Tallahassee Democrat from Tallahassee, Florida • Page 15

.1 Flanagan wins AL Cy Young award even after he recovered, he didn't come into his QJa.H York Yankees both got one vote for first place, but Flanagan was the only pitcher named on every ballot John, who posted a 21-9 record, had 51 points and Guidry, the league leader with a 2.78 earned run average and an 18-8 record, totaled 26. Texas reliever Jim Kern was fourth with 25 points. "I'll always look at the award as a team thing," Flanagan said. "When you win 108 games (counting post-season play), maybe I was the best pitcher, but I was also on the best team. It's a season I'll never forget as long as I play baseball" Flanagan won 19 games in 1978 but he went 8-11 over the final three months, being bothered part of the time with tendinitis in his left ankle.

The pain persisted into the 1979 season and BALTIMORE (AP) Mike Flanagan, ready for the worst, found himself at a loss for words when notified he was voted the American League's Cy Young Award winner for 1979. "I prepared myself for the unexpected," the 27-year-old left-hander of the Baltimore Orioles said Tuesday. "I didn't want a big letdown if I didn't get it "I didn't think I'd be as excited when I found out. I was so flustered, I didn't know what to say." Flanagan said he was wary because he had made the American League All-Star team with a 12-5 record in 1978, but was bypassed during the past season with the same won-lost record. "So I figured anything can happen," he said.

"You never know how a vote is going to go." But Flanagan, who had a 23-S record and topped the major leagues in victories, won in a landslide' in the balloting conducted by the Til always look at the award as a team thing. When you win 108 games (counting post-season play), maybe I was the best pitcher, but I was also on the best team. It's a season I'll never forget as long as I play baseball. Mike Flanagan Baseball Writers Association of America. Of the 28 ballots cast, two from each league city, Flanagan garnered 26 first-place votes and was second on the other two, totaling 136 points under a system that allows five points for first place, three for second and one for third.

Tommy John and Ron Guidry of the New own until learning a new changeup pitch from fellow pitcher Scott McGregor. From July 9 on, he won 13 of his last 16 decisions with a 2.23 ERA in 18 starts. For the season, he tied Dennis Leonard of Kansas City and Nolan Ryan of California for the league lead with five shutouts, was second with 38 starts, and third with 190 strikeouts and 265 innings pitched. The voting was conducted before the league championship series. He beat California in the playoffs and then split two decisions in the World Series, won by the Pittsburgh Pirates in seven games.

"We lost the Series," Flanagan said, "but I feel like the rest of the town not disappointed. We played well all year. We have nothing to be ashamed of." Mike Flanagan fops In victories pwwpw am alesman nil ii i i A i tells of fight with Martin wwjgj' Wo-w trSm MwKiii I I i I 4 1 11 if vir-WW NEW YORK (AP) Joseph Cooper, the marshmallow salesman at the center of Billy Martin's firing, said Tuesday the former New York Yankees manager threatened him, then sucker-punched him last week. In his first interview since the incident last Wednesday, Cooper told The Associated Press he and a business associate encountered Martin in the bar of the L'Hotel de France in Bloomington, Minn. "I was in Minneapolis on a business trip," Cooper said in a telephone interview from his home in Lincolnshire, 111., "and I had dinner with a business associate at the L'Hotel de France.

After dinner, my business associate asked if I would like to have a nightcap, so we went into the bar. "The only place open was a section of the bar between Billy Martin and Howard Wong (a longtime associate of Martin). Martin was there, but he had a cowboy hat on, and I didn't really recognize him. But my business associate did." 'Lm U7 A 1 Is. and Martin then asked Cooper what he did for a living.

"I told him I was in sales with marshmallows," Cooper said. "They thought it was a big joke, as everybody does. Then he introduced us to Howard Wong, and asked if we wanted to meet a millionaire. "Then Martin mentioned that he thought it was a bad choice that Williams was manager of the yeaf, and he said he wanted to go outside and 'whip your I "People were always coming up and asking him for his autograph, and we forgot about it for a while. He finally came back to me, and he' said, 'Tell you what, Joe, here is $500 to your penny I can knock you on your It was five $100 bills.

"I still didn't say too much, but he was harassing me, but time comes when pride comes into focus. I put a penny on his $500 and said, 'Let's "Between the bar and the lobby is probably about 30 feet, and there's an archway in between. He was ahead of me, and I was behind. As we walked through the archway into the lobby, he abruptly turned and hit me in the mouth. ii "I assume all of his fights have been sucker punches." Cooper, who suffered a cut requiring 15 to 20 stitches on his lip, remained silent for so long, he said, because he "didn't want Martin to lose his job." That reason vanished Sunday, when Yankees owner George Stein-brenner fired Martin barely 16 (Please see MARTIN, page 2B) 11 ft "''lilli-1 Cooper, 52, said the two introduced themselves to Martin, who is 51.

