St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 28

tmm.MMMMtmm,0 ry-m-m-mm 11 Hm Wmm 2C Sept. 12. ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH For Chi Chi, A Healthy Diet Of Tournament Successes He'd talked happily to the crowd when he tied into a good one. He'd wave his jaunty, coconut straw hat in acknowledgement of applause and he'd throw his hat over the cup after a bob broeg sports editor.

Orlando Cepeda hammered three homers off him one day. Chi Chi was as shocked last year, finishing No. 74 on the money list and losing his exempt status for the first time in 10 years, as when he tried to become a flyweight boxer and was knocked out in his first bout. Embarrassed by his poor showing, Chi Chi cut out the comedy or, at least, part of it and, as the buckerinoes would indicate, he has played as well as he did when he won the 1963 Denver Open, the Lucky International and Western Open in '64, the Texas Open in '67 and the Sahara Invitational in '68. Running on the beaches back home in Puerto Rico to strengthen his legs, Rodriguez made up his mind to "concentrate better, work harder and make my people proud of me." The proof is in the prize money.

For the talented little fella who idolized Ben Hogan "Mr. Hogan," Chi Chi calls him Rodriguez also professed appreciation for Gary Player, the money-playing South African who tucked away another World Series of Golf Sunday at Akron. It was Player who gave him what he considered a priceless golf tip at the Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic this year. "Gary told me," said Chi Chi, "he'd been watching me for six years and I'd always moved my head on my backswing. 'You come off the he said." By his own evaluation, the game little guy who fashioned his first golf clubs from the limbs of guava trees, carving them out with a machete, qualified as a "hot dog," i.e., a showboat.

The Post-Dispatch photographer couldn't locate Juan (Chi Chi) Rodriguez. As befits a Puerto Rican peasant's son who is in the chips, the colorful lee-tle man of the links wasn't practicing at Norwood Hills yesterday for St. Louis's big golf tour- nament. Senor Rodriguez, they said, was out spending some of his earnings. Not for more bright clothes or other fine touches, which he also appreciates, but for health foods.

When you weigh only 120 pounds, give or, perish the thought, take an ounce or two, you'll do anything to make certain you can muscle into a golf ball, which Rodriguez can do with remarkable power. For Chi Chi, dark, slight and handsome at 36, with laughing steel-gray eyes, health foods might be closer than thick steaks or thicker malts to the meager menu he knew back in Rio Piedras as a boy when his farmer father tried to feed seven on 5(1 cents a day. Happilv, the Rodriguez family had a cooperative cow whose milk supplemented the porridge and potatoes, lettuce and tomatoes on which they lived. Little Chi Chi, nicknamed for Puerto Rican ballplayer Chi Chi Flores, was a caddy's assistant at 6 and a full-fledged caddy at 9, earning 25 cents a round and toting as many as three bags at a time. When not caddy ing, he worked in the sugar-cane fields, laying fertilizer, and helped an uncle push a hand cart through San Juan streets, selling fruits and vegetables.

He saved his money and with the first $27 accumulated, he had electricity installed in the family home. putt naa ianen anu uaiitc around it to the outcry of "ole!" from an appreciative gallery. If Juan (Chi Chi) Rodriguez does none of those things here, ah, well, it was nice even for a time to be de-sribed by a writer even more flowery than this one as having "a touch of the flamboyant Walter Hagen, a pinch of the brash and cocky Gene Sarazen and a dash of the colorful, Hollywood-affected Jimmy Demar-et." It's more important to step up and collect those weekly prize-money checks, which aren't bird seed or sunflower seeds, i to the health-food fadist for whom winning has been proved to be even more fun than funning around. So even if he weren't an engaging guy, it would be extremely difficult to begrudge him any of the momentary gains of this season, his most productive on tour. Rodriguez's third-piace finish Sunday in the Southern Open at Columbus, gave him a $7100 slice of the purse and brought his 1972 official earnings to $101,871.

