FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1950
'On The Ball'
BY RAY KOEHLER
Sports Editor
Oh, Mister Werner, Oh! Mister- Werner •
See thou "Lion"' in thy victory book?. .
Those Soartan harriers are on , their way ".
For a Nittany Vale donnybrook.
Although, ;Is usual, thefddarniiint:Of Penn State's Homecoming
festivities will be centered on the,Beaver Field gridiron, local sports
fans can expect to see two heretofore quiet members of the Nittany
athletic family raising a crY ., for
national recognition this weekend„;
Strictly speaking, this goes for
only one of the duo--as Bill Jeff
rey's soccer outfit, by virtue of its
19-game winning streak and Soc-
cer Bowl activities, already has
attracted a nationwide following.
On the other hand, while a battle-
scarred grid band appears headed
for no great distinction this ,s,e?.-
son, Penn State's mighty
.cross
country team needs but a • win
over the 1950 NCAA champion
ship Michigan State harriers to
definitely establish itself as a po
wer to be reer.-n2d with.
Oh, Mister Werner, Oh, Mister
Werner
The chips are piling high
` - ead the bright and shining road
lA:hind a weary load. • -
And how does Werner, one of America's great track and field
coaches, figure the outcome between the two collegiate hill 'n dale
powers? . . . "A real tough match between two highly competitive
squads with the outcome capable, of going anyway," says the Chick.
"Besides," he warns, "whichever team 'wins tomorrow has more than
an even chance of getting beaten later in the championship meets."
The '5O State harriers present a purely homespun aggregation
:that has been guided to the threshold of greatness by Werner's magi
cal touch—a touch which has produced such other outstanding cross
countrymen as Horace Ashenfelter,_Curt Stone, Gerry Karver, Blon
die Romig, Bill Cox, and Larry Shields. • •
If Bill doesn't do if—Donald must.
Ashes to \ Ashes, dust to dust
BILL ASHENFELTER—At 6-feet 3 ,1 k-inches, lanky Bill is labeled
by Werner as "the tallest, good cross country runner I have ever
seen." Because of his altitude Bill" has had a hard time acquiring a
smooth, easy stride—but he has a world of guts and is a great team
man . . . like brother Don, Bill experiences periods of unpredict
ability but both enjoy helping beginners . .. has been appointed cap
tain for this important meet and in the spring will assume permanent
captaincy of the State track team . . . last year "Big Ash" turned in
several almost unbelievable feats. Against Ohio State and Michigan
State he rambled to a 4:14 mile .
DON ASHENFELTER—The reputation of the Ashenfelter family.
—started by the•great Horace—is well carried by Don, a stylist whose
form has been envied by a legion of runners. Don could become one
of the country's outstanding runners depending upon the mood he's
in . Like his two brothers he is not a high school product but his
progress has been so.-rapid since he started his running career as a
junior that it is hard for the coaching staff to criticize him.
A bit of a cheer for Jack St. Clair
A guy who has had a lot to bear.
JACK ST. CLAIR—A Philadelohia runner with a fine high school
background . . . the story on St. Clair has been one of a continued
fight against the injury jinx . . . because of sickness and leg injuries
Jack has never aooroached the form expected of him, but should he
conquer the injury bug for any length of time he is capable of doing
anything ... he is a senior and an ex-GI who lives with his wife and
baby in the trailer camp area.
In high school just a so-so mark
Now Porto's high on Werner's card
AL PORTO—An Ambridge ex-GI, Porto has come a long way
sinCe his high school dayg when he was barely able to cling to a var
sity position as a scrub runner . . . lacks the physique and style of
some of his teammates but once a race gets underway he stays up
front by an overabundance of determination and desire . . . He is a
guy who doesn't know what the word quit means—a guy who has
made himself as good as he is by hard work. A 135-pound, 5-feet 9-
inch IM boxing champ last winter. Porto also was one of a team that
captured the IM horseshoes doubles championship two years ago.
A runner of great high school esteem
Parsons now sets Chick's eyes agleam
808 PARSONS—His leadership qualities were established last
year when, as a junior, he was chosen captain of the Nittany cross
country team ... a fine runner in high school, but, strangely, so many
things were found wrong with his style when he came to State that
it has taken him longer to correct his defects then any of his team
mates. He is now a capable and dependable harrier who is always
high up among the leaders . . . a shrapnel wound in his knee while
in combat service in Europe still bothers him.
A youth who makes the coaches gloat
Freebairn's ticketed for future note
808 FREEBAIRN—"I graduated from high school when I was
just a- kid," says the 20-year-old senior in secondary education . . .
another Philadelphia high school phenom . . . when Bob came to
campus he was still not as physically mature as the rest of his team
mates, but despite a rather slender build he makes this up with a per
fect running style and staying in remarkable condition. He is an
other of Werner's proteges who has the possibilities of developing
into greatness. Says Werner, "When Bob decides to make up his mind
to be terrific—he'll be just that."
