PAGE SIX
It isn’t that Paul Vexler is lazy. Nobody would
ever accuse the little Lion strongman of avoiding
gymnastics practice because he’s afraid of a little
work. It’s just that Vexler has better things to do.
Besides, the junior
from Freehold, N.J.,
really doesn’t need
that much practice. He p" \
moves into an Olympic ( < )
Cross on the rings . l v
with less effort than q /
most of us take to get
out of bed in the morn- ' , ; . x j t
ing. In two meets this 7". J ' /\
year, Vexler has work- ■/ \
ed a total of four kJ^
events, winning them f/\,
all with scores of 9.25 W j '
and 9.55 on the long Yv -'/re®
horse and 9.60 and 9.55 ’
on the rings. LEVINE
As a sophomore, Vexler finished second in the
nation on the long horse with a 9.375 average at the
NCAA championships. On the rings, Vexler broke
in his routine, but still managed to finish ninth in
championships at Southern Illinois University.
This year, he may be the best rings performer
in the country. Thoughts of a national title would
be enough to keep most gymnasts locked in a prac
tice room, spending every spare minute practicing
and polishing, refining and reorganizing routines.
Not so with the Lions’ mustachioed muscleman.
Hosterman Will Get
New Athletic Position
Penn State soccer coach Ken Hosterman has been
named director of the University’s faculty-staff recrea
tional and fitness program, effective Sept. 1.
He succeeds Sherman Fogg, who will retire June 30.
Hosterman will relinquish his coaching post when he
assumes his new duties but will continue to teach in the
University’s required physical education program.
Penn State athletic director Ernest B. McCoy said
that a successor to Hosterman as varsity soccer coach
will be named in the near future.
Had Championship Team
In 15 seasons, Hosterman’s soccer teams posted an over
all record of 72 victories, 60 defeats and five ties. In 1954,
his second year at the helm, Hosterman guided Penn State
to a national championship with an 8-0 record. His 1955
team was unbeaten in nine games and shared the NCAA
title with Brockport State Teachers College. He produced
four first-team All-America players Dick Packer in 1954
and 1955, Jack Pinezick in 1954 and Pete Torgerson in
1957.
A native of State College and a 1950 graduate of Penn
State where he played baseball and soccer, Hosterman
taught health and physical education and coached basket
ball at the University’s Harrisburg center in 1950-51. He
joined the Penn State staff in 1951 and was named to suc
ceed Bill Jeffrey as soccer coach a year later. He has a
master’s degree in education from Penn State.
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Paul Vexler: ‘Gymnastics Bores Me’
By PAUL LEVINE
Collegian Sports Editor
works for you,
work for yourself?
are at the HUB Desk
“I try to get maximum performance from a
minimum of work,” Vexler has often said. "I never
practice on a Sunday after a meet. In a normal
week, I usually only practice about four days, and
not for very long on any day. On the long horse,
I never make more than six vaults in any one prac
tice session. In warmups before a meet I don’t
practice my rings dismount. If you can do the
routine, you’ll be able to do the dismount. It’s
just a matter of endurance."
Even with just a little practice, Vexler could
win the NCAA rings title that Steve Cohen barely
missed last year. If he wants to. But Vexler talks
about gymnastics and national championships in
the same tone most Penn Staters use to describe
State College weather—rather gloomy.
“Gymnastics can be a very frustrating sport
if you can’t do everything you want to do,”,Vexler
said. “For me it’s not so bad because I limit myself
to two events and do well in both of them.”
But for Vexler, gymnastics is still not much
fun.
. The key to the sport is repetition,” Vexler
said. “You do exactly the same thing in the meet
that you’ve been practicing all week. When I go
out there on a Saturday, I know I’m going to do
exactly the same thing I did the week before and
the week before that. Gymnastics is a very boring
sport and I really don’t enjoy it.”
