The Times from Shreveport, Louisiana • Page 58

Sunday, July 23, I II hl'Olt l' llMKS -rmr NSU's George Doherty: 15-Year Wait Is Over 135 By Nico Vna Thvn Times Sports Writer NATCHITOCHES "Every coach has ambitions of being a PbmiroyaD HOME AND AUTO CEWTEiy enjoyed Toledo Bend, I'll tell you that," he says with a grin. ''But I haven't had as much time lately and they're just starting to bite, too." But fishing still ranks No. 2 behind a 1 1 in George's sports interests. And he's raring to get into the 1972 season. "I 'm rv fortunate hp head coach," 6ays George Doherty.

"Frankly, I cot to the point where I was thinking that thinking about football," he says. The university, he adds, expects to name a business manager soon to lift some of the extra burden. His new office, a few steps down the hall from his old one in Prather Coliseum, reflects the Demon lifestyle purple rug, purple desk drawers, a lamp base that is a purple football helmet with the Demon de-cal on the side. "What Northwestern has to it woman como again." On May 2nd this spring, after a 15-v ear apprenticeship in offers. "We've got a great staff OUR BEST DEAL OF THE WEEK college football, Doherty's ambition was 1 i 1 1 d.

He was oi assistants here. People like Gene Knecht, John Ropp, Johnnie Emmons. Herhia Snvth nnH named the head football coach at Northwestern State Universi Jerry Arledge." He recalls the Minden days fondly. How he came in 1950 with a 21-man squad and left after the 1956 season and a second state championship. He left a squad which was so strong that, in 1956, the Crimson Tide had TWO junior teams and both went unbeaten and unscored upon hi a total of 19 games.

'Coaching Is Timing' "Coaching is timing," George offers, "and I just happened to hit Minden at a great time. There were great kids and the fans really supported the program. The only problem we had with the fans was telling them not to do too much." The program was built with the help of assistant coaches Pat Nations, great technician who taught the and Curly Miles Pied Piper, he got every kid to love and Minden athletic director Joe Oliphant, who "devoted his whole life to voune offer," he said concerning re cruiting, "is that a kid can play Ana with their help, George Doherty hopes that, like at Minden in the early 1950s, he'll find the right timing at Nor football here, that he's got a better chance to play because of the numbers. And he can get an thwestern. education here.

We want to stress that." fnW7 wwm And he believes it can be a "fun" program. WRESTLING MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM TONIGHT 3:00 P.M. "Unhappy kids are ones that don't play," he reflects. "Here they've the chance to play. We've got about 70 scholarships and we play about 50-55 boys a ty.

It'll be his second tour as a head coach. The first came during the early 1950s at Stamps (Ark.) High School and Minden High School, where he rebuilt the football program and left it as one of the state's best. That was a different era, and so was the one when he played football, as a collegian at Louisiana Tech and later as a Rrofessional lineman with the ew York Yankees, Boston Yanks and Buffalo Bills from 1944-49. But George relates to any era. "Football doesn't change that much," he said during a recent interview.

"Many things are different, but the game is still the same." The sudden turn of events at NSU in early May caught him by surprise. Glenn Gossett resigned as head football coach and athletic director and the year, i aeiimteiy tninK our size program is one in which kids can have tun. 'mat's our pniio- sophy and we're gonna sell it and five it." in iii'im Much of his philosophy is people and had a recreation program no one could beat." "It was a great combination, everything went just right," Doherty adds. Twice he turned down offers to coach at Southeastern Louisiana College before he finally decided to leave Minden for Tech. But George doesn't look behind him.

"A coach is closer to patterned after that of Aillet. "He had a lot of great ideas and ideals." Doherty says of the oD EflCH IVAN PUTSKI man under whom he worked for a decade. "And he carried them out. That's the difference. He did it.

A lot of people just talk and don't do it." But George Doherty will be his own man. "You can't coach someone else's personality," he savs. "As much as I learned JWWSTO MAIN EVENT (For World't HavyweigM TiH) Dory Funk, Jr. Cowboy BtH Wotts SEMI-FINAL Tom Jone Bruiwr Bob Sweeten SPECIAL TAG MATCH Ivan Purski Igor Putskl Terry Garvin Dulce Myeri FIRST EVENT Ken Mantell The Mongol Ringside S3.00 Res. $2.50 Gen.

