News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 28

Fort Myers News-Press, Wednesday October 9, 1974 i Hubert Ginn Finally Gains His Place In Spotlight By KEN PICKING News-Press Sports Writer MIAMI Television cameras were being quickly jockeyed around for the exact position in the Miami Dolphins' locker room. Blistering white lights, like from a crack in heaven's door, illuminated the darkest corners of the facility. All the preparations were over and now the post-game interview. One of the stars of the Dolphins' 21-17 Monday night victory over Joe Namath and the New York Jets. Jake Scott, who intercepted Broadway Joe twice to kill key drives, was heading to the showers to no one's dissatisfaction; Bob Griese was still stripping off his uniform; Larry Csonka was alone and quiet; Nick Buoniconti ripped the tape from his arms; others mingled, ready to' split.

So why the commotion? Who's left? Slumped on a bench, sat a Dolphin few recognized. The attention was centering around Hubert Ginn, a running back no one wanted. But a halfback the Dolphins' desperately needed Monday against the Jets. "1 guess I'm a little surprised at what happened tonight," he said sheepishly. "But I want you to know, that there is no doubt in my mind that I can play this game.

None at all. I have a lot of confidence. I just have to prove myself to others." Hubert Ginn did some proving against New York. Coach Don Shula went to the five-year pro out of Florida to give the Dolphin backfield some speed because of the absence of injured Mercury Morris, who paced the sidelines all four quarters due to a knee injury. And Ginn responded.

The 5-10, 185-pound swifty bolted for a timely 41-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins' only second half score, to give Miami the needed points to dispose of pesky Namath and his explosive Jets. Ginn had given the Dolphins a boost early in the third period after the Jets' first touchdown but it was nullified by a Randy Crowder clipping penalty. Ginn took Bobby Howfield's kickoff at the one, shimmied, shaked and squirted between almost all the Jets for a thrilling 99-yard touchdown scamper. But the yellow flag cancelled the sprint. "That kick off return was just one of those things," Ginn said matter-of-factly.

"Sometimes they go, sometimes they don't. It was a good run but clipping is just one of those things that goes with the game." Monday night was a rebirth for Ginn. Ginn was traded last year to the Baltimore Colts for Don Nottingham. Then the Colts cut Ginn after his year's preseason and Shula snapped up his former utility back. "I hope Joe Thomas watched the game," said Ginn, referring to the Colt general manager and now coach who let him go.

Ginn ran only 16 times for the floundering Colts last year, was waived and joined Miami two weeks ago. "I got a few lies told to me every week at Baltimore that I'd be playing," he said. "I just got a bad break there. Hopefully things will work out for me here." "I guess you could say this was Hubert's second or last chance with us," Shula said. "He played well on our specialty teams last ween in San Diego so I decided to give him some more playing time this week.

Besides, we needed some speed in the backfield with Morris out. He really showed some stuff tonight and we are glad to have him with us." Shula called Ginn's fourth quarter touchdown run the key to the Miami victory along with the big defensive plays by Jake Scott, who broke up Namath's final drives with key interceptions. But the attention early Tuesday morning in the steamy Dolphin locker room was not going to Scott, Anderson, Csonka, Kiick, Griese, Little, Mandich, Briscoe or the rest of the usual publicity attractions. Hubert Ginn was a wanted man for the first time. Broadway Joe Is Simply Joe From Page 1C 9r' 1 Ken picldng I Ncwt-Prou porH Writer their coverages up so much.

Jake Scott's two interceptions were terrific plays the man was open for a second and I thought I could complete the pass. You have to give the defender credit for great plays like those." While he was fielding questions ranging from his game to if he sleeps on the plane, the Jet trainer attended to his tender left knee. First packs of ice, then yards of bandage. He took the questions and treatment in stride. Nothing new.

"Oh, my he said. "Ah, this is routine. I'm in the best condition and health right now I have ever been in. But my knees are so bad from all the surgery, I have to have them iced and wrapped after any activity. Even a long walk or anything.