"We talked to him about his job what the future looked like, and so forth," Cooper said. "Then I made a statement to Billy that I thought it was a good choice picking Dick Williams (of Montreal) as manager of the year, although I thought Earl Weaver (of Baltimore) did a good job too. "Billy said, 'They were both --holes, and you're an hole too for saying it." Cooper said he ignored the remark, AP Howser, soon to be manager of the New York the Yankees after one year on the job at FSU Yankees Dick Howser, says good bye to his and gathered his players Tuesday for one FSU farewell piayers at seminoie r-ieia i uesaay. riowser, last time. Howser replaces Billy Martin, who Florida State head baseball coach Dick a former Yankee coach, chose to return to was fired Sunday.

from the sidelines Simmons' wrist Rattlers plunge to No. 5 in poll Bill AIcGrotha u.M..j.tm worries iNOies UPI honors Jimmy Jordan, p. 2B By BILL McGROTHA Democrat tportt editor By the look of Ron Simmons, he has something more than a sprained wrist. Florida State's junior nose guard wears a cast from below his elbow on his left arm down to his fingers. "We put it in a cast," Trainer Don Fauls said, "to tie it down for a couple of days." Earlier X-rays were negative, but Fauls said there would be more X-rays on Thursday when the cast is removed.

"In this particular area, sometimes things don't show up right away," Fauls said. Fauls described the injury as a jammed wrist. Hands and arms are important to a down lineman and the possibility of a Simmons able to play, but not at full speed, in Florida State's remaining four games is present. (Please see FSU, page 2B) Ron Simmons X-rays due Dear Governor: Come watch FSU include Alabama State (Saturday), South Carolina State (Nov. 10), and Southern (Dec.

1). Of the three, only S.C. State and perhaps Southern figure to give the Tigers a struggle. Jackson State has games left with Texas Southern (Saturday), Eastern Kentucky (Nov. 10), Langston (Nov.

17), and Alcorn State (Nov. 22). Eastern Kentucky and Alcorn are expected to be the toughest of the four opponents. Murray State has only two games left, with Austin Peay (Saturday) and Western Kentucky (Nov. 17).

The contest with Western Kentucky is expected to be the toughest of the two. FAMU must do more than hope for its competitors to lose, however. The Rattlers need to finish the season with four impressive victories to keep their playoff hopes alive. Saturday, FAMU travels to Alabama (5-2), and then finishes the season with games against Southern (Nov. 10), Bethune-Cookman (Nov.

24), and Rhode Island (Dec. 1). is ts The Rattlers continue to be plagued by injuries. Four freshmen started against Tuskegee, and Head Coach Rudy Hubbard said even more first-year men may be pressed into action against Alabama Quarterbacks Sammy Knight (ankle) and Pete Taylor (knee) are still hurt, but Hubbard is hoping one of them will be healthy enough to start Saturday. FAMU has started inexperienced quarterbacks in its last two games, (Please see FAMU, page 2B) Press corps, fans follow Seminoles Shorting the circuits: FLORIDA STATE football got record coverage for out-of-state game at LSU.

Twenty-one Florida writers were on hand. Additionally, four Florida papers had staff photographers there. LSU officials said it was about the biggest corps to follow any team into Tiger Stadium also that the 3,000 Seminole fans there made perhaps as much noise as any visiting delegation ever Sol Carroll was plastering FSU decals all over, including one on the cage of Mike, the tiger mascot of LSU Athletic Director Paul Dietzel is correct Tiger Stadium is an exciting place to play! Also a beautiful one. JIM LAMPLEY, the ABC announcer, is one that thinks Jimmy Jordan must be all-world He has done play-by-play on telecasts of Seminole games three times in last three years (Florida '77, Navy 78, LSU '79), and in those the Florida State quarterback completed 42 of 77 passes for 832 years and 10 touchdowns! Coach Bobby Bowden says he told Jordan before the LSU kickoff he'd shoot him if he started throwing short, like he did against Mississippi State. The game plan was to throw long.

