News Scrapbook 1956-1959

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May 2 , 1956

~ett~N'S

ntests This Fall

August ; 1956

Falcons, Waves Top Schedule For First Season

---- SPORTS EDITOR

Keep An Eye On USD, School With Big Athletic Ideas

I Big Gatliering Pays Tribute o USD Team More than 300 gave the Unl- jversity of San Diego football squad a rousing sendoff for the 1956 season last night at the Mission Valley Country Club as the Boosters' Clu_b staged its first annual ·'Kickoff Banquet.': Acting as master of cere- monies was Murray Goodrich, treasurer of the Boosters' C lub. He introduced such honored guests as Bishop Charles F . Buddy, D. D. Williams, vice mayor of San Diego, and Gene Littler, San Diego's pro golf king. Goodrich, USD president Rt. Rev. John Storm and Buddy gave coach Gil Kuhn much creclit for the time he has de- votccl in trying to build a wtn- ning team for the season, start- ing with a game against the U.S. Air Force Academy Sept. 29 in Balboa Stadium. Elected captain of the first USO aggregation yesterday was Ray Speitel, center from Chula Vista High.

The University of San Diego, which will field its 1irst foot- ball team this fall, yesterday . disclosed the balance ot Its sev- • en-game schedule. The young Catholic institu- tion will compete against only one freshman team and will play five of its games in Bal- boa Stadium. I Heading the schedule will be the U.S. Air Force Academy here Sept. 29, and Pepperdine · College Waves there, Oct. 20. Other opponentq include Nav- al Air Oct. 6, Edwards A 1 r Force Base here, Oct. 13; Red- lands Frosh there, Oct. 27; New Mexico Military Institute here Nov. 2, and Arizona State of Flagstaff here, Nov. 11. Jack Canady, publlcity di- rector and asslstani: :football coach, reports that the team will set 1 some sort o! a prece- dent when It enters Its first game without a nickname. Canady said the student body will be polled to find a name. How

The University of San Diego had a basketball 1eam hr!ore it had a nickname. And there'll be a football 1Pam long before 1he school has a stadium in which to play its games. Still, the city's nrwest college bears close watehing. If present plan jell, the chool on

the mesa o\'erlooking Miso;:ion Valley will have a first-rate small college basketball team next winter and the footballers will be competing at the ~ollege o[ PaciCic level within five years. The search is on for a football coach (prominent candidate: USC'c; Marvin Goux), a freshman schedule is being planned, and an enthusias- tic- booster group is busy lining up scholarships and jobs for atheletes. As yet the new school, the inspira- tion of the Most Reverend Charles F. Buddy, Bishop of San Diego, hasn't acquired a nickname. But Fon Johnson's basketball team neverthe-

University oI San D i e g o fields its 1irst football team , a freshman squad, this fall. It will open against the Air Fore Academy in Balboa Stadiu Sept. 29. It will play six var- sity teams and one freshma squad. The schedule: va:5t])l1r~ 9 SPa~fo~: A&:teu:.r-~d';,C,.trdae-N , Force BR se · Oct 21M.t Pe erdine Co · 1ette: Oct. 27-at R dland rosh . No . 2-New Me ro M 11 a.rJ' ln1ttitu e; Nov. 17-Arir.Onf\ Rt <'I Fla staff.

