PAGE SIX
Track Lions Permitted To Retain IC4-A Title
EIWA 'Veteran 6'
Coach 158 Years
Owning service records that
'ake Roosevelt's three terms look
like temporary employment, six
of the EIWA coaches now hover
ing around Rec Hall are outstand
ing veterans of the mat-mentoring
game.
The Veteran Six have been
coaching collegiate wrestlers for
A total of 158 years—more than a
century arid a half. Three of the
"boys" have brought teams to this
annual tournament for more than
30 years each.
Dean of the coaches is Walter
C. O'Connel of Cornell, who be
gan his coaching career at Ithaca
in 1908 and has coached Big Red
grappkrs every year since, ex
cept for two seasons during the
first World War. Other mat ment
tors have been trying for the lasi
10 years to equal O'Connell's re
cord for individual champions.
Just behind O'Connell in years
of service is Billy Sheridan, of
Lehigh, who started coaching the
Engineers in 1912. At 17, 7 years
before he first saw America, the
popular Scotchman was feather
weight champion of the British
Isles. For the past 15 years
'Billy's Lehigh teams have domin
ated the EIWA, winning the cham
pionship with monotonous regu
larity all but a few times in the
last decade..
Coaches 30 Years
Gus Peterson, Columbia's mat
mentor, has clicked off an even
thirty years at coaching wrestlers;
the first two at Princeton between
1913 and 1915. He is the only
EIWA coach who has served at
more than one college in the As
sociation.
William "Prof" Davison has
served Syracuse ever since the
OrangemEn joined the Association
in 1923. Annual setbdcks in the
'tournament have never dimmed
Prof's enthusiasm for the mat
game, and an occasional champion
keeps him looking ahead with op-.
The striplings of the Veterairi Six
are Eddie O'Donnell of Yale and
Penn State's own Charlie , Speidel,
both of whom settled down to
their present posts in 1927.
O'Donnell's boys celebrated his
first year as Eli coach by tying
Lehigh for the EIWA champion
ship. Last year history did an
encore when Yale tied Princeton
for the title.
The dual-meet record compiled
by Speidel is probably unsurpass
ed by any coach in the Associa
tion. Charlie's boys have lost
only 18 meets in 16 seasons, tying
2, and winning 85, for a victory
percentage of .825. Under Spel
l:lel, the Nittany wrestlers broke.
Lehigh's monopoly of the cham
pionship meet in 1936 and 1937,
and have rarely finished below
third in the EIWA contests.
Four Newcomers
The four other Association
coaches are comparative newcom
ers in the grunt and groan game;
each has been on the job for five
years or less. Austin Bishop, who
'took over at Penn just five years
ago, rushed the Quakers to the top
in short order. The F and M grad
uate's squad is, in fact, highly fav
ored to win in this year's tourney.
Lloyd Appleton, with even less
experience behind him, seems to 'be
copying Bishop's victory campaign
in his efforts toward entrenching
Army in the wresting front lines.
Jimmy Reed, although a newcomer
at Princeton, was one of Lehigh's
many eastern champions, and a
member of the American Olympic
wrestling squad in 1928.
Ray Swartz, Navy's mat master
mind, was Ed Gallagher's right
hand man at Oklahoma for several
seasons before taking the reins at
Annapolis,
History Repeats Itself
.—The above scene from the 1934 Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling . Asso
ciation championship tournament was duplicated in Rec Hall last night as .1,300 people witnessed the
quarter round bouts in the annual title-fight. Since the site of the yearly competition revolves among
the eleven member schools, the same picture, will probably *be repeated in 1953. The University of
Pennsylvania has been chosen as the post college for the 39th Annual EIWA tourney next yeatr.
