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University Daily Kansan Wednesday, Dec. 11, 1963
TOO SHORT—Texas Tech's Glen Hallan (31) jumps a little short to stop KU's Harry Gibson (42) as the Jayhawk added another basket to help defeat the Texans, 73-68.
HALF-TIME SHOW—KU's Brass Choir attracted a small band of interested listeners when they entertained during half-time at last night's ball game. The Brass Choir will be leaving on a tour of the Far East during the first week of February as representatives of the United States cultural program to foreign countries.
Snow Not Enough to Stop Fans
Bv Tom Coffman
Not rain, not sleet—in fact, not even the first snow storm of the year —could force 4,300 basketball devotees to stay home by the fireside last night.
"Was the Cincinnati upset last Saturday for real?" apparently was the upper-most question in their minds.
And after 40 minutes of court action, with the crowd cheering, stomping, and booing the officials, the Cincinnati game seemed real enough.
The west side of the fieldhouse, filled to the rafters with students, sent the Jayhawkers into the Texas Tech game with a dutiful "GO- GO- GO," and KU went, running up a 10-lead in the first three minutes.
When Texas Tech finally scored, the crowd gave a prolonged, derisive hoot for the Red Raiders to remind the Texans of their slow start.
Humor remained high. With five minutes gone, KU leading 18-5, the crowd barraged the referees with hoots and cat-calls for having the cheek to call a foul on Al Correll, KU guard.
Mid-way in the first half, Coach Dick Harp won the fans' approval when he rose to protest a call by official Wayne Lichty.
"Give 'em hellllll, Dick!" yelled a bellow-lunged lad, and a twitter rippled through the section around him.
A scoring burst by the Red Raiders closed the gap to 32-32, and the bulk
of the crowd fell silent. The elite in the hierarchy of the leather-lunged—the red-sweatered Fresh Hawks and blue blazer-clad Jay James—gave a nagging stomp-stomp, "Get 'em Jayhawks" and were rewarded by KU pushing to a 38-36 half-time lead.
In the corridors during half-time, police and traffic guides huddled over steaming cups of coffee, fighting the numbness from the cold outside.
They were oblivious to the half-time efforts of the KU Brass Choir, which held forth in the south end of the gymnasium.
Equally pre-occupied were the school children who swamped the hot-dog stand.
In the main, the crowd which stretched and chatted during the break was not the average slick-looking collegiate group.
Many of the men students wore mackinaws, boots, and blue jeans. Girls sported leotards, gaudy mufflers, and calf-high leather boots.
The adult section on the east side of the fieldhouse turned out in somewhat more sophisticated dress, but the weather dented their respectable business-community look somewhat also.
An out-of-town hardware dealer wore a dark suit, vest, and muted striped tie, but below the pants cuff he wore scuffed and run-over cowboy boots.
Talking to a friend at the snack bar, he shuffled his feet self-consciously and gruffly remarked, "Had to wear 'em to keep my feet out of this snow."
Puzzled by the late first-half Texas spurt, the fans launched the second half with a determined cry against the background of the pep band, which shattered any memory of the gentle sounds of the Brass Choir.
The Jayhawks reasserted themselves, building a quick six point lead and the fans responded enthusiastically.
After several minutes of second-half play, they felt chipper enough to scold Coach Gene Gibson of Texas Tech with a half minute of cat-calls and whistles when Gibson objected to a call.
With three minutes left and KU leading 68-58. Coach Dick Hart leaned back and propped his feet on the edge of the playing floor.
The sweat was over; the rest was enjoyment.
After the 73-67 victory, the fans gave one last appreciative cheer when George Unseld was announced as top scorer with 23 points.
Outside the young—and the not so young—pitched snowballs and skated on the slick sidewalks.
Cold engines whined, then turned over with a roar.
"When will this damned heater warm up," someone complained.
Tires spun against the pavement and the traffic officers waved the cars around the crowded inter-sections. The foul-weather fans were anxious to get home.
ENTHUSIASTIC SUPPORTERS—Frosh Hawks, the freshman women's pep club, act complacently jubilant as KU takes a 12-0 lead over Texas
Tech early in the first quarter. Frosh Hawks, enthusiastic supporters of KU teams, attend every game.
KU SCORES AGAIN—The action at last night's game is reflected in the activity of Gary Heath, 7. Ga,y is the son of Alan Heath, 921 Pamela Lane, a Lawrence business man.