It is something I just had to get used to doing." Namath is more than football. He is most men's ideal. Tre rich, sexy bachelor of New York. Broadway at his feet. Chicks pawing for attention.

Scotch and a little water. Around bed with a white, fur spread. Male, purely and ruggedly male. "Oh, I still like New York, there is a lot going on you know." His slumped shoulders straightened and he pushed his small chaw deeper into his bottom lip. "If I had an inside job in New York, I couldn't live there at all," he said.

"I like to get outside, in the sun and breathe a little. No way could I stay coped up in the city." The last year or so, Namath has gotten, into transcendental meditation. A way to relax. Bill Walton and others have taken it up. To release tension.

"I do it religiously twice a day and sometimes more," he said. "It is great for you, it doesn't do anything bad to you at all. You can do it anytime, anywhere for a minimal amount of time and get throughly relaxed both mentally and phyically." He said it has not either hindred or improved his game, just an avenue to follow when he is tired and tense. Ten years of playing professional football. Eighteen total years in the game.

And his passing is still sweet. But the fun is not as often as his championship days with the Jets an his glorious seasons under the Bear at 'Bama. "When you win, then football is fun," he said. "Losing is th only part of football that is not fun to me. When the rest of it is no fun, and I don't feel I can perform the way I want to, that is when I'll quit." His reasoning is pretty standard among pro sports' superstars but he spoke honestly and with sincere expressions.

He wants you to believe him. "During the season, quitting is a week to week thing," he said. "When you lose, you take it home with you and it wears on you. You can say 'Well, I did my best but it still was not enough to But losing still haunts you. When your friends bring it up, you try and smile and laugh it off but it still bothers you.

Winning is what makes this game fun." Namath didn't rush to finish. He was more than accomodating. Giving everyone what they asked for. No rail-roading, no nonsense. Just Joe Willie.

Each year, a little wise, a little richer. Always searching for a little fun through many avenues. A man living most's dreams like they would want to have them lived. Associated Press Wirephoto" NEW YORK JETS STAR QUARTERBACK JOE NAMATH he's growing older but he still ranks with best Jets Call Dolphins 'Tough' MIAMI (AP) If Miami football fans want to mutter about their "sluggish" Dolphins, the New York Jets aren't going to join in. "I think too many people down here and around the country are looking for something to go wrong," said Jets Coach Charlie Winner after his team's late-game surge fell short in a 21-17 Monday night loss to the defending National Football League champions.

"They played without (running back Mercurye and (receiver Paul) War-field and I didn't see anything wrong with thainer said. Jets linebacker Ralph Baker said, "The Dolphins are 3-1, and that isn't a bad situation. I'd rather be 3-1 and have people complain about me than be 1-3 and playing New England (New York's opponent) next week." Teammate Emerson Boozer agreed. "There's nothing wrong with the Dolphins, 'They are still tough," he said. Miami, its offense sluggish in the early going of the season's first three games and its heralded pass defense ranked 11th in the AFC, took command against the Jets in building a 14-0 halftime lead.

The defense held Jets quarterback Joe Namath to 94 yards in the air and New York ground gainers to only 12 yards. On offense, Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick successfully battered the New York defensive line while Bob Griese completed 13 of 18 pass attempts. But in the second half, Namath picked apart the Miami defense with pinpoint passes and New York's running attack showed some life. However, the Jets' final bid for victory ended with 31 seconds left when Jake Scott intercepted a Narnath pass off the hands of receiver Jerome Barkum. New York had advanced to the Dolphin 40.

"We made the big plays," said a relieved Miami Coach Don Shula. "That run of Hubert's (Hubert Ginn) really helped us. He just got outside and was gone down the sideline." Ginn, a castoff from the lowly Baltimore Colts and used primarily by the Dolphins as a kick returner and special team member, sealed the Miami victory with a 41-yard scamper midway through the final quarter. Griese, despite converting 13 of 18 third-down plays and connecting on 17 of 23 passes, said his team's second-half performance disappointed him. "The thing that concerns me is that when we had to keep the ball at the end we didn't do it," he said.

