Coral Gables Riviera-Times

LOOKING AT SPORTS

By DON CUDDY Now that everything in the way of water shows leads up to the super-colossal pageant to be staged at the Venetian Pool during Orange Bowl Festival week, it's worth mentioning that Alexander Ott and son Jack are interested in resuming their spectacular water shows at the Biltmore pool. The Otts suspended operations when the Army took over the Biltmore as a hospital, probably you remember, and now that the Vets Administration runs it th echances are very slender that such a deal can be promoted. WOULD BE 'DISTURBING INFLUENCE' Dr. H. F. Machlan of the VA advises that when the Otts approached him on the matter he told them that permitting the public to attend such events would be too much of a disturbing influence on the patients and therefore impractical. That's a sensible argument and the Otts saw it that way too. Unfortunately I wasn't around to see any of the shows the Otts put on but I understand that they were very popular from people who were. For at least five years every Sunday afternoon during the season, they tell me, people had to be turned away from the extravaganza that featured everything from Eleanor Holmes (now Mrs. Billy Rose) to glorified alligator wrestling. There was a dare-devil who trick-dived from a 250-oot tower into the flaming pool, vaudeville acts from the nite clubs, several good comedy routines, and other performances that pleased the crowds for a full two and a half hours. Only one show ever turned out to be a dud, and the story behind that is probably pasted in many scrap books for the benefit of posterity. The public never stopped being thrilled by alligator wrestling in the water but the Otts, always seeking out bigger and better attractions, thought up the idea of having a particularly venturesome swimmer "ride" the back of a man-eating shark around the pool. Getting the shark was just a matter of goin' fishin' for Alex, who was noted for his skill in landing all kinds of game fish. He hauled in a humdinger for the show-fourteen feet of fish at least as mean and ugly-looking as those South Carolina Gamecocks - and the ballyhoo was something sensational. All Sharkie Did Was Wriggle Sad to relate, the fish didn't give the crowd much satisfaction: When he hit the fresh water he wriggled his tail a couple of times, rolled over on his back, and was through for the day. Now, maybe that isn't ideal entertainment for Sunday afternoons, thrill-seeker's taste being as fickle as it is, but I'd like to see what the Otts could come up with in a similar promotion because they were great showmen. In fact I believe the patients at the Biltmore would like to have something like that to liven up those long Sunday afternoons and with a very little thought about how to make the pool accessible without trespassing on the hospital proper, I don't think the idea is impractical at all.

Young Predicts Big Track Season

Sterling Young, veteran thoroughbred pilot and president of the Jockeys Guild, predicted a big-time season for South Florida race tracks, both at the turnstiles and betting windows. "I think the 1947-48 meetings here will be among the biggest in the history of the three tracks, from the standpoint of attendance as well as parimutuel play," declared Young, who returned this weekend to his home at 1143 Avenue Andalusia. The president of the jockey's national organization spent the Summer racing at Woodbine, Thorncliff and Long Branch Parks in land. He based1?wry-...osm-m Canada, and at Laurel Park in Maryland. He based his optimistic forecast on the meeting at Laurel which closed recently. "The heaviest betting in years was recorded at Laurel this year and attendance hit new highs too," he said. "Theat looks good for the Florida season." "New England horses have been hit hard by the swamp fever epidemic, but there will be plenty of top-ranking strings from New York, the west, and Kentucky Stables to provide first class rac-ing programs here," Young added. The jockey will rest a few days before getting into shape for the opening of Gulfstream December 1st.

Cavalier Cage Prospects Are Unpromising

Only 18 Ponce de Leon High school basketball candidates answered Coach Clarence H. Dreppard's-call for initial practice session at the school gymnasium Monday and few among the turnout showed enough experience in fundamentals to promise much in the way of a challenging Cavalier quintet this year. The veteran cage mentor expressed keen disappointment when queried about the prospects since only five "B" lettermen reported. "Maybe we'll get about ten more fair boys when football season is over," Dreppard said, "but that won't give us much to work on before our first game at Key West on Dec. 12." "We've got a long way to go before we start looking like a basketball team," Dreppard added, "and we'll have to lean heavily on seniors who have had at least enough experience to stay in the ball games." Five of last year's varsity will bolster the squad when relieved of football duties. Tom Gibbons, Tom Fitzgerald, Doug Preston and Mal Johnson won their letters as did George Lane. Lane, however, is out of both the football and basketball picture indefinitely with a broken leg. Other candidates with some experience listed are: Joe Ciannimiuo, John Edwards, Kimball Steadman, Bob Cason, Bill Peterson and Don Lanagan. Dreppard, who list two years at the helm of the Miami High Stingarees in his coaching record, also teaches physics and history at Ponce de Leon. He started his teaching-coaching career at Shenandoah, where he remained for ten years before coaching two campaigns at Stanton, Va. Athletic Director John Gramley released the following schedule for the Cavaliers through 1947-48:

Brawn Doctor

Dr. William Seers, physical education professor at the University, played in the Rose Bowl classic twice-with two different teams. In 1917 he quarterbacked the Marine team there, returning two years later with the University of Oregon to oppose Harvard. He is listed as quarterback on the all-time all-star Rose Bowl team. During the second war he served as a lieutenant commander in the Navy.

ROGER STEPHENS, the Cincinnati Bearcats left halfback, is just one of the fine ball carriers the Hurricanes will have to stop to humble the Queen City squad Saturday. Stephens is so we ll thought of that the Ohioans are already boasting he's Cincinnati's first All-American. He led the entire nation in average yards gained from scrimmage last year.

Marine Pageant Opens Crandon

Ranging from wave-jumping outboards to sleek, ocean-going yachts, a $10,000,000 fleet will inaugurate the 1947-48 boating season here Sunday Nov. 9. The boats will take part in a gigantic marine pageant and races following the official opening of Dade county's new $11,000,000 Crandon Park and $6,000,000 Rickenbacker Causeway. Thousands of persons can watch the races from the four-mile causeway. A one-mile straightaway has been marked for speed tests. "It will represent the greatest and most colorful gathering of speed boats, pleasure craft and charter vessels ever assembled in Florida", it was predicted today by C. H. Crandon, chairman of the county board of commissioners.

'Cane Back Problem May Be Solved

Coach Jack Harding may have found the answer to the University of Miami Hurricane's pressing fullback problem in line buckers Leo Hauck and John Ferguson during Monday's four hour heavy scrimmage session at Quarterback field. The pair of Pennsylvania boys fighting for the same call to first string duty turned in brilliant performances against both varsity and reserve defensive aggregations and are likely to see plenty of heavy duty against the University of Cincinnati Bearcats when the Hurricanes invade the Queen City Saturday. Harding appeared well satisfied with his squad's losing fight against South Carolina but called for plenty of contact work and running that continued under lights well past the usual quitting time. After another full session of hard work today, the Hurricane football boss plans to taper off tomorrow and then hold a light session without pads before the team leaves for the 26-hour train ride to Ohio Thursday afternoon. Canes In Top Shape Despite the unusually rugged assignments yesterday, the absence of serious injuries and the improvement of two other players indicates that the squad is at peak mid-season form. Al Kasulin was forced out of the scrimmage with a rib injury, it was reported, and Bob Bowman and Joe Krull made their best showing of the season so far while in action. From the way Harding divided the squad it appeared that he is going ahead with his attempt to develop separate offensive and defensive teams for the important clashes ahead. The two-team system may get a partial worthiness test against Cincinnati before making its appearance at the Orange Bowl when the Hurricanes return home to play host to Vanderbilt's Commodores on Nov. 15.

Blind Bogey Slated Today For Granada

With the Granada golf course now completely playable after several weeks of semi-inundation due to high waters in this area, the golf committee of the Coral Gables Country club will resume tis schedule of tournament and match play this week, Umps Clark, club pro, announced today. A blind bogey handicap is slated for this afternoon, Clark advised, and next Wednesday, Nov. 12, will mark the start of the qualifying rounds for the club championship. The championship tournament is open to all members of the Country club but all entries must get their handicaps from Clark before starting play. Mrs. Ann Randolph is chairman of the Golf committee for women and W. T. German is chairman of the men's golf committee.

