FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 1949
Here's the large and small sizes in lacrosse packages. Bud
Thomas, left, a Nittany attack man, and John Finley, who plays
midfield, represent the two extremes on Coach Nick Thiel's cur
rent stick crew. Thomas is 5-feet-7, weighs 130; Finley is 6-2,
weighs 200. Both are first-stringers and hail from Harrisburg.
The Ninny Realm
Lacrosseman Finley—Now Tape-less
No longer the "mummy" of College athletics, Johnny Finley
emerged from the handball courts last week, swung his arms over
his head, and smiled with approval at his freedom of movement.
This could be the tall athlete's best lacrosse season in four years
of competition. His confidence shows in his eyes. Finley has (perma
nently, he hopes) cast off his "strait jacket" of shoulder tape. Now
he can raise his arms above the shoulder line.
The "mummy" business began in pre-season football drills last
summer when Johnny's shoulders started the painful habit of jump
ing out of place. Wrapping. was Trainer Chuck Medlar's way of
keeping the limbs in place, but despite a liberal 25 yards of two-inch
tape over his star's torso (making Johnny probably the most expen
sive player on the team), the arms kept jumping out at erratic
intervals. And that, after 20 minutes of winding with the thought
of an agonizing, de-skinning pull after the festivities had ceased.
The situation caused embarrassing moments also, like the time
in the East-West classic in San Francisco when_ teammates John
Simon and Larry Cooney had to fight off a contingent of medicoes
while Finley shoved his arms back into their sockets. He could do
it better without help after he learned where they fitted.
But those days are passed. After a winter's rest and proper ex
ercise and care, Johnny's shoulders are back to stay. He doesn't need
to be wrapped and sealed now before he's delivered to the lacrosse
field.
A senior, Finley was also exempt from Spring grid scrimmages
this season. For his first three years, he would work out with the
lacrossemen for awhile, then race over to wind up his day blocking
and tackling. Now he concentrates on the Spring sport entirely.
Johnny plays midfield in lacrosse, a position he described as
"both offensive and defensive. You're with the offense on the scor
ing chances, then you're back defending the goal with the defense
men soon after. It takes a lot of running."
Finley, however, carries his 6-foot, 2-inch, 200-pound frame
around with easy speed. His biggest thrill in sports came back in
1945 when, as a freshman playing in the State-Navy game at An
napolis, he was the first man down under a Lion kick to spill the
Middie ball carrier.
"It was my first college game," Johnny recounts. "I probably
wouldn't have got in the contest, but John Nolan, first-string tackle,
was injured and I took his place. I was a little excited, playing
against stars like Smackover Scott and Bob Kelly, who later went
to Notre Dame—stars I'd been reading about just the year before.
"Our first play from scrimmage was punt formation. The only
man to break through the line, I raced down under the kick but I
didn't know whether to tackle Kelly or what to do. Luckily, I hit
him, he fumbled the ball, and we recovered."
Navy, however, went on to win that game, 20-0.
HIGH SCHOOL
Finley hails from Paxstang, a suburb of Harrisburg, and went
to high school at John Harris high. He was tackle and captain his
senior year in 1944, on the team that won the Big 15 championship
in the Eastern part of the state. After graduating in 1945, he came
here in the Fall of that year, and continued his grid career. He
played four straight years, at both tackle positions.
A Physical Education major, Johnny is looking forward to a
professional football career for a few years after he leaves college.
The Detroit Lions hold draft rights on him, but he can't work out
contract terms until lacrosse season is over. After he finishes foot
ball, Johnny would lik4 to coach either the grid sport, or lacrosse,
though he thinks football is his favorite sport. He's 21 years old.
Incidentally, despite that shoulder trouble, Finley never missed
a football game last year. He piled up the third highest active time,
running behind teammates Chuck Drazenovich and Sam Tamburo.
Lacrosse, the old Indian game, is the coming thing in Johnny's
(Continued on page six)
" .TE COLLEGE CANDY CO.-140 S. PUGH ST.
By Bob Kotzbauer
EAST-WEST
EASY SPEED
ALE CANDY
or carton
LLY'S
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN. STATE COLLEGE. PENNSYLVANIA
Greens, Tee
Take 1 Stroke
From Course
Re-location of two greens and
one tee necessitated by new Coll-
Strl.letiOn will shave one stroke
from the former par of 70 For
Penn State's 18-hole golf course.
it was announced today: Work on
the greens is now in progress.
The stroke will be lost on num
ber 7, formerly a 520-yard hole
which now has been reduced to
445 yards. The two greens af
fected are 5. which is increased
from 350 to 377 yards- and 6.
which is 26 yards longer at 159
yards.
Number 17, a 440-yard hole, re_
turns to par-5 after an experi
mental period during which par
was reduced to four strokes. Par
for the second nine therefore re
mains at 35, while par for the
first nine drops from 35 to 34
strokes.
R. B. "Pop" Rutherford, veter
an golf coach and greenskeeper,
said' the re-location was necessi
tated by the erection of a new
college foods building on land ad
joining the golf course.
The course is open for student
play everyday until dusk; how
ever, on Sundays, tee-offs are not
permitted until after 1 p.m.
Stick--
Continued from page four
Md., to battle Navy.
Coach Thiel, after witnessing
his squad's rapid rush through
the South, is highly optimistic re
garding Saturday's encounter
with Loyola. He plans no changes
in his starting lineup against the
Baltimore team which he recog
nizes as having been strengthen
ed considerably over the past
year.
"My only fear is getting the
boys up for the game," the State
mentor said. "After all, they've
just completed four games in
eight days and are a bit on the
stale side."
"Loyola has never beaten a
State lacrosse team, consequent
ly it would be quite a feather in
its cap to flict such a defeat,"
said Thiel, explaining his wari
ness.
After scrimmaging Johns Hop
kins, in a non-scheduled match.
Thiel feels confident that the
fight for the national lacrosse
championship will be waged be
tween the medics, Army and
Navy. Incidentally, Navy, appear
ing on the Lions' slate this year.
is reputed to have the best stick
team in Middie history.
Also on Penn State's schedule,
Syracuse rates as the top team
along with Rensselaer, as the top
team in the North.
In his 19 years at the helm
Penn State 1o o t ball team.
coached by Bob Higgins won 91
games, lost 57, tied 9.
At Your Warner
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NOW!
eatimum
Frank Sinatra
Gene Kelly
"TAKE ME OUT TO
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in Technicolor
State
Richard Widmark
Lionel Barrymore
"DOWN TO THE
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llittany
Gene Kelly
June Allyson
'THREE MUSKETEERS'
in Technicolor
Rebuilt Golf Squad
Faces Georgetown U
Faced with a complete rebuilding task in one brief month et
practice. Coach Bob Rutherford has molded a team of seven golfers
around a nucleus of his two returning veterans. The team left yes
terday for two weekend matches.
Joe Boyle and Tom Smith are all that remain of last year's
Eastern Intercollegiate champions
2 Lion Rooters
Leave for Tilt
Bill Jeffrey and his two All
American soccer proteges, Dick
Hannah and Ralph Hosterman.
leave today for New York City
where the veteran Lion booting
mentor will coach the soccer All--
Americans when they battle an
all New York Amateur squad to
morrow afternoon.
Twelve colleges will be repre
sented on the collegiate all star
team. Hosterman and Hannah
were selected last fall on the
1949 All-America team.
Both halfbacks were vital cogs
in the impressive record of seven
wins, one loss and one tie that th e
Nittanymen rolled up last year.
At the present Hannah is the
top relief goalie of Coach Nick
Thiel's lacrosse forces while Hos
terman is practicing with the soc
cer squad in daily spring practice
sessions on the golf course prac
tice field.
His Teams Win
Penn State's baseball record in
18 years under the coaching dir
ection of Joe Bedenk shows 182
wins, 86 losses and one tie.
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R TATE COLLEGE
lip Lion squad. Boyle is a senior
and this year's captain, while
Smith is a junior. Sophomores
Ray Artz, Bob Kunkle, Jim Yer
kes and Georg e Mazanowski.
along with another junior, Mar
vin Goldenberg, make up the rest
of the regular golfers. Also with
the squad is sophomore alternate
1-lenry Lozar.
The Nittany golfers invaded
Washington, D. C., yesterday for
two non-league matches with
Georgetown University today and
tomorrow. The match will be
played on the Congressional
Country Club course, while Sat
urday will find the two squads
moving to the Georgetown Prep
course.
Penn State will begin its league
action against its three section op
ponents May 6. Opposition in
section play will come from
Army, Pitt and Cornell. This
year will see a new system of
scoring in the E.I.G.A. Each
match will consist of a total
which may be won for the team
by the winner of each of the sev
en twosomes participating in the
match.
All sectional contests will take
place on the Penn State course.
Since workers are busy on new
greens for the fifth and sixth
holes, it is not expected that they
will b e ready for these matches.
This will necessitate playing two
holes, possibly the first and ninth.
twice.
PAGE FTvr