TUESDAY, MARCH 15; 1949
Bedenk To Stress Other
Sports for Lion Gridmen
Frederick J. (Joe) Bedenk assumed a triple role as head football and head baseball coach and
professor of physical education yesterday following the resignation of Grid Coach Robert Higgins.
Bedenk, who began coaching at the College in 1928 as end coach under Hugo Bczdek, decided to
retain his two former jobs unless the strain of the gridiron job proves to be too much to handle.
"Even though I was appointed to the football coaching staff," said the former All-American
guard, "I like baseball too much to give it up completely."
The new coach's policy will be to encourage the more experienced griddc
sport rather than spend all of
their time in Spring football
practice.
"Spring practice is used to
teach the fundamentals of the
game to the boys," said Bedenk,
"and if some of the more experi
enced letter winners go out for
other sports, the boys who need
the practice will have a better
chance to learn the things the
seniors already know."
He went on to say that he
would like to see some of the
gridders try out for track to de
velop speed and endurance. "The
seniors could run around the
track and just spend, say, a half
hour in Spring signal drills and
that practice would do them just
as much good as would the regu
lar drills "
STYLE OF PLAY
Concerning the style of play
he expects to use in the coming
season, Head Coach Bedenk stat
ed that there would be no radical
changes in the single wing used
last year.
"We're going to open up the
offense a little," he said. "The
plays will include more Hankers
and possibly a little 'T' formation
for deception, something like
Michigan's and Michigan State's
offense.
"I coached the formation at
the University of Florida," he
commented, "but I still think that
the single wing is the best of
fense for us."
Coach Bedenk plans to secure
one or possibly two assistants in
the near future to round out the
coaching staff. Jim O'Hora, jayvee
coach, will move into the posi
tion of line coach, Earle Ed
wards has been named first as
sistant coach, and Al Michaels
will retain his backfield coach
ing job under Bedenk.
IN MIND
"If freshmen come up to Penn
State in 1949," remarked the new
Nittany mentor, "we'll need a
coach or two. I have a few men
in mind, but no one has been
definitely picked for the jobs."
Bedenk has gained his fame on
the gridiron by producing ex
ceptionally powerful lines year
after year. His 1947 line set a
national collegiate defensive rec
ord. Another quality possesed
by the new coach is an exception
al ability to scout an opponent.
The result of last season's
Penn game is generally regarded
as a tribute to the pre-game de
tection work done by Bedenk, as
one Penn play after another was
stopped at the line of scrimmage
by the Nittany team.
Bedenk was a member of the
1922 Penn State team which went
to the Rose Bowl on January 1,
1923, and lost to Southern Cali
fornia, 14-3. He injured his arm
enroute to the coast, and was un
able to play in the game,• but
was elected captain of the 1924
team.
AT RICE
He later served as head base
ball coach and football line coach
at Rice Institute, Texas, and then
joined the University of Florida's
Continued on page sir
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THE DAILY COLLEGIAN. STATE COLLEGE. PENNSYLVANIA
Edwards Named Top Aide
To Bedenk; Leads Drills
Alumnus Earle Edwards, end coach since 1936, today was named
Joe Bedenk's first assistant, a berth which heretofore has not existed
in Penn State football. Bedenk said Edwards would be in charge
of spring drills, which opened yesterday.
Edwards played football at Penn State under Hugo Bezdek iii
in 1928 and 1929 and completed his college career under Bezdek's
EARLE EDWARDS
Drama Tryout
Ends Quickly
For Bob Higgins
During former football Coach
Bob Higgins' brief fling in pro
fessional football, he was called
upon not only to play end, but
also to do impersonations.
While the ex-Lion mentor was
playing for the Canton, Ohio,
Bulldogs, Jim Thorpe, the "Car
lisle Indian," was the Hig's team
mate. But Thorpe failed to ap
pear for a certain game.
Most of the crowd was at
tracted to the ballpark to see
Thorpe play and the team's busi
ness manager didn't want to dis
appoint them.
So Higgins was rigged out in
Thorpe's uniform, and virtually
covered with adhesive tape. It
was all a plan to make the fans
think Thorpe was playing. But
the first time Higgins dropped
back to punt, someone in the
stands yelled, "Who's that bum
in Thorpe's uniform?"
Higgins' tryout in dramatic im
personations ended right there.
,
.friii---4.-
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rs to try out for
successor, Bob Higgins, in 1930.
He coached at Princeton Prep and
Ebensburg High School before
returning to his alma mater in
1936.
Assisting Edwards at Spring
drills are Al Michaels, backfield
coach, and Jim O'Hora, assistant
line coach, all of whom have been
retained under the Bedenk re
gime. Bedenk was named to the
head coaching job Saturday, suc
ceeding Higgins ; who resigned
after 19 years at the football
helm.
