Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-11-20
SPOTLIGHT
ON
SPORTS
...,..-, ennM
Sidetrocked on the Tour
By MERRELL WHITTLEsEY

1T WAS II WEEKS AGO this morning that % wise guys
chartered plane at National Airport the sports
writer's annual tour Of the Atlantic Coast Conference loot
ball camps.
They had broken bread With Tommy Mont at Maryland
but that before the roof fell in the bottom dropped
whichever The treetops barely had been cleared
before time to listen to Ben Martin in Charlottesville
where improvement was promised
The next stop was Winston-salem where Paul Amen
the scholarly coach at Wake Forest said his first year
two would be like Army employing holding action
until the real offensive arrived.
Then Duke, where Bill Murray defed anybody to
quarterback who would be better than his Sonny Jurgen
and who then gave his annual lecture how nothing
could determined about his football team until the final
grades in his pet rating SYSTEM 1Technique 2
Assignments; 3-Condition and morale.
AT NORTH CAROLINA STATE Earle Edwards said he
had better backfeld, better squad and would have
the long afternoon and evening at Chapel
Hill where Jim Tatum painted pictures of football
derand pictures that the visitors and Big Jim himself
knew not worth the imaginary upon which he
painting. Not this year, at least.
And to South Carolina where Warren Giese with impish
reference to the tourists previous STOP said Here gentle
men, there will be superlaves unless justified The last
leg, Clemson S. c. where Frank Howard told his Tigers
picked the conference darkhorse Il hope Howard
replied, I'VE amt too dark"
Then home with over-abundance of optimism, where
many picked Maryland the possible national champion
Duke close contender and with bow to the Tatum magic
sneak triumph for downtrodden North Carolina Okla
homa Tennessee or Notre Dame.
But with only week of the remaining and with
all eight conference teams involved in family scraps the
charts show full of lost prestige for the young
Atlantic Coast Conference.
THE RECORD IN GAMES played out of the conference
is horrible nine victories only two major teams against
20 defeats and four ties The only major victories Duke
Southern Methodist and Clemson VPI The others
the likes of VMI, Lehgh Frman Dayton Presby
terrain and Wofford.
Actually the ties lend more prestige than the victories
and ed NAVY tUot that
only game EACH And Wake Forest tied vPI
and good little Florida State team.
If may indulge in a bit of Thanksgiving Week Sec
ondguessing of Labor Day week trip appears the group
lost sight Of the fact that instead of being taken in by
optimism it should have considered that four of the five
coaching changes meant dissatisfaction with past regimes
That true at North Carolina Virginia and Wake
Forest where the coaches fired, put it politely
their contracts not renewed At South Carolina the
coach stepped athletic director after his poorest
seasons. OF the five only Tatum at Maryland left top
New coaches bring new hope but seldom miracles The
unprecedented coaching turnover left the ACC vuner
able to defeat by their established outside opponents It's
not serious retreat by conference that hopes climb
to the top.
DIsAPPoINTNdENTs FROM COLLEGE PARK to Clemson
leave the conference less than proud Of Orange Bowl
representative VIII It, in this of year, send Duke
by Tennessee, Georgia Tech South Carolina and Pitt and
tied by Navy2 Or will 1t send Clemson rounced on the same
Orange Bowl turf Just last Friday by Manu. and tied by
Florida and Maryland? They represent two of the three
schools with holdover coaches
South Carolina, beaten by Clemson and N c. State
In the league and by Miami It, an outside choice
should lightning strike both Duke and Clemson this week end
The ACC should rebound, and fairly fast There's no
reason for coaching changes in the future
body appeared satisfied with last years freshman prospects
with the exception Of the usual couple got away But
couple get away from everybody every year
And the no coaching changes Of course mean Mary
land Oh there's been unsigned letter or two and an
anonymous phone ca-from people who think Mont should
beat the likes Of Syracuse Baylor and Miami with
fourth string The unsigned letters are in the
basket the phone hung up the secret caller Sensible
people aren't eritieizing guy who had chance
Sot this year, he didn't.