PAGE SIX Nittanies Underdogs in Opener Illini Rated 14-Point Favorites By DICK McDOWELL For the second year in succes sioft Penn State will find itself an underdog on opening day when the Lions open their 1954 football campaign against top-notch Illi nois Saturday afternoon at Cham paigne, 111.' The Illini, co-favorites to win the Big Ten championship again this year, and a pre-season choice to finish the year among the top ten college teams, has been in stalled as a 14-point favorite. Last year Coach Rip -Engle’s gridders opened the season against a whirlwind Wisconsin team and dropped a 20-0 decision when Al len (The Horse) Ameche began a season-long rampage at Madison, Wis. Caroline, Bales Star This season, instead of Ameche, they must do -battle with all- American J. C. Caroline and hard driving Mickey Bates, rated as the country’s best one-two punch. Besides this fabulous pair, coach Ray Rlliot has come up with an other sensation—-fleet sophomore halfback Abe Woodson. Despite the loss of quarterback Ray Falkerstein, the Illini are ex pected to field another fine offen sive unit with, of course, Caroline packing the big punch. The Lions, who will leave for Champaigne by train Thursday afternoon, are meanwhile putting the finishing touches on a month long training period and with the opener only four days aVay, En gle still hasn’t decided on a start ing quarterback or a left guard. Iton Bailey, Milt Plum, and Bobby Hoffman are all in the running for the signal, calling berth while four men—Chuck Soweass, Pete Petroff, Sam Valen tine, and Dick De Luca are shooting for the starting slot at the guard position. One bright note came out of fee Lion camp today. Co-captains lira Ganrity and Don Balthaser, injured in scrimmage almost three weeks ago, may be ready to see some action Saturday. Neither player will be in the starting line up, but according .to trainer Chuck Medlar, both may be used in spots against Illinois. Medlar said that although both men’s leg injuries have “come along well” lack of heavy prac tice during the past two weeks will limit their use. Balthaser put on pads for the first time in two weeks yesterday and probably will not be used Saturday unless it is absolutely necessary/ Fullback Bill Straub, sidelined last week with an ankle injury, played in the scrimmage against Cornell Saturday and will be ready to go against Illinois. The opener Saturday will mark the 68th year of intercollegiate football at Penn State and will be Ehgle’s fifth as head coach. Loins Will Meet Foreign Soccermen The annual soccer match be tween Ken Hosterman’s varsity squad and The Cosmopolitan Club has been scheduled for Saturday at Beaver Field. The Cosmopolitan team is com posed of foreign students from Norway, Mexico, India, and Iran. But a call has been issued by offi cers for the organization for addi tional help for the game Satur day. The game is traditionally played prior to Penn Safe’s reg ular intercollegiate season. Game time Saturday is 1 p.m. • Dre Bsen Denies Rumors LOS ANGELES, Sept. 21 (JP) — Chuck Dressen says he has had feelers from major league clubs for 1955 but any report that he has. agreed to terms is “only ru mor.” Dressen managed Brooklyn to pennants in 1952 and 1953 and then resigned last year when ten dered only a one-year contract. Penn State’s new basketball eoaeh, John Egli, is a Purple Heart veteran and native of South Illinois All-American Two Sports Will Open frstramurais Touch football and tennis singles open the array of 16 intra mural sports that will be con-, ducted on campus this year. The deadline for entries in both sports is 4:30 p.m. Friday, according to Gene Wettstone and Dutch Sykes, officials in the intramural office. A large turnout is expected in' the touch football tournament. Throughout recent years this sport has increasingly found the fancy of intramural competitors. Both fraternity and independent entries will swell the field, mak ing the tournament stretch into the first week in November. The tennis tournament will be a single elimination affair. En tries have been coming into the IM office in Rec Hall with rapid fashion since yesterday and close competition is expected. In both independent and fraternity di visions many tennis enthusiasts of last year’s 'tourney have en tered, attempting another try at the coveted championship. Remaining intramural tourna ments th a t will be conducted throughout the year include swimming, golf-medal, basket ball, boxing, wrestling, handball singles and doubles, badminton, volleyball, horseshoes, tennis doubles, golf-team, soccer, and track. Reds Club Braves, 5-0 MILWAUKEE, Sept. 21 (£>)— Joe Nuxhall fired a six-hitter at the patched up Milwaukee Braves today as Cincinnati posted a 5-0 victory before 10,001 fans, small est paid attendance of the year at County Stadium. I Scribes , Coaches Witt Begin Contest Although it’s a fact little known to the outer World, the life Of a sportswriter is filled with numerous chores other than planting himself behind a typewriter and banging out a story. In keeping with tradition, the scribes of the Daily Collegian will outlook of the top grid contests >nfe fall sports attraction is in ses- once again venture a crystal bal! each weekend while the number i Providing first-hand opposition to the local boys will be none other than the Penn State grid coaching staff. Bip Engle and his boys will be going all out to re gain their prestige in the fall coin flipping classic. Last Year's Winner Last year’s Sports Editor, Sam Procopio, outfoxed the grid men tors the whole way to gain the first victory over the coaches. Second place honors went to the coaches and Assistant Sports Edi tor, Dick McDowell. Herm Weis kopf, final member of the staff writers, took number/three hon-. crs. j Prbcopio earned the coveted. THE DAfIY COLLEGIAN STATE COtIEGE