St Xavier College - Xaverian Yearbook (Cincinnati, OH)

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THE XAVERIAN NEWS Enthusiasm for basketball ran high from the very start. The mooted question was: Will this year's team be as good as last? Three stars had thinned the ranks of the veterans by graduation. When the first call was issued for practice, the gym was full of hopeful aspirants; and under the skill- ful hands of Coach Davis they were Welded into a team which answered to satisfaction the wondering question of the fans. The curtain dropped in a blaze of glory with the defeat of Hughes before a packed house at the Y. Revenge was ours for defeat in football, and with our victory came the coveted championship of the city. The success of the season in no small way was due to the efforts of our sterling coach. Herb won a place in our affections, as well as a title to our lasting gratitude. With Untiring effort he worked to make us the best team in the sur- rounding territory; and the best we were. Besides being. a player of renowun on the College team. Herb has qualities that destine him for success as a University coach. ' He knows how to get others to perform the feats he himself ex- eciites with such ease. Team work with short, snappy pass- ing featured the season's play. . e - . Captain Kelly, as running guard, gave the mltial impetus to our speedy game. Kel was no mean shot himself, and With our forwards covered frequently rimmed them from the center of the floor. It was such a shot as this. that turned what looked like certain defeat into a sweet v1ctory over Hughes during the toumament.. Tom Eagann the other guard, was a leech. No one in hlgh school Circles could take them off the backboard like Tom. Crolley en- tered our midst at the beginning of the basketball season and won our admiration at once. John jumped center. It Swenly-one was his ability to get the tip-off to Kelly that was respon- sible for our whirlwind oEense. At forward Wiener worked like a twin with Reynolds; he was a good shot. and played the Hoor well. Reynolds was perhaps the outstand- ing star in basketball as in football. His Hoor work never failed to advance the ball; as a goal-shooter George was very accurate. J. S. Reardon worked well as a substitute running guard or forward. Closterman's greatest asset as guard was his ability to break up enemies' plays under the basket. The other members of the squad deserve great credit for their faithful work in practice. They frequently made the hrst team extend themselves, and thus prepared them for hard battles. The schedule, including the best teams in this section of the country, was a clean sweep, except for one defeat in the Tri-State tournament. After beating our first three op- ponents in this meet Mount Healthy eliminated us from the semi-hnals. Some of the best teams'beaten were: Hughes, East Side,,Woodwarcl, Norwood, Milford, Carroltown. Middletown, O. M. I. and Lawrenceburg. The fine record of the team aroused great enthusiasm among the student body, and every game found the fans present in large numbers. In fact. our rooting at the more important games was a subject of comment by the news- papers. Besides supporting the team the fans wishedito show their playing ability. To satisfy this desire a noon- league was organized. Nine first-year teams battled for supremacy. After a hard race First H came off with the honors. Eight teams from the other classes composed an- other league. Third A won the championship in this league. The basketball season of l922 was one to remember.

