News Scrapbook 1956-1959

It was a fairly typical utter- ance by the controversial young man who has become involved in one of football's strangest episodes. McCutcheon I a rug~ed individualist given to speaking frcelv and in strong, clear terms. I especially admired his can- dor when it was disclosed that the univer ity may not renew hi contract as athletic director and head coach after the current .ea on. • "I have done an excellent job," ·aid Mccutcheon. No false mod-

Bob k nt~h on e •ty her1:. Mc01tcheon _was hired 1o ~in football games and wm quickly. This, he has don . ln his maiden eason as USD's geniu in resid~n;e, he delivered six victories and lost only_ three. His_ 58 mod I own. a 4-1 re ord and is improvmg everr t 1 me out. Two werks ago, the Pioneer belted Lewis 1 and Clark, 3:1-0. La. t week, they mauled Colorado "We t• e1 n , 4o-14. Thi. is an e.·1·ellent football team i~ it~. c~ass an~ 1<:Cukheon doe n' t care who knows 1l. Its possi- ble," h said bluntly, "we'll go undefeated in our·re• maining games." On The Record, He's A Success There is sympathy here for McCutcheon, a coach who goes from day to day without knowing whether hi. contract will be renewed even though he turns out winning teams. [ don't know e ·actly how he arrived in his present pr dicament. But the conviction is strong tha_t Mc- Cukh on ha. , a he says, done an excellent Job of builc!mg and coa<"hing football team . In !act, a re• m rkable job. . tarting from almost nothiJ'!g, _he moved _into_a ~ew d1ool and put tog th 1· a wmmng team 111 his first campaign. Winning i n't everything. of cour e. But i1' . usp l'kd McCutchcon wasn't hired for the ex- clusive purpose of building character. . . . . The di. dosu1·e that McCutcheon's pos1t!O~ 1s . m jeopardy could scarcely hav~ had wor t1mmg, im- mediately preceding a 33-0 victory. Sentimei:it for the 34-year-old coach on the campus appar~ntly 1s stron~. His player. paraded him from the field on their boulders and placard. and po ters posted on the campu. urge his retention. It would ·ecm the coach is deserving of better ll'ratment, and I hope it's forthc.-oming: The uniwrsity adminL tration i backing McCukh- n to ome e tent. rt-11eh i to • he hasn t t been fired. '111is is a vote of confidence? "It's awful." said McCutcheon, "I ju t sit out there from day to day, wondering what's going to happen next." The coach smiled wistfully, then added: "I sure wish we'd get thL busines straightened out. We're going to have quite a football team next year and I'd like to be with my kids." . The bill of particulars again t McCutcheon 1s some- hat vague. One pokesman has decl'.1red that other hools object to cheduling USD w~lle McCutcheon emains as coach. And the •charge 1s mad~ that ~e uses rough language within the delicate hearmg of his athletes. . Rockne A Forceful Speaker, Too This brings lo mind a story told about the late, great Knute Rockne. The Rock was celebrated for his ulphurou language on the practice field, but the Notre Dame faculty wa tolerant. 9ne of those mo. t devoted to Rockne wa Father Hennessy, who . eldom mi sed an Irish workout. On one occasion the famed coach let fly a particularly loud and salty oath within the hearing of Father Hennessy. Everybody immediately turned to observe the reaction of the priest. "Glory be to God," said Father Hennessy, in a voice loud enough for the coach to hear, "there goes Rock saying his prayers again." 'aturally, this isn't offered as endorsement for cussin', either plain or fancy. But allowan~es shou!d be made for a man under the tension of trymg to wm football games. I recall the classic reply of the late Red Sanders when a tender-hearted professor c1sked the UCLA coach why his boys didn't "love" him. "I'm too busy coachin' to have time for courtin'," said Sanders, curtly. McCutcheon has a lot o( appealing qualities, includ- ing honesty and a talent for turning out winning teams. Before joining USO, his teams at Antelope Valley Jun- ior College won 40 and lost only six in five seasons. · · · innin tradition, he is

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PIONEERS GET A FEW POINTERS

·of the Pioneer grid stars. The play- ers are left to right: John Mulligan, Jack Garofano and Avalon Wright.

Coach Bob McCutcheon ·discusses play during .)"t'~te[d;cy's University o! San Die o Blue"- mtite scl"imrnage at Brown Military Aca emy with three

won the contest, 22-0.

