. Two men have returned to Bo McMillin's lair, however, who may go a long way in filling up the big hole at the flanks. Ted Hasapes, a regular end on the Hoosier's 1941-2 elevens, will be back, along with "Pooney" Carter, who was a stand-out frosh prospect in 1942. Coach Ray Elliot is planning a title-gunning squad at Cham- paign. He'll have a near-perfect duo of half-backs in Young and Patterson, who worked together in 1944. Both are as fast as a lightning bolt, and with Patterson out in -front blasting a clear path-way, Young can out-maneuver practically any pair of ends in the country. In addition Elliot has Rykovich on hand again, who was the spark plug of Notre Dame's Irish during the war years as a Ma- rine trainee. The only thing the Illini need in the backfield is shanski, Bob Rennebohm, and Farnham Johnson, a trio of out- standing flankers, guards Johnny Gallagher and Bob Dean, and backs Earl Maves and Wally Dreyer. Also expected back are Jug Girard, Badger 1944 great, Jimmy Regan and Frank Granitz at the halfs, and quarter Ashley An- derson. Fourteen lettermen from championship squads of 1942 and 1944 are making Coach Paul Bixler beam with anticipation as Ohio State awaits the coming season. There are a total of 36 re-