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Seventy THE XAVERIAN NEWS A review of the l92l football season open?! to the writer a glorious page of success spotted with little ink-blots of failure. Triumphing over damped enthusiasm. the heritage of former mediocre teams. hampered by lack of equipment, harassed by distance of the practice field, forsaken by material that would have helped, the squad of 1921 mantully battled itself to a modicum of fame and glory. What this modicum might have been. had Dame Fortune smiled on us during the Hughes game who knows? The stage was set; for the hrst time of what subsequently proved three times we were meeting Hughes in a game for the city championship. The story of that fa- mous battle is too familiar to bear minute repetition. Three times we rushed the ball into the very shadow of the enemy's goal to lose it on fumbles. The third time a big. red warrior picked the 'oval up and dashed fully ninety yards for a touchdown. Before we could recover from the'shock caused by this stroke of bad luck our goal line had once more been crossed. Shortly after the second half began, our opponents scored again, running up their total to 15. Then hap- pened a feat of marvellous gamcness. With the score la to 0 against us, turn, battered. and bruised, we took the ball down the held to a touchdown. This was not all; lighting like made, mindful only of our opponent's handicap. we literally tore our way through obstacles to an- other score. By opening up our battery of shift plays, end runs, cross- bucks. and forward passes, we closed the gap, 18 to l4. With victory in sight, and hundreds of our frenzied supporters pleading for another score, we started down the held again. But human endurance has a limit. Ours had been reached. The big red team stopped our tri- umphant march, and with an influx of substitutes walked through our weakened line for the last score of the game; 24 to 14 was the hnal result. But no one who saw the game will say that the score tells the.true story. Hughes then first felt our metal, and since that time revenge for us has been sweet. Two other defeats much less glorious than that by Hughes mar our record.' Norwood scored 14 to our I3 points. but we gained the yard: to every one of hers. Miami Military allo is credited with 21 points, while we had but 20. Our victories were over Erlanger, Covington, Newport, Milford. and Woodward. The most remarkable feature of our season: play was our often- sive work. In only one game did we score less than two touchdowns -this a 6-to-0 victory-over Milford in a sea of mud. Erlanger tool: the short end of a l08-to-0 score; and in what was perhaps our belt played game we swamped Woodward 48 to 0. The success of the team can, in large measure. be attributed to the fact that though there were stars it was a team. Every man gave the best he had and worked as a cog in a unihed machine. Reynolds and Closterman were placed on the All-Cincy Hi First Eleven; Schmidt and Kelly on the, Second,'and King on the Third. Only those who witnessed the games or who played against us knew what a slashing. hang-up end Captain Madden was. He grew better as the season advanced, and though light. repeatedly turned plays in, or sifted through and got the man himself. Murphy, Rohs, and Wiener. the shock trio. at tackles, took and gave at will. Wiener showed himself an adept at any position on the line. Fath and Nieberding, guards. heavy and powerful, when aroused, proved .themselves veritable young hone; many a play was checked in its infancy by these charging gladiators. Kelly at center passed with unfailing accuracy on of- fenee. On defense he ranged from end to end behind the line, diag-r nosing-plays. sifting through to break them up. and making himself a stumbling block for those who might have eluded the first line of defense. Closterman and King at half-bacl: skirted ends with seeming ease; Closterrnan hits ram-like; King, the youngest player on the team. tleeted his course away from many an opposite half-baclt.. Hi! rum were ordinarily the sensation of the game. At full Reynolds tan rnels. hit the line, forward passed, and kicked with equal success. N- High School athlete in the city does more than shadow George. 'AI end Captain-elect Schmidt proved himself a sturdy barrier against those antlcipatmg a gain around hit wing. Cell is'solidly built. take: punishment, hits terrifically hard; above all he has the head and the nerve of a real general. He stabs forward passes with consummate grace. Tommy Johnson for the most part showed himself a good general; his handling of the team in the Woodward game was beyond reproach; though light, Tom has plenty of grit. He handled punts all season credttably. Tom Eagan. who played in most of the games, is a coming star; he is a player of the aggressive type. he other men who slaved to make the season a success were Jack Began. Chenal, Champ. and Brady.

