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Weird Freshman Eligibility Trivia

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Wrestleknownothing

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I am digging through some stuff as I prepare an analysis of the impact of the proposed "5 in 5" rule and I stumbled across three freshmen that made AA in 1952.

Wait. What?

It looks like in 1952 and 1953 freshmen were eligible.

From the 1952 Wrestling Guide rules section:

"He must not previously have engaged in three seasons of varsity competition in the sport involved. (Competition by a freshman on a varsity team must be charged as a season of varsity competition and must be counted as one of the three seasons of varsity competition referred to in paragraph (e)."

And from the 1953 (important exception):

"He must not previously have engaged in three seasons of varsity competition in the sport involved. (Competition by a freshman on a varsity team must be charged as a season of varsity competition and must be counted as one of the three seasons of varsity competition referred to in paragraph (e), except , if such competition occurred between Oct. 16, 1940 and Sept. 1, 1947, or occurs during the current season.)"

That language appeared in 1952 and disappeared in 1954. And I found three freshmen who AA'd in 1952. So there is that.
 
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Wrestleknownothing

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Old Number Nine said:
Myron Roderick graduated from Winfield High School in Kansas in 1952 and he was a freshman in 1953. Why wouldn't have wrestled?
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There may have been some confusion about it. There are actually two section in the rule books those years that discuss eligibility. They do not explicitly state that the section I quoted trumped the other section for those two years.

I also only find references to the exception applying to the 1950 and 1951 seasons on the internet, but the fact remains that in 1952, and 1952 alone, there were freshmen in the NCAA tournament. I see none in 1953.
 
98lberEating2Lunches

98lberEating2Lunches

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Old Number Nine said:
Myron Roderick graduated from Winfield High School in Kansas in 1952 and he was a freshman in 1953. Why wouldn't have wrestled?
Click to expand...
Weirdly, he traveled with the team in 1953 to Penn State as team manager.

My searches says the temporary waiver for freshman eligibility during the Korean War was primarily focused on the 1950-51 and 1951-52 academic years.

Did any true freshmen compete at the 1953 NCAAs?

Wrestleknownothing said:
It looks like in 1952 and 1953 freshmen were eligible.

...

That language appeared in 1952 and disappeared in 1954. And I found three freshmen who AA'd in 1952.
Click to expand...

Are you sure it wasn't 1951 and 1952?

(Nvm I think you just answered)
 
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Old Number Nine

Old Number Nine

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This may be true (I'm not doubting it) but according to my stats (which may very well be wrong) our first 10 4x qualifiers were:

Dick Hutton 47, Jay Arneson 69, Rick Jones 72, Billy Martin 73, Steve Barrett 74, Jon Jackson 74, Jimmy Jackson 75, Paul Martin 75, Leroy Smith 77, Ricky Stewart 79.

Interesting note is that Hutton and Stewart were the only 4x AA's from that group
 
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Wrestleknownothing

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Old Number Nine said:
This may be true (I'm not doubting it) but according to my stats (which may very well be wrong) our first 10 4x qualifiers were:

Dick Hutton 47, Jay Arneson 69, Rick Jones 72, Billy Martin 73, Steve Barrett 74, Jon Jackson 74, Jimmy Jackson 75, Paul Martin 75, Leroy Smith 77, Ricky Stewart 79.

Interesting note is that Hutton and Stewart were the only 4x AA's from that group
Click to expand...
That sounds right
 
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