I^*e Daily Collegian Friday, September 6,1974
Penn State harriers
By DAVE BROWN If you guessed cross
Collegian Sports Writer country to each question, you
In what sport do the win a season ticket to all Blue
participants gain All- and White cross country
American honors by head-to- meets which are run on the
head competition with their University Golf Course,
peers in an NCAA Cham- Despite the remarkable
pionship? success of cross country at
Which sport ranks No. 3 Penn State (an aLI-time
in fan’appeal on Penn State’s record of 163-58), most
Fall Sports Schedule? students and area residents
—ln what sport is a 15-50 are oblivious to the sport,
score the worst possible Coach Harry Groves’ 1974
defeat if your team has the squad 1 will open one of the
50 '-' Nittany Lions’ most difficult
Jim Morrison is one of several junior harriers to
return to Harry Groves outfit this year. " We're
looking for excitement and change this year/'
says Groves. Penn State ranked 10th in the
nation in cross country last year and took second
place in the IC4A Championships. '
110 east college ave. shop weeknighfs 'til 9, Saturdays 'til 5:30
RALEi&f
schedules when they en
tertain powerful Villanova on
Sept. 28.
It should be, “a real' ex
citing season with four learns
(on-their ’74 schedule) in the
Top 15 for sure,” Groves said.
William and Mary (4th in
the NCAA last year), Indiana
(llth in the NCAA last year),
Villanova, and Georgetown
are Groves’ four big - dual
meet worries this season.
With a card, laden with
ranked teams, Penn State
must!strive to match the total
team’ effort of the 1973 unit
which compiled a 5-1 mark
and 10th in the NCAA.
Ideally Groves would like to
win every meet, but he tries
to peak his team for the
NCAA Championships at the
end of the season. r .
"We don’t go hog wild about
the dual meets,” he said.
"Dual meets are designed to
help you prepare for the
Championships. The ■ most
important thing is the NCAA
Championship.”
Groves, who has never had
a losing season in 20 years of
coaching cross country and
track and field, has developed
two All-Americas in recent
years, Greg Fredericks and
Charlie Maguire. To gain All-
America status in cross
country, a runner must finish
in the top 25 in the NCAA
finals.
Virdon hands credit to players
NEW YORK (AP) Can a man go
from being fired in the National
League one season to Manager of the
Year in the American League the
next...via a brief stopover in' the
Pacific Coast League?
“I don’t like tqtake credit for any of
this,” Bill Virdon saidyesterday as he
contemplated a torrid 16-4 record over
the last three weeks that has earned
the New York Yankees a share of first
place in the American League’s East
Division.
“I don’t thing a manager can take
credit for the way the players play or
for things that happen on the field.
You might put the guys‘out there, but
they’ve got to do the job.”
College...
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return
In 1974, a contingent of
eight lettermen and four
newcomers hope to develop
the balanced attack that
Maguire and Co. achieved
last year. Captain Steve
Gabriel from Springfield
heads a seasoned, yet un
derclassmen-orientated core
of veterans. Senior George
Dixon; juniors Ron Secord,
Ken Wilson, George
Christopher, and Jim
Morrison; and sophomores
Walt Majak, George Malley
(all with, strong distance
backgrounds) provide the
bulk of the Lions’ strength in
this endurance sport.
Junior College transfers
Paul Stemmer, a two-time
Junior College All-American
from Allelgeny Community
College in Pittsburgh, and
Pat Rexroat, a National
Junior College 880 runner-up,
should bolster the 12-man
lineup.
The upcoming campaign
boils down to a typical x
copntry season at PSU. Coach
Groves, with a 30-6 mark in
six years at University Park,
obviously has a solid
program. The faces change
from year to year but the
caliber of performance
remains about the same. The
Lions may lose; one or two but
you can bet your Orange Bowl
buttons that when the NCAA
finals roll around, Penn State
will be ready.
After piloting the Pittsburgh
Pirates tq a first-place finish in the
National League East in 1972 they
lost the pennant on a wild pitch in the
ninth inning of the final playoff game
Virdon! was fired last September
with the Pirates in second place. They
finished third.
He was hired by the Houston Astros
to manage their Denver farm club in
the Pacific Coast League but the
Yankees beckoned when Joe Cronin,
then president of the American
League, vetoed their signing of Dick
Wiliams. .
Virdon |was well aware that
Williams had managed the Oakland
A’s to three division titles and two
Blass
PITTSBURGH (AP) It’s
like old times, with pitcher
Steve Blass in uniform,
horsing around in the Pitts
burgh Pirate dugout. Whether
or not the one-time ace
starter ever takes the mound
again, he says he’s there
to root.
“I sit in the dugout and I
root. I’ve always rooted for
the Pirates,” says No. 28, who
just two seasons ago was
Pittsburgh’s most effective
starter.
