1
TUESDAY, MAY 23, 1950
PAGE SEVEN
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN, LAWRENCE. KANSAS
Spotlight On Sports
By BOB NELSON
Daily Kansan Sports Writer
Coach J. V. Sikes and his fine coaching staff recently completed one of the most successful spring football practice sessions in the school's history.
Kansas gridiron prospects look rosy for the future, especially with an improved schedule to start in 1952. In that year, K.U. will open a four-year home and home series with Southern Methodist university, playing in Dallas the first year.
It is hoped that Kansas can add a Big Ten school to its schedule by 1952 to go along with Oklahoma A. and M. and Texas Christian university, usually two of the Midwest's annual grid powers.
From the looks of things, the 1950 K.U. football team will overshadow the over-all athletic program unless some key changes are made at Memorial stadium, and made at an EARLY date.
Here are a few of the improvements needed to keep our athletic program on par with the caliber of football that can be expected in the future from Coach Sikes' gridiron machine.
No. 1, Coach Sikes' footballers are confronted with playing on the worst turf in the Big Seven conference, yet K.U. owns as fine a stadium as any member school except possibly Oklahoma. The Sooners recently spent considerable money in remodeling their
medium and resodding the playing field to help give their fans the best in football.
Things are pretty bad when even the players talk about having to play on the most inferior turf in the conference. We've heard several complaints from players concerning the poor footing and holes, to say nothing of the lack of sod that the Jayhawkers are forced to play on in Memorial stadium.
With K.U. football drawing several capacity or near capacity crowds during the past few years, is there any good reason why the Memorial stadium field hasn't been resodded and put in A-1 condition?
Thurlo E. McCrady, Kansas State director of athletics, recently announced that Kansas State's stadium playing field was being resold to be in A-1 condition for the 1950 season. Is K.U. to be outdone by our neighboring cousins up the Kaw?
Kansas' 1950 opener with Texas Christian university, Sept. 23, is still over four months away. We see no reason why K.U. can not field its football team this fall on as good a playing turf as any other conference member, but some definite action will have to be taken, and right away.
Attractive 1950 home football schedule calls for Texas Christian university, Colorado, Oklahoma A. and M., Nebraska (homecoming), and Oklahoma to invade Memorial stadium to tangle with Coach Sikes' up-and-coming Jayhawkers.
The Oklahoma and Nebraska games will probably draw upwards to 40,000 fans with the T.C.U. game attracting about 35,000. Certainly crowds like these would help defray expenses incurred in completely adding the playing field.
No. 2 improvement would probably repay for itself in a few years. Although efficiently handled by one of the conference's best sports publicity directors, Don Pierce, the working press at KU, football games is housed in one of the worst press boxes in the Big Seven.
Recently a strong wind blew the loof off one of the radio broadcasting booths atop the permanent press box. Maybe it would have been better had the wind blown all of the temporary booths away and made the radio broadcasters happy to have either an improvement of facilities or no booths at all.
The press box, in its present location, occupies potentially about 1,000 choice $3 seats between the 40-yard lines. By raising the press box 15 to 20 feet and projecting it slightly over the side of the stadium top, it should add about $3,000 additional revenue a game.
Last year Oklahoma rebuilt its press box to include every convenience conceivable to help sports writers cover the Sooner's home games. The working press is now served free hot meals, has the use of the latest individual silent-type intercom telephone service, and an elevator that runs from the ground level to the three-decked press box.
In its present condition, newspaper men and radio broadcasters probably detest receiving assignments to cover K.U. football games at Memorial stadium. Is it right that they should encounter inferior working conditions when they help make Kaunas football what it is?
When nationally known sports figures like Red Barber and Harry Wismer broadcast the Jayhawkers' games coast-to-coast, we should be able to offer them first-class accommodations and not merely put a roof over their heads, as it now the case.
No. 3 improvement, and an important one, has to do with improving the dressing and equipment room facilities for the football team under the East stadium. Several not too expensive improvements would do wonders to improve the sanitary conditions for K.U. football players and coaches.
No. 4 improvement needed is a modern up-to-date electric clock and scoreboard. The present scoreboard, if operating properly, gives only the time, quarter, and score.
The majority of Big Ten and Southwest conference schools have the most modern scoreboards and clocks available. Just how many $3 admissions out of a near 40,000 capacity crowd would it take to purchase a modern first-class scoreboard for Memorial stadium? Certainly our record breaking attendances the past four years should have provided for this much needed scoreboard.
After four profitable post-war years, we see little reason why the four mentioned deficiencies at Memorial stadium can not be improved upon at an EARLY date.
By making these improvements, K.U.'s athletic program will be keeping pace with the splendid efforts of Coach Sikes and his coaching staff to give Kansas one of the top football programs in the Midst.
Ken "Red" Morrow's single to leftfield in the eighth inning scored Walter Hicks with the Jayhawkers' winning run as K.U. edged past the Oklahoma Sooners, 8 to 7, in a thriller played Monday afternoon on the Varsity diamond. The two clubs meet again at 3 p.m. today with Guy Mabry slated to hurl for Kansas and big Jim Kirk the mound choice for Coach Jack Baer's club. Today's game winds up the 1950 baseball season for both teams.