"I told him," Bowden cracked, "I'd plug him right between the eyes!" DICK HOWSER, as he leaves Florida State to become manager of New York Yankees, will remain close-mouthed about the deal he got. But a three-year contract calling for around $70,000 annually plus a variety of fringe benefits figures close One thing that may be of incidental help to Howser is his ability to talk another game football with George Stein-brenner, the owner. Before joining his family's shipping business, Steinbrenner was an assistant coach on the football staffs of Northwestern and Purdue. STEVE SLOAN, ex-Seminole assistant, on Naki-ta Williams, one of his Ole Miss linebackers: "He's quicker than inflation." But obviously not quick enough to compensate for shortcomings of the Rebels, now 2-5 with LSU, Tulane, Tennessee and Mississippi State remaining. BEST OF THE pro quarterbacks? Well, your banker would reckon Miami's Bob Griese No.

1 with his $375,000 annual salary. He's followed, in that neighborhood by Houston's Dan Pastorini Baltimore's Bert Jones ($300,000) and Pittsburgh's Terry Bradshaw ($300,000) Denver's Craig Morton, at By BARRY COOPER Democrat iporti writer Florida has dropped from second into a tie for fifth in this week's NCAA Division I-AA national football poll. The Rattlers fell after being upset by Tuskegee, 16-14, last Saturday. FAMU now has lost two straight, and had been ranked No. 1 before losing to Tennesee State two weeks ago.

Ranked first in the poll this week is Grambling (6-2), which has come on strong in recent weeks. Three weeks ago the Tigers were ranked seventh, but they have trounced their last three opponents while climbing to the No. 1 spot. Jackson State (6-1) is ranked second, while Boston University (6-1) is third and Murray State (7-1-1) fourth. FAMU (5-2) is tied with Eastern Kentucky (6-2), which fell from No 1.

after losing to Murray State. Tied for seventh are Lehigh (6-2) and Montana State (5-3). Massachu-Sets (5-2) claims the No. 9 position. Alcorn State (5-2) and Morehead "State (5-M) are tied for 10th.

FAMU had braced itself for the worst after losing to Tuskegee, a member of Division II. But the four-man voting committee thought enough of the Rattlers to keep them within striking range of a possible playoff spot. I Teams from the South Region have dominated the poll all season, and this week five of the top six teams are from the South. One playoff team will come from the South, one from the West and one from the East. A fourth team will be picked from one of the three regions, and that team is almost certain to come from the talent-laden South.

That would give the South two playoff teams, which enhances FAMU's playoff chances. The Rattlers, however, are ranked behind South members Grambling, Jackson State and Murray State. It would appear that the Rattlers' playoff chances are slim unless at least two of those teams eliminate themselves with losses. Grambling's remaining opponents Paul 2 Dear Governor Graham, I hope you had a nice time at the University of Florida homecoming last weekend. Can't blame you for going because that's always been the place for politicians to be seen and heard what with the Blue Key Banquet, Gator Growl, the John Marshall student bar skits and, of course, the big game Saturday afternoon.

Adding to the weekend was the dramatic ceremony on the field when they retired Scot Brantley's jersey number. The Democrat even ran a picture Sunday of Brantley and head coach Charley Pell embracing and you standing there applauding along with 60,000 fans. My only purpose in writing is to remind you that the season is fast slipping away. It would be a shame for it to end without your having seen the Florida State Seminoles or the Florida Rattlers play. The Rattlers have stumbled the last two weeks, but until then they were ranked No.

1 nationally in their division for four consecutive weeks. Sorry you missed the game with Miami that glorious Saturday when FAMU proved to all the sports world it can truly play with and beat the big boys. And sorry you missed their homecoming game last weekend against Tuskegee; but we know there was a conflict with Florida's homecoming at Gainesville. l-AA Things went well anyway. Ali stole the show as expected.

The Seminoles have missed you, too. I know they would have wanted you to be at the opener against Southern Mississippi. What a barn burner that one was! Wish you could have seen them get cranked up against Miami. And when Mississippi State came to town, your seat up in the president's box was the only vacant one in the stadium. Bernie Sliger is going to start thinking you don't like him.

Even a couple of die-hard Gators like Doyle Conner and Bill Gunter have been to two Seminole games. We all know Bobby Bowden is not one to go around overstating things, and so when he called the game against LSU Florida State's "biggest," well, I guess maybe it was. And I bet (Please see GRAHAM, page 2B) The Top 10 teams In the NCAA Division football poll, with records and poll points. 1. Grambling 6-2-0 45 42 39 36 33 33 25 25 24 18 18 2.

Jackson State 6-2-0 3. BostonU 6-1-0 4. Murray Stale 7-1-1 5 Florida S-J-0 5. Eastern Kentucky 6-2-0 7.Lehigh 6-2-0 7.Montana State 5-3-0 Massachusetts 5-2-0 lO.AIcorn 5-2-0 lO.Morehead Stale 5-1-1 (Please see McGROTHA, page 2B).