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University Daily Kansan
Friday, April 22, 1955
Robinson Still in Use In Spite of Fieldhouse
By DICK WALT Kansan Sports Writer
With Allen fieldhouse completed, the University athletic department, by next fall, will have complete modern facilities. However, in spite of the many advantages which the 17,000-seat structure will offer both the students and the athletic departments, Robinson gymnasium will still play an important part in the athletic program of the University.
Baseballers Win Four, Lose Six
Baseball hopes at Kansas suffered a death blow before the season began when pitcher Bob Shirley, who had been tabbed as the ace of Coach Floyd Temple's staff, suffered a recurrence of an arm injury and was shelved for the season.
The Jayhawkers, however, have played surprisingly good ball considering the fact that, in addition to Shirley's loss, pitcher Lew Johnson dropped the sport and catcher Don Duncan was ruled inelegible. To date the Kansas nine has a record of four wins and six losses, with two of the losses being to undefeated Oklahoma A&M.
The KU squad got off to a shaky start on its annual southern road trip when it dropped four straight in error-laden ball games. Arkansas beat the squad twice at Fayetteville 9 to 3 and 1 to 0, then the Jayhawkers dropped two more to Arkansas State April 7 when they were beat 6 to 5 and 10 to 4.
Things took a change for the better when Kansas moved to Memphis to play the Memphis Naval Air station. Ben Dalton hurled a two-hitter and Wayne Tiemier a five-hitter to beat the Middies twice, 7 to 1 and 9 to 1.
The Jayhawkers opened their home season last Friday and Saturday when they evened things up with Arkansas by beating the Porkers twice in two well-played ball games. The Kansans came from behind in the ninth in the first game to win 6 to 5. In the second game Ben Dalton tossed a three-hitter to win his second straight 4 to 2.
Last Monday Oklahoma A&M moved into town tiring a ten-game winning streak. The first game was a loosely played affair, with both teams scoring several errors. The Aggies finally outlasted the Jayshawkers and won 16 to 7. On Tuesday the two teams met again with the Oklahoma A&M team emerging the winner 5 to 4 after 11 action-packed innings.
Aggie ace Tom Borland, who has won four straight this year and had an 8-1 record last season, pitched the 11 innings, striking out
However, Robinson gym will not be neglected in spite of the loss of the basketball team. This will provide increased facilities for intramural play in Robinson, and the large gym floor on the top story will be opened to accommodate more physical education activities courses.
Robinson in the past has received much criticism for the crowded conditions which hindered Phog Allen's basketball teams by not permitting them to play on the same floor on which they practice.
Built in 1906, Robinson gym has housed a wide variety of events which now are held in other campus buildings. Concerts and all-school dances were among the events formerly held there, in addition to early KU basketball games.
Even during the early days, when conditions were not so crowded, Phog Allen recognized the need for additional space for the athletic department. In a 1925 interview with the Daily Kansan, he said, "We hope in the future to have a large athletic fieldhouse. There we would be able to take care of the large basketball games, also giving us a large space where early spring baseball and track could be practiced."
With Allen's dream finally a reality, Robinson remains the home of many of the athletic departments. The swimming pool located in the basement provides facilities for Coach Doug Wall's swimming team and is used for Navy ROTC swimming classes. The pool also is used for physical education classes, and is open for the use of all students at specified times during the week.
Robinson also contains facilities for handball, weight lifting, tumbling and gymnastic work, volleyball, badminton, and houses both men's and women's physical education classes, both in activity and classroom courses.
The pool was remodeled in 1950 to lengthen it to 20 yards to conform with regulations set by the NCAA. It was constructed originally in 1912, six years after completion of the building.
The building also houses the ticket office, and the balcony over the gymnasium contains a small running track, and facilities for indoor golf practice.
13 Kansas batters and giving up only six hits. Wayne Tiemee started for Kansas and lasted nine innings. He was relieved by Ben Dalton who took the loss.
ROUND CORNER 801 Mass. Phone 20
With the nation's greatest collegiate quartermilier, J. W. Mashburn, to lead off, and one of the finest half milers in the land, Bill Heard, to clean up, Higgins is not spinning an idle yarn. With Jack Hays and an arion Puncheren in middle 220 legs, Puncheren blazed 3:20.3 at Austin to judge within a blink of Kansas' one-year-old global figure etched on the same track. Mashburn led off with a 47.5 around two turns. Heard anchored in 1:49.5.
