WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER-6; T 954
The
Scorebook
THE 'LONELIEST' SPORT
Sport, magazine came out with an article last year referring to
cross-country as “The Loneliest Sport:”. We are inclined to agree
with that title. Running five miles, over hills and rills is a rough
grind.
' One thing that, makes it especially tough is that- for most of the
race there are no sideline cheering sections to urge the runners on.
Another thing that make it. hard, is that the competitors—like
boxers —have-little idea of who is- leading. Each harrier has d vague
concept of how his team is doing,' but unless he carries an adding
machine with him it is difficult to figure out the score.
Cross-country .Is a sport that requires, among other things,
stamina and hours of practice. There's a lot more to running
than just making your feet go. One. thing every. hill-and-daler
must learn is the art of pacing.-Rhythm in running and breathing
must be kept whether going uphill or downhill or speeding to the
-finish line.
If this rhythm in breathing is lost' the runner wili be hit by
the plague of all athletes—iatigue. Getting into shape is . another
problem. After a summer's layoff it takes a rigid training program
to get set for the opening meet..
Quite a few Penn Staters seemed amazed when-they learned
that, the Nittany, cross-country team had lost.its opening battle of
the season iiatiirday. Navy and, Villanova edged Penn State in a
triangular meet at Annapolis; ending the Lions’ six-meet win skein
which dated back to 1952. It’s nice to win, but it seems that cross--
country victories at Penn State have been taken for granted. Penn
Staters sweat and. worry about whether the Nittany football team
will make a first down, but few of those same fans even know
which team the cross-country squad is running against on any given
weekend. ’ !
This is not a blast at football fans or Penn Staters. It is quite
obvious why few persons know or care much about the hill-and
dale sport. First,, it is hard .for anyone to comprehend the efforts of
a cross-country outfit unless he v has competed in the sport or has
some direct connection with it. Second, cross-country is . not a
spectator sport, and, therefore, does not receive the publicity which
other sporty are fortunate enough to get. Right now football has
captured the heart of the American sporting public, leaving little
room for other sports to,get notice. can be easily pointed out
right at the University. We are willing to bet that more .Penn
Staters know the score .of Saturday's Purdue-Notre Dame football
game than know the score of the Lion's’ first cross-country meet of
the season. With these handicaps to operate against, it is easy to see
why cross-country takes a back seat to other athletic endeavors.
Saturday's loss at Annapolis was only the third defeat for. the
harriers in the past" five campaigns. During that same time the
Lions have wpn 18 regular season encounters and have captured
three championships. In 1950 the Blue and White harriers won the
. Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic. Association of America and Na
: iional Collegiate Athletic Association crowns and the following
- season copped the former title again.
' 1 1 To sum it "up, the student body is used to having the cross
country, team win. The Lions have-done such a good job of winning
that they have been taken for granted by the students. There’s a
lot more to winning cross-country meets than can be read in news
print. Athletes' sometimes get over-confident, but it now 'seems as
though it is the students who have come up with this attitude. Just
remember, those who compete in “the loneliest sport” are the un
sung heroes in their own way. And heroes should not be taken
for granted. . - . •
Freshmen Gridders
To Encounter Navy
Penn State’s freshman football' team plays the first of three oppo
nents Saturday when they encounter the Navy plebes at Annapolis.
Lion freshman Coach Earl Bruce recognizes the problem as much
as anyone in building a new, synchronized team year after year.
Bruce, who is now entering his 26th season as a coach, each year
sees his freshmen advance into the varsity.
Two freshman: backs of last
year’s team that upset the Middies
in a snow storm are now on the
varsity. Quarterback Milt Plum
from New Jersey was the Lion
field general and the punter while
Ray Alberigi, Jessup, was the
touchdown maker. Alberigi re
turned a punt 62 yards for Penn
State’s first score.'
In 1952, it was Lenny Moore
and Bob Hoffman who led the
yearlings'.' That year Navy won.
21-13.
Little is known yet about the
quality of the Middy frosh. A
good sprinkling of Pennsylvania
boys is expected, though, to make
up the Navy lineup. Last year 16
out of 42 Navy footballers were
from the Keystone State.
The second game of the Nittany'
schedule is a contest in Pittsburgh
against the University of Pitts
burgh on Oct. 23. In this affair
the Baby Lions will endeavor to
break the fortune that the Pan-
By HERM WEISKOPF
Sports Editor
thers hold. State hasn’t beaten the
University of Pittsburgh fresh
men since 1949.
The final game on the abbre
viated schedule is -a home en
counter against Bullis Academy
on Nov. 5: The Academy is a.new
comer to the Lion’s schedule.
V
Penn State Players’present
John van Draten’s Comedy
Bell, Book, and Candle
Center Stage in the TUB
Friday Nights, Oct. 15 thru Nov. 19
THE PAR* STATE: COLLEGE. PENNSYLVANIA
SOCCER halfback Gerry Gillis
pie out-maneuvers a Bucknell
defensive player to get away a
head ball in the Lions record
breaking 14-1 win over the Bi
sons Saturday in - the season
opener.
