St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 33

-w i i sportsextra 3C 1 10, 1983 ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 7 ft jw By June Wuest Becht Theirs was an extraordinary accomplishment. Only once in Olympic history have all of the gold medals won by me United States in women's track and" field been taken by Missouri-Illinois athletes Harriet Bland of St. Louis; Helen Stephens of Fulton, andi-Annette Rogers and Elizabeth Robinson of Chicago. And their coach was Dee Beckmann of St.

Louis. That distant triumph in the Berlin Olympics of 1936 is recalled now with selection of Bland now Harriet Bland Green of Webster Groves to the, Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. In 193gjshe and the three others made up the winning U.S. 400-meter relay team. were some of the accomplishments of that foursome of "golden girls" in the last of the II Olympics: Elizabeth "Betty" Robinson was 16 and a student at Thornton Township High School in Harvey, when she qualified for the first U.S.

women's Olympic track team in 1928. She was elected team captain, and the dimpled, honey blonde became the first woman to win a gold medal for the United Staies, with a time of 12.2 seconds in the 100 meters at those Amsterdam Games. She won a silver medal, as well, as a member of the 400-meter relay team. the 1928 Games, she completed at Thornton and entered Northwestern University, where she continued to compete in track. Injuries suffered in a plane crash prevented her froirrdefending her title in the Los Angeles Olympics of 1932.

Annette "Nettie" Rogers, too, already had won a gold medal when she qualified for the 1936 Olympics. As an 18-year-old graduate of Chicago's Senn High School, she had been a member of the winning 400-meter relay team in the 1932 Games at Los Angeles. Four years the slender, brown-haired physical education major at Northwestern was also a talented high jumper. fc. Helen Stephens, the "Missouri Express," was the youngest member of the 1936 quartet and, at 5 feet 11 inches, the -tallest.

She then was 18, a blonde and brainy student who had turned down several academic scholarships to stay home and attend William Woods College in Fulton. To Stella Walsh, who had "won the 100 meters in 1932 as Poland's Stephania Walasiewicz, she was just a "greenie from the sticks." But 1935, that "greenie from the had beaten the Polish star in St. Louis at The Arena. VJIarriet Claiborne Bland was a newcomer to the Olympic team and the smallest of the foursome at a slender 5-4. She had attended Mary Institute and, as an outstanding runner in regional meets, had been expected to compete in the 1932 Games.

But Bland, then auburn-haired and freckled at 17, was passed over when the team was selected, although she had finished second in her heat in the Olympic tryouts in Chicago. She had been told that would be good enough to qualify; when she didn't, a protest was filed in her behalf, but it was rejected. Bland returned to St. Louis, where she trained for four years under a local taskmaster, Beckmann. She was successful in qualifying for the 1936 Games, but when the women's team reached New York, it was discovered there was enough money to send only four athletes to Berlin.

A fund-raising drive here provided the $500 she needed to sail with the team to Europe. Those four members of the 400-meter relay team were in the hands of Dolores "Dee" Beckmann, the pioneer sportswoman of St. Louis who was the first woman to r.er2 as a U.S. Olympic coach. She had been a member of that first women's track team in 1928, running in the 800 meters.

it if it Much has been written about those Berlin Games of 1936, which were opened by Reichsfuehrer Adolph Hitler amid a preponderance of propaganda by the Nazi regime. The Games were well-staged and well-attended and no matter that Jesse Owens stole the show right in front of the Fuehrer's face. The 400-meter relay was run on a warm Sunday afternoon, Aug. 9, in the crowded Olympic Stadium. The German team was favored, having bettered the world record in a preliminary heat.

Harriet Bland led off for the United States, passing the baton to Annette Rogers, who handed it off to Betty Robinson, who passed it to Helen Stephens who had run in a relay for the first time the day before. But at the time of that last handoff, a strange mishap occurred. The German team, with a lengthy lead, collapsed when its anchor dropped the baton as she unnecessarily changed it from one hand to the other. Stephens, meanwhile, streaked to the finish. The U.S.

team won in 46.9 seconds, shy of the record set a day earlier by the Germans, but well in advance of the field. On the victory stand, Bland, Rogers, Robinson and Stephens received their gold medals and olive wreaths. As a unit, they accepted a small German oak tree which they presented to their coach, Beckmann, who had it planted in Forest Park on her return home. That team of '36 is one of five winning U.S. women's relay teams in Olympic history.