PENNSYLVANIA X-Couhtry Coaches Seek Talent For Varsity, Freshman Squads The big hunt is on once again. The annual search for talent for the cross-country team is once again underway. Leading the searching party are head coach, Chick Werner and his assistant Norm Gordon. Werner is on the lookout for upperclassmen for his varsity team and Gordon is inter ested in freshmen for his yearling squad. - Penn State’s cross-country outfits have perennially ranked., among the best. One of the reasons is that the coaching is also regarded as among the tops. Both 'Wferner and Gordon were well-known runners in their time and have carried their knowledge to the point where they have been successful in imparting their teachings to their pupils. Werner has been working with the varsity for the past Week and a half, but is still looking for addi tional talent to help make up for the loss of three of the ■ team’s top stars from last season. This year the yearlings will have a schedule. On Oct. 2 the frosh will be at Annapolis for a dual meet with Navy’s freshmen. Cornell’s Big Red will host the Nittany fledgelings at Ithaca .on Oct. 9. Gordon will take the fresh men to New- York City for the IC4A championship run oh Nov. 15,' Frosh Soccer Meeting ; Freshman soccer candidates ,will meet- at 7 p.m. tomorrow in 14 Recreation Hall, located in the basement of the new wing, soceer coach Ken Hoster man has announced. Bell Brands Big 1,0, Others On 'Selfishness' PHILADELPHIA; Sept: 21 (TP) —Commissioner Bert Bell of the National Football League today blasted Big Ten athletics officials and others as “isolationists and selfish men” intent oh severing years of harmonious relations be tween college and professional football. Bell said Kenneth (Tug), Wilson, Big Ten commissioner; Theodore B. Payseur, Northwestern Univer sity athletic director; Tom Hamil ton, Pitsburgh athletic director, and Fritz Crisler, head of athlet ics at Michigan, are the ringlead ers in an attempt to cause a rift between college athletics arid pro fessional sports. “They’re not' kidding us. We know what the real reason for their _ sudden attack on pro' foot ball is—our elaborate nationwide television program. They’re sore because we televise on Saturday nights. , “Well, we’re going to televise on Saturday night and Sunday af ternoon. We went through a law suit alone for eight wfeeks in fed eral court at a great expense. We won and we’re going to give the public all the television we can,” Bell said. The portly comhussioner said Wilson, Payseur, Hamilton, Cris ler and the rest are afraid to al low unlimited television in col lege football “because they fig ure Notre Dame would sell their games coast-to-coast year in and year out, freezing the rest of them out of the picture. By RON GATEHOUSE crystal-ball award oh 94. correct choices and 41 miscues. His over all average was .697. McDowell, the number one man on this year’s sports staff, will lead the Collegian swamies into the current grid selections. Weiskopf will again be., offering his contributions, and Roy Wil liams, a newly ihitiated member of the local selectors, will also be vying for" top honors. .'Assisting Engle, will be Joe'Pa terno, J. T. White; Sever Toretti, Earl Bruce, 'Jim O’Hara, and Frank -Patrick. ' "■. " The first of the weekly-predic tions. appropriately found ■ under the title, “Out on a Limb,” will be published .Saturday.', . By HERM WEISKOPF Previous running experience is not needed. “The only require ment needed to run cross-coun try,” Werner said, “is the will to run.” There is no better example' of this than the oft repeated legend of the famed Ashenfelter brothers who helped prove 'Werner’s theory that “skill” is secondary to “will.” Neither Bill nor Horace Ashenfelter had any experience as runners before they came to Penn State. By the. time the Ashenfelter brothers .left the Nittany Valley they had . established themselves as two; of the finest runners in the nation. Horace’s victory in the Olyiripics in 1952 marked him as orie of the top track stars in the world. And it all started when he tried his hand at running for the first time at Penn State. PENN STATE GRID SCHE Sept. 25 Illinois at Champaign, 111. I % \ \ 2 Syracuse at. Syracuse, N. Y. 9 Virginia at State College, Pa. *■ Oet. 18 West Virginia at State Collegi 2S Texas Christian at Fort Worth, Tex, / s *> -*r ''h>iu 30 Pennsylvania at Philadelphia, Pa. PENN STATE Co-CapiainsJim Garrity (85) and Don Baltl.aser (57) look forward to rugged campaign which'opens ag"'" - ! l'lghly ' •gard'sd Illinois at Champaign, 111., Saturday. Tho T -‘ons wul play nine games, in 1954, four of thdm on the home gridiron. Nov. 9 Holy Cron at State College, Pa. Nov. 13 Butgers at State College, Pa. ''WEDNESDAY. SEPTEMBER 22. 1954 Giants' Gomez Tops Bums, 5-2 BROOKLYN, Sept. 21 (JP) Clinching the National League pennant didn’t halt the New York Giants who rode over Brooklyn today 5-2 on five-hit pitching by Ruben.. Gomez and Jim Hearn. The Giants eliminated the Dod gers last night, 1 but all regulars except Hank Thompson and Wes Westrum started against left handed Johnny Podres. Bobby Hofman, filling in for Thompson at third base, hit a home -run with the bases loaded following singles by Don Mueller and .Willie Mays' and a'walk, to Monte Irvin in the first inning. It was the Giants’ seventh grand slam of the season, tying their, own club record of 1951 but three under, the major league record of 10 set by Detroit in 1938. The Na tional League high is riine by Chi cago in 1929. After the first innirig outburst against Podres, it was all over. The Giants rubbed it in a little when Gomez hit a home run off Podres in the fifth inning for their other run. Junior Gilliam’s double and a wild throw by Hofman gave the Dodgers their run in the first.'
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers