The Pittsburgh Press from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 72

'f r1 i -2 Pittsburgh Press, March 2, 1 980 6th-Place Finish In World 5,000 HEERENVEEN, The Netherlands (UPI) Eric Heiden, winner of five gold medals in the Winter Olympics, left the ice to a chorus of boos yesterday when he managed only a sixth-place finish in the event during the men's all-around world speed skating championships, i Norway's Tom Erik Oxholm won the race. Heiden, acclaimed the "god of skating" by the Dutch media after his 'glittering Olympic performance, drew a crowd of 18,000 who expected to see the 21-year-old from Madison, win all four events en route to his fifth straight all-flrnund title. But although he won the opening event, the 500 meters in 39.82 over teammate Tom Plant, Heiden finished more than 10 seconds behind Oxholm in the 5,000 meters, placing behind three Norwegians and two Dutchmen. Oxholm, the silver medalist at Lake Placid, finished the 5,000 in 7:14.51, followed by Hilbert van der Duim of the Netherlands in 7:21.57. Third was Amund Sjoebrend of Norway, with Kai Arne Stenshjemmet of Norway fourth and Yep Kramer, also of the Netherlands, fifth.

Heiden's time of 7:25.37 barely placed sixth. In the standings for the championship which will conclude today with the and events Oxholm led with 83.781 points and Heiden was second with 84.357. Van der Duim of the Netherlands was third (84.487) and Stenshjemmet fourth (84.493). The mediocre times obviously were due to adverse weather conditions; the skaters were buffeted by a strong breeze and temperatures stood in the high 40's. Weariness shows en Brie Heiden's face at end of 5,000 meters.

jr 4 v. -i 4 I UPI Ttrtflhoto Life Beginning At 35 For Buc Pitcher een Long Grind For Bit by The Road Up Has (la spring training, Page D-8.) BRADENTON, Fla. Easy. It all looks so easy for Jim Bibby. All he has to do is stand there on the pitcher's mound, his bulging muscles hardly restrained by the stretching Pirate uniform.

happened differently, who knows if it had because of college, lost two years in the Army worked out as well." and another because of a back operation. But And, while other pitchers are winding down a maybe I preserved myself. Maybe that's why career at age 35, Bibby has a feeling his has just I'm so strong now." started. Bibby didn't feel so strong when he first "The guys I started out with got to the big arrived in Vietnam. He was scared, but that was leagues a lot faster," Bibby said.

"I started late a feeling that wore off. "I was in transportation," Bibby said. "We hauled everything from dead bodies to plastic forks back and forth to the front lines. My unit never got hit. We saw land mines, we saw mortar fire, but we bad a lot of security.

We stayed on the main road and were home before dark. It was scary a first, but after a while you He was strong in the National League playoffs, a rock in the World Series, and today is one of the reasons injuries to the pitching staff are not panicking the Pirates. Bibby is happy and not the least bit bitter about what has happened. "I look at it this way," Bibby said. "If it had When the catcher Press Box gives him a sign, all he has to do is use that magnificent body to fire the baseball as hard as he can.

But it hasn't been easy for Jim Bibby, got used to nothing happening. "I wasn't in any action, I didn't see anybody killed, so things weren't so bad for me. But the war messed up a lot of minds." His mind intact, Bibby returned to baseball, where he made good progress until his back went out. In 1970, the Mets decided the nnlv sniutinn was an nrv- which must be why he I 1 XI sweats line an icy glass of beer even on a cool April evening. Jim Bibby remem bers the tough times.

He remembers quitting college after three years By Dan Donovan eration. BIBBY The doctors went in, expecting to remove a bone spur from the middle of his back. But when they opened Bibby up, they found the spur was holding his backbone together. So instead they looked to the bottom vertebrae, where they found a congenital separation that required a fusion operation. "I sat out a year," Bibby said.

"I pitched some winter baseball, went to Tidewater where I started out 5-0 and finished 15-6. I've never had a problem with it since." Bibby solved his other problem, his college degree, finishing his final year in 1978 at Lynchburg College in his Virginia hometown. He was 34 at the time, with a good income as a major league pitcher. Many men would have just bagged the college degree. "There were two things I always wanted," Bibby said.

