The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 11

SECTION Scoreboard2 Major Leagues4 Classified6 HWiiesrfay, Ju 70, 1985 Mat Men Gulas Pioneered Sport 'i. F.M. WILLIAMS K.L? Sports Scope Aging Cubs Could Save Ueberroth HL "4 i 'I a i I ''Ml- Jf 2rv Sr -cv AP Laserphoto He's Out Atlanta's Rafael Ramirez is tagged out at second during a 5-1 loss to Montreal. Story on page 4. Piffaro's Single tiffs Sounds 4-3 Conner Relieves Nails Down Victory Over Zephyrs By LARRY WOODY In his heyday, Nick Gulas was the P.T.

Bar-num of Brawl. Gulas was a Master of Mayhem. He Inflamed more crowds, orchestrated more bedlam and created more havoc than Genghis Khan. Gulas, you see, was a promoter of professional wrestling. For 47 years, until his retirement in 1980, Gulas was one of the profession's top matchmakers.

At his peak, Gulas promoted matches in 40 cities around the South. He carried upwards of 60 wrestlers on his payroll. He claims credit for the first televised wrestling match right here in Nashville back in 1952. Gulas ruled rasslin. When he yelled "jump," gladiators like the Green Shadow didn't ask why, they asked "on whom?" Now at age 71, Gulas crusty and salty as ever says the days of Flying Mares, Texas Chain Death Matches and Japanese Claw Holds are behind him.

"I don't miss it well, not too much," says Gulas, who still makes his home here, where he based Gulas Promotions back in 1939. "I keep up with the matches on TV. Television does one helluva job. It's responsible for bringing wrestling into the big-time." The big-time indeed. Today pro wrestling is a $250 million-a-year industry with an annual live attendance of 9.5 million.

That doesn't include the TV audience, which has made wrestling the Nal sport on cable TV. It outdrew college basketball 3 to 1 last year on the USA Network, and clobbered college football on Ted Turner's WTBS. National magazines, from Sports Illustrated to Newsweek, have carried accounts of the newfound mat-mania. Gulas, who had to hustle in the old days to draw a crowd, isn't surprised at the sport's resurgence. "I knew if wrestling ever got a break it would go, and TV has given it that break," says Gulas.

"People who would never have gone out to a live match suddenly became hooked on it on TV, just like they were on soap operas. "The key to wrestling is action," explains Gulas. It's action, no argument But the question that has furrowed the brows of sports editors for years is, "Is it a sport?" "It's a combination of sport and entertainment," says Gulas. "It's showmanship, and showmanship has always been a big part of sports. Hell, Leo Durocher was one of the greatest showmen ever.

There's no sport today that doesn't involve showmanship, and professional wrestlers are the top showmen." Gulas got his start in the business in Birmingham at age 17, as a ticket-taker. A few years later he branched out on his own, moved his operation to Nashville, and began to promote matches in the old Hippodrome Skating Rink. He also, once held a match at the old Sul-pher Dell baseball park that drew 7,000 fans. The operation was finally moved to the Fairgrounds, where matches are still held under new management. Nowadays wrestlers like Hulk Hogan who has a hammerlock on the heart of rocker Cyn-di Lauper get the headlines.

But as far as Gulas is concerned, they can't hold a bloody bandage to the likes of Fabulous Jackie Fargo, Tojo Yamamoto and the Green Shadow. Inman Takes His Turn By TOM WOOD It's a quantam leap from the relatively quiet world of women's college basketball to the sometimes crazy world of professional wrestling. But with a boyish enthusiasm and the help of former wrestler George Gulas, Middle Tennessee State University Lady Raiders' basketball coach Larry Inman is becoming a wrestling promoter. "It's a big thing right now," said Inman. "George has been broadcasting our basketball games a year or so.

He kinda wanted to get back into wrestling and asked me to go in with him. It will be more local than it's ever been before." Gulas, son of one-time Nashville wrestling promoter Nick Gulas, and Inman will kick things off July 14 with once-a-week Universal Wrestling Association program which will be aired by Murfreesboro television station WFYZ (Channel 39). "Well do shows around Middle Tennessee with some super-big names," Inman said, declining to name any of the wrestlers. "We've got several lined up. I cant say just who but they'll be familiar names." According to Inman, his main duties will lie in the promotional aspect 'Til make preliminary visits to towns to set things up.