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USD Blues Rip Whites, 22-0 Hilfback Bob Keyes and paced the Blues to a 22-0 vic- tory over the Whites In a fuJI. l!cale scrimmage yesterday at Brown Military A,.ademy which climaxed the Univer- 1ty of San Diego's 20 • day spring football practice. Ai th o u g h not scoring, Keyes, who ju t reported fol- lowing his season with the t;,aseball team: accumulated 68 yards ln six carries and had another for 24 yards called back. Bill Bourque, whose brother Wayne played for the Whites, completed six nf seven passes for 71 yards. Ed Bunsic, who scored the first touchdown in the first period on a 20-yard pass !rom Neil Abbott, was injured in the second period. The team doctor reported that X-rays showed that Bunsic's left cheek bone had a depressed multiple fracture. Al Kish scored the second touchdown for the Blues In the second period on a five. yard run after a pitchout. After two touchdowns were called back, Bill Bourgue tossed 15 yards to end C. G. Walker ln the final period !or the last tally. l W~~. ·--:::::::::::::::·: g l g 2 i Blues touchdowns: T0-8un11c ~9, pass from Abbott); Kish {!, run\; walker (15, poss from B. Bourque . PAT- ~ker, Keyes (passes from 8. Bourque). Bourque

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---!....-----~---------------1quarterba~k Bill

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USD football coaches Bob Mccutcheon and Paul Platz ex• pressed satli;faction following the "Blue-White_game'' play d at Brown Military Academy last Saturday mommg. The mtra- squad contest marked the completion of four weeks o! spring practice, and wa.s won by the "Blues," 22-0. McCutcheon sad he was·•'!•,-----------:-',- "particularly impressed by the pie fracture in his left ~tk· bard play and the great spirit bone. " Whit e" quarterback shown by the players." Said Dave Cox suffered several cuts Platz "l was pleasantly sur- • ct' ., and bruises, but none was con- prise . The "Blue" team ·om sed sidered serious. mainly of first-sh ing 1 , scored touchdowns in every guarter

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but the I.bird. In lhe !Ir l pe• riod, Ed Bunsic tallied a six- pointer on a 20-yard pass from Neil Abbot. Al Kish added a touchdown in Ute next stanza, taking a pitch-out and scamp- ering f i v e ya r d s. A Bill Bourque-to-Conrad Walker pass added two conv rision pomts. I In the f o u rt h quarter Bourque hit Walker with a 15- yard aerial good for a touch- down . The final two points were scored on a Bourque-to- Bob Keyes pass. Bourque, a freshman who up Lo this date appears to be USD's top quarterback, com- pleted six of seven passes at- tempted for 71 yards. Keyes was the top runner, reeling off 68 yards m six carries. Among players singled out for praise by the coaching staff were ends Ray Yoast, Dick Murray and Walker; centers Jack Garofano and Ken Cook1 guards Dick Gardner and Wil- 'hu u Linton, and backs Avalon Wright and Keyes. 'fhe only .setback in the con- test came in the first quarter when Bunsic received a multi-

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AN D&GO UN.ION b9

Pioneer 1ne Finishes 7-12 Coach '\-fike Morrow·s t;ni- ver 1t ot San Diego baseball team cI sed its firsl season this we k by losing eight con• secutiv~ games and finished with a 7-12 record. Lavon Baker topped the hit- , tl'r8 at .392, followed by Bob Keye~ .364, Dick hea .333, Ron n. e .324. Bob Duncan .322. Hal Mltrovich .302 and Davi' Harr .:lOo. (Pi11ot ea,ebaU Stat1sr1u tor 1' 111amn> totllMAB H - H~ Avg. Lavon Bake,, lb .7-' 29 2-4 2 .~92 B9b )(evu,cf • tt 2 t 1 1 i :5~~ o,cl( Slieo,p • • ~ 8 72 21 3 ,J2-4 5~,~~a•~.c ... _· 59 19 7 i .32? Hal Mifrovlch,lf •• .sJ 16 1-4 J .302 Dove Horr rf . • •70 21 11 O .J HuQO Soto.lb , ••• , 72 14 10 0 .22 Hector Sonchet,P 1i 1~ ( f ·18o Tim WIibur.lb .... 4 c, '13a ~fa~~y C~~'un~t.itl:r . ,Jt 11 'iu l 1: J:J Totols•T m l'ltchin• -w • n Lott )(Ron Roth 2 Dick Sh •• •• ••.. i HetlOf'" hH • •••· ••• ' ' o j t~ral Wl1b . ,. .. 1 11 ,c.Old not flruth se<:1\0n.

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