And, because of the death of Wilhelmina von Bremen, who was a member of the 1932 U.S. team, it is the oldest surviving unit. ir "You never forget," said Betty Robinson Schwartz in a recent interview. "You have to make a life for yourself away from the Olympics, but you never forget." She and her husband, a retired Chicago businessman, live in Naples, Fla. They have two children and two grandchildren.

She is in both the U.S. Track and Field and National Track and Field halls of fame and is active in the promotion of Olympic and national track events. Nettie Rogers Kelly lives in Niles, a Chicago suburb, with her husband, a former recreation director in Chicago. They have three children and a grandson. She, too, is a Hall of Fame member and taught physical education for many years in the Chicago area, where she is active in promoting track programs and Olympic activities.

Stephens, who has made St. Louis her home since her college days, was selected by The Associated Press as one of the 10 outstanding women in sports for the first half-century. Her gold medal in the 100 meters the day after the relay victory was the fifth and only other gold won by the U.S. women's team in 1936. She didn't marry, and was the only member of the relay team to undertake a professional sports career, with some barnstorming days in basketball, Softball and track.

She is a member of five sports halls of fame, including Missouri's. Beckmann, who also never married, has been named to several sports halls of fame, including Missouri's. She has worked in sports and recreation programs for U.S. servicemen in various parts of the world and lives in Sun City, Ariz. Bland, confined to a wheelchair since suffering a stroke in 1974, is Mrs.

William Green of Webster Groves, with a son and two grandchildren. She established a track program for girls here when she returned home from Berlin, and her enthusiasm for the Olympic Games hasn't waned over the W3 She is one of only 25 U.S. women who have won an Olympic gold medal in track and field. And on Oct. 29 in Springfield, she'll join Helen Stephens ft1 girls" of 1936 Robinson Green (seated).

I ''v 1 II June Bechl Helen Stephens (left), Betty Schwartz (right) and Harriet Dee Beckmann (standing, center) is inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1978 and surrounded by three of her four "golden Gilmore Tries Again In Battle Of Big Men Digest BANDITS WILL BE BANDITS: Gene Klein, owner of the National Football League's San Diego Chargers, began blasting away Monday shortly after the Tampa Bay Bandits announced that Gary Anderson had signed a three-year contract with the United Slates Football League team. Anderson, a running back from Columbia, who was an All-America at Arkansas, was a first-round pick by the Chargers last month in the NFL draft. and Dee Beckmann in the Missouri! Hall of Fame. (june wUest Becht is a free-lance wrjter who lives in St. Louis.) The board approved Gordon, and George Gund as the new owners in-Cleveland.

Indianapolis businessmen Melvin and Herbert Simon were given conditional approval on the purchase of the Pacers from current owners Sam Nassi and Frank Mariani, pending some further documentation requested by the league. In an unusual move, the board allowed the Gunds, who also own the National Hockey League's Minnesota North Stars, to pay a cash sum to recover the four first-round draft choices 1983-1987 that the Cavaliers had traded away. Gordon Gund, who made the presentation before the board, said he and his brother would not have bought the team without permission to recover those draft choices. "We had to have that," said Qund, who described the talks as "hectic, not bitter, certainly friendly." had stolen an inbounds pass and flipped to the little guard under the basket. Nelson said Richardson and Andrew Toney played Moncrief "terrific." "They did as good a job on Sidney as we did on Moses Malone," noted Nelson.

The Bucks held Malone to 14 points and 12 rebounds, well below his 24.5 and 15.3 regular-season averages. Cavaliers, Pacers Sold CHICAGO The NBA's Board of Governors approved the sale of the struggling franchises in Cleveland and Indianapolis to local businessmen, in each instance to a pair of brothers. "These are two franchises which everyone knows have been struggling in recent seasons," said NBA Commissioner Larry O'Brien. "We're extremely pleased that vigorous new owners with strong local ties have come forward to take control." NBA Playoffs INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) The first round of the Battle of the Big Men clearly belonged to 7-foot-2 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

But Artis Gilmore, also 7-2, and the San Antonio Spurs get another chance tonight when they face Abdul-Jabbar and the Los Angeles Lakers in the second game of the National Basketball Association Western Conference final. The defending NBA champion Lakers jumped out to 1-0 edge in the best-of-seven series with a 119-107 victory Sunday at the Forum, as Abdul-Jabbar led the way with 30 points and eight rebounds. Gilmore scored just seven points and had six rebounds when he fouled out with 5 minutes 18 seconds remaining in the contest. Among those who believe Gilmore will fare better in the future, however, is Abdul-Jabbar. In no particular order, Klein charged that: 1) the USFL was acting in panic because of attendance problems and falling TV ratings, 2) that Anderson's agent, Jerry Argovitz of Houston, was guilty of a "disgraceful" conflict of interest, because Argovitz reportedly is about to be awarded a USFL franchise, and 3) that the Chargers had been "consistently and constantly" lied to during negotiations and that Anderson had been "hustled." "If we lose in fair negotiations, I don't mind," Klein said.