We'll have giveaways and promotions to get people to come out and see what we have to offer." Nevertheless, the question has to be asked: What's a nice basketball coach like Inman doing in a sport like this? "Yeah, you know, I've always enjoyed it" said Inman. "To be honest I feel like what the wrestling people are accustomed to is not what it used to be. It's a different aspect of entertainment we'll be trying to bring back." INJURIES AND age are going to rescue Commissioner Peter Ueberroth and major league owners from deserting the most loyal fans any sport ever had at the conclusion of this baseball season. Though it's only halfway through, and there might yet be a strike that abbreviates the 1985 campaign, it is pretty obvious the Chicago Cubs can't repeat as champions of the National League East That's news that is greeted with a sigh of relief to the big league brass, which had already said they would move any playoff and World Series games that involved the Cubs to another site because there are ho lights in Wrigley Field. They were going to do it because ABC network will exercise a clause in its contract to telecast all such games at night Anytime owners are that greedy, they ought to be punished.

And somehow, someway, they will be one of these days. The threatened strike might be the devastating blow to their business that they so deserve, because it's going to damage baseball almost beyond repair. Anyway, the Cubs aren't likely to win this year, and all other parks have lights, so if there are playoffs and World Series, and no strike occurs, all will be well. But you cant let the Cubs go quietly. Their fans are too refreshing, too enthusiastic and too loyal for that Nothing was more exciting than the three days of the Chicago-New York Mets series, back on June 25, 26, 27.

Those days fell on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday days that few baseball parks do a great deal of business. On top of that, the series opened with the Cubs having lost 12 games in succession. So, in a park with a capacity of a little under 40,000, the first game drew 36,730 people, the most in the majors that day except Los Angeles and San Diego, which attracted 37,057 in a stadium in San Diego. The Cubs lost to the Mets, stretching the losing streak to 13 straight So the next day there were 35,876 at Wrigley field, more than any other major league park. The streak ended that day and.

on Thursday, at- -tendance was 35,842, again second only to Los Angeles and San Diego. For three midweek days, the total was 108,448. And baseball would deny fans like that a chance to see their heroes in a World Series? I cant believe it and some of the luster of Ueberroth was lost with me by his announcement that he would stick with television. Television, of course, could care less about Chicago fans. They look for the entire nation.

I am sure the Cubs get some of the enthusiasm with which they play from the grandstand, and you can feel it from the living room, where I watch the Cubs every chance I get Some of it comes from Harry Caray and Steve Stone, who somehow or other manage to draw every drip of drama out of every game that played. Caray sounds like he's going to die any time a Cub strikes out with the bases loaded, but one thing you can say for him, he doesn't spent any time apologizing for failures. He tells it all just like he sees it And of all the publicity gimmicks, the best one in baseball comes in the seventh inning when Harry leads the crowd in singing Take Me Out To The Ball Game. The Cubs have been riddled with injuries, especially to their pitching staff. Rick Sutcliffe is back on the.

15-day disabled list as is outfielder Gary Matthews. The center fielder. Bob Dernier, is still out with a broken foot Ryne Sandberg missed a week, catcher Jody Davis several days, and manager Jim Frey has had to alternate two aging shortstops, Larry Bowa and Chris Speier, ever since Shawon Dunston flopped and was sent back to Triple A. But the man who has just killed the Cubs all year long is third baseman Ron Cey, who has been In a hitting slump since opening day. There is going to have to be a major rebuilding effort next season, but one thing is sure the fans will be there with their signs, without their shirts, singing and having fun.

That's Chicago's charm. They truly have fun at the ball park. TENNESSEAN Staff Reports DENVER Chris Pittaro, given a reprieve when his two-strike foul tip slid out of the catcher's mit, singled in the winning run as the Nashville Sounds beat Denver 4-3 last night Pittaro's ninth-inning single to center drove in Scotty Earl, who had singled and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Doug Baker. The victory came in the first game of the Sounds' series at Denver's Mile High Stadium and helped Nashville pull with 42 games of the division-leading Buffalo Bisons. Denver and Nashville play again today at 8 p.ra CDT, with right-hander Paul Voigt scheduled to pitch for the Sounds The teams play a double-header tomorrow at 12:30 p.ra CDT and follow that with single games on Friday and Saturday.