"If we could have controlled the ball our defense wouldn't have had to come up with the big plays like they did." The nationally televised game was not blacked out locally, and more than 27,000 people stayed away. The final 5,000 tickets necessary for the sellout were purchased and distributed by a national hamburger chain. Hialeah Race Track Selling Its Dates When hearing about Hialeah's. demise, Kenny Noe leading rider at the track's inaugral meeting in 1925, said, "Go 'way. You're kidding me.

I knew they was gone but I'd have bet my life they'd have run one more year. I'll be damned. I hate to see it happen. There was no place like it." Gmrit Ciffo JM0TIVE UL Jfe OCT.9 OCT. 9 12th 7iTir.TTiini?nni Panther Freshmen, Verot JV Tie, 6-6 aTP OIL TREATMENT 67 racers edge.

HIALEAH (AP) Hialeah race track, famous for half a century as a fashionable showplace for thoroughbred horses, apparently will not open for a 51st season. Stockholders of the financially burdened track voted Monday to sell Hialeah's prime middle racing dates this winter, Jan. 17 to March 4, to nearby Gulfstream Park for more than $7 million. The action is subject to approval by the Florida Board of Business Regulation, but state officials Tuesday said that such approval probably would be obtained. The flamingo populated track, located in this Miami suburb, was hurt because of poor access from major highways and it suffered from declining revenues in recent years while newer, better located tracks have prospered.

Hialeah's earnings reached an all-time high in 1969, when it handled $82.6 million, well over $2 million a day for its season. The revenue fell in 1973 to $69.7 million when the track was awarded the rotating prime dates, and plunged to $49.3 million this spring. Hialeah officials estimated their losses this spring at $3 million. The track was purchased in 1972 by a group headed by sportsman Jo Galbreath and Tropical Park owner William L. McKnight.

ORANIHASIER RADIAL 20 OFF Any Seat Covers in stock. The Cypress Lake ninth grade team and the Bishop Verot junior varsity battled to a 6-6 tie at the Cypress Lake field Tuesday night in what turned out to be a strong defensive game. Cypress Lake scored first when Sam Russ capped an 8-yard drive with a touchdown run of 10 yards. The Baby Panthers passed for two points only to have the play nullified by a penalty and a second try was no good. Carl Barraco' gained the tie for Bishop Verot late in the game when he returned a Panther punt 48 yards for a touchdown.

The Vikings had their kick for an extra point blocked. Coaches of both teams praised the defensive play of both schools. Cypress Lake is now 1-0-2 and Bishop Verot is 2-0-1. bh PLUS $2.03 F.t.T. FITS MANV MOTELS OF: PINTO VEGA, GREMLIN.

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Virdon was selected as Manager of the Year in a poll of major league managers. Billy Martin of the Texas Rangers was runner-up. Virdon was relieved as manager of the Pirates late in the 1973 season after leading Pittsburgh to its third straight East Division title in the National League in 1972. He was fired and replaced by Danny Murtaugh at a time when the team still was in pennant contention. Virdon brought the Yanks in second after their fourth-place finish in 1973.

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Tone control. cox USD Mi Hi 1 'ii ifiinf eg "Don't miss these specials. odd to your Charge Account. I nr ll Browns' Sherk Signs 3-Year Pact the more for your moneysworth store I CUADrr Attn CHARGE CARD I good it all Gijnl sroies coast to codii Cleveland Ave. af Colonial Dlvd.

OPEN DAILY 9:30 A.M-9 P.M., SUNDAY 1 CLEVELAND (AP) The Cleveland Browns of the National Football League announced Tuesday that defensive tackle Jerry Sherk has signed a three-year contract..