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Fon ,Johnc;on le. s won 15 of 26 games in its maid- f'n campaign (playing mino1· service teams and muni- dpal quintets), and the new school will be stepping up in class next. "H we get the players we e ·pect," says Johnson. "we won't be quite as strong as Staie College hut we'll he ,ible to handle a pretty fair schedule. "I've asked for games with such schools a Arizona, Whittier, Redlands, Occidental, Pomona, and a num- ber of junior colleges. But we want to wait a year hefore playing the Aztecs. We hope 10 build up an in- 1eresting and attractive cross-town rivalry with State Colle~e. but we don't want to play them until we have a chance. Seattle Center To Spark Cagers 'Td likP lo s£'P the competition close, with either team having a good <'hance to win. "We :hould be readv for 'em bv the 1957-58 season. By 1)1 n we hope lo play not oniy State College, but i-u ·Ii s ·hools as San Fi·ancisco, Loyola and Pepperdine." At first blush, Johnson seems to be over-stepping him- self. After all, USD has enrolled male students only t\\o years and you don't figure to overhaul such com- petition as San Francisco and State College overnight. l1ut Johnson and his colleagues are thinking big and moving tast. The bask tball coach has been searching thP country for material, and is getting a warm response from two- legged skyscrapers. One prospective enrollee is a young man named Bill .Tordan, who was merely the center on the Seattle Bu- chans duh which won the national AAU title this year. .1ordan is six feet. JO inches of basketball playt'r and has indicated he'll enter 1he U. of S,m Diego, instead o[ returning to Whitman College . Another of Johnson's prizes is Carl Hendrickson, 6-9 1ransfcr from the University of North Dakota. Hen- rlri£'kson already is here, working on a job turned up b~' ihe booster club. and will be on campus next fall. To this nucleus Johnson expects to add such service athletes as Bobby Main, now al the Marine Corps Re- cruit Depot, and Bill Johnson, formerly of Naval Air- plus promising freshm,en from as far away a Denver and New York. Kuhn Plans Bold Program Twelve varsity players will receive basketball schol- arships next season ($500 tuition, plus books and em- ployment), and Johnson is expecting impressive results. Well known here for his direction of the Grihalva Buick five which finished third and second in 1he 1953-54 national AAU tournaments, Johnson assumt'd his new role after USD had lost its first four games last season. With Johnson's coaching, the fledgling club went the rest of the route at a 15-7 pace. This is a labor o[ love. Johnson is the proorietor of a kennel in Rose Canyon which represents thP. major source of his income. For the time being, he receives only a token salary for his coaching. , As the program gathers momentum, however, he ex- pects to give more and more time to his basketball tiutiP.s. And Johnson will have to step lively to keep up with the bold planning of Gil Kuhn, one-time tTSC captain and center (1934-36) who is chairman of the uni- vprsity's athletic board of control. Kuhn is the man who visualizes a football team of College of Pacific caliber within five years, plus eventual mnstruction of a stadium and fieldhouse on thP campus. "I'll admit that sounds ambitious," says Kuhn. "May- be too ambitious. But we think it can be done and :we're going to give it the old college try." ' Which guarantees one .ure winner: the city of San Diego.

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THE SAN DIEGO UNION Jmrs,, Sept. 20, 1956 O b J AN DIEGO. CALIFORNIA •

The kickoff dinner the University of San Di!'go Boost er Club will be held tomorrow night at the Mission Va 11 e J Country Club, Charles Rizzo. cl1airman, said yesterday. The football squad, w h i ch plays the Air Force Academ~ in its opener Sept. 29, will be introduced along with the coach• ing staff. Guests include the Rev. Char- les F. Buddy, bishop of San Diego, and the Rt. Rev. John • Storm , president of USO. for

DENVER !INS )-Air Forre Academy Cadets square of! this aiternoon in an · intra- l squad game at Lowry Air Forre Base. 1 Coach Buck Shaw said the scrimmage will be full length and will help decide which Falcons start next Satur- day's game with San Diego University in the California city.

-5an Dle10 Union Sta!! Photo captain, at USD's kickoff dinner last · night at Mission Valley Country Club as head coach Gil Kuhn looks on.

Gene Littler, left, San Diego's leading prof_essiona! gol!er, congratulates Ray Spe1tel, Umvers1ty of San Diego football

100 Salute USD Gridmen The University of San Diego football squad was honored last night at the Mission Valley Country Club in the first an- nual kickoff banquet sponsored by the USD Boosters Club. More than 100 guests paid tribute to coach Gil Kuhn and is squad of 40 men that will begin its first football season t in Balboa Stadium, Sept. 29, against the U.S. Air .Force , Academy. R t. Bev. John Storm, presi- j dent of the university, told of. the background and ap- ' proahces to sports at USD and credited Kuhn with the physi- cal well being and fitness of the young team. Kuhn introduced the squad a;1d his a~sistant coaches, Co- 1 1 s1mo ·Cutri Jr. and Bill Cope. He said the squad showed plen- ty of determination and desire 1 and he expressed an optimistic! note about the seven-game schedule ahead. Ray Speital, a center trom Chula Vista High, was named the team' s first captain. A co- l captain will be selected for each game this season. Murrary Goodrich, treasurer of the Boosters Club. was mas- ter of ceremonies. Among the dignitaries introduced were ' Bishop Charles F. Buddy and D. D. Williams, representing I Mayor Dail.

