PAGE SIX
Boxers' Hopes Rise
With Flore Return
The dismal Nittany boxing outlook for tomorrow’s encounter with national champion
Wisconsin took a sudden turn for the brighter yesterday with the return to eligibility of
Tony Flore, crack 139 pounder.
Held out of last week’s meet with ' Syracuse because he was thought ineligible
scholastically, 'Flore has been given the OK by College officials.
Sports Thru
The Lion’s Eye .ffevsl
By JAKE HIGHTON
Collegian Sports Editor
Eight marvelously equipped ambassadors from the capi
tal of the collegiate boxing world, Madison, Wisconsin, will
present their fistic credentials in Rec Hall tomorrow night.
Being Penn State’s oldest and most cordial rival, Wisconsin’s
mitt team will not be persona non grata. But the way Wiscon
sin has treated Nittany boxer's since the inception of the
series in 1936, they ought not to be acceptable.
The distinction of having met the six-time national
champion Badger boxers most frequently carries with it a
dubious distinction—Slate also has .lost most often to Wis
consin. As a matter of brutal fact, only twice in 19 Badger
dual meets have the Lions been able to leave the ring victors.
However, losing to Wisconsin is no longer reason, to hang up the
collective Nittany gloves. Badger and boxer are synonymous. The
air over Wisconsin is so saturated with boxing that actually the
Badgers are pros in comparison with Penn State. So well provided
is Wisconsin with pugilistic talent that it is highly possible that
right now on the Madison campus—even with eight of its elite absent
—there is as much boxing skill as the Lions will show tomorrow.
Although it isn't patriotic to say so, it is probably , the truth.
Figure it this way. Wisconsin has ten major "W" winners return
ing, four junior "W" receivers, and eight freshmen W-strutters.
All of which makes Stale's total of four letterwinners look pale
in comparison.
But the number of monogram winners only tells part of the
story. The entire college is adicted to boxing. The Wisconsin boxing
season begins in December with the Contenders tourney, which is
comparable to State’s intramural setup. These “IM” finalists then
go on to battle with frosh, jayvee, and varsity for All-University
championships. Thus, half the student body automatically picks up
a second degree at graduation—B.B., bachelor of boxing.
The truest test for boxing popularity in Madison is the crowds.
And brother, how they pack 'em. Last season Penn Stale boxed
before 8,200 fans—scaled at. $1.50 ringside, $l.OO for the general
house, and all reserved. Several weeks later Michigan State,
eventual runnerup to the national champion Badgers, drew 13,119.
And the Wisconsin field house record of boxing records is the
15,200 which bulged the walls for a Washington State meet in
1940. Even the All-University finals last year drew 5000—which
is likely more than will fill Rec Hall tomorrow practically for free.
ROPE SKIPPING. SPARRING. AND JARRING:
Rec Hall with considerably less than 10,000 fans may be for
the Badgers like moving into a drafty gym after Madison Square
Garden appearances. (The campus town bears an appropriate name.)
... Even Wisconsin’s coach John Walsh has a boxing name. Remem
ber Joe Palooka’s manager, Knobby Walsh? . . . Wisconsin’s Knobby
has three fundamentals for every fighter to master: hold hands up,
keep chin down, and throw short, straight punches ...
In nine of 18 seasons the Badgers have been unbeaten. They
have lost only twice in 89 home matches and once won 57 straight
in their own ring. Six out of 15 NCAA tourneys fell to_ the Badgers
and 27 individual crowns . . . Walsh has a tough time in some
weights. Like 132 this year where he had three lettermen vying
. . . Wisconsin's all-over record is 102 won, 12 lost, and 11 tied
t —not bad! •
m DAILY COLLEGIAN STATE COLLEGE PENNSYLVANIA
The Badger ringmen will ar
rive around noon today and go
through a light workout in Rec
Hall around 2 p.m. Match time
tomorrow is 7 p.m.
Two other changes will be made
in the Nittany lineup which
dropped its third straight match
of the season to Syracuse last
week. Sam Butler, Coach Eddie
Sulkowski’s season-starter at 132,
will return in place of Joe Rey
nolds. Butler lost a 30-26 decision
to a Marylander in his. lone bout
of the year.
The other major change for
State finds Steve Melmeck re
placing Stan Engle at 147 pounds.
Melmeck, who lost his first var
sity bout in the 156 division last
. aek at Syracuse, will move down
d this more comfortable weight.
(He weighed only 148 last week.)
