Hot Shots

St. Louis, which takes its sports more calmly than most cities, has finally been smitten by basketballitis, a highly contagious disease which has been running up & down the Midwest for ten years. One night last week, a record 11,216 people pushed & shoved into Kiel Auditorium; 3,000 more were turned away. The crowds wanted to see unbeaten St. Louis U. playing Holy Cross, a storybook basketball squad that practiced in an old barn, traveled 40 miles to Boston to play its "home" games, and became 1947's team of the year. Holy Cross had been beaten only once in 29 games.

After 35 minutes of play, it became evident that Holy Cross was in for setback No.2 from its fellow Jesuits. Frisky St. Louis U., with a 23-point lead, calmly took out its regulars and began filling in with subs. Even the subs were hot shots. Before the game ended, nearly everybody on the Billikens' bench got a chance to play, and Holy Cross went down with a crash, 61 to 46. St. Louis U., which hadn't had an athletic team of any kind to cheer about since 1906,* had quietly developed one of the best college basketball teams in the U.S.

Easy Ed. The star of the team was towering (6 ft., 8 in.) Center Ed Macauley. He has a deadly eye and a soft southpaw shot that helped him pile up 395 points last season. His teammates, with some reason, call him Easy Ed. Once, when he was gauging the hoop on a crucial foul shot, an opponent tried to throw him off by yelling, "Hey, Ed, your shoe's untied." Without taking his eye from the basket, Macauley drawled: "You tie it for me, Junior, while I make this point." Then he dropped the ball neatly through the hoop to win the game.

Easy Ed scored ten of the points against Holy Cross. Since last season, when he was the whole team, his burden has been lightened. St. Louis hired a new coach, Edgar Hickey, who installed the fast-break system and designed plays to take some of the point-making pressure off Big Ed Macauley. With improved teamwork, St. Louis has breezed past seven rivals. If the next three--Oklahoma A. & M., Long Island University and Notre Dame--can be hurdled, the worst will be over.

Big Business. Like most other colleges which have good basketball teams, St. Louis U. has to pay for it. It gives talented out-of-town players board, room and scholarships, plus incidental expenses. But it all comes back in gate receipts, and plenty more besides. College basketball, like college football, is now big business. It is also the No. 1 U.S. sport in attendance figures. Last year, 75 million people paid to see basketball games. Baseball, which considers itself the great American game, was 10,000,000 admissions behind, and football, which draws its big crowds only once a week, was third.

* When Eddie Cochem, St. Louis U.'s football coach, originated the spiral forward pass.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.