It's quite likely that the little Puerto Rican and the Super Mex, Lee Trevino, will be favorites of the crowd in this week's Greater St. Louis Golf Classic, sponsored by the Children's Hospital for a cause which would be completely worthwhile even if par-shattering, eyw-catching golf weren't expected at Norwood. If in following Rodriguez, however, you don't find him as fun-loving as before, please don't figure that it's success which has taken the cha-cha out of Chi Chi. "It's just that the fans forgot me last year," he said after winning the Byron Nelson Classic this spring. What happened to Rodriguez in 1971 shouldn't have happened to him back there as a budding pitcher In baseball when I H'lj ft Chi Chi Rodriguez Major League Softball Wants St.

Louis filed with the league office and a player draft is scheduled for November. And to make it easier to purchase a franchise, Major League Softball has instituted a lend-lease arrangement. For $10,000, the league will lease a franchise to an operator for one year. Should the operator care to renew his option, the league will lease it to him for an additional $20,000 for a second year and another $20,000 for a third year. After the third year, the franchise will belong to the operator.

Litman estimated that an expenditure of from $80,000 to $150,00 per year should be expected by the operator to cover salaries, travel, park rentals, etc. Thus, he said, a team would have to average about 5000 fans a game, assuming that tickets were priced from $1 to $3. This attendance figure might seem lofty considering the fact that the baseball Cardinals often would be playing at the same time. "It would definitely be better promotionally if the Cardinals weren't here," agreed Litman. "But once we get going, I don't think it will be much of a problem," he said.

"I think that baseball is a crashing bore, too. That's why I haven't been to a game since Despite his full-scale immersion in the proposed league, Litman is not oblivious to its difficulties. "Naturally, we're going to have to promote hell out of this game," he offered. "One of our biggest problems is that we have nothing to go by. This has never been done before.

We're not fools we know that this is going to be a tremendous project." The culmination of the league's effort before launching its first season will be a massive spring training camp at Indiantown Gap, next April. All the players from all the teams will be on hand, with the best 128 players being retained. But just how many players will be there? Or will there even be eight teams? And will 5000 fans ever turn out for one game, let alone 60? As Litman said, "It's a tremendous project." By Rick Hummel Of the Post-Dispatch Staff St. Louis may have a fifth professional sports franchise next year. Aha! It's basketball, you say cleverly.

St. Louis has baseball, football, hockey and soccer, but it ddesn't have basketball. Alas, Wilt Chamberlain will loom no closer than your television set next season. The sport in question is not basketball it is professional Softball. A group called Major League Softball, has dedicated itself to leading softball out of the "dark ages" and St.

Louis may well become one of the centers of enlightenment. Major League Softball's executive director, Mitch Litman, met with Mayor A. J. Cervantes and other city officials yesterday and proclaimed that St. Louis "has a good chance" to be one of the eight franchises in the new league, which is to begin next year.

Other sites apparently would be New Orleans, Kansas City and Mobile, with St. Louis in an American League Division. Montreal, Toronto, Atlanta and Jersey City would be in the National League Division. "Geographically, we think St. Louis is a good location," said Litman.

"And we want to have a franchise here. The only thing to prevent it is a place to play." Two sites are under consideration, Litman said. They are the new Koch Park in Florissant and Forest Park, but before Forest Park could be used, lights would have to be added. Litman said a decision on the availability of parks would not be made until later this week or early next week. He said he had received concrete offers from two prospective operators.

Litman declined to identify them but said one was a St. Louisan connected with softball for the last 13 years and the other was a group of three area businessmen. Major League Softball, is a corporation founded by some 20 businessmen in the Harrisburg, area who have put up nearly $250,000. President of the corporation is Bob Spitler, an executive with a hearing aid company. Spitler and Litman, a producer of documentary films in Washington, D.C., were instrumental in the founding of the North American Football League, a semipro circuit, in 1965.