Vexler’s philosophy differs noticably from
that of other Penn State gymnastics greats. Steve
Cohen, twice an NCAA all-around champion,
began as a pre-teener and rarely took a day off
from practice until his graduation from the Uni-
KEN HOSTERMAN
. . . new fitness head
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN/ UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA
} Ifevine's sports line j
Buzin, Lenkaitis Grabbed In Pro Draft
Rich Buzin and Bill Lenkaitis
were friendly competitors back home
in Youngstown, O. Playing for rival
high schools they faced each other
on the football field and in shot put
circles.
Four years ago they came to
Penn State together, and yesterday
they both were picked in the second
round of the professional football’s
draft. Buzin, a 6-4, 243-pound of
fensive tackle was nabbed by the
National Football League’s, New
York Giants. The San Diego Charg
ers of the American Football League
picked Lenkaitis, a 6-2 245-pound
center.
Buzin was actually the first
pick of the Giants, who had traded
away their first round pick last
year in the trade which brought
Fran Tarkenton to New York. Both
Buzin and Lenkaitis were first team
All-East selections this year, and
Buzin was also named to the first
team Academic All-American team.
Buzin’s other post-season honors
included a second team All-Ameri
can selection by The Sporting News
and an honorable* mention from
United Press International.,
More Penn State players are ex
pected to go in today’s session as the
NFL and AFL hold their first com
bined draft.
Gary Beban, honored as Heis-
Willie Mays Signs Again for $125,000
• Willie Mays signed Mays, 36, retained the same salary he has McCovey was believed signed for $60,000, per
again ior with the San Francisco Giants received the past two seasons despite a slump in haps a slight increase from the salary received in
announced yesterday that six big-game play- 1967 in which he was hampered first by a pulled 1967 when he hit 31 home runs and knocked in
S 1 ’* agreed to terms in what amounts to a muscle and then by influenza. 91 while hitting .270.
$300,000 salary package. Mays and pitcher Juan Marichal were the „ , •. ~ ... ,„ _
le _ Mike McCormick, Willie McCovey, Tom Hal- port, who ’capably fins the TnfieldVosftions'lf;
n ’the“ofd P ° ' Jm Hart WU-e the ° therS are* optimistic he wdl be back ” ’ utilityman, and Hart, expected tobein left field
-. I ~. . McCormick, after a brilliant 22-10 season in thls season ’ P robab| y each received about $25,000.
~, President Charles “Chub” Feeney which he won the Cy Young and Comeback Mays, appearing eager as usual, exclaimed to
in wer ® signed individually even Player of the Year Awards, possibly doubled his teammates as he entered the press room at Candie
mougn the six were included in one announce- own salary from perhaps $30,000 to an estimated stick Park, “Retire? I feel like I could play another
ment. All were one-year contracts. $55,000 to $60,000. 15 years.”
JACKHARPERJACKHARPERJACKHARPERJACKHI :i
« mj
u milorn iltop for men j>|
j| W. College Ave., State College i
i* around the corner jrom Bostonian Ltd. »
< m
Ijackharperjackharperjackharperjackharperjackharperjackharperjackharperjackharperjackha"
versity last March. When most children were rock
ing on hobby horses, Cohen learned the moves on
the side horse. He’d do handsprings on his way to
the breakfast table and back flips on the way to
school. Instead of collecting bubble gum cards,
Cohen could boast a showcase of medals and
trophies.
The Cohen legacy, however, was not passed
on to Paul Vexler, who has other things on his
mind.
"I’m just not a dedicated gymnast,” Vexler
said simply. “For me, there are other things in life
besides gymnastics.”
A fine arts major with an option in sculpture,
Vexler is engaged and plans to be married in June.
Following his graduation in June of next year, he
plans to go on to graduate school and finally to
teach art at the university level.
But it wasn't always that way for Vexler, who
described himself as a "gung-ho gymnast" in high
school. He came to Penn State as an all-around per
former and seemed destined to carry on the Lion
tradition which has led five of Gene Wettstone's
athletes to the Olympic Games. When he
changed his sense of values about the sport isn't
easy to delemine, but change he did.
