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Best "lands" on Oyler's farm last week were those at the ends of the field chosen for the contest. Having drawn one of the middle lands, Minnesota's Ted Balko, 1934 champion, was handicapped by rows so spotty that once he found only three ears in 15 feet, of which one was so small that it flew through a crack in his bang-board. Adam Byczynski, Illinois champion and a hot favorite, husked fast but carelessly. His creditable total of 1,630 lb. was cut down to 1,466 by penalties. Well short of the Byczynski gross but a shade ahead of his net was the score of a long-faced, 38-year-old Iowan who, dressed in tennis shoes, white duck pants and an undershirt, had husked his rows more slowly but with scrupulous care. He was Carl Carlson, brother of famed Elmer, who did not bother to defend his title this year. Carl Carlson's gross of 1,540 lb. left him with a net of 1,472 lb. and the 1936 championship.
Ordinary farmers are pleased if they husk 100 bushels of corn in a ten-hour day. That Carl Carlson husked only 21 bushels in his 80 minutes last week was due to poor conditions rather than to technical inferiority to his famed younger brother Elmer. Closest thing in the U. S. to an efficient cornhusking machine are Carl, Elmer and two other Carlson brothers, who will be favorites in future cornhusking championships. Hauled onto a platform last week to get his $100 prize money, Carl Carlson was so excited that he mistook the loudspeaker microphone for a radio outlet. Said he to the 160,000 spectators at Oyler's farm: "Hello everybody back there in Audubon County, I'm glad I could win. ... I was going pretty strong and believe I could have even given my brother Elmer a good beating."
*Biggest U. S. sporting crowd: 168,000 at the 1936 Memorial Day automobile race at Indianapolis.