4
Friday, April 18. 1980
University Daily Kansan
Salb led Big Three to KU shot putting immortality
By KEVIN BERTELS
Sports Write
Kansas has not made a bait of going to the Orange Bowl. And when the Jawahorses have gone to Miami, they have had a history of troubles.
In 1969, remember, Rick Abernethy was where he shouldn't have been, costing KU a victory by being the 12th man on the field.
Abernethy has gone down in KU history as the goat of that game. Most people, however, forget that Penn State had to score its two-point conversion on the next play. And almost everyone has forged that the defense tacked凯尔·Karl Salb.
ITS AISO EASY to forget that Saib played football because he was better known as the greatest shot putter in KU history and one of the best in U.S. history.
The name Karl Salil is held in high esteem because of his defense. He has many defeats so not doubt that Salil was a more-than-aide defensive tackle on the 30-19 Orange Ball队. Adequate, that is,
"That play went right over me," Sall recalled. "I had John Lock (KU) All-American now with the NFL's St. Louis on my right, but they ran right over me."
That one failure definitely was not characteristic of Salb's athletic career at KU.
THE KU TRACK team of 1959 and 1962 won two NCAA Indoor Championships and shared one Outdoor Championship. The lead was called the Big Three. The Big Three was Salb, Doug Knop and Steve WheLM. The Big Three 1-3 in 1983 and 7-10 in 1980
The Big Three made KU the first team ever to have three men throw 60 feet in a single meet. Salb alone lost only one in his collegiate career, and that was to Willem.
He won three NCAA Indoor shot put titles and three Outdoor titles. He also has some of the tour discus tosses in KU history.
Long-time KU men's track coach Bob Timmons called the Big Three the best in KU history. Wayne Ossnes, then the weightman coach and now head of the
department of health, physical education and recreation at KU, called them the best in NCAA history.
THE LIST OF accomplishments by the Big Three is as long as one of Sailb's record putts. He attributes the Big Three's success to friendship, spiritified competition.
Timmons and Osness agreed.
"Steve and I came to school together after finishing 1-2 in the Golden W invitational and right away, we were competing on a friendly basis," Salb said. "Doug just blossomed out. Without the competition, none of us would have been as good."
"I think the competition between them had a very definite effect, as far as training as good," Timmons said. "Wilhelm was the most knowledgeable weightlifter. Salb had to prove himself, and I just trying to keep up with them and he became an All-American in his own right."
"I WAS AFRAID they would develop a chasm between them," Osmans said. "It's very difficult to compete against someone for four years."
"They were able to stay together for four years not just as teammates but as friends."
The three stuck together as teammates on the football field as well. Knap had been a good player in college and played football scholarship. Salb had played high school football. And Wilhelm was just big
All three made the team and earned the elite title of being two-sport college athletes. "It's a fantasy world," Saldi said in college athletics. "For those lucky enough to be in it."
A busy fantasy world, he added. As a two-
sport athlete, Salb missed many classes.
"One spring, I figured that I was away from school about a third of my classes," he said. "When you have to be away, it is hard. When you say that, I got a break because I was an athlete."
SALB NEVER expected to be a two-sport athlete in college.
As a sophomore, he was asked to try out for the football team in 1988. He had played high school football, but had very little experience.
"When I came out that first Monday, I didn't even know how to do the exercises."
Photo courtesy of KU SID
he said. "That week we went to Illinois.
After the third week, I was starting. It was amazing to me, no more than I had fooled with it."
After teaching him the exercises, the football staff decided to pare about 50 pounds from his 63-1, 300-pound frame.
"My bones weighed 250 pounds," Salb said.
Once this was done, he started at defensive tackle all the way to the Orange Bowel. The team won the Big Eight title and took its 9-1 record to Miami to face Penn State.
Karl Salb
WITH 12 SECONDS left, the Nittany Lions scored a touchdown to shrink KU's lead to 14-13. An attempted two-point conversion was stopped and KU bean celebrating.
The celebration, however, ended when a penalty marker went down. Penn State was given another try and made good for a one-point victory.
Before the flag fell, Salb, along with the rest of the crowd and millions of television viewers, thought KU had won.
"After that last play, they had all kinds of people on the field," Salb said. "Some kid asked me for my chin strap. When I saw it was going on, I told him to a little bit."
The following season was not nearly as successful for the Jawahars, Sala started at tackle the entire season, but KU won only 5-4. Jawahars had to play no football in 1970, his senior year.
"I WAS HAVING trouble with my back and leg and I wanted to prepare for the Olympic Trials in 1872," he said.
Despite not playing for a season, pro Miami would have been a better player turned part-time football player. He was picked in the late rounds by the Buffalo Bills of the NFL in the 1971 college draft.
His physical problems still had not cleared up and he flunked the team's physical. He wasn't crushed by missing his chance for the rocks, though.
His luck there wasn't much better. "I peaked the year before the Trials," he said.
"Track was always my first love," he said. "I just went into training for the 1972 Olympic Trials."
HIS COACH, Osness, said it was something else.
"At that time, weightmen had a lot of concerns," Osness said. "Our boys were much more conscious in their training than we are in steroids to be on the U.S. Olympic team."
Salb's memories are not tarnished by his bad luck at the Olympic Trials, however. His success at KU, especially the thrill of his winning championship, will always be with him, he said.
"The first is always the best, I think," he said. "All the rest that follows is anticlimacite." Salb's career after college, possibly anti-climatic, certainly was one of the college athlete. Salb came back from KU to earn a Masters in HPRER in 1978.
From KU, he went to Arkansas, where he served as a part-time weight coach for a short while.
"It was a no-pay type of thing," he said. "I gave some gritty benefits for just working out, and I also told the athletic director) wasn't about to give me money." He was still mad at me. "It was still mad at you."
WHILE STILL at KU, Salb had a brother who was married Jessie Reynolds, one of KU's most successful woman she shot putters. After leaving Arkansas, they bought a large farm
"We're somewhere between Magnolia and Buckner. Ark." he said.
Most would expect such a huge man to raise cattle for beef or hogs for pork. Not Salb.
"he raised 60,000 broilers last year," his mother said proudly.
That's right, broiler chickens.
"WE LOVE IT down here." be said.
His athletic career and masters degree are behind. He now concentrates on the farm, his family, two children who are three and one years old, and his wife.
"Come on down, we always need some more help with the hay," he said. "I'm not much good after the first bale.
"I'm usually not just good for one for distance."
Holiday Plaza
25th & Iowa
841-8271
Hours
Sun-1hurs 11-9
Fri-Sat 11-10
We offer the best in sandwiches, soups, salads, & desserts.
Having a party?
Let us make it easy!
2907 W 6th,841-3402
642 Mass.,841-7818
Open 11-10 Tues.-Sat. Sunday 12-8
Open 11-7 Tues.-Sat.
Selling something? Call us. The Kansan's ad number is 864-4358.