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University Daily Kansan Wednesday, Dec. 14, 1955.
Dodgers' Success Is Top Sports Story
By SAM JONES
By SAM JONES (Assistant Managing Editor Of The Daily Kansan)
JOHN McMILLION (Daily Kansan City Editor)
At St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, 5,000 people paraded for four hours. In Ciudad Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, a new baby was christened "Podres" Garcia.
It was the day of the "year the Yankees lost the pennant." The day marked the end of the curious domination the New York Yankees had held for so long over the Brooklyn Dodgers.
The Brooklynns, catching fire in the third game, and winning four of the last five, copped the World Series title—the most coveted title any bun from Brooklyn may possess, as long as he's a member of the Dodgers.
The spirit of the team, the competitive fire of "old timer" Jackie Robinson, the "return" of Roy Campanella, the ingenious managerial stint of "minor leaguer" Walter Alston, the valuable batting of first baseman Gil Hodges, the fielding of the youngest of the old timers, Duke Snider, the sparkle of team captain Pee Wee Reese, and the tremendous pitching effort of young Johnny Podres, all combined to make the upset of the year and the number one sports story in the opinion of The Daily Kansan sports staff.
Nashua Is Second
Sunny Jim Fitzimmons, the late Bill Woodward and Alfred Robertson combined to train the horse that ran second to the top news story but first in the race.
Nashua, after losing in the Kentucky Derby in May, and Eddie Arcaro were given instructions to "go to the front if possible—but forget the 'if possible,'" from owner Woodward. Arcaro took Nashua to the front and kept him there to defeat Swaps, the challenger from the West, in the most exciting turf coup since the Seabiscut-War Admiral match race in 1938.
The race was a $100,000 winner take all affair and the Woodward horse took all that September afternoon in Chicago's Washington Park.
The third story began in late January when Gunnar Nielsen, 26-year-old Dane, made his American track debut in the Knights of Columbus games at Boston when he set a new meet record of 4:07.9 for the indoor mile.
Santee Set Record
The race began what later developed into a three-way feud between Nielsen, Wes Santee from the West, and little Fred Dwyer from the East.
The following week after Nielsen's victory, Santee set a new world indoor mark at 4:05.3 in the Hunter Mile of the Boston AA games. Nielsen was a poor second.
The third week of the triangle fight for the mile became known as the "riotous Wanamaker Mile week." In the last lap, as the three were nearing the stretch, Nielsen began opening his famed sprint and took a commanding lead over the other two. But the race, though Nielsen bettered Santee's time of a week previous, was literally fought between Santee and Dwyer.
Dwyer, hanging onto a fading Santee, tried to sneak past on the inside as they went into the last turn. It didn't work—Santee came back to the inside of the track and squeezed Dwyer onto the infield. As they went into the stretch, Dwyer squeezed ahead of Santee.
Santee, Dwyer Scuffle
As the story goes, Sante apparently resented Dwyer squeezing in from the infield, so he grabbed the easterner's shoulder. Dwyer infuriated by the violation of track ethics, turned angrily to thrust Santee's arm off and grabbed him around
the body. The two suns around on the track in each other's arms, almost fell, broke apart and then staggered across the finish line.
Dwyer was disqualified by the judges and Santee was placed second. Later Santee turned in his second place medal. Few in the crowd noticed that Nielsen had captured the race in 4:03.6, a new world record.
In the Baxter Mile during the Milrose AA games, Santee and Nielsen ran each other into the ground and little Freddie Dwyer broke the tape 60 yards ahead of the other two.
The last of the triangular competition came up in the AAU meet the following weekend in Madison Square Garden. Santee, beaten for two weeks previously, hung far back during the early stages of the race and then proved to doubtrs that he could sprint to the tape himself by beating them both in the last exciting 80 yards with a fine closing kick, and the close of the third best news story of the year.
Aussies Rank Fourth
A task force of Australians came to the United States in late August this year to make the fourth best sports story in the opinion of Daily Kansan sports editors.
Team captain Harry Hopman spent six months with youngsters Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall and Rex Hartwig in daily training sessions, after they had lost the 1954 Davis Cup to America in January. At Forest Hills, Hoad's service was credited with regaining the cup for the Aussies, as they won in a surprising 5-0 victory over the hapless crew of Tony Trabert, Vic Seixas and Ham Richardson.
Playing almost an entire game by just running with the ball, the Military Academy at West Point proved that that old-style football was not as out of date as some believed.
Playing for 26 minutes, the Middies of Annapolis pulled every legal deceit in the books for modern day football, while the future officers of America's ground forces watched, studied and waited. Then former end turned quarterback Don Holleder, led the West Pointers in a most stunning upset by beating the Middies, 14-6, for the fifth best story of the year.