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Sevcniy-iuio THE XAVERIAN NEWS The St. Xavier High School baseball team., undefeated champions of Northern Kerrtli'cky and Southern Ohio, began the season with a victory over NeWport High at AndreWs- Pa'rk.' Newport, 'April 4, I922. The team was in good condition, having held a number of hard practices at Corcoran Field, and St. Xavier trounced the strong Ken- tucky nine by a score of 7 to 4. The game was featured by the heavy hitting of Albers, who gathered three bingles out of five chances. and by the pitching of Brennan and Bien. The next game proved .A vic- tory foryXavier over Covington High School. Shannon hurled the greater part of this game, striking out eight men, and gathering a twa- bag'EEi Fifteen hits in all were gathered by the Blue and White Sluggers; Albers, Hodapp, Kelly, Reynolds and Shannon each being credited with twu-base hits. Lockland High was the next victim at fall before the onslaught of St. Xavier. the score being 22 to I. This game was played at Locltlancl. April 21, I922, and resulted in little more than a practice game forlthe Xavier Sluggers, who gathered seventeen :afeties from the affair. Reynolds was the heavy slugger, getting four hits out of five times at bat. two of which were three- haee bingles. Albers, Crowley. Hodapp and Kelly also fattened their batting averages. Bien was in form. and twelve Locklancl batters whittecl the ozone before his mystic curves. St. Xavier next traveled to Hamilton, and took the contest from Hamilton High by a score of 17 'to 2. As usual, the heavy slugger: of Xavier found the op- posing pitchers' offerings, and gathered eighteen blows before the game was ended, Crowley and Reynolds being the batting stars. Brennan struck out seven men. Corcoran 'Field was the scene of the succeeding encounter, when Norwood took the count by a score of '2 to I on May I. Hodapp, in addition to making a home run, gathered three other hits in five times at bat. F rommeyer and Bien also circled the bases. Bien and Bern- ing were the batteries, the former striking out eight men. The Blue and White sluggers journeyed to Milford May 9, and found the Miami River town to be of somewhat tougher timber than the preceding nine, but, nevertheless. Xavier managed to win by a considerable margin, -l0 to 4. Shannon pitched part of the game, whifhng two men, and Brennan undertook the remaining innings. with six strikeouts to his credit. Twelve hits were made by the Xaverites. At Corcoran Field. May 10, St. Xavier trounced Woodward High by :1 score of l6 to 3. Reynolds bagged four hits out of five times at bat. Fourteen hits in all were made by the Blue and White clan. Bien kept up his strikeout record. whiffmg eight of the Esse Quam Videri boys. By a score of l4 to 2 Xavier defeated Ohio Military Institute May l2. ByWater and Berning formed the batteries, Bywater striking out eight men. Newport was anxious to retrieve her defeat of earlier in thelseason, arid a return game was played'at C9 coran Field May. IE, but the Kentucky nine was,again defeated. 7 to 2. i Coilington also essayecl a return match with xavier May l9. The score was 15 to 3, in X.'s favor. ' . The next victory was over Middletown, May 27, at Corcoran Field. Four Xavier pitchers were each given a chance to demon- strate their curves, and between them fourteen men were given the third strike. The Blue and White team made fourteen hits. St. Xavier played a return game at Middletown, May 30, and made thirteen runs to her opponent's three. Xavier made a like number of hits, Crowley knocking two home runs. The last game of the season was played at Corcoran Field, June. I, to determine the championship of the city. Hughes High1 hitherto undefeated, fell victim to Xavier before a large crowd of routers by a score of' '3 to 4. The feature of the game was the heavy slugging of Xavier, fourteen hits being made off the three Hughes pitchers, and, the sterling pitching of' Bien, who was in top form, and struck out seven men. The opening inning began with two runs for Hughes. St. Xavier immediately came back, and on three hits, and a bane on balls, scored three runs and took the lead. The Blue and White con- tinued to pile up the score in the succeeding innings, her Batters hnding ho difficulty in locating the offerings of Swing. Franz and Lothair. 'The game gave to Xavier the undisputed championship of Southern Ohio. and by reason of her defeats over the representative teams of Northern Kentucky, Xavier also holds'the title of baseball champions of that section. The success of the team was undoubtedly due to the heavy slug-t gers St. Xavrer possessed, and in no less measure to the sterling worl: of the Xavner hurlers, who in the B games played, struck out 94 men. or an average of seven men to a game. Xavier batters made l85 hits in l3 games, an average of 14 hits to a game. The team has a batting average of 700 per cent. With such Sluggers on the team as Reynolds. Hodapp, Crowley. Albers, Kelly and Mussio, Xavier was unbeat- able. In addition, Xavier's fielding was of the highest order. Dnr- mg the season the Blue and White helders made 38 errors, or an average of two errors to a game. Mr. Bennett. 5. 1.. who so successfully coached the football team. wlas tlhe $325 coach. hMr. Bennett linows baseball thoroughly. and am. n'owe ow to Instill confidence In his men. He uses no baby :lagiccsnacggnsyggetnghzi :::ch;:ig. .HIS. mendstef: out on-the field with nett deserves all credit f g ng 0-w-mi an I ey do Wl.n' Mr. Ben- . Ior t. Xavrer a success in athletics clunng the year I9Zl-I922, and it is to be hoped that he will again be at St. X- next year, and help put the Blue and White at the top in all sports.