The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page 39

Severe Test To Come In First Weeks Of Campaign The By JIM SCHLEMMER I'm no seer But from what I Hear and fear; Baseball's Centennial Will be its Dizziest Year! If, as Alvin Dark. predicts, the Indians are to be contenders for Eastern honors and the right to meet Oakland In the American League pennant playoffs next October, they'll have ear ly opportunity to prove it. Starting Tuesday in Detroit, five of their first eight games will be with the defending world champion Tigers. Six of their first 11 are with the 19G7 champion Boston Red Sox whom they take on friday afternoon in the home opener in the lakefront stadium. Four of their first 20 are with the 1966 world champion Baltimore Orioles; four of their first 22 are with the resurging New York Yankees and five of their first 25 are with the lowly, but troublesome Washington Senators who defeated the Indians in 10 of 17 meetings last season.

AGAINST these five old rivals in the new divisional setup the Indians won 42 and lost 47 last season. Their worst mark was 6-12 against. Ihe rhampum Tigers; their best was 11-7 over the Orioles who have been made prime favorites to represent the league in the 1969 World Series, probably against the San Francisco Giants. Crantcri that the Indians finished third last year, a jump of five places in Ihe standings; they were 16' lengths behind the leaders and only a half game. better off than 1hc year before when they finished eighth.

Their climb was at the expense of three of the four clubs which, with expansionists Kansas City and Seattle, make up the Western Division. The Indians had a 14-4 edge oxer the Minnesota Twins, over the Chicago White Sox, 11-7 pver the California Angels but were only 6-12 against the Oakland Athletics. THIS YEAR they will play 13 games with each club in their own division but only 12 with those in the oilier division. It could make a big difference in 1 ho final standings. In fact, this radical departure to divisional play could result in two or three superior teams in division being eliminated while some humpty dumpty outfit from the See TKIUK, 1'iiKf SECTION B-7 B-9 B-10 Auto Racing Horse Racing Outdoors Feller Is B-2 Tom Melody B-3 Masters All 'Write' B-6 fs.

-TV Sunday, April 6, 1969 AKRON BEACON JOURNAL Wins Firestone Tournament of Champions Godman Rips Stefanich In 'Jim Dandy' Battle fornia n. "I sat there watching the first three games and I realized I'd have to throw a super game perhaps a 240-250 to win. So .1 stuck with the speed ball that had gotten me to the top-seeded position during the week." STEFANICH, who collected $12,500 for second place, got into the championship round with fine bowling and a cou- pie of gifts from Wayne Zahn and Dave Soutar. Zahn, who routed Don Johnson 258-193 in the day's opening match, allowed Stefanich to get off the hook in the second game with a crucial shot on the last ball of the 10th frame. It came on a four-pin leave the bucket in bowling parlance when Zahn needed nine pins to tie Steffy and 10 fanich in the championship game.

Godman destroyed Stefanich, the 1967 champion, with an overpowering ball. He reeled off seven strikes in a row to open the match and left little doubt that on this rainy afternoon he was king of the hill. "I decided I wasn't going to try to finesse the ball," said the blondish, 23-year-old Cali By JOHN FL1NN Ignoring the so-called tender touch of modern bowling, powerfully-built Jim Godman smoked his way to $25,000 in the Firestone Tournament of Champions Saturday at Riviera Lanes. It was, he admitted, "my greatest thrill" but one richly deserved following a crushing 266-228 victory over Jim Ste llil, JKr.i, hi Jaek Patterson Godman Had Good Luck On His Side to beat him. However, the ball, which Zahn said was thrown well, slid and as a result Stefanich won the match 237-234.

"I liked the ball when I turned it loose," said Wayne, who got off the day's best line despite his unhappiness over the outcome of the finals. When asked why he took a penknife out of his pocket during the Stefanich match, Zahn answered, "I was trying to cut 'my throat." Actually, he was positioning a piece of tape in the thumbhole of his ball. STEFANICH, with the win over Zahn tucked away, moved on to meet Soutar, the quiet, capable player from Detroit. This match also went to the last frame, Soutar throwing a crushing 4-7-9-10 split while Stefanich, who trailed by 10 pins most of the way, rammed home three strikes for a 227-201 victory. Soutar, like Zahn, was not dissatisfied with the fatal ball when he turned it loose.

"It hooked right at the end," said Dave. "Quite frankly, I couldn't believe what was left standing." Dave then went strongly for the split but picked off the seven pin while sliding past the four. With luck, momentum and a smooth stroke going for him, Stefanich appeared to have the edge heading into the match with Godman, who had been sitting by while the others worked under the scorching lights of ABC television. HOWEVER, no one could measure the adrenalin that a flowing through God-man's powerful body. No doubt remembering the lean days of the Summer of 1968, Godman went after Steffy with a pin-shattering double on his first two throws and Jim Godman Is Study In Concentration never allowed his opponent to get off the dock.