Eastern. Mat intercollegiates Started In 1904;
Among Country's Oldest College Conferences
Believed to be the oldest ath- Penn State's .first intercollegi
letic conference in the country, ate wrestling match was with Cbr
the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrest- nell at Ithaca in 1909. The Lions
ling Association has been operat- boyved to the Big Red, 6 to 1.
ing continuously since 1904 when Previous to this meet, State's only
it was conceived by two under- wrestling experience had been in
graduates at the 'University of inter-closs bouts.
Pennsylvania and their. wrestling After that beginning, the Nit
coach, J. Leonard Mason. Many Lions petitioned the Associa-
Composed of Penn, Yale, Prince- tion for membership in the win
ton and Columbia as charter mein- ter of 1910 but was refused ad
bers, the first intercollegiate tour- mission. Refused again in 1911,
ney was held in Pennsylvania's the Lions were finally admitted
Weightman Hall on April 5, 1905, as a member in the Intercollegi
with Yale winning the initial hon- ate Wrestling . Association on
ors. For the next four years the 16, 1917, almost 25 years to the
Bulldogs • retained their hold on day of the present tournament.
the top spot, and then dropped out Princeton dropped out during
of the Association until 1920. the war years, Lehigh was added
With wrestling in 7 divisionth, along with State, and then in 1920
115, 125, 135, 145, 150, 175 and both Yale and the Princeton Ti
heavyweight, the bouts were 9 gers came back into the fold. The
minute preliminary and 15-min- league now boasted seven m,em-
ute final matches. The referee 'hers.
was the sole judge. Syracuse became the eighth
Taking Yale's place, in the member in 1925, and the associa
league, Cornell was admitted in tion became a powerful force in
1908 and immediately took over college athletics. Cornell won
the monopolization of champion- again in 1926, and the following
ship titles. With 'the exception of year Yale atnd Lehigh tied for
a single .championship won by the title. With this, the Engin-
Prindeton in 1911, the -[thacans eers of Lehigh began their long
gained the title every year from reign, winning seven out of eight
1910 to '1917. years, until Cornell broke it up
national victory,;iTi,vrestled- in
4 - Mat Mentors I Johnston '35 Lone his senior year both 155 and
165-pound weights.
Referee All Bout, Lion National Champ
Bouts In the, history of wrestling at
Penn State, there aplars the
name of one national champion.
He was Howard K. "Red" John
ston '35 who (on the title by de
ejsioning Robertson of Oklahoma
University, Big Six champion, in
the tournament at Lehigh in 1935.
Other teams which led State
in the meet • were Oklahoma U.,
Illinois, and Indiana. The other
two Lion entries, Cramer and Yo
.der' failed to win their bouts.
Jarignston t s win came ii the second
extra period.
The Nittany champion was the
only Eastern entry to get into the
final round • and according to
Charles M. Schwartz, Penn State
Collegian staff writer in 1936, his
semi-final bput with Earle Kiel
than" the final struggle.
horn of lowa State was tougher
His career as a Lion wrestler
included earnjng his utter in his
sophomore year, winning in the
/05 - Polirkd division in the BMA
meet in 1934 and 1935, and his
Refereeing the EIWA champion
ship Matches are four of the out
standing wrestling officials in the
country. All four are grappling
coaches, three on college and one
on a high school team, but none
of their teams are entered in the
tournament.
Richard K. Cole, Providence, R.
1., head wrestling coach at Brown
University, will be one of the of
ficialls, aided by Clifford J. Gal
lagher, Easton, Pa., mat coach of
Lafayette University. Gallagher
is the brother of the late famous
Ed Gallagher, formerly coalch at
Oklahoma A. and M.
The other two referees are
Bliss P. Sargeant, Springfield,
Mass., coach at Springfield Col
lege, and a former Lafayette
wrestler, and Wilbur B. Lehman,
Philadelphia, Pa., 'coach at Chel
:WOW= School in Philadel
phia.
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
in 1930.
