WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 1951
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
PAGE SEVEN
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
P AGE SE.- T
"W
ON THE SPOT
By GEORGE FLINT
Daily Sports Editor
Uncover
New
culle"e
Cage
Scandal
IT'S A LONG distance, memory-wise, from these sultry July days to
the icy confines of a Columbus football field.
But in another month the Michigan Wolverines, in reality the
champions of the West for 1951, will be once more cavorting about
Ferry Field, footballs will be filling the air in all parts of the nation,
and autumn madness once more will cloud the brains of small boys
and alumni.
* * * *
FOR SOME PEOPLE, mostly coaches, football already is a time1w'
proposition. Among those people are the commissioners of ten of the
country's major conferences, who met last week in Colorado Springs
and talked about cabbages and kings.
The major subject of discussion was the advisability or no
of the two-platoon system and spring training.
The first part of the argumentative chestnut is of particular in-
terest to Maize and Blue fans, since the system more or less evolved
under the aegis of Michigan athletic director H. O. (Fritz) Crisler.
Crisler's wonder team, the 1947 aggregation, used the system to
perfection, with a defensive unit which combined weight and ag-
gressiveness an offensive unit noted for precision timing and crisp
blocking.
* * * *
BNOW THE COMMISSIONERS are wondering if this sort of thing is
good for football. The argument most often posed against pla-
toons is that a 'poor' or small college simply doesn't have the talent
to spread around on various crews of specializers.
The president of the American Football Coaches Association,
Lloyd Jordan of Harvard, expressed dissatisfaction with the system
at the meeting.
He well might. Harvard, with an uncommon dearth of talent over
the past few years, has been out in the cold against the other Ixy
League powers, who seem to turn out muscle-men like Fords.
* * * *
TWO PLATOON or not to platoon? That is the slightly thorny
problem, and we doubt if anything can be done about it unless the
rulemakers once more change the substitution rule, which would make
the game less plastic and probably work harm in the end.
* * * *
THE LOW PLANE to which American boxing has descended is amply
illustrated by Cinderella story number 2866-the case of the an-
cient gladiator.
Although an occasional tear may be shed for Jersey Joe Walcott's
six children, and although he personally may be the nicest guy in the
world, nevertheless he is not a fighter worthy of the name of cham-
pion. His jigging, feinting style is all right to amuse the kiddies, but
against any of the better champs of the past twenty years-particular-
ly against a young and strong Joe Louis-he would be made to look as
amateurish, for all his years of ring experience.
Walcott can punch-sometimes. But so can any fighter if he
is given the opportunity Ezzard Charles presented the Camden
warrior. Walcott's vaunted left hook gained about half its power
from the bull-like leap which Charles utilized to present his chin
before the swinging fist of Jersey Joe.
Walcott may keep his crown against Charles in September. The
tendency on decisions is to favor the champion. But even a sagging
Joe Louis will take the new Cinderella if and when they meet for the
third time.
MICHIGAN ATHLETES will be in action not far afield this week as
the National AAU outdoor swimming championships are held at
the Brennan Pools in Detroit. Bumpy Jones, Don Hill, Bob Brenner,
and several others of the Wolverine clan will be competing under the
watchful eye of the veteran Matt Mann, coach of Michigan swimming
teams for 26 years.
Jones, fhe former Redford High School star, is calculated to make
quite a splash. He has been on the AAU All-American team for the
past two years in the distance races, and also strokes well in the med-
ley and middle distance events.1
Melchiorre, Three Other
Bradley Players Confess
Admit Fixing Games in New York's Garden-
5th College Team Implicated in Disclosure
ACTION HOT, HEAVY:
I-M Tournaments Reach Semi-fina
PEORIA, Ill.-WP)-The greatest'
college sports scandal in history
spread from the East to this mid-
west basketball capital yesterday,
snaring Bradley University's All-
America ager Gene Melchiorre
and three of his teammates.
The popular Melchiorre a n 21
three other stars of the 1949-50
Bradley cage powerhouse confessed
taking bribes totaling $5,500 from
gamblers to hold down scores of
two games.
FOUR OTHER Bradley players,
whose names were not made pub-
lic, being questioned.
Michael A. S h o r e, Peoria
County state's attorney, made
the shocking disclosure yester-
day.
He said players who had made
oral statements to bribe-taking, in
addition to Melchiorre, 23, the
fiery "squeaky" of the hardcourts,
were:
Bill Mann, 24, of Chicago, cap-
tain of last season's team and its
greatest shotmaker.
Charles "Bud" Grover, 22,
Dundee, Ill., another regular.
Aaron Preece, 24, Canton, Ill.,
w i t h Melchiorre the team's
"spirit guy" and its free throw
artist.