The corporation's goal is to take softball out of the "crashing bore" category, as Litman refers to it, and make it a hitters' game. To accomplish this, the new league will move the pitcher's mound back to 52 feet from the regulation 46 feet. "The extra six feet will give the batters a lot better chance," said Litman. "You have to take the game away from the pitchers. Nobody wants to come out and see a guy strike out 16 or 18 men." Another innovation would be the introduction of the two-platoon system.

The best nine offensive players would do all the hitting and the best nine defensive players would do all the fielding. Because rosters would be limited to 16 players per team, there obviously would be some duplication. The league will use a 12-inch fast-pitch soft-ball format, with uniform fences 250 feet from the plate. Litman announced that a 60-game schedule would be played by each team with the season running from May 1 through the end of July. At the close of the regular season, the division winners would meet in a best-of-five playoff.

Where will the players come from, you say? Everywhere. "There are 10,000,000 people playing softball today," said Litman. "Of course a lot of them are women, men wearing Bermuda shorts and men with beer bellies." To reduce this 10,000,000 figure to one more handy, the league has assigned 50 scouts to scour the nation's talent. Already, 537 reports have been if hf J6Ai A-Sfei VJ nV Mackey Hints Of AFC Conspiracy TRICKY DICK. Dick Allen gets the glad hand from Mike Andrews after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning last night at Kansas City.

The homer provided all the runs the Chicago White Sox needed to defeat the Royals, 2-1, as they closed within two games of the Oakland A's in the American League Western Division (AP Wirephoto) White Sox Two Behind ers or released he could be picked up by a National Conference team. "If I'm not given an opportunity to play, it's like preventing me from a i a living," Mackey said. He also reported that Ed Garvey, executive director of the players' association, would talk with league officials on his behalf today. Mackey said the "trade talks" of yesterday were hurriedly conducted. "I'm amazed at all of the talent that suddenly showed up in the American Conference," Mackey said.

Mackey and Mitchell shared the tight end job last season and, when Mackey was given the starting job in the first preseason game, Mitchell left camp in a huff. nothing to lose. I haven't retired. I'm healthy, able and looking for a new team." Mackey, who is in his tenth year in the NFL, said he asked to be traded in the offseason and then repeated his request yesterday after coach Don Mc-Cafferty told him that Tom Mitchell would start at tight end in Sunday's opener against the St. Louis Cardinals.

"I asked them to put me on waivers if they couldn't make a deal, but McCafferty said he didn't want to put a player of my stature on waivers," Mackey said. "I don know why not, when I'm only a second-stringer and no one wants me." Under NFL rules, only intra-conference trades are permissible at this time of the year. But if Mackey were placed on waiv From Post-Ulgpali'h Wire Services BALTIMORE, Sept. 12 -John Mackey, president of the National Football League Foot-b a 1 1 League Players' Association, is hopping mad at the Baltimore Colts. The veteran tight end hinted that the Colts and the 12 other American Football Conference teams had worked together to keep him on the Baltimore bench.

He denied a report from the Baltimore front office that he had retired. The Colts announced yesterday that, after they attempted to trade him to the other AFC teams and failed, Mackey had retired. "If no one wants me, I don't understand why they don't release me or put me on waivers," Mackey said. "They have Mackey says he hasn't retired but he says he will not play for Baltimore. The Colts yesterday picked up tight end John Mo-sier from the Denver Broncos for an undisclosed draft choice as a backup for Mitchell.

In Philadelphia, another veteran player blasted his former NFL club. Veteran fullback Tom Woodeshick was cut by the Eagles and he promptly laid into coach Ed Khayat. Woodeshick said the Eagles had become "completely demoralized" under a a 'a "military discipline." "Khayat's discipline is completely contrary to the lifestyles of the Eagle Woodeshick said. "They haven't been able to accept his mandate of short hair and wing-tipped shoes." The Eagles also cut running back Jim Nance and defensive end Don Brumm. NFL Transactions DALLAS COWBOYS Linebacker Ie Roy Caffey, wide receiver Cnarlen McKee, guard Brian Goodman, running back Herble Phillips, wide receiver Robert Weat placed on no-recall waivers.