Alpha Sig's Wahl Wins IM Calf
Dick Wahl and Kinsey Dickel
grabbed first place for the frat
ernity entry of Alpha Sigma Phi
in the Gold Medal Golf Tourna
ment held last Saturday and Sun
day.'
Wahl fired a first round total
of 71 and a second, round total
of 73 for a 36 hole total; of 144.
Dickel shot a 70 and a 75 for a
total of 145 for second place hon-
Anfonelli, Garcia
Win ERA Awards
NEW YORK, Oct. 5 (S>)—Lefty
Johnny Antonelli of the Giants
and Mike/ Garcia,
husky righthander, continued an
interesting trend by'winning the
major league earned run titles in
1954.
Antonelli, with a 2.29 average,
was the' seventh southpaw in the
past, nine seasons to win earned
run honors in the _ National
League. Garcia, posting a 2.64
ERA, became the fourth right
handed hufler in five campaigns
to lead, the American League in
that department.
The recent southpaw trend in
the National League started with
Howie Pollet,, then of the St.
Louis Cardinals, capturing the
crown in 1946.
Shumaker Selected
'Lineman of Week'
.? Earl Shumaker, standout left
guard on Penn State’s undefeated
football team has been chosen
‘Lineman of the Week’ by the
Daily Collegian sports staff for his
fine play in the Lions’ 13-0 romp
over Syracuse Saturday.
The Nittany lineman was a con
tinuous thorn in the side of the
Orange, : making bone-crushing
tackles and throwing key'flocks
all afternoon.
The Eastern College . Athletic
Conference named the Lion grid
der as one of its “unsung heroes”
over the past weekend for his
performance.
Cross-Country
Will Meet Big
For the past two seasons the Lions’cross-country team has found
Cornell—Saturday’s, opponent—easy pickings. However, judging the
future by the past is not aways wise.
Two years ago Penn State scored the minimum of 15 points
and defeated the Big Red in Ithaca and last season the Lions tram
pled Cornell in the opening meet of the' campaign, 19-39.
Doug Moorhead, one of the stalwarts on this year’s team, fin
ished in a three-wajt tie for first in the most recent battle'with
Cornell. Other returnees for the Lions from last season’s win over
the Big Re 4 are Ted Garrett, John
Chillrud, Jim Pastorius, and Jim
McKelvey.
Garrett and Chillrud
Garrett and Chillrud crossed the
finish line in a tie for sixth with
identical clockings of 28:12. Pas
torius finished four seconds later
in eighth and McKelvey came in
14th.
A lot has happened since last
year’s meet. Cornell can.no longer
be looked upon as a “cousin.” For
one, Penn State has lost some of
its top harriers from last season’s
undefeated squad. Another factor
which makes Cornell a more for
midable opponent is that the rel
atively inexperienced Lions will
be competing away from home
for the second straight weekend.
Moorhead First at Navy
Moorhead finished first in the
triangular battle with Navy and
Villanova on Saturday, moving up
two notches from his third place
finish of the year before. Pas
torius and Garrett were the only
two other Lions to finish in the
ors. Those finishing in the first
ten among the 71 fraternity en
tries were John Miller, Sigma Nu,-
third, with a 74-74—148; Walt
Laska, Theta Delta Chi, fourth,
with a 75-75—150.
Frank Ross and Bernard Bay
miller, Sigma Chi, tied for fifth
with 151 totals; Don Lee, Phi Del
ta Theta, seventh, with a 152.
Paul Thomas, Lambda Chi Alpha,
Paul Christman, Alpha Chi Rho,
and Con Lentz, Delta Sigma Phi,
$ MONEY $
. ' and
UNSOLD BOOKS
will be returned
TODAY through FRIDAY
OCT. 6 to 8
by the
Used Book Agency
Located in the TUB
Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
II R A PENN STATE
UDA •* m BOOK EXCHANGE
By HERM WEISKOPF
top ten in the race on the banks
of the Severn River.
Freshman cross-country Coach
Norm Gordon will also take a
team of yearlings to Ithaca for a
meet with the Big Red’s frosh.
Navy toppled the Nittany year
lings Saturday at Annapolis, 23-38,
in the first meet of the season
for Gordon’s outfit.
1 Cornell may have been a push
over during the past two years,
but the scene has changed quite
a bit and. the Big Red will be gun
ning for revenge. Although the
scene and the participants ■ may
have changed, the Lions will be
trying to follow the same , script.
Jim Garrity, Penn State end
and co-captain, last year led East
ern college football in pass re
ceiving.
Allegheny College’s newly-ap
pointed football coach, Red Moore,
is a former Penn State grid cap
tain.
tied for tenth with 155 totals.
The independent winner was
Leo Kruakola who shot both 18
hole rounds in 75 for a final 150.
Nelson Davis was second with a
159 total and William Brown third
with a 186 final total.
Of the 79 entries in the tourna
ment, 71 were fraternity entries.
Last year’s winners were Bob
Smith in the fraternity field- and
Jim Boyanowski in the indepen
dent field.
PAGE SiEVEH
Team
Red