"But I do know we never were given a chance to bargain with Anderson." years. "Oh, the Olympics," she said, "was wonderful." No matter her long wait, and the difficulties back in 1936 with expenses. "Artis was in foul trouble and they couldn't afford to go inside to him when they were playing catch-up," the Lakers' center said. "But it was only one game, and I'm sure he will be heard from before this series is over." Bucks-76ers PHILADELPHIA Milwaukee Bucks Coach Don Nelson insists he's not worried about Sidney Moncrief Moncrief, who averaged 22.5 points in the regular season, collected just seven Sunday as the Bucks lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the opener of their NBA Eastern Conference final. "I've never seen Sidney have poor back-to-back games," said Nelson.

"Philadelphia did a good job on him. They took some of his favorite things away. But he'll make the adjustments, I'm sure." The 76ers won the game in overtime, 111-109, with Clint Richardson scoring the winning basket after Bobby Jones Down Belted radial whitewalls Sport mirrors (on 2 door) Super stock wheels (on 2 door) Accent stripes "Mis 83 HONDA CIVIC SPRING SALE on new '83 Cieras. We've got a ton of 'em, all with window prices of $10,150 or more. Every price rolled down to $8,999.

1 1 .9 financing on 36-month Anderson, meanwhile, said he signed with the Bandits because he didn't want to wait until September to begin playing again, and because he was afraid the Chargers would switch him to wide receiver. BOBBY'S BACK: On Mother's Day in 1973, Bobby Riggs struck a blow for male chauvinists when he took apart a nervous Margaret Court, and on Sunday the irrepressible Riggs was at it again. Riggs, the Forest Hills and Wimbledon tennis champion in 1939, and Mai Anderson, who won Forest Hills in 1957, survived two match points and defeated Wendy Turnbull and Rosie Casals, the defending U.S. Open women's doubles champions, 6-7, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6, 8-6, in Houston. Riggs, 65, and Anderson, 48, rallied from a 5-1 deficit in the fourth set They split the winners' share of $50,000, and the losers split $25,000.

Riggs presented his opponents with roses, and Casals reciprocated with a fifth of Old Granddad bourbon. in ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: After back-to-back undefeated seasons at' Lawrenceville High, Ron Felling is going out on top. He is resigning after 16 seasons, four Illinois state basketball championships and 388 victories in 465 games. Felling, 43, said he made the decision as early as last fall, when he submitted a letter of resignation in a sealed envelope to the school principal, with the stipulation that the letter not be opened until this month. Felling cited "personal and professional reasons" and said he wished to remain at the school as a teacher and athletic director.

"Right now, I'm just physically and emotionally drained," he said. "It has been a grueling two years." said he had not applied for another coaching job but would consider any offers. ONLY FOR Performance 4 Gene Klein really shined today." The offensive line also helping the Stallicns roll up 242 yards' rushing while controlling the ball for 43' minutes 28 seconds. With New Jersey's1 offense on the field for just 16:32, Walker managed a season-low 28 yards on 11 carries. "They kept the ball the whole game and I just stood back and watched," said Walker, who leads the USFL with 1,051 yards rushing.

"I reckon I should have brought my rabbit's foot we didn't haveany luck." THIS GE COLOR TV WILL BE YOURS WITH THE PURCHASE OF ANY NEW HONDA CIVIC Here's what you get: Great color selection Two and four-door models Air conditioning Automatic Transmission Power steering and brakes AM radio You'll find just whet yoo wont here, rigM new. Stallions Kick Generals OFFER G0CD GXLY CN CARS PURCHASED FRSX KAY 1st THRU MAY 15th. 1983. right We WILL BEAT ANY Advertised Price on ANY HONDA Model EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (UPI) Because Birmingham dominated the trenches, Stallions kicker Scott Norwood rather than Herschel Walker shone brightest Monday night.

Norwood set. a United States Football League record with five field goals and lifted the Stallions to a 22-7 victory over Walker and the New Jersey Generals. "Qur defense did a super job," Norwood said. "They're the ones who We're slightly vest of Detroit end north of Highway 40 on Lindbergh. Phoni 994-1400 Dds-Honde JJ A.