The Sounds then return to Greer Stadium to open a homestand against Oklahoma City on Sunday. Jeff Conner, who relieved starter John Pacella with a man on and one out in the eighth inning, picked up the victory for the Sounds, improving his record to 5-3. Conner worked out of the eighth inning by getting a double play on his first pitch to Dave Miley. He then retired the Zephyrs in order in the ninth. Carl Willis, 2-1, was the victim of Pittaro's game-winning hit The Sounds scored once In the seventh inning to tie the game 3-3 against Denver starter Darren Burroughs.

Baker led off with a single, stole second, moved to third on Pittaro's long fly to center and scored on Darrell Brown's single to right Joe Pittman followed with an infield single but Denver pitcher Burroughs worked out of further damage by getting Simmons on a double-play grounder. Nashville's other two runs came on Nelson Simmons' inside-the-park homer in the third. With Joe Pittman on base, Simmons ripped a long line drive and Denver right fielder Paul O'Neill banged into the wall while attempting to catch the ball. With O'Neill momentarily stunned, Simmons was able to circle the bases before center fielder Ron Little could retrieve the ball. Run-scoring singles by Orlando Gonzalez and Tracy Jones accounted for Denver's first two runs in the second inning and the Zephyrs got another run in the third when Eric Davis led off with a triple and scored on John Steams' single.

Nashville center fielder Brown went 4-for-5 to lead the 14-hit assault Brown's first-inning single extended his hitting streak to 12 games while Leon Roberts moved his string to a team-high 15 games with a single in the second. Pacella gave the Sounds 7 y3 strong innings before yielding to Conner. Pacella yielded eight hits, but six of those came in the first four innings. In a roster change, the Sounds added catcher Popo Rosado from the Class AA Birmingham team. Schmitfou Sells Evansville Franchise Sounds-Owned Franchises A list of franchises owned at one time or another by the Nashville Sounds: TEAM LEAGUE Eugene, Ore Northwest Salt Lake City, Utah Pacific Coast Salem, Va Carolina Greensboro.

N.C. South Atlantic Daytona Beach, Fla. Florida State Huntsville, Ala, Southern Evansville, Ind Midwest Nashville American Association By TOM SQUIRES The Nashville Sounds have reached a tentative agreement to sell their Evansville, professional baseball franchise in the Midwest League, it was learned yesterday. Sounds president Larry Schmittou, contacted at his home in Arlington, Tex said he had come to terms with a group of businessmen contingent on the approval of the sale by the city of Evansville and the Midwest League. That approval came yesterday during a Midwest League meeting in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

"All we needed was approval of the lease transfer by the city of Evansville and approval of the sale by the league," said Schmittou, who bought the club last fall when it was a member of the Class AAA American Association. "I think we got all that done yesterday but I haven't heard from the buyers." Schmittou said the purchase included a lease on the Evansville park, office furniture and team equipment as well as the Class A Midwest League franchise which he both cities to be added to the league for the 1986 season, but a proposed stadium in South Bend cannot be constructed in time. One of the new Evansville franchise owners is Chuck Chritton, a University of Notre Dame Law School graduate and Lakeland, Fla, attorney. He is a law partner of John WendeL baseball attorney from Lakeland who owns 49 of the South Bend franchise. The new Evansville ownership, including Chicago and Cleveland businessmen, was willing to permit a delay of expansion in order to seek the entry of South Bend and Evansville at the same time.

"I got a call from Wendel who put the entire deal together," said Schmittou. "The only stipulation I had was that they keep the franchise in Evansville," The sale left Schmittou and his partners still with four minor league franchises including the Sounds, Huntsville (Ala) in the ass AA Southern League, Greensboro (N.C) in the Class A South Atlantic League and Daytona Beach (Fla) in the Class A Florida State League. had obtained for the city earlier this year. The Midwest League will expand to include both Evansville and South Bend, in 1987. The league wanted to add South Bend and Evansville as a two-team expansion package.

Earlier plans had called for Major League Baseball KING KONG: Dave Kingman of the Oakland A's, who has played with seven teams and was termed unproductive much of his major league career, is within two homers of joining the 400 club. Story on page 5. AMERICAN LEAGUE Chicago 6, Detroit 5 Cleveland 7, Texas 2 Baltimore 1 1, Minnesota 6 New York 6, Kansas City 4 Milwaukee at California, night Toronto at Seattle, night NATIONAL LEAGUE Chicago 7, San Diego 3 Los Angeles 8. Pittsburgh 3 New York 1 1, Cincinnati 2 Montreal 5, Atlanta 1 St. Louis 3, San Francisco 1 Philadelphia 5, Houston 3 Boston at Oakland, night Complete Coverage, Page 4.