Adm. $2.00 Child: Ringside $1.25 Gen. Adm. $1.00 Coll 422-9371. All day Sunday for reservation Northwestern's George Doherty doing the bookwork, DELUXE erqq rCMSCE too MASTER his kids in high school," he offers, "but we've got a group of kids here at Northwestern we're gonna be close to this1 year." About the only regret he has about i the Demon head coach is that it has cut; into his fishing time.

"I've! from Coach Aillet, I can't coach CHARGE cover the option plays and the like him." powers-that-be on campus wasted almost no time naming Doherty as his successor. For five years, he had been the defensive line coach on Gossett's staff, coming to NSU in 1967 after 10 years as an assistant to the late Joe Aillet at Louisiana Tech. "I didn't have any indication about the job here, it was a sudden thing," he recalled. He greets you with a pleasant smile. In fact, it seems George is always smiling.

It's little wonder he's gained a reputation as a top-notch recruiter, a double wide receiver set." onuvitt ay And. although he has that The biggest change will be always-pleasant outlook off the field. Doherty on the field can that the Demons are once again in the GSC. That's not the Gulf be a Mr. Hyde.

Guaranteed 24 Months or 24,000 Miles States Conference, though. It's "He's the nicest man in the world before and after prac tice," one of his former players the new Gulf South Conference, a 10-team league spread across Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama. said recently. "But, in practice, he's mean. He yells, grabs Still, he says that NSU wants to continue, and will continue, series with Louisiana Tech, McNeese, Northeast and Stephen F.

Austin. Asked to compare players of his day to the ones of today, George has an immediate answer. "Specialization," he points out, "that's the difference. "The free substitution rules have changed the type of boy you have today," he explains "We didn't believe in substitution back then. Now a player goes 8-10 plays at a maximum.

He knows he's going to get a rest. So they have better pursuit and they play harder. They don't have to gauge them HEAVY DUTY SHOCKS "Before we went into this $(99 EA. master of the soft sell. He's 51 now, a bit heavy in the face and around the beltline, and his hair is thinning out on top.

He drives a new LTD, loves to thing," Doherty says of NSU's search for a conference after a year as an independent, "I was jerseys and he'll drive you. Sometimes it was almost too much, he almost drove me off. But looking back at it, he's one of the best, coaches I've ever seen." skeptical. But it's the best thing for JNortnwestern now. Alter fish.

He and Mrs. Doherty, a member of the English faculty at NSU, are the parents of one son, Mike, 20, who plays visiting with the people in the LIFE OF CAR GUARANTEE-FREE REPLACEMENT IF DEFECTIVE conference, I think it's gonna be Changes will be made from the Gossett era, but the Demons on-the-field look will be similar. "You know, Glenn had a fine football mind," Doherty said. a better league than the old GSC." selves." "Our boys know the caliber of as an example, he uses Slingin' Sammy Baugh. "The competition," he adds, noting HOLMES WRECKER-RAMA 15-HOLMES WRECKERS-15 SEE Second Holmes Wrecker ever built mounted on antique Cadillac SEE one of the South's largest wreckers mounted on tandem Peter Bilt SEE new and used Holmes wreckers Most sizes will be on display from Holmes 330 to Holmes 750 5 Used wreckers These demonstrator wreckers will be sold at discount prices and delivered after the show.

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INSTALLATION AVAILABLE "We'd already completed spring training when the change was made and our personnel is set." So look for the Demons to that NSU has played Jacksonville State, Livingston State and greatest passer. I've ever seen," he says. "But he was a good football for Northwestern. With the new job comes added responsibilities as acting athletic director. "But the pressure isn't that much greater," he says.

"Anytime you get wrapped up in it all the way, even as an assistant, you feel the pressure." What does bother him is the bookwork budgets, ticket sales, equipment purchases. "It takes time, keeps you from continue in a basic I-formation offense with a bit of the full-house too, and a basic 5-4 Troy State in recent years. "And the boys were tickled to death about the conference. You'd be surprised the difference it makes playing for a championship and having all-star teams, etc." runner, a good kicker, he played defense. He didn't have time to just concentrate on passing.