With the revelation, nationally-
famous Bradley, always a top con-
Coach Shocked
PEORIA, Ill. - (W) - "All I
can say is I'm truly sorry from
the bottom of my heart," said
Coach Forrest Anderson. "From
what I can learn hurriedly there
have been some rumors this past'
year about a 'point spread' and
not throwing of games. My
players took it laughingly and
went on to play and win. Then
I learned after one of the games
that the players had received
some money, seemingly not
knowing from where it came."
back to the campus" and indicated
meets like its own would help save
basketball from further gambling
scandals.
Melchiorre and the three oth-
ers seized were released "under
technical custody" pending ac-
tion of the Peoria grand jury.
State's Attorney Shore said he
was more interested in prosecut-.
ing the fixers than the players.
All four were graduated from
Bradley in June and have since
entered business ventures in Pe-
oria.
THESE FOUR were the nucleus
of the team that won 28 and lost
four games last season.
The investigations started five
days ago with the arrival in Chi-
cago of Vincent O'Connor, New
York assistant district attorney
who aided in exposing the bas-
ketball fixing there last season.
Since some bribe money was said
to have been passed in Chicago,
Cook County State's Attorney John
S. Boyle assigned Lt. James Oak-
ley and Jack Doyle of the Chicago
Police Department to go to Peoria
and participate in the investiga-
tions. Boyle was interested in de-
termining if games played in Chi-
cago, especially at the Chicago
Stadium - scene of many "big
time" college cage encounters -
were involved in the fixes.
LT. OAKLEY said yesterday
that the payoffs to the Peoria
players were made in New York,
Philadelphia and Peoria. He said
no gambling linkup with games in
Chicago had been established yet.
District Attorney Frank Hogan
of New York, who announced the
latest scandal simultaneously
with officials in Peoria, said he
was not satisfied all the players
and schools involved had been
uncovered. He said thatthe
gamblers who made the payoff
to the Peoria quartet were the
same ones involved in the New
York fixes last winter.
Hogan subsequently announced
that his men had picked up Eng
lisis for questioning in the Brad-
ley affair.
Lt. Oakley said Preece, one of
the questioned players, told inves-
tigaotrs that various players dealt
with various gamblers. Preece, he
said, told of being approached by
Klukof sky and said he had learned
before one game that his team-
mates had arranged with some
other gamblers to limit their score.
* . *
PREECE SAID he told Klukof-
sky of this arrangement and, after
the game turned out as predicted,
he was paid $300. He did not say
which game he referred to.
Oakley said Melchiorre, a war
veteran whose popularity was un-
surpassed in Peoria sports history,
admitted receiving $4,000 for the
fix of the Bradley-Oregon game
and distributing it among members
of the team.
Lt. Oakley s a i d Melchiorre,
Mann and Grover each had ad-
mitted receiving $500 for controll-
ing the score in Bradley's game
against Washington State.
By PANDRO S. BERMAN
Intramural action was hot and
heavy on all fronts as league action
softball playoffs began and the all-
campus golf tournament rounded
the clubhouse turn during the past
few days.
The softball leagues began play-
offs in the championship and con-
solation brackets (for results, see
page six), while one finalist en-
gaged in the championship flight
of the golf tourney.
* * *
BOB CATON, victor over Bill
Crispin by default, will meet either
f
t
f
ar
ri
M
brf
se
m
wi
So
th
inals this summer, as is Don
Wiate. Other semi-finalists in
he tournament should emerge
rom this week's action.
In handball, the semi-finalists
e Sid Harmon and Hal Fitzpat-
ck (upper bracket), and Bruce
ays and Marvin Hole (lower
acket).
FITZPATRICK also gained the
mis in badminton, where he
eets Clark Balch. Frank Loh
ill play the winner of the Frank
cott - Tom McElmurry match for
ze other semi-final match in the.
attledore and shuttlecock derby.
In horseshoes, Calvin Fleser
eached the final bracket and
will meet either Pete Kinyon or
Bob Revis for the championship.
Semi-finalists in paddleball are
arry Driggers and John Brittl in
Le upper bracket, Lowell Emerling
nd Bruce Mays in the lower.
FINAL ACTION in the faculty
week and next week, with several
golf tournament is slated for this
second round matches yet to be
played.
One match in that tournament
is of particular interest. It brings
together Cliff Keen, the wrestling
coach and a man who's been
around the campus for a long time,
and Bill Murphy. the likable young
tennis coach.
The pair are meeting on neutral
ground in the battle of coaches,
but the outcome should prove
which of the two sports gives the
long-time practicer a better foun-
dation for other athletic activity.
JJo Lnever or r± ioep riin in me ba
final match of the summer session
9golf tournament. Hevel, with a
qualifying round score of 76, ranks r
as favorite in the tourney.
Other leagues were also active,
TAKES CUB REINS-Phil Cav- as Sigma Chi trounced Sigma
aretta, who has been playing Phi, 35-20, to take undisputed Be
ball or coaching in the Windy possession of first place in the th
City for many years, took over basketball race. The Sigma Chis ar
as the Chicago Cub manager now have a record of six wins
from Frank Frisch last week. and no losses for the season,
while Sigma Phi has five wins
and the lone defeat.
