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Summer Session Kansan
Tuesday, June 27, 1961
Along the Jayhawk Trail
By Chuck Morelock
The recently proposed plan to enlarge KU's Memorial Stadium drew snorts of scepticism in some quarters.
If said plan can get off the ground, the 40-year-old concrete canyon will be enlarged to seat around 60,000 fans. Present capacity, with bleachers, is 40,000.
Some, however, can't understand why this would be necessary, considering that the number of sellouts in recent years can be counted on both hands.
True, but . . . you've got to look ahead a bit. Last year, the Jayhawkers set an all-time season's home attendance record of roughly 175,000. The 1961 schedule isn't as glamorous, but there's a real good chance this figure can be matched, or even surpassed.
And in 1962, assuming the Hawkers continue to keep the new gridiron era rolling, the fans may be knocking themselves down at the gate trying to get in. In other words, the team may be such a drawing card by then that a 40,000 seat stadium simply won't be big enough.
KU
There's no reason in the world why KU can't consistently hit the 55 to 60,000 range. After all, Oklahoma does it all the time. And the Sooners don't have a city of 1,250,000 just a few miles away. Look at the University of Iowa. The Hawkeyes are located practically in the middle of nowhere, geographically speaking, but man, what crowds. Why and how do they come? They come to see one of the nation's top football teams, for one reason. And they get there by chartered trains, chartered buses, automobiles, go-karts, and mule teams.
The latter is exaggerated, but the point is this: once you've got a good thing going, the fans will get there somehow, in fair weather or foul.
KU, fortunately, doesn't have a geographical problem. In fact, few schools in the country have such a potentially lucrative setup. Our fan supply is virtually limitless with Kansas City just 30 miles away. Our football outlook is bright. Put the two together and what have you got? The answer is obvious.
Although I wish K-State well in its struggle to field a winning team, the Wildcats are not going to be a threat to KU gate-wise for many years to come. The only way the Cats are going to get back on the winning track is to recruit top-notch talent from out of state, because Jack Mitchell and co. have Kansas all sewed up. K-State will land some good native boys, true, but in most cases they'll be boys KU didn't want.
The same applies to Wichita U. The Shockers, who had an excellent season last year, may lure a few local area players into the fold, but it's doubtful if they'll be on a par with Curtis McClinton, an airplane city boy who needs no introduction. Over the past few years, Wichita has been able to tap a mysterious talent pipeline in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with obvious results. WU hasn't been able to get the job done by using primarily Kansas boys, a la KU.
I wish Wichita all the luck in the world too, but the Shockers aren't going to cut into KU's attendance figure to any great extent. For one thing, WU's schedule leaves something to be desired.
For about the past ten years, Ohio State had led the nation in average attendance per game. The Buckeyes can always count on 82,000 whether they, or the opposition, are loaded or not. A few years ago, for instance, Nebraska, a team which was going nowhere in particular, invaded Columbus and drew—you guessed it—82,000.
KU might not be able to draw 82,000 very often, but it certainly should be able to draw 60,000. Just because it's never even approached that figure in the past is no reason to believe that it can't be done in the future.
Who knows? Ten or 15 years from now, the stadium might have to be enlarged again. Stranger things have happened.
Schull Finishes 2nd in Tourney
Karen Schull, a June graduate, finished second in the 17th annual Women's Collegiate Golf tournament at Ann Arbor, Mich., last weekend.
Miss Schull lost a tight decision to Judy Hoetmer of the University of Washington. Miss Hoetmer took the lead on the 17th hole and halved the 18th for a 1-up victory on the wind-swept University of Michigan course. Both girls had been regarded as dark horses before the tourney began.
Miss Schull reached the final earlier by defeating the 1959 champion, Judy Eller of Miami, and the 1960 champion, JoAnn Gunderson.
Miss Schull, Missouri State amateur champion last year, is a native of Kansas City, Mo., and a graduate of Southwest High School. At KU she was a member of Phil Delta Pi, WRA, ASC, and Pi Lambda Theta. She is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. James N. Schull of Kansas City.
50,000 Kansas Kids To See BB Tourney
WICHITA — (UPI) — More than 50,000 youngsters who are playing baseball throughout Kansas will be honored guests at the 31st state championship baseball tournament to be held here beginning July 7.