"Kids today are bigger, stronger and faster," George surmises, "but they don't know what conditioning is." defense. "The bis thine on UN I ROYAL HOME AUTO CENTER Charlie Edmondson, Manager 1005 Shreveport-Barksdale Hwy. Ph. 869-230 HOURS: Men. thru Fri.

8 to 6 Sat. 8 to 5 defense," Doherty offers, "is you've got to be flexible to i BOSSIER TIRE SUPPLY 201 E. Texas Bossier City 742-2132 Cluteh Hitter Billings Finds Starter's Mask in Texas UNI ROYAL mm mm turn unw i in four runs. Three of those games were against righthanded pitchers. Williams notes Billings' surge results from his getting solid wood on the ball.

Williams points to Billings' first homer of the seasos, a shot into the left center stands in the ninth inning against the Twins at Arlington Stadium May 24, as the "longest ball hit in this park." In the final game of the year with the a 1 1 i Orioles, Wednesday, July 19, Billings went two for three and knocked in two runs, i 1 i the go-ahead run which beat the defending American League champions 3-2. He has been the club's crutch hitter this season. He upped his batting average to .285, second only to Larry Biittner's 286. Billings is one of the more rugged guys on the club at 6-1 and 190 pounds. He's been kayoed by a pitched ball in Kansas City knocked wide-eyed by Carlos May in a successful tag at the plate at Arlington Stadium, and knocked groggy going into the fence at Denver after a line drive in an exhibition game.

Yet he's not missed a game by injury this season. Billings dislikes being called a pattern hitter. He likes to change his type of cut according to the situation. "Most good hitters swing the same way all the time, but I like to change up. If the bases are empty, I'll take a hard cut at the ball, a home run cut, if you want to call it that.

"Then if there is a runner on base, I just try to make contact, hit the ball hard, move up the runner or score him. Anything but strike out." Billings went behind the plate full time last season and hit .246 in 116 games. One of his hits was a grand slam home run off Phil Hennigan in a 15-6 rout of Cleveland on July 5. fyY ik sun priceo lowck Times Sports Service ARLINGTON, Tex. "When Rich is in there, looks like we get the hits to win," commented Texas Rangers maaager Ted Williams in a recent victory in which the veteran Rich Billings contributed three hits.

Billings has been one of the most consistent Rangers with the bat since Williams turned the No. 1 catching mask over to the 29-year old Michigan State grad after husky Hal King cooled at the plate. Billings has been flirting with the American League's top 10 batting list for weeks. Only Boston's Carlton Fisk has been more impressive among the American League catchers with the bat this season. Billings insists he is a streak-hitter, however, which means his pursuit of the AL Top Tei catalogue is "iffy" to say the Fortunately for the Rangers, Billings has been in his streaks this season with runners on base, meaning he's the club's most formidable clutch hitter to date.

Williams started the 1972 season by platooning Billings and King, a system the former infielder-outfielder quickly admits isn't to his liking. The righthanded swinging Billings proved his point in a recent four -game series is which he collected six hits, including a home run and drove CHECK YOUR AIR CONDITIONING GLOBE SHOPPING CITY ARKLATEX? WE AT PEERLESS SUPPLY WOULD LIKE YOU TO MEET SOME FOLKS WHO HAVE BEEN SERVING INDUSTRY IN THIS DON'T LET HOT WEATHER SPOIL YOUR FUN! COMPLETE AIR CONDITIONER TUNE-UP BY THE Gas Station 7-10 P.M. Daily CLOSED SUNDAY Automotive 9-9 Weekdays 9-8 Saturday Closed Sunday AREA FOR MANY YEARS. HERE IS "FENNER BAUCUM" SUPERIOR CHROME REVERSED WHEELS 488 Clean Intake Filters Clean Condenser Fins Check Anti-FreezeCoolant Tighten Hardware Inspect System for Leaks Pressure Test System Adjust Drive Belt Tension Charge AC System Tlus Freon WHY BE BALD? Precision Ground and polished to a brilliant finish and plated with heavy "BLUE SAPHIRE" chrome for long-lasting beauty! ONLY If I 'h Ok! 'ill I in. I 1 "feJr- i 7 1 I AIR CONDITIONER A resident of the Shreveport area for 42 years and selling Crane and other brands of valves for Peerless for 27 years.

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