Godman earned enough money at spas like Wauke-gan, 111., and Altoona, last Summer to remain on the tour after it appeared he would have to give it up. He also was assisted by Sam Merchant, a New Yorker, who agreed to back him. Merchant, by the way, was on SANDY GODMAN, in blue frills had matching chills. She clutched as if her life depended upon it on a worn $2 bill all the while her husband, Jim, was winning $25,000 in new, crisp ones. At the finish of the spectacular final match in the $100,000 Firestone PBA Tournament of Champions, in which Godman defeated Jim Stefanich, 2G6-228, the $2 bill was all wet, soaked with the perspiration of Sandy's hands.

Sandy herself was damp, too, choking back tears of happiness. "What do you do with that much money?" she sobbed happily. If ever a girl came close to nervous collapse during a bowling event, it was 22-year-old Sandy Godman. But she was no different from the other three wives and Earl Zahn, the father of Wayne Zahn, between whom I wound up seated for the big show. Of them all, however, Sandy was the wildest.

Even before Ihe match started she was clutching at that old $2 bill. She had it wrapped in a piece of note paper. "It's so old," she said, "I wrapped it up because I was afraid I'd get excited and tear it in half or something." Lucky IVnny, Too THE $2 GOOD LUCK charm originally was given to Jim by his mother who works in a bank. But it didn't work for Jim. He went into a slump almost as soon as he stuck it in his pocket.

He was about to throw it away when Sandy asked to have It. "for luck." "This thing is lucky?" he asked. "Maybe it will be for me," said Sandy. The rest is history. Sandy revealed that just in case the $2 bill didn't work its magic, she had insurance in the form of a lucky penny her babysitter at the Akron Towers had given her yesterday morning.

It seems the babysitter had done likewise for Gary Player last. Fall on the day of the final round of the World Series of Golf which Player won for a $50,000 payoff. The babysitter, Mrs. Florence Becke, 264 W. Market, was still with the Godman children when I called.

"We were just as excited as they were," she said. "We hand for the victory and insisted "I never thought anything like this would happen to me." Godman, in going for a perfect, game, was thwarted by a solid 10 pin leave in the eighth frame, but by that, time he had the $25,000 game well in hand. Stefanich gave it his best See (iOD.MAX, Tage B-l Hodman Strategy: Finesse? Phooey! Anguish Overtakes Stefanich kept clapping our hands on every strike Mr. Godman threw." Meanwhile, even a gal that's just broke the bank can be counted on for a lament. Sandy bemoaned the fact that her pretty face was streaked with black for the TV presentation.

She had forgotten to wear waterproof eye shadow to weather her tears. A Time To Suffer TODAY, while Sandy is counting her cash, I'll be coming my bruises. Seated between all those excited people was like being on the bottom of a pile in a pro football game. I was elbowed, kicked, jostled but with $25,000 at stake, what could I expect? Sandy kept tapping her heels on the bleachers. Her legs never stopped bouncing up and down as hubby fired seven straight strikes in the finale.

Her hands patted a steady tattoo on those legs and her breath kept coming in short bursts that sounded like "Siss!" Olive Stefanich, perhaps, suffered even more. Husband Jim went through three matches before settling for the $12,500 runnerup award. Olive was constantly on her feet rooting for dear life. With her very meticulous pomped hairdo, it was wild to hear her let out with a Texas-like "Yahoo!" every time Jim got a strike. Mary Ann Johnson and Betty Soutar were the calmest of the wives but admitted to be "dying inside." Betty, when Dave appeared to have victory locked over Stefanich in the semifinal, hunched forward, hands clenched.

Then when Soutar lost by throwing a four-pin split in the very last frame, she recoiled back into Mrs. Johnson's arms, her eyes closed as if stunned. EARL ZAHN, Wayne's father, meanwhile, was one of the most vocal rooters. "I should have brought my tranquilizers," he said when Wayne peeled off five straight strikes. "Sweetheart, baby, Wayne, honey," he kept shouting.

But he, too, had both eyes clamped shut, his mouth twisted in a grimace when Zahn, too, with victory seemingly at hand against Stefanich, missed the headpin and left four pins in the final frame. Zahn needed a strike for victory, nine pins for a tie. I've got this one black and blue mark in the middle of my back where Sandy kicked me. I was thinking of suing but decided to wear my bruise as a souvenir. After all, how many people can sav they were kicked by a gal with flhtli3 4 hm ty- I Wavne Zahn Dave Soutar Sandy's ilappicsl Hour r'id tlien came (lie biltcr ed.