- “I want to help this team by
pitching,” he added from the
same locker stool where he
was interviewed during the
World Series.-
But today he’s a non-roster
player, laboring with pitching
Coach Don Osborn before
each game on abysmal
control that led to 93 walks in
56 2-3 minor league innings
this season.
For a moment before a
crucial game with
Philadelphia this week,' it
looked the free-spirited Blass
of old.
He and several other pitch
ers were' running football
pass patterns in the outfield,
catching long-bomb baseballs
thrown by Dave Parker, i
It was that kind of horse
play and humor that kept
the Pirates loose in past
seasons, and Blass, the
uniformed spectator now,
may help the Pirates in their
There are some people who spend
some of themselves helping other
people help themselves.
. Whatever you do, there’s something
you can do to help other people. Even
if itsonly for a few hours a week. The
pay is nothing, but the rewards are
fantastic.
George Ma/ley c/oes his thing in one of Penn
State's home contests. Malley is a sophomore
with experience.
world championships in three years.
“I’m s&e some people will always
compare the job I do with what
Williams might have done,” he said,
“but I can’t let that worry me. I can’t
manage like Williams; I can only
manage like I manage.”
“I think all the tings that happened
were a natural reaction,” Virdon said.
“The players had been friends for so
long with the guys we traded and Mur
cer had been in center field for so long
that I don’t think the reaction was
anything unexpected. I just thought
our defense would be better with Mad
dox in center and Murcer in right.
“But those have been the only two
incidents and they weren’t big things’.’
'uniformed spectator'
stretch drive whenthey meet
Montreal here tonight after
tWo days rest.
“It’s pretty tough to clown
when you’re not con
tributing,” he said after the
Pirates whipped the Phillies
Tuesday night.
Whether he ever again
pitches for the Pirates may
depend on how he responds to
some eye training techniques
aimed at restoring his con
trol.
When he was 19-8 with the
Pirates in 1972, Blass could
knock over a bowling pin with
a slider at 60 feet, six inches.
Yet he walked 84 batters in
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
Although there are 10 teams in the SEC, only two have the
necessities to win a conference title. That means Alabama
and Louisiana State University.
The Crimson Tide under Bear Bryant went 11-0 and took the
No. 2 spot in the country last year while LSU (9-2) shaped
behind Penn State. CHolly McClendon still remembers that 21-
7 defeat to the Tide and he wants revenge. That may coitie on
Nov. 9 when the Bengals stalk into Birmingham.
And there lies the key to the SEC. Whoever wins the Pre-
Turkey showdown will be tops in the deep South. From a
surface looksee, Alabama lost 26 lettermen and LSU only 17.
The Tide returns 40 and LSU 41, with both clubs having six
returnees defensively. LSU has eight on offense and the Tide
six. That means the nod should go to LSU right? Maybe not.
The answer to who is best down south may be found in the
linebacking and deep secondary areas. LSU lost graduated
All-Americas Warren Capone and fellow mate Gary Cham
pagne. Senior Bo Harris had some surgery in the off-season
and is a question mark this fall.
Alabama, on the other hand, returns All-America line
backer Woody Lowe, a junior, and Greg Montgomery—also a
junior. Then there’s three returning starters back deep with
Wayne Rhodes, Tyrone King, and seniors Mike Washington
and Ricky Davis.
Offensively, LSU looks better. Senior quarterback Mike
Miley and his back-up Bill Broussard still have Brad Davis
(920 yds.), Steve Rogers, Terry Robiskie, Ken Addy and Brian
Zeringue to handle the ground game. k
Miley who completed 60 of 107 aerials for 216 yards last year
can throw the pigskin to senior Brad Boyd who led with 16
W£Sl
HR
BLAST
B‘3opm kern
GRADS COME MEET YOUR FELLOWS
89 innings in 1973 en route to a
3-9 record and a 9.81 earned
run average. The control
worsened this season with
Charleston, W.Va., in i the
International League and he
finished with a 2-8 record and:
9.85 ERA.
Blass joined the Pirates last
month on the West Coast and;
began working with an eye';
specialist at the University of i
California.
“You have no idea what a the negative effect of extra
thin line there isjbetween my noise and movement...the
pitching then arid now,” he ability to readily obtain visual
said, “and that’s why I think ; pictures, the ability to relax
we can get this thing and maintain rhythm and
straightened out.” > timing.”
Beer
Varsity status*
captured by
gal runners
By MAUREEN GRIFFIN
■ Collegian Sports Writer
The Penn State women’s track club will be competing under
a new name this year, the women’s track team. This name
change occurred when the club recently attained varsity
status. The women will compete this year on an in
tercollegiate level.
