THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN
Vol. 90, No. 132
Sports A
The University of Kansas—Lawrence, Kansas
Friday, April 18, 1980
Like the rest, stilted Wilt doubled in two KU sports
By GENE MYERS
Wilt Chamberlain lettered in track before he did in basket114
Wilt Chamberlain lettered at KU in track before he did in basketball.
The Big Dipper's high-jumping dunking and opponent-pounding rebounding are legend. But his high-jumping, bar-clearing, meet-creating skills are notoriously hard to master.
He's remembered as one of the greatest, if not the greatest,
basketball player of all time. But he was also damn good in track
and field.
BUT THE track is forgotten because Wilt had a problem, a common problem. He was such a standout basketball player that his other athletic feats went unnoticed. Today, they are the stuff for trivia buffs.
But while Wilt may be in a class of his own in basketball, he is just one of hundreds of KU athletes who doubled up—taking on more
All know that Nolan Cromwell led KU's wishbone offense to the
1975 Sun Bowel and that he now plays defensive back for the Los Angeles Rams. Few knew that he barely missed the 1976 Olympics in the intermediate hurdles. And for each Chamberlain and Eva, Evans, Baworsky, Sayers,张,ulgins, Jessie, Roberts and Kramer.
All these athletes, and more, many, many more, have tried and tackled two, or three, sports at KU. These athletes were superstars in at least two sports. Many others, however, have been stars in one sport and marginal in the other. Others have been marginal in both.
He came to KU in 1968 as the most-recruited basketball player in the country's history. Dr. Forrest C. Allem—Phog, for short—won the recruiting battle by appealing to Wilt's educational future and his mother.
Freshmen weren't allowed to compete back then. So, on the basketball court "Wilt the Sittl", who would like to chop down that player? They did not. He practiced and wheooped on the variety. When basketball season stopped, he took to track, his first competitive sport as a youngster.
See STARS page two
Two-sport Superstars
Name First Sport Second Sport Milestones
Jim Bausch Track Football Olympic decathlon champ 1932; football Hall of Fame
Wilt Chamberlain Basketball Track篮球 Ball of Fame, two time AllAmerican 1957-58; Big 8 Outdoor high jump champ
Nolan Cromwell Football TrackAll-Big 8 quarterback, pro with L.A. Rams; All-American hurdler
Ray Evans Basketball Football篮球 All-American 1942-43; football Hall of Fame, All-American 1947
Ron Jessie Football Track足球 flicker, pro with L.A. Rams; national track, in door long jump champ 1969; All-American
Steve Renko BaseballFootball baseball standout pitcher, pro with Boston Red Sox; football quarterback; basketball letterman
Dave Robisch Basketball Baseball篮球 All-American 1971; best pitcher baseball team
Karl Salb TrackFootball Six-time national shot put champ; All-American; football defensive tackle
Laverne Smith Football TrackAll-Big 8 halfback, pro Pittsburgh Steelers; track All-American in sprints and relays
Waddell Smith TrackFootballTrack All-American in sprints and relays; football wide
Track All-American in sprints and relays, football wide receiver, pro with Edmonton Eskimos
New support gives Kansas Relays brighter future
Relays time
The Kansas Relays started Wednesday and will culminate with a marathon Sunday.
Serious joggers have been preparing themselves for the race, putting in several miles of road work. For some joggers the best course to train on is a desistant country road.
Last year, on a beautiful day no less, only 12 people attended Stadium for what has traditionally been one of the most exciting, prestigious track and field meets in the country. At least, it used to be so.
A rich past surrounds the Relays, which have been held at Glenn Cunningham Wan Santee, Jim Ryun, Bruce Jemer and Nolan Crowlene have competed and broken records in the sport.
By KELLY McCARTHY Sports Writer
But the number of spectators at the Relais has dwindled significantly in recent years. The trend, however, should be reversed this weekend. Much thought and hard work have been put forth to make sure that the prestige and fanfare increase this year.
THE BIGGEST KEY to the comeback attempt has been the Miller Brewing Company. The company and its Lite Bear team are among the top wanderie traveling expenses for 33 top athletes.
The Kansas Relays are making a comeback.
The list of athletes includes spinner Houston McTeair, hurdler Renaldo Jenkins, formerly the Olympic jockey James, Kevin and Nehemiah hold world records. Franklin once did if the United States sends a team to the Moscow Olympics this summer, all three would be gold.
Other standouts coming to KU are Clifford Wiley, former four-time KU All-American; Ralph Haynie, 18-foot pole vaulter; Kipsuki Koskel, last year's Outstanding Performer of the Relays; and James No. 2 ranked 300-meter man in the world.
"I'm very pleased with Miller's generosity towards the Kansas Relys," Bob Timms, meet director and KU men's track coach, said. "Miller's contribution is a good example that would not have been able to approach the caliber of athletes scheduled to compete."
SINCE JIM RYUAN left a decade ago, the crowds and the number of top athletes have
But the boost in the Relays' budget has not been the only organizational change this year. The Relays' committee structure also has been changed.
Rob Miller's Greater Relays Committee consists mostly of Lawrence businessman. He has divided the county into five areas of interest, including a new promotions division for publicity and
"EVERYTHING ABOUT this year's event has been approached with a very positive attitude." Miller said. "We're so excited to introduce interest in the Relays. We think the Kansas Relays as an event are a great thing. We want to everything our power to make it better."
The Student Relays Committee also plays an important part in the meet.
The Miller Brewing Company has provided substantial funds for the U.S. Olympic team in addition to co-sponsoring major relays across the country. The team is OHSU, OSU, Track and Field officials contacted KU and the Miller Brewing Company.
diminished. When Rynu, a Wichita native,
was burning the tracks in the late '60s,
Memorial Stadium usually was filled to half its $2.00 capacity.
"Some people say that the Kansas Relays
Boston team's secret town," Bauer,
Miller, chairman, said. "It's not going to be a
secret any longer. We're going to put on a
game."
Every year, the committee contacts schools, sends out entry information, processes the entries and oversees the meet itself.
"By doing that, I'm confident the people will be back."
This year, however, in addition to its regular duties, the committee has the added responsibility of providing workshops for each event. The sponsorships were sold mainly to Lawrence businessmen and students.
"The program has been successful"
Mark Winkleman, one of the three core
whIkmanian, one of the three con-
See RELAYS page eight
C