Eight Out of Eight Thousand

Ei&ht Out of Ei&ht Thousand LES GOATES The Author T HE sand in the yearglass of basketball has dwin- dled to the last grain once more. Old Father Time has turned the glass over and with his turning has recorded another "greatest season" for the most stupendous basketball project ever undertaken, — the Mu- tual Improvement Association league. Not only were all records for mass participation in the Dr. Nain- smith game shattered, but a new high standard of competition was established during the season of 1929-30. The young men of the Mutual Improvement Associations took to the court game with such enthusiasm that the number of ac- tual participants were counted by the thousands and the number of teams by the hundreds, firmly es- tablishing the M Men circuit as the outstanding single standard athletic organization in the world. deed, the Mutual basket shooters are improving year by year at such a rate that the time is not far dis- tant when these fine, manly fellows from the M. I. A. classes will be capable of presenting as skilful a brand of basketball as the fastest preparatory school teams. Increas- ing interest in the activity, im- proved organization within the stakes and the acquisition of better coaches will eventually bring this about. The prime function of M Men athletics was fulfilled when it pro- vided approximately eight thou- sand members who never had a chance to perform on the court as junior high, preparatory school or college players with a chance for competitive physical activity. In addition there were nearly two thousand junior M Men or Van- guards who played more or less independently, yet under the same supervision as that afforded their senior colleagues. As a result many expert basketball players were de- veloped and the recreation needs of this great multitude of young men were supplied. Ui M IPWARD of 10,000 boys, M Men and Vanguards, representing more than five hun- dred wards of the Church of JesUs Christ of Latter-day Saints, played basketball during the recent season under the supervision of the M Men's committee. The work was projected to this unprecedented range of action under the guidance of Homer C. Warner, head of the basketball movement for the entire Church. With a wonderful vi- sion of the future before him and a capable corps of helpers on hand to assist, Director Warner suc- ceeded in advancing the calibre of basketball played by the M Men to a high degree of perfection. In- MEN basketball went out of the state of Utah for the first time during 1929-30, when the Pocatello division was added to the five regions. Poca- tello First ward had the distinct honor of representing the Idaho section in the annual inter-divi- sional tournament played in the Deseret Gymnasium, March 13- 15. The field for the champion- ship series was made up of Lincoln ward, title holders in Granite stake and Salt Lake inter-stake winners; Logan Fourth ward, champions of the Logan division; Logan Seventh, runners-up of the Logan and Ogden regions; Mayfield, win- ner in the Richfield section; Provo Second ward, runners-up for the Provo-Salt Lake stakes; Provo Fifth, leading five from the Garden City; North Ogden, the No. 1 team from Utah's Junction City and Pocatello First, Idaho M Men champions. These teams all had to pass through the crucible of adversity to qualify for the titular playoff. When these splendid quintets opened their final series, North Ogden and Lincoln were considered to have the best chances of victory. The opening round brought Lin- coln into combat with Logan Fourth and the Granite representa- tives won 48 to 28. Logan Sev- enth redeemed the loss by the cham- pions from its own division by de- feating Pocatello 36 to 19. May- field went down fighting before a clever Provo Second Ward team, 1 4 to 44 and the opening round was concluded with 31 to 12 victory for North Ogden over Provo Fifth. The first day's play, therefore saw both the Logan and Provo cham- pions pass out while the runners- up emerged victorious. LlNCOLN then dem- onstrated more of its powerful scoring attack when it defeated Logan Seventh in the second round 35 to 12. Provo Second won from North Ogden in a surprise contest, 32 to 20 and Lincoln and Provo Second were the finalists. The story of that wonderful game will long be remembered in M Men basketball annals. Seven times the score was tied and when the conventional forty minutes of play had expired the score was 21 to 21. In the extra period two well-groomed, physically perfect five-man machines gave, every ounce of their strength and skill and the larger Lincoln athletes seemed to have just a tiny edge and

The Improvement Era for May, 1930 489 caged eight points while the cour- ageous Provoans matched their opponents shot for shot until the last thirty seconds, only to lose out by one field goal. L -N attaining the pin- nacle of basketball success in the largest league in the land, the Lin- coln ward team demonstrated the qualities the game is intended to develop. It played clean ball throughout, was considerate and courteous under all conditions and never once became excited or nerv- ous. There were times when that well-coached zone defense faltered momentarily but always it pulled together again to defy the opposi- tion to penetrate it. Coach Vivian Jensen is entitled to more credit than he will ever get for the devel- opment of this fine basketball team which learned sportsmanship while it was mastering the technique of court play. The Railsplitters were indeed eight out of eight thousand ! At the conclusion of this most successful tournament, the Lincoln champions were presented with gold basketball fobs, emblematic of the Church championship. The P r o v o Second ward, immensely popular with the fans for its in- domitable courage and clean and clever play, received silver fobs in recognition of second place honors. Eight Out of Eight Thousand JL HE Lincoln ward hoopsters be- came champions of the largest bas- ketball league in the world when they triumphed over Provo Second for the L. D. S. "M" Men champi- onship, Saturday night. More than 8.000 boys have taken part 'in the "M" Men sport this year, but this select group of young athletes, representing a ward that has just been organized during the last year, jumped into the spotlight to win the much coveted title in their first season of competition. The mem- bers of the championship Lincoln squad follows: (Rear row), V. Jensen, coach; Garff, captain; Royal Jensen, coach. (Middle row) , Ball, Hansen. Johnson. (Front) , Mat- sen, Fitts, M. Jensen. These awards were made by Presi- dent Anthony W. Ivins in behalf of the General Board of the Mutual Improvement association. Fol- lowing this ceremony, James M. Kirkham, assistant general manager of the Desetet News presented rep- resentatives of each division with a silver statuette and the Railsplitters from Lincoln with a larger statu- ette emblematic of the highest hon- or the league had to offer. This ceremony was in perpetuation of a custom established by the Desetet News with the beginning of M Men basketball. 1 HE all-tournament honor roll, selected from 'the numerous excellent players in the meet was announced as follows: First Team Roberts, Provo Second, Forward. C. Randall, North Ogden, Forward. Fitts, Lincoln, Center. Colvin, Provo Second, Guard. Garff, Lincoln, Guard. Second Team Jensen, Lincoln, Forward. Hughes, Logan Seventh, Forward. Cruickshank, Logan Seventh, Center. Hanson, Lincoln, Guard. Creer, Provo Second, Guard. I HE tournament was an elaborate expression of a great (Continued on page 505) Provo Second Ward Runners-Up All -Church Championships Front Row — E. Harwood, guard ; M Olson, forward; W. Roberts, forward M. Kavachevich, forward. Rear Row — Mark Ballif, coach; R. Colvin, center; P. Henrickson, center; L. Creer. guard: E. Wignal, manager. Homer Warner Director of M Men Basketball North Ogden Were Strong Con- tender in "M" Men Tourney Back Row — James Spackman, Volney Shaw, Russell Shupe, Glen Shupe, L. C. Metcalf. Front Row — Hulbrow Norris, Allen Warren, Clarence Randall, Leslie Randall, Dallas Berrett.