CLEVELAND BROWNS Obtained wide receiver Gloster Richardson from the Oakland Raiders for a 1974 draft choice. BUFFALO BILLS Plarekicker John Leypoldt cleared waivers and was placed on taxi squad. DENVER BRONCOS Traded tight end John Mosler to the Baltimore Colts for 1973 draft choice. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES Fullback Tom Woodeshlck, running back Nance, defensive end Don Brumm, linebacker Will Foster cut. NEW YORK GIANTS Linebacker Ralph Heck, quarterback Ed Baker, Bart Beutow and tight end Dick Kotlte cut.

WASHINGTON REDSKINS Kick returner Alvin Haymond, linebacker Steve Kiner, defensive end Dave Cahlll, guard Conwav Havman cut. CINCINNATI BENGAIS Defensive backs Tim Beamer and Dennis Pete cut. GREEN BAY PACKER 9 Obtained linebacker Tim Kearney from Dallas: wide receiver John Spills, running back Don Heater, defensive back Lee Hitt and center Wimpy Winther cut. ATLANTA FALCONS Quarterback Leo Hart, punter Billy Lothrlrlge, tackle Steve okonlewski and run-ning back Bill Holland cut. Pollsters Unmoved By Bruins from Post-Dispatch Wire ServleM NEW YORK, Sept.

12-UCLA's victory over Nebraska Saturday night wasn't a convincing one. At least, it didn't convince the pollsters that the Bruins did anything except put a damper on the Cornhuskers' No. 1 aims. In the United Press International poll of a board of 35 coaches, UCLA is ranked behind Nebraska the Huskers fell from preseason first to ninth, UCLA moved from nowhere to eleventh. AP POLL FROM PAGE ONE games, was relieved in the eighth inning of the nightcap after yielding a walk to Cesar .4 Jovar.

Against Darold Knowles, Rod Carew reached first on Mike Epstein's error and then Steve Braun and Reese both walked. ars A's manager Dick Williams was steaming the game. t. "I have no comment to make," he said in somber dressing room. The simmering Eastern Division race a winning sacrifice fly that turned into 'a double play and a foul pole that turned a Backup Goalie Blues' Goa Happiness he apparently will be ready to potential home run into a loud strike.

With the ball jumping in Cleveland, six FROM PAGE ONE and Bob Johnson (2.83 at play. "We really don't know wheth er Durhano can olav in the in the seventh. There is no truth to the report that Yankees manager Ralph Houk was doing a rain dance in the New York dugout at Detroit as his team waited out a delay of 1 hour 43 minutes because of rain. Steve Kline picked up his sixteenth victory of the season as he kept the Tigers in a woeful batting slump. Detroit has scored only 23 runs in its last 15 games.

Successive fourth-inning homers by Bobby Murcer (No. 28) and Felipe Alou put the Yankees ahead for keeps. Alou's homer was No. 200 for his career. In the National League, Leo Durocher again was busy tossing around the superlatives.

"Nobody can be better than Willie Mays," said the Houston Astros manager under whom Willie broke in, "but Cesar Cedeno may turn out to be as good as Willie Mays." Leo was talking after Cedeno stole a game from the Dodgers in Los Angeles with a diving catch in the ninth with two men on base and two out. The Astros' 4-3 victory lifted them within seven games of the idle Cincinnati Reds in the Western Division. The Pittsburgh Pirates also had the day off. They lead the Eastern Division by 12 games. Jim Wynn's homer and run-scoring triple helped Houston's Don Wilson pick up his twelfth victory.

Reliever Jerry Reuss bailed out Wilson in the seventh but turned wild and gave up a run in the ninth before Cedeno saved him. In Philadelphia, Steve Carlton of the Phillies gave up hope of reaching 30 victories after losing to the New York Mets for the third time this season, 4-2. Carlton, now 23-9, was his own worst critic. The Phillies squandered several big chances but Steve blamed himself. "The bases on balls beat me," he said.