Gauchos W on't Other season's records in the
league: Hardrocks, 4 and 1; UP-
er's, 3 and 3; Fletcher Hall, 2 and
Defend in Polo 2; Air Force, 2 and 3; Phi Sigma
Kappa, 0 and 6; Unknowns, 0 and
6.
BUENOS AIRES - (AP)-Argen- FOR SIGMA C1I, Paul Fancher
tina, holder of the Americas Cup was the individual star in yester-
because of its Western Hemisphere day's decisive contest with the
polo supremacy, cabled the U. S. challenging Sigma Phi five. Fan-
polo association it would be un- cher scored almost half his team's
able to defend the trophy this year. points (he collected 16 in all) to
Enrique Alberdi, President of the 'lead the State Street aggregation
Argentine Polo Association, gave to victory.
no reason for the decision in mak- In tennis, Marty Decker, a fi-
ing the announcement. nalist last year, is in the semi-
Read and Use
Daily Classifieds
IL
I
k
A02
BAR'GAIII
DAYS SPECIAL
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
SPORTS TRAIL:
Murphy Rates Title Shot
Despite Matthews Loss
By WHITNEY MARTIN
NEW YORK-t')-Maybe Harry
Matthews made a slig~t error in
allowing himself to whip Irish Bob
Murphy.
If he hadn't been so careless he
might be fighting for the light
heavyweight championship next
month, instead of Murphy.
That seems to be the way it
works. The boys seem to back
right into championship bouts.
The question isn't so much of
whom did you beat, but who beat
you.
JERSEY JOE Walcott, our new
heavyweight champion, presented
a fine list of credentials when he
was considered for a bout with
Ezzard Charles. Hadn't Jersey
Joe lost twice to Joe Louis, twice
to Charles, and once to a game but
blundering fellow named R e x
Layne?
With such impressive referen-
ces how could old Jersey Joe be
refused another chance to win
the rating of the best fist fighter
in the world?
Murphy, with the recent blotch
on his record put there by Mat-
thews, naturally doesn't have the
qualifications of a Walcott in be-
ing rated the man most likely to
succeed Joey Maxim as light heavy
champion, but that one defeat was
so impressive it probably was the
equivalent of four or five lesser
defeats.
* * *
SERIOUSLY, SOMETHING is
wrong with the fight game when
Murphy, on the strength of a vic-
tory, over Joe Rindone, a slightly
enlarged middle - weight whom
Irish Bob outweighed some 11
pounds, is considered the man en-
titled to a shot at the title ahead
of the man who whipped him con-
vincingly.
Murphy is a nice kid, if you
can call a 29-year-old man a kid.
But with all due credit -to him
and his abilities, you just can't
forget that Matthews fight.
MURPHY'S impressive list of
knockouts was climaxed by his
kayo of Jake LaMotta. It is the
general idea now that he didn't
beat much when he beat LaMotta.
But LaMotta still had a
name. The title fight was his,
contingent of his defeating the
164-pound Rindone to whom
Irish Bob had lost on a foul.
There was no stipulation that he
should meet Matthews again and
erase that blot on his record.
Anyway, we have an idea that
Murphy will be the next light-
heivyweight champion, as Maxim
seems about due to be taken by
the first fairly good man in his
class who comes along.
Jack Hurley, Matthews' master
mind, will probably go into a hud-
dle with his Seattle protege to try
to discover what can be done about
the situation.
l
1
r
i
tender for basketball honors in the
U. S., was dragged into the scandal
centering around games in New
York-area players from four col-
leges and five gamblers.
* * *
THE CITY COLLEGE of New
York team, one of those riddled by
the New York disclosures, and
Bradley were finalists in the
NCAA and National Invitational
Tournaments ending the 1949-50
season. Bradley lost both times.
The three other New York col-
leges involved were New York
University, Long Island Univer-
sity, and Manhattan College.
So far thirteen of the New York
players have pleaded guilty to
charges of accepting bribes from
gamblers, notably Salvatore Solaz-
zo, 46, a jeweler named as kingpin
of the fix schemes. Sollazo has
pleaded guilty to bribery and con-
spiracy charges.
THE FOUR Bradley stars said
gamblers who paid them off for
manipulating point totals of two
Bradley games in Peoria were Nick
"the Greek" Englisis and Eli Kluk-
ofsky, alias "Kaye."
The games w e r e between
Bradley and Oregon State, Dec.
5, 1950, which Bradley won 77-
74, and the Bradley-Washington
State game Dec. 21, 1949, which
Bradley won 67-59.
Bradley, the proud midwest bas-
ketball contender which after re-
velation of the New York bribes
had announced it was not going
to play again in the Gotham Gar-
den, had held its own invitational
tournament after the 1950-51 sea-
son's end.
* * *
ITS OFFICIALS had hailed the
tourney as "bringing basketball
li
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