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Show Bantam Basketball Gets Under Way The third annual Utah National Na-tional Guard Bantam Basketball benefit program which raised $2,600 for the Utah Society for ' Crippled Children and Adults in the past two years, kicked off its 1962 campaign Saturday at Salt Lake City's Jackling Hall. Several parents of the players who participated on the opening day plus other basketball fans crowded the National Guard Armory during the games which ran from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Some 17 other communities in Utah which participate in the Utah Guard's Bantam basketball program also plan to stage more benefits in their armories. These cities include American Fork, Bountiful. Cedar City, Fillmore, Garland, Smithfield, Springville, Tooele, Vernal, Layton, Logan. Mt. Pleasant, Murray, Price and Provo. All players in the program have started a ticket sales campaign cam-paign and the top salesmen in the state will receive official Jack Gardner basketballs, said Brig. Gen. Maurice L. Watts, chairman of the hoop activity. Tickets sell for 50 cents and the public is invited to attend any and all benefit basketball sessions. Early ticket sales reports are good and Maj. Gen. Maxwell E. Rich, Utah Adjutant General, hopes to surpass the $1300 yearly average of funds which will be turned over to the Crippled Children and Adults society. The Bantam Basketball program pro-gram has grown from a 10-team affair to 120 teams in the state in just five years. Players between be-tween the ages of 11 and 13 are eligible. Several "graduates" of the Guard are now star players for high schools teams in the state. |