"I had five walks and more 3-and-2 counts than I've had all year." NHL," said Arbour, "and how much we can expect from Picard isn't a i n. We don't have much behind those six, either. Our next best defenseman in the organization probably is Bob McCord, and he's getting pretty old." McCcrd, who will be 39 years old next March, is the oldest player in camp. "I guess you'd have to say I'm cautiously optimistic, said Arbour. "We have some problems to be solved, but at least I think the talent is there." A KING 'homers were hit, including one by Boston re-liever Bill Lee off a former Southern Califor-nia teammate, Ray Lamb, who wound up as 'the winning pitcher.

However, it took a wacky ''play to decide the game. The score was 5-5 in the sixth following I homer. With the bases full, Roy Foster 'of the Indians flied to Ben Oglivie, who dropped the ball. The official scorer ruled that the fly was deep enough to score the run- ner from third. Ogilvie recovered the ball in time to force a runner at third and when Foster, the batter, passed another runner on base, Foster was declared out but not before the deciding had crossed the piate.

'I Cleveland manager Ken Aspromonte said, was hustling but with his head down." Powell's homer in Baltimore was his first in days. It made a winner of Mike Cuellar, who was knocked out in the ninth inning. With 'two out and the tying run on base, Joe La-J. houd of the Brewers hit a drive that appeared 4 to be a home run, but the ball suddenly went foul, barely outside the foul pole. The Orioles, have won five of their last six games.

Their pitchers had a string of 31 scoreless innings before Milwaukee got a run EDWARD CIGAR Blues Exhibitions Sept. 17 vs. Detroit at Flint Sept. 21 vs. New York at Flint Sept.

22 vs. New Tork at Kitchener, Ont. Sept. 23 at Minnesota Sept. v.

Detroit at Windsor, Ont. Sept. 28 at Philadelphia Sept. 30 vs. New York at St.

Louis Oct. 4 vs. Minnesota at St. Louis through, we could be in trouble." The six are Andre Dupont, Steve Durbano, Chris Evans, Noel Picard, Barclay Phger and Bob Plager. Dupont and the Plagers were regulars last season, although Bob Plager missed much of the year with injuries and underwent surgery this summer to remove a calcium deposit in his thigh.

Evans was obtained from the Buffalo Sabres late in the season and played very little, although he had some good showings in the playoffs. Durbano was in the minors last year, and he led the Central Hockey League with 402 penalty minutes, Picard missed most of the year because of a serious ankle injury suffered in a horseback-riding mishap. His career was believed in jeopardy, but now Jim Watt and Pierre Ham el also have entered the goalie derby on the basis of their showings at last week's rookie camp in St. Louis. Watt had a 3.55 average with Michigan State University last season and a 1 had a 3.60 mark for Drummondville of the Quebec Junior Hockey League.

On the forward lines, Arbour feels he has two units set. "I'm not going to touch the Garry Unger and Frank St. Marseille lines," said Arbour. "It will be the third line that I'm trying to put together, and the jobs are wide open. The spots will go to the players who win them here at training camp." The first two lines will include Unger at center with Phil Roberto on left wing and Mike Murphy at right wing on one, and St.

Marseille centering between left wing Jack Egers and right wing Gary Sabourin on the other. That leaves Fran Huck, Danny O'Shea and No. 1 amateur draft pick Wayne Merrick as the leading third-line candidates BLUENOTES Of 34 779 76!) 710 694 52S 473 426 415 375 344 199 186 174 162 132 81 79 55 43 40 'i. 2. 3.

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19. 20. players at last week's rooKie camp in St. Louis, 17 were invited here to join the rest of GAS BILLS TOO HIGH? the Rlues. There was a three-way tie for Net tnouqh heat? Would you like thp hiceest attention-eetter as 1-0 1-0 0-0 0- 0 1- 0 0- 0 1- 0 1-0 0-0 O-I 0- 0 1- 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0- 0 1- 0 0- 0 1- 0 1-0 0- 0 1- 0 1-0 0-0 0-0 O-l 0-0 in o-n 0-0 0- 0 1- 0 1-0 o-c 0-0 0- 0 1- 0 So.