“To be a great all-around gymnast, you have
to practice all year around,” Vexler said. “Cohen
once told me that in gymnastics you don’t take
vacations when you want to, you take them when
you have to, when you’re stale from overwork. I
don’t look at it that way. I like to travel in the
summer and not worry if I’m getting out of shape.”
And because Vexler doesn’t like to worry, he
limits himself to two events—the rings and long
Both Lion Linemen Second Round Choices
man Trophy winner and outstand
ing collegian of the year, was by
passed until the 30th pick in yester
day’s session.
The honor of being No. 1 in the
pro selections went to Ron Yary,
ABOVE: Dollar Day 1934
SEMI-ANNUAL &
ORIGINAL
DOLLAR DAY
Thursday, Feh. I a! 9 a.m.
We shall be glad to exchange merchandise on the same
day as our sale, only. However, we cannot make re
funds, charge sales or alterations. ..
BILL LENKAITIS
. . . picked by Chargers
iRJACKHARPER JACKHARPERJACKHARPERJACKHAI
horse—where he does routines with perfect con
fidence. But as for any national championships or
personal goals, Vexler remains unenthused.
PAUL VEXLER 1 haV ® lo 90 10
.I nationals anyway since
•• • other thln9S t 0 dG the team will probably
.qualify. I do want to help the team win if I can,
but I don't even want to worry about winning a
title for myself."
Vexler won’t worry. He’ll be the least con
cerned of all when the team heads for Tucson,
Ariz., and the NCAA championships in April. He’ll
probably yawn a little before starting his final
events of the year. And with a bored look on his
face, little Paul Vexler will sail over the long
horse or muscle through the rings. And come home
Wearing gold.
RICH BUZIN
, . , goes to Giants
the 6-foot-5, 261-pound offensive
tackle of Southern California’:; na
tional champions. Five Trojans were
taken among the 27 picked in the
first round.
Beban, the running quarterback
TIM MIXER
Packer Hall
Tonight
6:30 to 8:00 P.M.
2.o^reg°price
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 1968
“I haven’t decided
if I really want to win
a national champion
ship,” Vexler said. “If
you stop and think
about the work and
worry it can be, it’s a
lot of trouble. First,
you’ve got to concen
trate on placing in the
Easterns, then you
have to go to nationals
and beat everybody
else in the country.
Everything has to be
perfect. One little
Ibre a k, and you’re
[ through.
who directed UCLA to 23 victories
against five defeats and two ties in
three- years, finally was taken by
Ihe Los Angeles Rams high in the
second round. The hometown Rams
had no choice in the first round,
having yielded it to Detroit last fall
in the deal for defensive tackle
Roger Brown.
Roman Gabriel is the Rams’
well-established quarterback. It had
been expected that Behan would
be a top first-round selection, but
apparently most of the pros thought
otherwise.
Before the second combined
draft is completed, probably some
time tonight, the pros will have
picked 462 players in 17 rounds. The
clubs were given 15 minutes each to
make up their minds in the first two
rounds, but a five-minute deadline
was in effect for later rounds. Clubs
drafted by telephone through repre
sentatives at the meeting in a New
York hotel.
To get Yary the Vikings used
the special bonus pick they got from
the New York Giants, along with
two first-round picks in 1967, in the
deal for Tarkenton last year.
Cincinnati, with special privi
leges calling for first and last picks
in each round after the first, plus
specials, grabbed Bob Johnson, Ten
nessee’s 235-pound All-America cen
ter in the first round.
ALL
HOLLOWARE
Including Famous Eton
Lifetime
Silverpiate Warmers!
MUR JEWELRY CO.
220 So. Allen
6. Garner St.
In The Campus Shopping Center
PENN STATE OUTING CLUB
CANOE MEETING
Thursday, Feb. 1
ill Boueke, 7:30 p.m.
Talk On River Safely by
Dr. Tom Smyth