Haryard was admitted to the
Association in - 1934 as the ninth
member; and 'Penn State, now
under Charlie Speidel's tutelage,
kept Lehigh from duplicating Cor
nell's early achievement of win
ning six straight by nosing out
the Engineers in 1936, 31 to 30.
This champions ..;:vats not •de
cided until the : J O.l-;third place
bout • had been c ..tested: .
Winning ;agar, -' , the? following
year, the Lions Aked away with
five individual ti . - 0, : -And 35 points
for a team total:'- .This represents
the largest team; Ore in the his
tory of the Asso :tion. In 1938,
1939, and 1940, L AO again took
over, but last - , °aa• ' Yale and
Princeton--neitb
~ /hitying been,
considered in.-,
.:'; : r4tming when
the tournament' started—tied for
the title at Columbia.
:ed. the entrance
Zd'aavy into the
/og,•it up to its
:i7:en colleges.
ttiotivity behind
••••::•.liftercollegiate
tiori .
-as claimed
Itiost.-olorful or
-',4!:oe:,rican sport
•
Last year ma
of both Army '. ! 3`,
Association, br
present . total
,Of,.
With 25 years oj
it, the Easteq
Wrestling Assi
to be one of
ganizations in the
ing scene.
National Bank
Firs
ate College
Member of
Feder I'be posit Insurance Corporation
;,•;'`
."' •
SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 141412
Gordon's Eligibility
Okayed By Commilke
After week Of ''‘Vranglipg ,and
spgaulat . ipn', Penn State . Will'. be
peigiitted to - keep' the : IC4 rA. :
PinnPhiP it won in IfPw.'l" o l l s,.Sat
urclay, The.,Vzs
Lion title g_cnies,-
tinned coricerning Nopp Gordon's
eligibility to participate.. ,
Decision on the problegi. Aykis
announced here,' lest • night : in. :a
telegram from Asa S. EUsiu:kell,
exectitive• director of the Eastern
Interkollegiaite Athletic Associa
tion and director of the games, fo.
Dr. Carl P. Schott, dean • a the
School of Physical Education..
The -telegram stated "Executiye
committee's action validates Gorr
don's performances. Leaves re
sults r*nd champ . ionship unchang
ed."
The Lion trackmen went, to New
York with an outside chance, ac
cording to experts, of winning the
meet over Fordharn, the favorites.
They won, beating the Rams' by
a score of 21 7-10 to 201/2.
Then like a bombshell, from :a
New York sports writer their
burst the flood of protest which
led to a week of inv:estigation by
the 1 . C4-A executive committee.
Result of the investigation is'
shown in last night's telegram. ,
Gordon, the Lion's individual
hero of the meet, was a decisive
factor in the win by his four
points in, the 1,000-yard event and
his pacing of the two-mile relay
team to a surprising second place.
According to Deati Schott, the
rule, which' states that athletes are
eligible for competition only
_four
years after matriculation, is -a
protest agaihst "tramp"
_athletes
but is usually not ccosiderecl
plicahle to students .who have had
to- leave college. This was - the
case with Gordon. -
Protest
. of eligibility , he said,
must be .made before meets. lie"
explained the Penn State stand to
Bushnell in a letter, Tuesday - ,
stressing the 'lad that no state
ment was made until a Menclay'
morning newspaper pointed out,
the irregularity. -
Dean• Schott's comment „pri. •the
committee's report was, "I'm 'very
happy that this 'turned out as it
did. I feel that it • was a Ye*
sensible decision."
1 45 Swimmers in Tourney
Represented by four sprint
stars, the '45 swim squad will
compete in the Eastern Intercol
legiate Championships - at Rutgers
University, New Brunswick, N. 3.,
today. A 400-yard frbe-style re
lay team composed of Capt. Clyde
Bell, Herb Hirshfield, Dick WeA 7
ner and Bob Storb is entered in
the tourney. The varsity will riot
enter the Intercollegiates this
year.
BUY DEFENSE STAMPS
AND BONDS
The