Frustrated by a fleeting one-tenth of a second at last weekend's Texas Relays, Oklahoma A&M's talent-laden Cowpokes already have set their sights on a world Sprint Medley record here April 23 when they go to the in the 30th Kansas Relays.
"We could run as fast as 3:19 or 3:18," points out Ralph Higgins, a coach with a penchant for releasing timing announcements matter-of-factly.
Running out of the chute here,
Mashburn will be saved a full turn
in his leadoff stint. That alone could
bring him under: 47.0. Heard, of
course, will be obliged to stay under
1:50, a clocking college half-milers
don't perform every day. Hays and
Muncreif will be far below the best
sprinters in this meet, but they held
up well at Austin, averaging around
21.5.
Aggies Pointing for Triumph
The pressure of competition will be terrific too with SMU, Oklahoma, Rice, and Texas, if the latter chooses, all capable of fielding fine clubs. SMU's defending Kansas champions, running second at Texas, were only two tenths off the present Mt. Oread record of 3:24.3, established by Oklahoma's 1950 foursome.
The Stillwaters will be gunning for three other baton titles here, the Four-Mile, Distance Medley and Mile. But it won't be easy. In addition to the competition, the time schedule of the one-day affair is another deterrent. To present their best
Higgins' problem, then, will be to use one of his reserve quartermilers to leadoff either the Distance Medley or Mile, if he wants to shoot for four. He can double his Scandinavian flyers, Bjorn Bogerud, Fred Eckhoff and Sture Landqvist back from the 2 p.m. Four-Mile, for the last three carries of the former race. They are good enough to win, or come close, even with a 51-second quartermiler in front of them.
Since the 880, which A&M won in a surprise at Austin, falls with the 3:55 and 5:30 range along with the three previously mentioned events, it is likely the Punchers will waive that race.
lineups in the two Medleys and Mile, the Pokes must have Mashburn and Heard. There is only 25 minutes between the Distance Medley and the mile, which means one or both must forego one race or the other. This is especially true since both already will have been used in the Sprint assault at 3:55. The Distance Medley is booked at 5:05; the Mile at 5:30.
Aside from the Sprint Medley world record possibility, A&M could lower the intercollegiate Four-Mile mark. A quartet of Mel Moseley, Landgvist, Bogerud and Eckhoff brushed within 2 seconds of Michigan's three-year-old mark of 17-08.6, with a 17.10.6 at Austin. KU's 52 team of Lloyd Koby, Art Dalzell Herb Semper and Waste Santee hold the present Kansas mark at 17.18.3.
unlikely. Pokes can bring home four victories here, they will match a feat achieved only once in the history of the Jayhawker Games. Indiana's 1937 contingent bagged the Mile, Two-Mile, 880, and Distance Medley.
Even with Mashburn and Heard doubling with below-par performances, the Punchers broke Texas Distance Medley record by six-tens at 10:50.3. A combine of Fred Ashmore, Heard, Eckhoff and Landqvist dipped as low as 9:59.8 in the West Coast Relays last May, although it was not the winner because of disqualification. Ashmore still is available.
Janzen, Mike Swanson and Al Frame, also ran under the old Texas record at 10:05.4. This means Michigan's current Mt. Oread mark of 10:09.7 is unlikely to survive.
Every one of the College class Texas baton champions will be here intact also; Abilene-Christian in the 440 and 880, and North Texas State in the Mile and Sprint Medley. The Wildcats and Eagles wrote new records in each event at Austin.
KU's three-fourths sophomoric foursome of Frank Mastin, Lowell
upsetting previously unbeaten Houston in the 440, and running the nation's swiftest collegiate Mile to date, at 3:14.1. The Longhorns ran third in the 880, which they could bring down here with improvement.
Texas will challenge for similar fame it cornered the remaining three baton events in the University class of its own meet by bagging the Two-Mile in 7:37.1 . . . that's almost four seconds under the Kansas record.
Eight of the nine Texas individual champions in matching events are due here. These include Rice's Wesley Hight in the 120 high hurdles; Wes Santee in the Glenn Cunningham miler; KU's Bill Nieder in the Shot Put; Bob Van Dee, Oklahoma; Discuss; Stephen James, Rice, Pole Vault; Kim Ellis, Oklahoma A&M, Broad Jump; Bobby Morrow, ACC, 100, and Ken Kelley, North Texas State, High Jump.
The latter two, however, are not eligible for open competition here under NCAA and American Relays Association rules. Morrow is a freshman and Kelley a senior with three previous years of competition.
A pail of water set in a freshly painted room will help remove the odor.