Despite a start most uninspiring .
Gordon now has them all perspiring
BILL GORDON—A marathoner who obtained his early exper
ience from a group of club runners from his home town of Jeanette
. . . did not set any cinder or turf paths afire before coming to State
and so it was not amiss when none no bothered to hang out the wel
come mat for him on his arrival here.. Last year he blossomed out of
a clear sky and is now one of the team's mainstays .
A faster Foster would be quite a boost
To shake those Spartans off their roost
DUDLEY FOSTER—The only junior member of the first string
ers ... another Philadelphia product of considerable high school ex
perience, Dud found that he still had a great deal io learn as a colle
giate runner. The first startling evidence of his ability which brought
him to the attention of Werner and Co.-.vas his sophomore time of
9:32 for the 2-mile distance on the balcony track during a practice
session. _ _ _ _
Nittany Harriers
;:; ° . 4 ",: 11- ' Hit The Spotlight
THE DAIL. X cuLLEGIAN, STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA
State Eleven Looks For Second Wiz
As Owls uck Beaver Field Jinx
If hustle and determination to win guaranteed success on the gridiron, neither Penn
State nor Temple would be denied victory when 'they clash on Beaver Field tomorpw.
Reports from Philadelphia indicate that the Templars, unable to beat the Lions since
1941, are taking tomorrow's battle as a "mus t." The 1950 season begins' and ends with the
the Penn State game the Temple coaching staff has been swing all week, and the way
the Owls have been 'working indicates that they've taken Coach Al Kawal and his assis
tants at their word.
The Owls have never won on
Beaver Field in five attempts• and
to make things worse they have
not even scored.
Lions Determined
Nittany football guide Rip
Engle is not unpleased with the
reaction of the Lions. On the bot
tom of, a three-game losing streak
—the longest winless period in
Blue and White football annals
aince 1932—the gridders, led by
Capt. Owen Dougherty, are de
termined to put on a top-notch
:how, for returning members of
Ihe alumni..
This Penn State team is better
than its• record of three losses
and a single victory indicates,
and the Lions are determined to
prove it. They've been running
hard, and hitting viciously in;
drills, all of which has pleased'
Engle and Co.
• Hoping to aid the Nittanies
regain their winning ways, Engle
has come up with several changes,
in his starting platoons. Guard
Bill Mathers will be the only
new face in the offensive unit,
replacing Jim Barr at right guard,
but four shifts are planned on
!he defense.
Millhouse Back At Guard
Don Millhouse, a 'starter at
guard early in. the season, has
regained his job while Con
Brown will probably replace
Dick Cripps at the right tackle
position. Paul Anders, a sopho
more, is scheduled to fill in for
John Podrasky, who is still
hobbled by a bad ankle, backing
up the line.
The only other change Engle
anticipates is Dougherty, who
will go at safety.
Vince O'Hara, who underwent
a minor operation this week, will ,
continue to call the signals from
the quarterback slot, but' Len
Shephard, used on 'defense ex
cusively until now, will probably!
see some action. Jim Pollard will,
go at fullback, Tony Orsini at:
halfback, and Dougherty at wing
back.
John Smidansky and Art Betts
ends; Ed Hoover and Chuck God
lasky, tackles; center. Ken Bunn.
and guard Len Bartek will team
with Mathers on the forward
Defensively State will line tm
with Pat McPoland and Chuck
Wilson, ends; Stew Scheetz and
Brown, tackles, and Millhouse on
the line. Backing up will be
Shephard and Andres With Bob
Polard, Bill Leonard, Jacob and
Dougherty in the backfield.
Penn State will adopt 1:30
kickoff time as a courtesy to out
of-town autoists for its two home
football games in November.
By MARV KRASNANSKY
Gets Starting Role • • .
Don Milihouse
Lion Grid Rank
Drops 4 Notches
Penn State has dropped to 17th
place among Eastern collegiate
grid powers• in latest ratings com
piled by the Lambert Trophy
committee.'
Given a total of 972 points, the
Lions dropped from a 13th place
tie with Syracuse, to 17th po
sition, 28 points behind unbeaten
Army, in first place with 1000
points.
Army thus goes far ahead in
its chances to gain its sixth Lam
bert Trophy in seven years.
The Cadets closest competitor
is Cornell with 985 points. Penn
is a close third with 984 points,
followed by Villanova, Prince
ton, Navy, Yale, Pitt, Columbia,
and Syracuse in that' order.
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