“We’re involved in money and scholarships now,” said
Christine Brooks, the new coach. "The sport will have more
attraction, we’ll be able to attain better girls, and the team
will have a set schedule to compete in.”
Since advancing from an interest club to a varsity sport, the
team will operate under a larger budget. According to Brooks,
the budget is the basic difference between a cluh and varsity
sport. As club is under a different budget because it doesn't
compete with other teams on an intercollegiate level. The
money used to fund a club is usually self generated or student
sponsored, whereas a varsity sport is supported by the
school’s athletic program.
Brooks said the new budget will enable the team to attract
better athletes through the use of scholarships. “We have 12
scholarships allocated over the next four years.” she com
mented.
In attaining varsity status, the team will also have a set
schedule for the first time. As a club, the athletes competed on
a day to day basis. The team wasn’t committed to compete
- very far in advance. On the other hand varsity team has a set
schedule two or three threeyears ahead of time.
The team also obtained its first full-time coach. As a club,
the unit was run mainly by students with a faculty adviser.
Brooks said the team will train regularly and, on a whole,
the women’s track program will be much more structured.
According to Robert J. Scannell, Dean of the. College of
Health and Physical Education, the women’s track club was
initiated two years ago but suffered a light turnout. To combat
the problem the college went all out to promote the club and,
as a result, over 50 girls turned out last year. The decision was
then made to grant the club varsity status.
Brooks was named head coach of the new varsity team. A
native of New Zealand, she competed 12 years in Amateur
Athletic Union high school meets and on a varsity level. She
received a Master of Science degree from Penn State.
Brooks said there are some outstanding prospects from last
year’s team. Janet Colton emerged as a miler and a half miler
and Karen Johnson excelled in the pentathalon. Brooks also
expects a couple of 11.5 sprinters.
The team will have a meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 11 for all
women interested in trying out. The meeting will be held at
7:30 p.m. in 109 White Building.
Brooks said the schedule this year includes cross Country
meets in the fall and track and field competitioanext spring.
The first meet will be the Penn State Invitational on Sept. 21 in
Beaver Stadium. *•
“I wasn’t throwing to any
hitters, but I just felt better
throwing than I have been,”
said the 32-year-old right
hander, Who is also ex
perimenting with contact
lenses.
Dr. Bill Harrison, the
California physician who
espouses the eye training
techniques, explains: “It
involves learning how' to
concentrate, how to cope with
Southeastern Conference
Academies
ge Football Previews by Tim Panaccio
catches at tight end in '73. There is also senior Ben Jones and
junior Rich Romain.
Alabama can contend with its best gun, senior Gary
Rutledge. His backup Richard Todd was ’Bama’s second best
rusher With 560 yards last year. Overall, of the 12 Tide players
who rushed over 100 yards in '73, nine will return this fall.
Included is senior halfback Randy Billingsley and junior
Willie Shelby. Also Calvin Culliver, a sophomore, and junior
tight end George Pugh.
Three straight 6-4-0 seasons for Air Force. And now Rich
Haynie is gone. The Falcons, do have 15 starters back which
isn’t bad, since it is split over both the offense and defense.
Junior Mike Worden or soph Bob Shaw will throw in Haynie’s
absence. Leading groundgainer Chris Milodragovich (583
yds.) and Mike Mark (351 yds.) return also.
Homer Smith takes off with a Cadet squad that went 0-10-0
last year. Guess what? Quarterback Kingsley Fink
graduated. More heartache. Fullbacks Willie Thigpen, Dan
Spangler and Brad Dodrill conjured up a meager 599 yards
jbetween them last season and will try for more. Things look
i bleak at West Point.
Navy coach George Welsh must rebuild the offense which
returns two starters. All-America tailback Cleveland Cooper
tacked up 898 yards last year. He holds five Middie records
and is the All-time rushing leader at Navy.
Mike Yeager, a junior, will probably quarterback. He has
Bob Jackson, Ed Gilmore and speedster Ike Owens all good
runners. The offensive line is new but it has an all lettermen
cast. Defensively, the Middies return six starters.
Navy was 4-7-0 last year. Maybe worse this year with its
schedule.
“This visual program is
supposed to help me so I know
as I throw the ball where each
pitch is going,” Blass added.
Blass is witholding com
ment on what kind of results
he’s getting at the suggestion
of Pirate General Manager
Joe Brown.
Blass said earlier this
month, however, that he was
“very optimistic” about a
comeback.
In the meantime, Brown
and the Pirates are patient.
“We’re more concerned
about the future than an
immediate resurrection,”
said Brown. -i
ACADEMIES
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You can help people.
- In tact, there's a crying
need tor you Your talents.
Your training. Your con
cerns. They make you
valuable to your business.
They can make you price
less to your community.
It you can spare even
a few hours a week, call
the Voluntary Action