California (13; Colorado 112 1 Ohio State 15) Oklahoma (12) Alabama Penn State (1) Tennessee (1) UCLA (4) Louisiana State Nebraska (1) Michigan Washington (1) Arizona State Notre Dame Texas Georgia Arkansas Purdue Mississippi Florida State LPI POLL Oklahoma (11) So. California (11) Colorado (Bi Ohio State (4) Alabama (2) Tennessee Penn State Louisiana Slate Nebraska Michigan UCLA (I i Arizona State Texas Notre Dame Washington Florida State (Tie i Iowa Si ale Georgia Purdue Auburn the Blues checked into their ho more near wirn lower gas bills Gas savings may be as high as 40 as a result of faulty or Improper siting. If your heating plant Is over 2 years old, this service may be necessary to insure proper gas eofl1 sumption. tel here. Andre Dupont proudly was displaying a picture of his two-month-old daughter, Mike Murphy was sporting a mustache and Gary Sabourin's hair was longer and a little more blond than it was at the end of last season.

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6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

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Cagers Taken To Tass at center, with Floyd Thomson at left wing and Kevin O'Shea fimtotie SPECIAL at right wing. 4 PERMANENT Other wing candidates will include amateur draft choices and players such as Don Borge- i ire Gas Burner Service Includes Gas Burners Cleaned Orifices Cleaned and Sited Gat Valve and Gat Regulator Cleaned and Regulated for Proper Input Pilot Assembly Cleaned Thermocouple Cleaned and Tested Limit and Fan Switch Calibrated and Set for Accuracy Thermostat Calibrated and Cleaned Blower Motor Oiled-Belt Adiustad CALL FOR APPOINTMENT 352-796? Mueller Furnace Co. 4051 California Service and Repair Dept. St of 4. Limit son, Norm Dennis and Jim Shires, who were in the minor leagues last year.

And Danny MOSCOW, Sept. 12 (AP)-So-viet sports writers yesterday glorified the victory of the Russian basketball team over the iinited States Olympic team at Munich and said the Americans 'jwere "unethical" in rejecting saver medals. The victory was an undoubted jiigh point of the Olympics for the Russians and writer Khromov rA it the nyth of A.eric invincibility." His tone indlca'cd th the R'ssslrns, after shatter n-; the tji of Canadian su Previously, Soviet media had not discussed details of the dispute, except to say the clock was wrong. Tass, in a general report on the Olympics, said "after losing on the field the Americans decided to take revenge at the table of the appeal committee "The U.S. team refused to accept silver medals, but everybody understood.

The monopoly American basketballers at the Olympic Games has come to an end." periority, might be considering a basketball match with U.S. pros. He quoted U.S. coach Hank Iba as saying the A i a Olympic team was "the best there is in American basketball." Izvcsti? cw up with anew rn 'f the he -tic final sec- rf championship game prompted an American -eteit. It said with three sec-i Russian coach a time-out "and the de-ided the halting play meant they had won." One Set.

Additional (2.98 at. 13023 yd Blues' Booster Club To Meet Tomorrow The Blues' booster club, the Blueliners, will meet tomorrow night at 8 o'clock at the Sheraton-Jefferson Hotel. The regular meeting will be preceded by a dinner at 6 p.m. Walter Mettler, president of the club, will discuss his experiences at the Olympic Games in Munich. O'Shea could be shifted to a wing.

"Our defense is probably pretty well set, if everything works out okay," said Arbour. "If the six defensemen we're counting on don't come STAYS ON YOUR TIRES Accurately retisten priuri from 16 32 tbi. Permits inflation on tirt without removlni iau Only 1" hiih Wiish It's than at- tacit WaathaMnht dmt aapi includatl At All Rrtstofi Dtfllara and St-a eSxeVeKA A AAA. AU V.e dh nnee.j.j a. a a ftirv.

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