Each baseball club, composed of youngsters from 8 to 16, is being invited to attend during any one of the 20 night sessions of the tourney, National Baseball Congress President Ray Dumont said.
He said more than 100,000 persons are expected to be present for the tournament.
Three Scholarships Given in Pharmacy
George Guy Hall Memorial Scholarships have been awarded to three students in the School of Pharmacy for 1961-62.
The scholarships, which cover tuition expenses of the students for both semesters ($208), have been given to:
Bonnie J. Eaton and Donald E. Lymam, both of Wichita, and June Romanucci, Kanopolis.
The scholarships memorialize the late George Guy Hall, longtime pharmacist and civic leader in Oakley. They were made possible by a gift from his widow, Mrs. Edith Hall, who now lives in Salina.
The grants carry on Mr.Hall's personal tradition of having helped many Oakley young people attend college.
Red Ching Film Scheduled
This is one in a series of films shown each Wednesday on the Film Features of Fact and Fiction.
The film, "The Face of Red China," will be shown at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow in room 3 of Bailey Hall.
Minor League Baseball Dead? Not in Ardmore, Oklahoma
ARDMORE, Okla. — (UPI) — If minor league baseball is dying on the vine, the news hasn't reached Ardmore yet.
Ardmore, which went without a minor league team for three seasons, now has a double-A team, the Rosebuds of the Texas League. And the Ardmore fans have taken the team to heart—nickname and all.
The club was moved last month from Victoria, Tex., a city proud of its roses. Hence the nickname. Ardmoreites probably would prefer to rename the team the Cardinals, after the defunct club which once represented Ardmore in the Class D Sooner League.
But who's complaining? Attendance here has averaged 1,100 over the first eight playing dates — and the weather hasn't always been ideal for baseball.
That Ardmore has a ball team at all is something, considering the fact that the only other city in the state boasting organized ball is Tulsa, which also has an entry in the TL.
But Ardmore has always been a good baseball town. Sports editor Doyle May of the Daily Ardmorecite says the old Cardinals of the Sooner State Loop drew 57,000 fans in 1957. big, busting Oklahoma City, that same year in the Texas League, drew but 49,000.
The prime movers in getting the club to Ardmore, May says, included C. P. Sebastian, business manager of the old Ardmore Sooner State League Club, who wanted baseball back in his home town, and city manager Robert C. Cavins, as well as city commissioner Jack Conroy.
Acting on a hunch. May's newspaper, The Daily Ardmoreite, sent him to the minor league winter meeting in Louisville this year. "We felt that the Texas League should expand to eight teams this year," May explained.
Failure to get adequate working agreements with major league clubs torpeded that plan, but May was able to do some talking with Dick Butler, Texas League president, and other baseball moguls.
Then early in May, Derrest Williams, owner of the Victoria club, called and asked about moving to Ardmore. Ardmore boosters had done their spadework well.
Now Ardmore fans can go out to their ball park, built in 1556, sit in the shadow of the oil derricks which support the park's lights, and watch the best brand of ball the city has ever had.
Williams soon came to terms with Ardmore boosters; a $25,000 advance sale of tickets was snapped up in just two weeks — without any large donations, either — and the Rosebuds came north.
Bell Gift Pushes HELP Funds Up
A recent $200 gift from the Bell Telephone Co. has pushed the Lawrence HELP contribution to more than $15,000.
The HELP fund was started early this year to enable local residents to contribute student loan funds for KU students. The program is managed by the Greater University Fund office at KU.
An annual fund campaign will be held in Lawrence.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — (UPI) — From the time of the first shipment of Minnesota-owned ore in 1893, until June 30, 1960, a total of 356,104,-702 tons of ore has been shipped from state-owned properties.
A Lot of Steel
Of this amount, 24,792,597 tons were crude taconite. Converting this tonnage of iron ore to steel and the steel into automobiles, the amount of iron ore that has been produced from state-owned mines in Minnesota would amount to 15 rows of automobiles, bumper to bumper, circling the world at the equator.
Answer to Crossword Puzzle
and
"Wizard of Bagdad"
"Wild in the Country"
Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine
"Ten Who Dared"
Starts Thursday
starring
"THE APARTMENT"
Starts Wednesday
plus
Bonus feature Friday and Sat.
"Never So Few"
"Callant Hours"
"I Passed for White"
"The Unforgiven"
"Last Days of Pompeii"
Starts Thursday