University of British Columbia - Totem Yearbook (Vancouver, British Columbia Canada)

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W 2 Lx I - I v' 50 ' x !!! administrative with coaches coming from student ranks. Women's intramural were handled by last year's Women's Athletic Directorate president Carol MacKin- non, who returned to campus for teachers' training. Working as Graduate Manager for the last year was Cloverleaf player Ole Bakken, who worked hard trying to keep Vancouverites and students informed on student athletics. If any group may be evaluated in terms of its successes, then the Men's Athletic Directorate is not to be excepted. Under the guiding hand of Brock Ostrom, MAD's chairman for 1950-1951, university athletics took a new turn. Past years had witnessed a steady decline of campus sports to the extent that UBC's Evergreen Conference entrants faced expulsion from inter-collegiate activity. As the result of a humiliating defeat in an Am- erican football game, although far from unusual, student lethargy was chucked down the drain. and in its place appeared the Ostrom Plan. Athletic assistance was finally realized at the Uni- versity of British Columbia, and this school's sport activities were now to rise from their long depression. i'Student leaders in Athletics were Mimi Wright ltopl and Brock Ostrum lcentrel. Ostrum was responsible for the giant reorganiz- ing of athletics on campus. Below the Men's Athletic Directorate which approved all of 0strum's plans and help put them into effect. W . M' -

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afdminiatfzation Heading the Physical Education staff was popular Amateur Athletic Union of Canada president, Bob Osbourne. A former basketball star and coach Osbourne or- ganized staff to work in hand with student athletic program. Five members of the staff which served as coaches also were Doug Whittle, Iack Promfret, Albert Laith- waite, Bielmar 'Ielly' Anderson, and Dick Penn. Whittle was assistant to Bob Osbourne, trained the swimming squad as well as teach advance coaches in Physical Education. During the year he tried to organize the first pro- fessional fraternity at UBC. Phi Epsilon Kappa was petitioned and expressed their desire to form a chap- ter. By the start of next term, Whittle should see his efforts materialize with the formation of the Physical Eds profession fraternity. lack Promfret was 'Bird basketball mentor. He took over the job from department head Bob Osbourne and has had the job for the last three years. Coaching the Chief was Sophomore member of the staff Dick Penn, who last year coached the Braves to B.C. Championship. His main job this year was to keep a sharp eye on intra-murals and teach element- ary courses in PE. ' Once again UBC Thunderbird ruggermen were coached by Albert Laithwaite. Although the team was not as successful as it has been for the last two years, Laithwaite deserved a lot of credit for developing heavy loaded frosh squad into an up and coming team. The other sophomore member of the staff was Thunderbird football assistant coach Ielly Anderson, who was bought up from the University of Washing- ton. Anderson handled the end coaching for football coach Orville Burke, as well as the spring training. When Burke resigned after the last game Ander- son was appointed acting coach. He did not get a chance to use his baseball coaching ability because the Evergreen Conference can- celled most of the spring sports. Head football coach was Orville Burke, who work- ed as lumber administrator in a downtown firm. Spent the early fall months trying to make football team the best UBC had seen yet. Due to lack of players and proper facilities, 'Birds lost all their games again this year. Heading women's athletics on the campus was petite Margaret Henderson. Her job was nearly all i'0le Bakken ttopi, Graduate Manager of Athletics, tried to keep Vancouverites informed on campus sports, while Bob Osbourne Icentrel, organized Physical Education department to make it smooth running. Heading femme athletics on the campus was Margaret Henderson lbottoml, who worked with Carol MacKinnon on women's intra-murals.

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i'Thunderbird football squad had lots of drive but not the ability to score tries. Above UBC bal carrier is stopped despite efforts of team mates to clear the way for him. merican ooibauera oat Every game A no-win, all loss record chalked up by the Am- erican Football squad this season would seem to belie the statement that they really got something done for a change. The greatest contribution made by the undermanned football team was not from their ability on the field of combat, but rather from the lack of it. Shortage of players, the unimpressive games before smaller crowds than usual, the obvious lack of enthusi- asm of the players who seemed to have adopted a what,s the use attitude because they were getting nowhere bashing their bodies against finer and heavier American talent with better equipment and better train- ing, all contributed to inspire the UBC student body to raise their voices in protest and demand a new athletic system. But demands for a change in the athletic picture did not help the ailing grid machine during the re- mainder of the football schedule. Working with only a handful of players, with his few reserves on the bench more to psychologically boost the teammates on the field than to sub in for them, Head Coach Orville Burke saw another bad season achingly slide by. Nucleus of the team was composed of about fifteen men who carried most of the weight during the entire season. In the season opener, which took place even before theopening of the university, Burke and assist- ant coach Ieliy Anderson fielded few more than eleven men to hold off St. Martinis best, including a Vancou- ver track star who was down south on an athletic scholarship. 102 St. Martin's handed the home town team their first of seven defeats by rolling to their Z7-6 win in the latter stages of the game when the overworked Bird- men began to tire. A theoretical win for the Thunder- birds came at the end of the season when Whitworth College Pirates failed to appear at the Point Grey campus because they had been plagued by injuries. With nothing but defeats in between the first and last scheduled games at UBC, the crowds began to dwindle, until the Homecoming Game came along on November 4. Playing to a near-capacity crowd despite had weather which haunted Vancouver almost until game time, Thunherbirds changed style completely from their previous four games and played it wide open. Opposition for the feature game of the season was provided by Northern Idaho College Loggers, a team that UBC had beaten the year before. Throwing all caution to winds, Thunderbird gridmen managed to score three touch- downs against the visi- tors, but in the process they had five scored against them. Final score ended at 33-18 but every- one went away happy for the first time in the 217 f