Queens College - Silhouette Yearbook (Queens, NY)

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baseball, tennis, and soccer. At that time, a permanent coaching staff, comprised of physical education teachers, was named, and a genuine effort was exerted to propel Queens, within the limits of its rigid aca- demic standards, to a position of eminence among schools of equal size. The coaches at that time, and they have remained intact with one exception, were Bob Salmons, basketball, Bob Tierney, baseball, George Spitz, tennis, and Glen Howard, Soccer. Bill Madden remained as head of the Outdoor Club and of the very important Recreation Committee of the Physical Education Department. Salmons, former football and hoop ace at Murray State, Kentucky, suffered a usual Queens fate in his first year, drop- ping more than twice as many games as he won. By the '48-49 season, sparked by George Gaetano, Bruce Hurley, and Dewey Sehring, who set an all-time Queens scoring record with 345 points, the Salmonsmen had made a complete about face, compiling a record of T5 wins against 8 losses. The highlight of the sea- son was the Knights' brilliant one point win over Hofstra, after having trailed by T7 points at the half. ln an extra-season game against Hofstra, which began the Greater New York Collegiate Conference, Queens was unable to repeat against the flying Dutchmen and went down to defeat in the opening round. During the '49-50 season, practically

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g which is one of the most successful ven- tures of its kind on any campus. Perhaps even more than other schools, Queens was hard hit by the advent of World War ll, for then, the ordinarily small male enrollment, rapidly depleted by the armed forces, gradually diminished to an appallingly low figure. Nevertheless, ath- letics were maintained, and some new sports were engendered during the early 4O's, including a tennis team, a soccer team, and, under the guidance of record high iumper George Spitz a sort of semi- formal track squad. With the termination of hostilities in '45, Gnd the return to school of the great bulk of the male student body, sports began a new life at Queens. Lesser known squads were formed, mainly through the unstinting efforts of the students interested, and soon Queens boasted teams in rifle, bowling, and table tennis. lt was perhaps in the last named sport that the Flushing school re- ceived its most publicity, for the Knight squad boasted the talents of the National and International Woman's Champion, Peggy McLean. The two other teams plugged along, embarking on a competi- tive program that included competition with the top schools in the city. It was during the athletic season of 1947-1948, the term of the entrance of the present graduating class, that sports at Queens began a complete reiuvenation. The renaissance manifested itself particu- larly in the four major sports, basketball,

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the same team, minus the spectacular Gaetano, had an almost identical season, emerging with a l5 and 7 slate. ln the Conference, the Knights placed in a tie with .Hofstra for second place honors. Hurley, who shared the award with Gae- tano the year before, won the Regan-Stein Most Valuable Player Trophy. One of the highlights of that season, was the concentration of the great JV Squad, under the brilliant tutelage of Guido Foglia. Considered one of the top fledgling squads in the city, the embryo Knights had a 19 and 3 season, and peo- ple looked to them to supply the varsity with some of the brightest stars in Queens history. The present season started as people