Morrow's Hit Beats Sooners, 8 To 7
With Carl Sandeuf pitching masterful no-hit, no-run ball through the last four innings, the Jayhawkers rallied to overcome a 7 to 1 Sooner lead with five runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth to win their eight Big Seven game in 15 contests.
Oklahoma, who got off to an early unearned 3 to 0 lead in the first inning, lost its fourth conference road game in five starts. The loss was the third straight league game for the Sooners who must beat K.U. today to finish in third place. A K.U. victory will assure the Jay-hawkers of a third place berth in the final standing.
Nebraska, by defeating Kansas State, 8 to 1, Monday at Manhattan won the 1950 Big Seven baseball championship. The Missouri Tigers
BIG SEVEN STANDINGS
Monday's Results
Oklahoma 7, KANSAS 8
Nebraska 6, Kansas State 1
Colorado 3, Iowa State 12
W. L. Pct
Nebraska 16 3 .761
Missouri 9 5 .643
Oklahoma 6 5 .545
KANSAS 8 7 .533
Kansas State 5 8 .385
Colorado 2 6 .250
Iowa State 3 9 .257
Today's Games
Oklaahoma at KANSAS
Nebraska at Kansas State
Colorado at Iowa State
with a 9-5 record, finished second and the winner of today's K.U.-O.U. game will finish in the third spot.
In the last three years, the Nebraska Cornhuskers have gone from first to last and back to first in the Big Seven baseball championship picture.
Sandefur, the Big Seven's top pitcher, finished the 1350 season in a blaze of glory. By beating the hard-hitting Sooners, he won his seventh conference game against a single defeat. Sandefur walked off with all the honors in the conference as a sophomore. His only defeat was a 3 to 4 loss to Nebraska's championship club. He started and completed seven conference games.
in allowing the Sooners only two earned runs, Sandefur gave up only 23 hits and five earned runs in his last 37 1-3 innings on the mound for Coach Bill Hogan's hustling club.
Monday's game was marked by erratic fielding with K.U. committing nine errors to the Sooners' four. Faulty support kept Santafur and Jack Shirley, O. U. starter, in trouble much of the way.
In the seventh inning, Kansas sent 10 men to the plate in scoring five runs on five hits with two errors helping the cause. Doubles by Jim Sunye and Walter Hicks and singles by Carl Ellis and Mabry accounted for four runs.
Oklahoma-Kansas Box Score
Oklahoma (7) AB R H PO A %
Morgosch, 3b 4 1 1 2 1
Wiginton, 2b 5 1 0 3 2 1
Stephenson, ss 4 1 1 0 3 2
Jones, 1b 5 1 2 11 0 0
Puglesy, cf 4 0 0 1 1 0
Reddell, c 3 0 1 4 0 1
Hill, rf 4 1 1 1 1 0
Mckee, lf 3 2 2 1 0 0
Shirley, p 3 0 1 1 2 0
Waldrip, p 1 0 0 0 1 0
Totals ... 36 7 9 24 13 4
Kansas (8)        AB R H P O A E
Cavonaugh, 2b ... 4 0 2 1 0 1 1
Koenig, ss ... 5 0 1 2 2 3 1
Temple, 3b ... 3 0 0 1 2 2 0
Sumie, 1f ... 2 1 1 1 2 0 0
Ellis, 3f ... 3 2 2 2 0 0 0
Hicks, rf ... 3 2 2 3 1 0 0
Mabry, cf ... 4 1 2 3 0 0 0
DeLuna, 1b ... 5 1 1 7 0 2 0
Morrow, c ... 5 1 1 7 3 1 0
Sandefur, p ... 4 0 2 0 1 0 1
Totals 38 8 14 27 11 9
Oklahoma 310 111 000 — 7
Kansas 000 100 52 — 8
REI—Wiginton, Reddell, McKee,
Cavonaugh, Ellis, Marbry 2, Morrow,
Sandefur, 2B—Hill, Cavonaugh,
Sunye, Hicks, DeLuna, SB—Mee-
Kee, Mabry, Morrow, SH—Morgosh,
Hicks, Mabry, LOB-Oklahoma
6, Kansas 13. Pitching summary; BB—
Shirley 4, Waldrip 0, Sandefur 2
SO—Shirley 4, Waldrip 0, Sandefur 7
Hits and Runs off—Shirley 12 and
in 6 1-3 innings, Walprip 2 and 2
in 12-3 innings, BHP—Shirley (Ellis),
Sandefur (Reddell). WP—Sandefur.
PB—Reddell. Earned runs off—
Shirley 4, Waldrip 0, Sandefur 2
Losing pitcher — Waldrip, Umpires
Edwards and Michaels. Time—2:12.
Att. 375 (est.).
University Shop
DAILY MEMO
TUESDAY
MAY 23
It's later than you think!!! So don't put off buying his graduation gift any longer. Go to the University Shop today and see their complete selection of:
Sport Shirts
Dress Shirts (Reg. or Zipper)
Formal Shirts
Swim Trunks
Tennis Shorts
Cuff Links
Tie Clips
Formal Jewelry
Billfolds & Belts
Jackets
Graduation Special!!
- All Ties 1/2 Price
or
Give a Gift Certificate for a Suit, Sport Coat or Slacks
Next to Chi Omega
1420 Crescent Rd.
Phone 715