Throwin' The Bull

Karl and Cedric Jordan, Lemon Grove, thus far are first-string fullback and left halfback respec- tively, at San Diego Junior Col- lege. . . . St. Augustine Roman Catholic High School probably has the toughest prep schedule of any high school in the area. They play, in this order, Coro- nado, Lincoln, Pomona Catholic, Chula Vista, Santa Pa'ula, Hoo- ver, Yum n . . . Some gridders of note a the University of San Diego for Men are center Ray Speitel, guards Dave Oppenheimer, Jo DiTomaso, Tony Procopio and Jerry Parli, tackles Don Mocer· and Paul Eckberg, backs Rud Rudzinski, Bill and Bob Frank lin, Kirby Wood, Tom Kelly, J McNamara, and Otis Fo ter. -BT- Altar Arrests . . . Congrats to Mary Ann Lawrason, Helix High teacher, who was recently claimed as bride by former Navy officer 0. Melvin Kendall Jr.... Con- grats to Shannon Bates, Helix senior, who was recently wed to Jim• Ames. Shannon was a popu- lar Lawton's car-hop... . Esther Drew, Helix grad, is now Mrs. Robert Feeney.... Another Helix alumna has switched names from Mary Lombardo to Mrs. Nick Asaro. -BT- Dis 'n Dat .. , Marily Carlson, Helix grad and present State jun- ior, is touring ttie far east with an entertaining USO troupe. Mar- ilyn sings with her partner of five years, Julie Hand. They go by the name of the Carol Sis- ters.... Nancy Hill, Helix grad, will play the violin for the Mu- sical Merit Foundation's annual fall reception and music program to be given Sept. 14 in the loggia of the House of Hospitality. . . . State Route 94 will be resurfaced through Lemon Grove shortly. ('bout time) .... Dedicated to the enjoyers of insanity: "Anna, An- na, get the Ipana, mother just bit into a wax banana."

Rudzmski will enter the Univer- sity of San Diego for Men while halfback Dave Olson will scoot u o Paloma The new frosh team from US ill battle a September 29, Sat rday afternoon game against the U. S. Air Force Academy. Those from Helix playing on the Catho- lic team are Bob Turpin, Kar and Cedric Jordan, Dick Gard er, Tom Kelly and Rudy Rud zinski. Their home schedule: (all home games in Balboa Stadium) October 6, Naval Air Station; October 13, Edwards Air Force ase; November 2, New Mexico ilitary Institute; and November 17, Arizona State College at Flag- taf -BT- Dis 'n Dat. . . . Congrats to pretty Lei!ani Rose, spring Helix j' grad, for becoming queen of the Breitbarci Athletic All-star foot- ball game held in Aztec Bowl last n ight. Another milestone for our pretty Highland dolls. . . . Congrats to ex-Laddie Don Crooks who recently claimed Bernice Kuberek as his bride. They both attend Cal Western University on Pt. Loma. . . . I hate to say it but I'll lay you two-to-one odds that there will be stiff opposition and resent- ment among the youthful set when the law grabs them for altered (non-stock) mufflers on their cars. If at all action should have been taken a long time ago against this so-called "menace" or "nuisance" of the public ways. Sure, there were laws but I'm talking about action. Seems to me they are starting kinda lyte in grabbing the "offenders." It's a bad policy. I'm not the onlY one who doesn't like it.

By B08 TURNB'ULL It's a , Joke, Son! . . . School motto: Laugh and the class laughs ith you, but you stay after s!'hool alone. -BT- Pigskin Preview . . . Watched the Highland gridmen from He- lixville scrimmage last Friday and was somewhat impressed by their b f, speed and general field knowledge of the game. This just might be the year! ... end Ron Svalstad, Lemon Grov-e and fullback Bob Nelson are He'. lix's representatives to the fine Aztec football squad out State College way. ·Some of State's i leading prospects are ends Dalias j Evans and Braxton Pinkins; tack- les Ray F ackrell, Luther What/ ley, Bill Ledford, Don Dickersor 1. and Alonzo Wood; guards Gen Mumy, Chuck Kahan, and :ra; Gutowski; centers John Mc- Hargue; quarterbacks Don Magee and Bob Moneymaker; halfbacks Claude Lewis, Mauri Masthay, Hal Jackson and Hal Krupens; fullbacks Jim Pyles and Bob Nel- son. Speaking of Helix again, new coaches and changes are in evi- dence. Helix, an early favorite to cop the Metro title, will outfit 80 freshman (when school starts), 35 JV boys and about 40 varsity aspirants. The new varsity line coach is Warren Vinton, recent line coach at Santa Barbara JC. Tom Welbaum is head mentor. Doug Gorrie will assist his bro- ther Dick in handling the fresh- man squad and together will help with the varsity team. Ben Duea a~ pave Lefever will coach the JV squad. Last year's frosh team went undefeated.

., Fon Johnson, Gil Kuhn Nab USO Posts Fon Johnson was named ath- letic director and Gil Kuhn freshman football coach of Uni- versity o! San Diego last night. Johnson, a local kennel op- erator, coached the universi- ty's first basketball team last year and will continue as var- sity coach in addition to his hew duties. Kuhn, an executive with a lo- cal shrimp-packing concern, • played center on the late How- ard Jones' Southern CaUfornia footba 11 teams of 1934, 1935 and 1936. During 1938 and 1939 bc l was head football co.cth at Glendale Junior College and later an Air Corps pilot.

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