Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Tiger Third Baseman in Hospital With Virus

(Columbia Daily Tribune, March 20, 1954)

Todd Sickel, leading third base candidate on the University of Missouri baseball team, entered the university infirmary with a virus ailment yesterday and Coach John Simmons shifted outfielder Jim Doerr to the hot corner as insurance in case Sickel should be out of action for any length of time.

Sickel's ailment was not believed to be serious, however, and he is expected to leave the hospital within a few days. Sickel became the squad's only third baseman when Ray Uriarte, who held down the position last season, withdrew from school last week.

Meanwhile Norman Stewart, another member of the basketball team, reported to Coach Simmons and began working out as a pitcher. Simmons was impressed by Stewart's control and has hopes that the slender right-hander may help fill the gaps left by the loss of three of last year's moundsmen.


I'm sure John "Hi" must have said some very quotable things about the weather, but I went there to be a baseball coach, not a journalist. In three short seasons I had moved from the over-32 degrees rule, to the "You'll Work Outside When I Tell You to Rule" to John Hi's over-40 degrees rule.

I never new 40 degrees could feel so warm.

On cold game days the facilities staff actually brought kerosene heaters into the dugout. Unlike football, where gathering around the sideline heaters immediately categorized you as a wimp, baseball players showed no shame in pushing and shoving to get to the closest space.

At Missouri we also had a secret weapon--wool uniforms. For those of you who have not had the pleasure (or the itch) of wearing wool, let me tell you this. It's hard to play baseball when you're using both hands to scratch yourself.

We also wore long underwear underneath the uniforms. But I think that served more to protect us from the wool than the cold.

(from Diary of An Aging Baseball Player, by Max Utsler)


Texas Wins Baseball Opener From Sooners
(Columbia Daily Tribune, March 20, 1954)

AUSTIN, Tex., March 20 (INS) - A badly-needed homer in the bottom of the seventh inning by Steeler McKinney brought the Tecas Longhorn nine from behind to a 9-8 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners at Austin yesterday.

The Longhorns' ace pitcher, Boyd Linker, won the game despite giving away 13 hits while his teammates were committing five errors.

Losing pitcher was Oklahoma's Larry Foley, who gave up 10 hits as worked through the entire session.


Looking at Sports, by JP Hamel
(Columbia Daily Tribune, March 17, 1954)

"They were much sharper than we were all the way."

"They were sharp as a razor's edge, freshly honed, and we were as dull as a worn out old sword with a nicked blade - neither ready nor aggressive."

"It was the greatest game Missouri has played us in 20 years."

"Bob Reiter and Norm Stewart were tremendous in every department - not just in scoring. Their rebounding murdered us.

The words are those of Dr. Forrest C. Allen, veteran coach of the University of Kansas basketball team, delivered in an interview with a Lawrence Journal-World correspondent after his title-defending Jayhawkers became title-tieing Jayhawkers as they lost to Missouri in the grand finale of the Big Seven conference basketball season last Tuesday.

Final statistics on the M.U. team for the season show that Bob Reiter collected 165 field goals and 81 freethrows for 411 points which produced a new individual scoring record for a Missouri player. Reiter averaged 19.6 points a game, hit 165 of his 430 field goal attempts for an average of 38.4 per cent, and made good 81 of his 116 freethrow attempts. Norm Stewart, who scored 256 points, or an average of 12.2 per game, to take second place, had a field goal average of 35.7 per cent.

Lloyd Elmore had the best free throwing record among the regulars, hitting 39 of his 53 shots for 73.5 per cent.

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