The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1941-03-20

well, famous track and field coach
at the University of Southern Cali.
f0rnia. Cromwell's teams have won
so many track championships that
the experts have almost quit trying
to keep track of them.
I found Dean Cromwell at historic
Bovard field on the Trojan campus,
the field which has sent six foot.
ball teams to the Rose Bowl without
defeat, the field which has been the
proving ground for countless nation
al and Olympic champions of the
cinderpath, the field which has
turned out several prominent base
ballers now performing in the ma
jor and minor leagues. Mr.. Crom-
well is always there, no matter what
the season. Of course, Howard Jones
attends to the football and Sam Bar
ry bosses the baseballers but the
venerable Dean, now in his thirty
second year at Troy, keeps a wealth
er eye on all the athletes.
Il Fe,U angles
"We're very fortunate here in
Southern California" continued
Coach Cromwell, Gin that the foods
grown so close at hand, plus the
fine sunshine, provide most of the
vitamins so necessary to good health
for growing youngsters. The boys
come from average homes where
for years they have been eating the
right kind of food. C3 b. ~
"If a boy, has been drinking tea OF
coffee and he comes to me healthy
y0ungster I'm not going to tell him
to quit. If boy has been a big
milk drinker and he's sound physi.
cally I don't change his diet even il
some coaches do claim that drink.
ing milk is bad for the wind"
Coach Cromwell's training orders
sound simple, but there happens to
be more than he reveals. He sets his
foot down hard on overwork, particu.
larly in early season.
Many years ago we had our in
ter-fraternity meets early each sea.
son." said the Dean. 81 found that
the athletes who did exceptionally
well in these December meets gen
orally were beaten later in the year
by those who had been taking il
easy at the start. Right then ]
barred my best athletes from these
inter-fraternity meets. And I've
been doing it ever since. We just
coast along for six or eight weeks,
building UP stamina and leading q
normal life. When the big tests
come in late spring and midsummer
I generally find my boys in pretty
good shape"
Cromwell's rivals in the coaching
business will add a fervent "Amen''
to this statement. His Trojans have
won of the Ii N. C. A. A. meets
in which they have competed, in.
GLIDING the last straight; taken
top honors in the I. C. "A. the last
times they entered; and whipped
Stanford in IL out of the last IL dual
meets, to say nothing of bagging
several Pacific Coast conference
crowns.
Not for the Boys
Cromwell believes the recent en-
phasis on eastern indoor meets is
bad on the college runners. Says
it is all right for the A. A. U. and
the promoters who cut up the mount.
ing gate receipts, but states that the
boys who are bearing down in Janu.
airy and February on the boards are
put to too great strain by having
to be in shape clear through the
summer for outdoor competition.
"Y0u can bring your athletes to
a peak only two or three times dur.
ing a season." continued the Dean,
"and these occasions must not be
too far apart"
I asked Coach Cromwell what
world record he thought would be
broken next.
"The high jump" he returned
"And we may have just the boy tc
turn the trick. The record is now
6 feet ga inches. Johnny Wilson, q
senior here at Southern California
has done 6 feet 9as inches, and ]
firmly believe he will hit 6-10 be.
fore the 1871 season Closes"
His Greatest Athletes
The 60-year-old Trojan mentor
who looks and acts 20 years young.
er, has turned out long string oil
champions, among them Charley
Paddock, Morton Kaer, Bud Houser
Charley Borah, Lee Barnes, Earle
Meadows and many more.
He says Bud Houser, former
worlds record holder in the discus
and Olympic champion in both this
event and the shot put, was the
greatest competitor he ever
| coached.
"Houser was considerably small.
er than most of the weight throw.
ers he encountered, but he was sci.
dom beaten when the chips were
down." said Dean.
Fred Kelly, he believes, was his
greatest athlete.
Gas a freshman at Southern Cali.
fornia this boy, virtually unknown
went to Stockholm and won the
Olympic games 110-meter hurdles in
1912. He was terrific, the best
ever had," the u. S. C.. coach said
Kelly is now head supervisor fol
one Of the major airlines after serv-
ing many years as pilot.