FRIDAY, MARCH 22,1968
maroon and gold
Page 3
Elon Schedules 10 Grid Tilts
T1V0 FRESHMAN HURLERS MAY TOP ELON MOUND CORPS THIS SEASON
1
i
Win Or Lose
By BOB WILLIAMS
Spring is approaching
rapidly at Elon College,
and the baseball season
is already here, with the
Fighting Christian squad
working under the skilled
leadership of Coach Jerry
Drake, who is looking for
ward quite optimistically
to this 1968 diamond cam
paign.
Coach Drake, who took
o''er the Elon baseball
caching last spring,has
the assistance this year
of Joe Teague, a former
t-lon standout, who comes
to the Elon diamond staff
erectly from the Cleve
land Indians farm system.
Already this spring Coach
league has played a key
nf k ^sveloping some
i younger players on
® Christian roster.
After having suffered
wugh a rough campaign
when the
. ^'sUans managed only
gnt wins against twenty
, ses. Coach Drake has
en very pleased with
,1. progress shown by
„ ® team in early
cbiw’ is espe-
j iy happy with the con
gee and overall atti-
of his boys,
fp,”® °f the outstanding
.^ures for this 1968 out-
Dri® outfield. Coach
has labelled this
outfield combination ‘‘one
of the best in the state,
and thus far it has shown
ability to back up his
statement.
The outfield regulars
during the season will
probably show Co-Cap
tain Larry Collins and
lettermen IVlike Spillane
and Richard Smith, but
Mel Cliburne and Joe Ri-
naca are a pai r of new
comers who have been
making impressive bids
for starting roles. All
these boys have strong
arms and are exceed
ingly fast.
The Christian infield
will be anchored by let-
term an Jimmy Freising-
er at second base, and
Coach Drake has hailed
Jimmy as a definite pro
prospect. The leading
candidate for the first
base spot is Bob God
frey, with Mike Hailey
providing strong compe
tition.
At shortstop, the start
ing role appears a tossup
between Ron Brown and
Jerry Midkiff, and third
base will show Co-Cap
tain Dempsey Herring,
who for the past two sea
sons has been one of the
most dangerous hitters on
the squad. The catching
(Continued on Page 4)
♦Two newcomers to the Elon College mound staff
this spring are Dewey Capps (left) and John Austin
(right above). Both of these new Christian chunkers
are righthanded, and both are expected to prove
valuable weapons for Coach Jerry Drake andhis Fight
ing Christian nine this spring. Dewey Capps, who
hails from Myrtle Beach, S.C., is a lanky youngster
who came to Elon originally as a kicker for the foot
ball squad but has elected to throw his lot with the
diamond squad. John Austin, who stand 6-4 and
weights a husky 210 pounds, had a 12-0 mound
record with Northeast Guilford High last spring and
went on last summer with the Greensboro Cone
American Legion team to play both pitcher and out
field. With the Legion team he won All-State, All-
Southern and honorable mention for All-American
rank. He is the draft property of the Oakland Ath
letics for major league baseball.
Collins And Herring
Co-Captain Baseball
Larry Collins and
Dempsey Herring, a pair
of senior veterans, are
co-captains of the Fight
ing Christian baseball
squad, which got its 1968
campaign started this
week with four games
scheduled on the home
field.
The initial week’s card
had Carolinas Conference
tilts with Guilford and
High Point on Monday and
Tuesday and with Catawba
this afternoon, followed
by a non-Conference tilt
with Campbell tomorrow.
All games were set for
the home field.
The two co-captains
were slated to play strong
roles in all these games
and also in a full sche
dule of five tilts on docket
for next week, when Ren-
nsselaer comes here
Tuesday, followed by At
lantic Christian on Wed
nesday, followed in turn
by road battles at High
Point Friday and a dou
ble bill at Western Car
olina Saturday.
The co-leaders of the
1968 Christian nine are
both due to be regular
starters, with Collins
working in the outfield
and Herring at third base.
Collins hails from Jack
sonville, Fla., and was
formerly a pitcher-
Concord Is
Newcomer
On Schedule
The Elon College foot
ball squad, which has just
wound up a highly suc
cessful spring grid pro
gram under the direction
of Coach Red Wilson and
his staff, will play a full
10-game schedule during
the upcoming 1968 foot
ball campaign.
This was revealed by
Coach Wilson, who has
announced the addition of
Concord State College of
Athens, West Virginia,to
the Christian schedule for
the coming year to round
out the 10-game slate.
The West Virginia insti
tution is listed with
slightly over 1,500 stu
dents.
The Christians had
only nine games last fall,
when they wound up their
first year under Coach
Wilson and their first
year with the colorful Sin
gle Wing system of play
by chalking five victories,
three losses and a tie.
Their record i n the
Carolinas Conference
was four wins, two losses
and a tie, a mark which
placed the Elon gridders
in third spot behind Len
oir Rhyne and Appala
chian in the Conference
standings.
However,the Christians
were all tied up with Len
oir Rhyne for the top
spot when they moved
into Hickory to battle the
Bears on their home field.
A victory in that game
could have given the
Christians the title,but a
close defeat slipped them
back behind Appalachian
in third place.
The Christian schedule
for this next fall will fea
ture the same nine teams
that were m2t last fall,
along with the Concord
gridders from West Vir
ginia, but there has been
some shuffling of the nine
teams that were played
last fall.
(C ontinued on page 4)
Wilson Contract Is
Renewed 3 Seasons
coaching duties here on
January 1st of last year,
and last fall his Fight
ing Christian eleven post
ed a fine 5-3-1 record.
The Christians finally
finished third*
IN NEW POST
Coach Shirley S."Red”
Wilson, who brought his
Single Wing formation to
Elon College just a year
ago and moved the Fight
ing Christian gridders
from a cellar position to
a contender for the Caro
linas Conference cham
pionship in his first sea
son, has just been offer
ed a new three-year
coaching contract and at
the same time has been
named director of athlet
ics.
This appointment and
the new three-year con
tract was announced by
Dr. J. E. Danieley, Elon
College president, who
stated that Coach Wilson
will take over the athletic
director’s'duties on June
1st. In that position he
will assume duties held by
Dee Atkinson for the past
two years.
Coach Wilson, a grad
uate and former grid star
at Davidson, assumed his
COACH “RED” WILSON