"Brickyard" Race Is 6th
The sixth story of the year occurred on the "brickyard" of Indianapolis. A home town boy, Bob Sweikert, won the 500-mile Memorial Day race, but the victory celebration was muted by the death of the "500's" modern champion, Bill Vukovich.
The ninth round of a September boxing match at Yankee Stadium made the followers of the pugilistic sport wonder if there was any style capable of stopping a brawler who specialized in no defense. Rocky Marciano.
Archie Moore, a self-style "stylist," found out that he was unable to cope with the situation as he fell for a count of ten in the ninth
round, and is listed as the seventh best sports story of the year.
Lowly little Georgia Tech first made the news in basketball this year when they ended the 32-game winning streak of mighty Kentucky in early January. Most thought it was sheer luck. But not the engineers. In the first week of February, the lowly engineers did it again, beating the Kentuckians 65-59 for an incredible repeat, and making the eighth best story of the year.
"The Dixie Derrick," 340-pound Paul Anderson, made the ninth best news story of the year. The Georgia dairy farmer, who had amazed Russians with his tremendous strength, gave aplauding Iraqis a sample in mid-November, hefting $457½ pounds to break his own world record for the two-hand clean and jerk in an exhibition in Baghdad. He also broke his own world record in three lifts in October when he lifted a total of 1,130 pounds bettering his previous mark of 1,100 pounds set in February
3 Under 4 Minutes
The last of the top ten occurred in London's White City Stadium. There on a typical English June day, three men, Laszlo Tabori, Chris Chataway and Brian Hewson became the first three men in history to run in the same mile under four minutes. Tabori, the winner, ran in 3:59, with Chataway and Hewson tied for second at 3:59.8.
Of course there were other top stories. Probably the best that didn't make the top ten in The Daily Kansas' list was the memorable defeat of the little master, Ben Hegan, by the unknown Jack Flock, in the U. S. Open golf tournament. Then there was Englishman Donald Campbell's record breaking speed boat run of 216.2 miles per hour on Lake Mead in Nevada, setting a new world record.
There was also the NCAA basketball championship going to completely unheralded Bill Rusell and company of San Francisco. There was the Supreme Court decision that boxing was subject to the antitrust laws. And there was certainly the surprising story of Sugar Ray Robinson's feat of the first man to ever regain a boxing title after retiring when he flailed Bobo Olson to the canvas last week.
Some Are Humorous
On the somewhat humorous side the top sports news of the year happened down Arkansas way. Bowden Wyatt, presented with a Cadillac, a $20,000 "appreciation fund" for himself and his assistants and a salary increase by a grateful school after the Razorbacks had won the Southwestern Conference football title, left to accept the head coaching post at Tennessee. The Southern California football team, in a pregame pep talk, was presented with individual powder puffs, promptly went out and upset Notre Dame, 12-20.
Rioting hockey fans in Montreal provided another top story when the opposed the season-long suspension of Maurice Richard for some "unethical" playing. Also of notable
We want you to get home safely . . . so be sure you do these things. When they are neglected, accident statistics prove them dangerous.
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- and any minor repairs your car may need
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mention, was the 100,000 mile good will trip sponsored by the U. S. State Department which sent track star Mal Whitfield into the heart of Africa and other countries. Whitfield was later named the "diplomat in short pants."
Jordan Cabinet Quits New Premier Named
- have your tires checked
FRANZ CONOCO SERVICE
9th & New Hampshire
AMMAN, Jordan (U.P.)—Jordan's cabinet quit today and a new premier prepared to sign the pro-western Baghdad Pact in a move sure to widen the split between the Arab nations of the Middle East.
Premier Said Al-Mufti and his government resigned following intense talks in Amman with the commander-in-chief of the British army, Gen. Sir Gerald Templer.
King Hussein has asked former interior minister Haza Majali to become premier.
From sun, water, and air, plus chemicals and minerals from the soil, a sapling can grow into a tree that may weigh 1.000 tons and tower 300 feet into the sky, the National Geographic Society says.
Aspirins Won't Cure Linotype Headache
It's just one headache after another at the University of Kansas Press.
Recently the press bought a new linotype machine, unassembled. James P. Ruika, a representative of the linotype company, was sent out to help assemble the machine.
While uncreating a box of small parts, Mr. Ruika and Ralph Ciochon, linotype operator, discovered a linotype parts envelope containing 12 aspirins.
A solution was reached when the two men decided to divide the aspirins equally.
This presented a problem as neither could decide whether the aspirins were intended for the man who put the machine together or the one who had to operate it afterwards.
About 41 per cent of North Dakota farm families had home food freezers in 1954.
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