With Melmeck dropping down,
Hank Arnold gets back into the
156 pound bracket which he han
dled for the first two meets. Hank
is 1-1 on the season.
Otherwise the Lions will stack
up the same as throughout the
season. In addition to Flore (2-0),
Adam Kois and Bill Andresevic
will be risking unbeaten records
against the champions tomorrow.
Lightheavy Kois has won twice
and been held .to a draw once.
Heavyweight Andresevic has won
once and been drawn twice.
Captain Sam Marino (1-1-1) will
be in his usual 125 pound spot,
and Dick Cameron (0-3) will be
trying for his first 165 pound vic
tory.
I Rea & Deric
(Returns to lineup)
Lion Courtmen Face
Red Raiders Tonight
The Penn, State cagers resume their road duty tonight with an
all-veteran five from Colgate University as the opposition. Both
teams will be trying to preserve their season’s longest win streaks
of three straight. ' c
But while the Lions were taking wins over small schools like
American U., Dickinson, and Bucknell, the Colgate five have been
sweeping the court with impressive, wins over Army, Syracuse
(whom the Lions play tomorrow), and Rutgers. •
Wallops Rutgers,'9l-58
Both the Army and Syracuse contests were upsets with the
latter game a 106-88 contest, the largest score the Raiders have made
this year. Wednesday night they added Rutgers, to their win column
by a margin of 33 points. Final score was 91-58.
Rutgers has beaten the Lions earlier in the season by 12 points.
Also included in the Raiders’ eight losses is a setback by Temple
University who the Lions will meet on March 7, the last game of the
season. The Raiders lost to Temple, 75-62.
Dodd Is High Scorer -
Penn State has the edge in the series between the tVsro teams,'
winning 18 tilts while Colgate has 16. The Lions took tfye last contest
68-55 at the beginning of the season. Records of two clubs show
State with a 12-7 record and Colgate with a 9-8 log. On their home
court Colgate shows six wins and two losses while the/Lions, on
foreign courts, show a 3-7 record.
Currently leading 'thg Raiders is their big center Bill Dodd.
The 6-4 senior, who averaged 18 points a game for a 228 total. His
single highest output of the season was 29 tallies against Yale. Three
other men are bunched behind him—Captain Dan Warren with 225
points, Frank Patterson with 215, and Dick Osborn with 198. Osborn
is also one of the nation’s leaders in rebounds with an 'average of
15.5 a game.
Sax to Get First Crack
At intercollegiate Crown
When Ollie Sax steps on the Madison Square Garden boards at
the IC4A’s in New York City tomorrow night, he "will be getting
his first crack at an intercollegiate title. And for' the first time this
season, the Lion runner will be favored to win.
Sax has run four indoor races this season, three 600 yard jogs,
and one 500. And, although he
has finished second in all of them,
the Nittany sophomore has been
the sensation of the indoor sea
son. ■
After chasing Mai Whitfield to
numerous records for four weeks,
Sax finally gets a chance to meet
an all-collegiate field. , Even in
finishing second to ' Marvelous
Mai, Sax was beating such well
kflov/ns as Herb McKenley, Reg
gie Pearman, Morris Currota, and
John Gaffney.
In thg IC4A meet, the speedster
will face Currota and Gaffney
again, and also Manhattan’s Lou
Jones and Vern Dixon. Dixon cap
tured the event last year.
With Sax leading the parade,
the Lions will be after their sec
ond win in the 32-year history of
the meet. The lone Penn State
team win came ’in 1942 when
Barney Ewell and Norm Gordon
led the Nittany’s to the title. Gor
dan is now serving- as Coach
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1953
By dick McDowell
Chick Werner ? s assistant.
The Wernermen, however, fig
ure to be fighting for a second
place finish, along with Penn,
Army, Yillanova, Georgetown, and
Columbia. Manhattan’s top-flight
squad is a heavy favorite to win
the event, and retain its 1952
crown;
The Jaspers are, as the saying
goes, “loaded.” They, have poten
tial point-getters in every event
and have been, instilled as the
favorite from the very beginning.
Both Dixon and Johes run a fast
600.
Powerful Jim Dillon is favored
for a win in the 35-pound throw,
and the Jaspers have two fine
sprint men in Lindy ' Ramagino
and Jack O’Connel. They also in
clude on their formidable list ,of
entries Frank Eagan, a fine two
miler, top-notch one and two-mile
relay teams, and Joe Gaffney, an
excellent high-jumper. , V
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