Top Of The SPORTS Wire

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 4. (UP) Fourteen youths and one official died playing football in the first two months of the 1947 season, A university survey showed today. Five other deaths, four of them from heart failure, following a football game, were blamed indirectly on the sport. The survey, conducted by Dr. Floyd R. Eastwood of Los Angeles University for the American Football Coaches' Association, and the National Collegiate Association, put high school football at the top of the death list, directly causing ten deaths and indirectly causing two. College Football was blamed for one direct death and one indirect, when Kent McCauley was struck by lightning on the Denver football field. PINEHURST, N C., Nov. 4. (UP)--The $7,500 North and South open got under way here today as a wide-open race. Bantam Ben Hogan of Hershey, Pa., was not in the field to defend the championship he won last year, and it seemed that any one of a dozen players could walk off with the $1,500 top money. An unknown from Jacksonville, Fla., Glenn Teal,established himself as one possible winner yesterday when he led the field of 144 non-invited contestants in a qualifying round. Teal shot a four-under par 68. He slammed out five straight birdies as he started his round on the Pinehurst Country Club 2 course. Gene Dahlbender, Jr., an Atlanta amateur, and Him Gantz of Hartsville, S. C., each had 69's, one stroke behind Teal, while James McNair of Aiken, S. C., a Duke University senior, was tied with a 70. Teal might have set a course record yesterday, but for trouble on the back line. He was deep into the woods on the 10th.

Girl Athlete

Miss Bunny Selden, University of Miami junior, won all of her team's ten points in the 1947 M-Club Track and Field Day held at the South Campus last year. She placed first in the girl's softball throw with a 180-foot toss and in the 50-yard dash. Bunny played varsity baseball in high school-one of the only girls ever good enough to make a high school team.

Cinder Path Planned

The Hurricane track squad, long accustomed to dodging the gopher holes in Moore Park, where they usually work out, will have a brand new cinder path of their own when track season opens in December.

Noppy Crosses Fingers, Point Will Escape Hurt

FUMBLING, INEFFECTIVE CAVS MAY BE AIDED BY VEBER RETURN Coach Johnny Noppenberg crossed his fingers today and made his weekly prediction anon the Ponce de Leon High school Football Cavaliers: "I'm sure we'll beat Tech," he said, referring to the game with Miami Technical High school slated for the Orange Bowl Wednesday night. "I've seen Tech play a lot and I know they can't field anything better than what we've got." Noppenberg, smarting under three successive defeats, has had an extra week to prepare his charges for the remaining four games on the Cavalier schedule. With half of a disappointing season behind, Noppenberg isn't thinking too far ahead but rather concentrating on bringing the Cavaliers out of their slump with a win over Tech tomorrow night. Return to Spread Formation Asked whether he though the return to the vaunted Cavalier spread formation from the single wing and deep punt variations tried thus far might bring some welcome victories, Noppenberg said that everything depended upon his boys playing "heads up" football. "One thing that might help us from here on is the return of Billy Veber," Noppenberg said. "He has lost of a bad knee toward the end of the Miami Beach game and his absence hurt both our attack and defense at Vera Beach." Although the return of Veber, considered for all-city football honors until sidelined, by injuries, will help considerably, Noppenberg indicated that he will start Tom Fitzgerald in order to give some heft to the Cavy's pony backfield. Other starters named by Noppenberg were Jack Stahl, Sonny Parrish and Malcolm Johnson. This quartet may get the touch-down hungry Cavaliers rolling in high gear tonight, Coach Johnny Noppenberg claimed, because they have shown exceptionally well in scrimmage during the entire open date week on the Cavalier schedule. Running from the spread formation against the reserves they reeled off seven touchdowns in exactly that number of plays the first time they took the ball. Then, as the second offensive unit went into action, they put eight more TD's during the hour-long head-bumping session. Tech has not had too impressive a season, the records show, having been shut own 13-0 by Miami Jackson last week-end and 13-7 by Miami Beach Typhoons. Gee-Gees defeated West Palm Beach, and a single victory bring them into tomorrow night's game. But that single win is important because it was a 19-0 triumph over South Broward, a mutual foe of the Cavaliers who beat the Gablesites by one touchdown at Dania Oct. 18.

Beckman Calls Municipal Cage League Meeting

Ed Beckman, director of the Coral Gables Wa rMemorial Youth Center, today issued a call for a meeting of all persons interested in entering a team in the Municipal Basketball league which will start early next month if schedule arrangements can be made. Tonight's registration will be held at the Youth Center at 7:30, Beckman said, and a meeting of high school representatives was called for Thursday. Two eight team leagues will be formed on a similar basis to the successful summer softball loops. Arrangements have been made to play all contests on week nights and through the courtesy of the Dade County Junior Col-lege, hte school's court in the Colonnade building on Coral Way at Ponce de Leon Boulevard will be used for all games. Several sponsors of softball teams have expressed interest in flooring a cage squad, Beckman said. Eastern Airlines, Friendly Bar and Carl's Liquors are among the first to forward entries.

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