Draz ---
Continued from page four
torious. Basil Miragliotta, although
he weighed only 145 pounds, com
peted in the 155 class. Last year's
145 champ dropped his title in a
"Pier 6" slug affair to Chuck Rig
oglioso of Syracuse in the crowd
pleaser of the evening.
Last year's 125 and 130 winners,
Al Hollingsworth and Grover `Bat'
Masterson, respectively, returned
titles for Virginia when both, after
having moved up a weight, won
the 130 and 135 titles respectively.
Tom Cronin, Catholic U.'s scrap
py 125-pounder, annexed the only
title for the Cardinal and Red
when he garnered his seventh
straight of the year and his first
Eastern title.
Tim Curley, Chuck Rigoglioso
and Jim Rollier gave Syracuse
three titlists and a clean sweep
from the 145-pound division to the
165 class. Rollier was the defend
ing champ in the 165 class.
Runnerup to Ralph S.hoaf last
year, Army's hard-slugging Pete
Monfore won a clear-cut decision
and a title in the 175-pound finals
when he outpointed lanky Ray
Fine of Syracuse.
135 pounds—Cronin, Catholic Univer
sity, decisioned Scott. Army.
130 pounds—Hollingsworth, Virginia,
decisioned Benglian, Penn State.
135 pounds—Masterson. Virginia,
deci
sioned Sauerwein, Syracuse.
145 pounds—Curley. Syracuse. deci
sioned Sheehe, Penn State.
155 pounds—Rigoglioso, Syracuse, de
cision Miragliotta, Virginia.
165 pounds—Rollier. Syracuse, deci
sioned Smith, Penn State.
195 pounds—Monfore, Army, decisioned
Fine, Syracuse.
Drazenovich, Penn State, decisioned
Crandell, Syracuse.
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Higgins Resigns
Continued from page one
tie in the Cotton Bowl at Dallas,
Texas.
During that season, the I-Lg's
unbeaten team set a new all-time
national defensive record of lim
iting opponents to a rushing av
erage or 17 yards a game, ground
out an average of 35 points each
game and ranked with the top
offensiv e teams in the land.
Al'hough the Nittany coach has
garnered an excellent coaching
record for his 19-year term wdh
the Lions, many of his seasons
were far from th e bowl-bound
variety of the past few years.
Following the 1947 Pittsburgh
game, the fans lifted the coach to
their shoulders and carried him
off th e field shouting praises to
the grey-haired strategist, but in
1942 and 1948 when the Nittany
• •
• "ft
•
• ,
•': OW . ' lfritk
•
• •
,-- 77 7 74
•
Coach Bob Higgins in 1930
when he took over the Lion
football helm.
hopes for bowl glory crushed in
that same Pittsburgh stadium,
there were cries of disfavor and
disillusionment as the Lion coach
left the field.
EARLY RECORD
In his first year as head coach
following two years as assistant
under .Hugo Bezdek, Coach Hig
gins almost broke even, winning
thre e and losing four, but in his
sophomore coaching year, he
dropped games to Waynesburg,
Dickinson and Lafayette to gain a
two-won, eight-lost record, the
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worst in his entire Penn State car
eer.
For the next seven years the
Nittany teams under Higgins' tu
telage compiled a fair record and
then, in 1939, the Lion came to
life, winning five, losing one and
playing two stalemates. The 10-0
win over Pitsburgh was the
crowning achievement of that
season and the words "Higgins,"
"Penn State," and "football pow
er" became synonymous.
Early in that 1939 season, Corn
ell handed the Penn State team a
47-0 setback and the alumni and
students of the College pounced
on the HLg and demanded either
a better team or a new coach.
When •he turned the trick by
trouncing Penn State's bitter ri
val, Pitt, Mrs. Higgins provided
th e final touch by booting square_
ly in the pants the student edi
tor of Collegian who had howled
for the Hig's scalp.
SPOILED
But the Smokey City team had
a good memory and in 1940 when
the Lions returned to the city,
Pittsburgh spoiled an undefeated
record by turning back Penn
State, 20-7. A tie with Syracuse
was the only other smudge on the
Nittany record that year.
In 1941 it was Colgate and
Temple who spoiled the Nittany
coach's quest for a perfect record
and in '42 West Virginia was the
only grid squad able to stop the
upward moving team.
During the next four years the
Nittany Vale squad recorded good
marks, and in 1947 Higgins real
ized his ambition as he led the
team to an undefeated season and
the Cotton Bowl.
Coach Higgins was born De
cember 24, 1893, at Corning, N. Y.,
just a short distance from three
grid rivals, Syracuse, Cornell and
Colgate. His introduction to foot
ball came in his prep days when
he starred for the Peddie School.
FRESHMAN STAR
Since there was no rule barring
freshman football players on the
varsity, the young end made the
Penn State eleven his freshman
year and played on the 1914, 1915
and 1916 teams. When, th e war
broke, Higgins forsook college
studies to enlist in the army.
He went overseas with the 80th
Division and rose to th e rank of
Continued on page seven
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PAGE FIVE