"I wanted to play in the major leagues and I wanted a college degree. I had one, so I wanted the other." His consistency, well, that was a problem solved, by of all things, maturity. "I think I've been successful the last four years because I've found myself," Bibby said. "I used to just rare back and throw. When I was with Texas (mid-1973 to mid-1975) I would throw fastball after fastball whenever I was in trouble.

Now I can throw the breaking ball on 3-0 with some confidence. I've learned to be a pitcher." And he's learned to be a wiccer. "The reason I came to Pittsburgh (as a free agent in April, 1978) was partly because I wanted to be with a winner," Bibby said. "My first year I recognized what it took to be with a winning team. I think that inspired me last year." It took a lot of things to make Jim Bibby the winner he was last year.

It was anything but easy. because he got a chance to fulfill his lifelong dream when the fledging New York Mets offered him a tryout. But cruel fate brought him a draft notice instead. For two years, he lost baseball and his college diploma, seeing only occasional softballs in boot camp, and the steering wheel of a truck while carrying a grisly cargo dead soldiers during a tour of Vietnam. Whole and healthy, Bibby returned to the New York Mets organization to re-start his career at age 24, about the time most players are in the midst of theirs.

He made solid progress for two years, but suddenly his back refused to carry his load, making it so painful his roommate, ken Singleton, had to bring him his meals in bed. Bibby remembers riding to the doctor's office in the back of a station wagon, because flat on his back was the only way he could stand the pain. And then there was the back operation that sounds more like guesswork than science, which left him with a 50-50 chance of playing baseball again. Bibby remembers the long hours spent working on his pitching technique, making sure that little-bitty ball doesn't get lost in those great, big hands and making sure that all 250 pounds of him moves in concert, putting together some sort of motion. And he remembers the skepticism he encountered when he reached the majors.

All he could do was throw fastballs. Which is all right for a young kid, but not for a 28-year-old bound to lose a little off his fastball with each passing year. Despite all the stumbling blocks life has thrown in his path, Bibby has reached the top. At age 35, he is a winner, 12-4 last season and the glue that stuck the starting staff together the second half of the season. Ifr.J -hi I 1Uf 1 h'1, nlfiiiWirinr.iM in i 1 Prtu Photo by Edwin More an A SURE SIGN that the baseball season is just around the corner champions is seconded by two visitors from McDonald, is one erected in Bradenton, Fla.

The welcome for the defending Washington County Cathy Toward and sister, Mary Pat, 3. Raiders, LA. Sign Pact To Move Oakland Club The ruling stayed an injunction issued Feb. 21 in Los Angeles by a federal judge prohibiting the NFL from enforcing its rale that a team needed approval by three-fourths of the club owners in order to move. NFL owners have scheduled a special meeting tomorrow in Dallas to hear arguments in the case.

LOS ANGELES (UPI) Oakland Raiders General Manager Al Davis and the head of the Memorial Coliseum Commission signed an agreement yesterday to move the NFL franchise to Los Angeles. Davis said the move would begin within two weeks. "It's a traumatic experience because of the fans of Oakland Davis said. "But in life you learn to live with the sorrow. I owe them a great deal because they did a lot for me, but I think the Raiders did a lot for the fans of Oakland.

"I would hope when we come dowi here we could make the fans of Los Angeles appreciate us just the way we appreciate them." The signing between Davis and Bill Robertson, held at the Coliseum in downtown Los Angeles and attended by Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, occurred despite continuing legal battles. Friday, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld the NFL's rule which states a franchise must obtain 21 favorable votes from the 28-member league before moving. Sports On The Air TELEVISION TODAY College basketball, Ohio State vs. Indiana, 1 p.m.

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Indoor championships, 2 p.rn. 13. Golf, Bay Hill Classic, 3 p.m. 6. NBA, Bucks vs.

Clippers, 3:45 p.m. -7, 10. RADIO TODAY Penguins vs. New York Islanders, 2:30 p.m. WWSW.

side of the ring shows Three Rivers Stadium. The rings will be delivered April 14, date of the Pirates' home opener with the Cubs. Pirate wives will get companion rings. WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP RINGS for the Pirates designed by Jostens, of Minneapolis feature 10 diamonds set in a gold on top. One side of the ring features a large Pirate head with the team member's name and the 'We Are Family' slogan.

Under the head is a star with the player's number, or in the case of Manager Chuck Tanner, his title. The other A 1.