PAGE FOUR
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN, LAWRENCE, KANSAS
THURSDAY. DECEMBER 4, 1947
By PAUL ZEH Assistant Sports Editor
With the name of Evans among the chosen backs on the AP team, the band-wagons of Messrs. Layne, Minisi, Conerly, Gilmer, Justice, and Elliott, to mention a few, are certain to yell loud and at the injustice of it all. Of course, the Evans backers would have raised their voices if our choice had been omitted. We think Evans is every bit the All-American the AP says he is, so instead of merely saying, "I told you so," we're going to give our reasons.
First, Evans is from Kansas, and we're very partial to that state. Second, we've seen Evans play, and have not seen most of the other great backs, so naturally we are inclined to support the Jayhawker back. Our third reason for stringing along with Riflin' Ray is well-expressed by two nationally known sports authorities, whom we quote.
Says Leo Peterson, United Press sports columnist: "It's getting more and more difficult to pick All-Americas because so many coaches use the two team system, one for defense and one for offense. To be an All-American, a player, in my opinion, should excel both offensively and defensively."
Says Arch Murray, The Post,
New York: "In my book, no player
who doesn't play a minute on defense
rates All-American. If he is
not good enough to play defensively,
then he is no All-American."
*   .
In our words, we like All-Americans who are masters in every department of play. We would not pick an all-star baseball pitcher because he could throw the best curve in the game, or an outfielder because he could hit the longest ball in the league. Likewise, we shy away from backs whose only claim to fame is sensational offensive yardage in running, or passing, or even both.
A back can compile such a record only if he is "fed" the ball . . . if the offense is built around him. A back on a well-balanced team is called on to block, to serve as a decoy on fakes, and to catch passes as well as throw them. No one can say that Evans is incapable of piling up a great record on paper, simply because his coach does not require him to do more of the actual work.
Evans was on a Kansas team in 1942 which WAS shorthanded in the backfield. He was the one man on that team who came near being an offensive threat. Consequently, he completed 101 forward passes and became known nationally as one of the top two passers of the year. This year Evans completed only 30, but was only called upon to toss 60.
Evans is the back-of-the-year in our books because he is the all-around expert on the football field. His punt-return average is high. He kicks off into the end zone most of the time. He holds the ball on conversions. He blocks and tackles as cleanly and as surely as any back we have seen. He bats down or intercepts almost every pass that is thrown near him. And he plays the whole game when the going is tough. That's the type of player we like for All-American.
New Oil Deposits Reported In West
Oil and gas producing rocks under Trego, Gove, Logan and Wallace counties, Kansas and Cheyenne county, Colorado are shown by a cross section published by the state geological survey recently.
A study of cuttings and electric logs of nine Kansas wells and one Colorado well was made by Jack B. Collins of the federal geological survey with the cooperation of the state geological survey. The cross section shows the depth and thickness of Arbuckle limestone and other important petroleum reservoir rocks.
This is the fifth in of a series of six cross sections of western Kansas. The cross section which measures 28 by 40 inches, is accompanied by eight pages of text.
United Press Names Sauer As 'Coach Of The Week'
New York—(UP)—He was raised on powerhouse football, but his first three requisites for a player are spirit, speed and stamina. He doesn't draw the line anywhere on the weight chart. Anyone who can run and block can play on his club and his system has paid off well.
He's the United Press Coach of the Week, big George Sauer of the University of Kansas' unbeaten Javhawkers.
As far as the fans in the Midlands are concerned, he also is Coach of the Year, for in two seasons at Kansas he has transformed a chronic second division team into a championship club.
Second Season Here
During his first season at the K. U. helm, the team won seven games against two losses and a tie ind shared the Big Six championship with Oklahoma. This season, his club won eight, tied two, and again shared the conference crown with Oklahoma.
COACH GEORGE SAUER
When the team defeated Arizona in a wild-scoring game Saturday night it marked Kansas' first undefeated season since 1923.
Each of his clubs at Kansas has been the lightest in the conference. The 214-pound coach has carried a 120-pound halfback on his squad all season, and of his regular ends, Dave Schmidt, twice an all-Big Sx choice, weighs only 155.
"If they can block and tackle they can play on my team." Sauer explained. "Otherwise they're better off in the War." The Saurer was. All-American.
The big man from Nebraska—he was an all-American fullback there in 1933—insists on two techniques.
"Defense is natural," he holds.
"Players have to learn to block, and it is hard for most of them. But it pays off on good offensive football, and you can win many games with only a minimum of scoring."
That statement typifies Sauer's coaching methods. Like most of the new generation of coaches, he doesn't tear into the boys at half-time with pep talks and verbal lashings after defeats. His approach always is cool, pains-taking and intelligent. He analyzes opponents' strengths and weaknesses to his squad. There is no effort to inflate the opposition or degrade it. He presents the task at hand in a concise manner, then sets about arming his charges to perform it, and the method is the same whether the game is major or minor.
Not that Sauer cannot snort fire when he wants to. He almost always is grim, in practice always pressing hard at the work to be accomplished each week.
"The procedure still will be the same for Georgia Tech and the Orange Bowl." he said.
No Change For Bowl
Football was at low ebb when Sauer went to Kansas early in 1946 for spring practice, fresh from the navy, with a standard T-formation and a successful coaching record at New Hampshire. When he molded his first Kansas eleven into a title-sharing team, Kansas supporters knew that the gridiron drouth was over, so they weren't surprised, when Sauer came up this year with an unbeaten club.
After finishing his playing career at Nebraska he coached the frosh in 1934 and then went to Green Bay where he played with the professional Packers in 1935 and 1936, helping them to the world's title in the latter season. He was hired as head football coach at New Hampshire in 1937 and, before he left that job at the end of the 1941 season to go into the Navy, his teams won 25 games against 15 defeats and two ties. During his tenure in the Navy he served at Pensacola, on the aircraft carrier Enterprise and at St. Mary's Preflight school. He was discharged as a Lieutenant-Commander.
Bix Six track coaches will meet on Dec. 13 and 14 to work out problems of the indoor track schedule.
Indoor Track Slate Will Be Revised
The conference indoor meet, originally scheduled for March 6, has been rescheduled to Feb. 28 by the Auditorium committee of Kansas City, causing a conflict with other meets previously scheduled for that date.
The Babylonians and Egyptians brewed beer more than 6,000 years ago. Beer probably is the oldest known alcoholic beverage.
The complete revised schedule will be announced Dec. 15.
Basketball Results
Arkansas 75, Pittsburg Tchrs, 42
Harvard 57 Massachusetts 46
St. Louis 90 Arkansas State 38
Wake Forest 71 Kalamazoo 33
Fordham 51 Iona 49
Florida 70 Tampa 43
Columbia 70 Kings Point 42
Penn 44 John Carroll 42
Stanford 54 San Jose State 50.
Parchment was invented by King Attalus of Pergamus in 887 B. C.
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