The Montgomery Advertiser from Montgomery, Alabama • 37

Sec'on THE ALABAMA JOURNAL AND ADVERTISER SATURDAY. JUNE 29, 1985 Baseball Basketball Golf Softball KIM SHUGART ASU trastees suspend Parker frontn oacliiiiLi? tnntil Dec 31 By MIKE MARSHALL Advertiser Sports Writer The Alabama State University Board of Trustees ended months of speculation surrounding the fate of embattled Head Football Coach Jim Parker Friday night, vot ing 5-3 to suspend him until Dec. 31 without pay. Parker will be retained on the school's faculty, then re-assume his duties as head football coach. In announcing the decision after the board met in executive session for II 1 investigation that found 16 players illegally participated last season.

The NCAA Committee on Infractions levied two years' probation on the Hornets. Parker, in his second stint as the Hornets' head coach, compiled a 2-9 record last season, his first at Alabama State since 1975. The decision to suspend Parker reversed a May 2 decision. According to a letter dated May 7, the board instructed Howard to demand Parker submit a letter of resignation. The letter also stated tat if Parker did not resign, dismissal proceedings would be initiated.

"It was difficult to forsee anything until -we got to the table tonight," Howard said. "All of the case was deliberated at the table tonight. PARKER DID NOT attend the meeting. He was meeting with players who had attended the meeting when informed of the board's vote. "I don't have anything to say until I hear something official," he said.

Howard said after the meeting that no thought had been given to naming an interim coach. A trustee, who requested anonymity, said Tuesday that defensive backfield coach Jerome Harper had been named interim coach. Harper, a former Hornet standout, ac-, knowledged that he had been given the responsibility of overseeing players' -eligibility during the summer. When asked if Parker would be allowed to have input into the football program, Howard said, "He'll have to move out of his office." Howard said that, as a faculty member, Parker could not be completely denied access to the football program. Please see PARKER, 5D Stallions facing theirlaststand? Will Saturday's playoff game with Houston be Birmingham's last stand in the United States Football League? Despite the fact the Stallions won the Eastern Conference championship, and despite the fact the Birmingham City Council and limited partners rode to the franchise's rescue earlier in the season, the team looks like a goner.

The limited partners, of whom there are many, struggled during the last weeks of the regular season to secure financing that could keep the Stallions in Birmingham. And they appear to be fighting a losing battle. Why would any potential investor want to take a gamble on the Stallions? If Birmingham could manage to win the USFL championship, which is a possibility, then the Stallions might look like a valuable commodity. However, looking at the current situation, the team isn't worth the financial risk. Staying away in droves If the Stallions had been packing Legion Field during the regular season, then throwing big bucks into the franchise would be worth the gamble.

Rather than boisterous, overflowing crowds, spectators have been staying away in droves. The turnstiles probably have become a little rusty because of a lack of use. Strong support for the Stallions simply isn't there, and the attendance during the regular season reflects it. Legion Field seats more than 75,000, and the Stallions haven't even come close to filling it. The largest crowd to witness a game in Birmingham occurred during the middle of the season when Oakland paid a visit.

The official attendance was 44,500. For those who didn't major in mathematics, that's precisely 30,500 short of capacity. An attendance figure like that doesn't correlate into a successful franchise in my book. A look at the Stallions' eight other home dates would be enough to scare away even the most optimistic investor. Parker two hours and 10 minutes, Alabama State President Leon Howard said, "It is recommended that Coach Willie James Parker be suspended from his position as head football coach until Dec.

31 with a corresponding forfeiture of pay. "It is further recommended that the president appoint an interim coach immediately. Coach Parker is entitled to a hearing if he requests one within five days of this date." THE BOARD members voting in favor of the motion were Joe Reed, Larry Keener, LaRue Harding, Andrew Hayden and James Smith. Chairwoman Patsy Parker, Ross Dunn and Lillian Hope were those voting against the action. Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington and William Smith did not attend.

"I'm against Coach Parker being at Alabama State, period," said Dunn, after requesting a roll call vote from Mrs. Parker. ti Joarnal photo by link Knlaw ASU board Chairwoman Patsy Parker, right, reads results of vote President Leon Howard, left, listens in during meeting After the meeting, Dunn said, "I really DUNN SAID he was not totally sur-don't want to say anything. I don't want to prised at the decision, say anything except I'm real disappointed. "Yes, I could see this happening," he By talking, I wouldn't be doing anything said.

but hurting the school." Parker was implicated in an NCAA 2 seeded players lose at Wimbledon For the home opener against the New Jersey Generals with drawing cards Herschel Walker and Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie, 34,785 stormed through the gates. For the Denver Gold, 27,400 paid the price of admission. For the Memphis Showboats, with flamboyant head coach Pepper Rodgers and former University I Nduka Odizor of Nigeria 7-6, 6-1, 7-6. "I STARTED REALLY slowly today and finished a little slowly, but I felt good in the tiebreakers," said the feisty New Yorker. He won both tiebreakers by identical 7-1 scores.

"I felt like I just got by, just enough to win," he said. "There's not a lot you can do when you feel like that. "I've been real flat a lot more this year when I've come onto the court. I don't really know why I don't think I would win the tournament if I played like this the rest of the way." McEnroe twice debated line calls with the umpire, and when a spectator called to him, "Come on, John, play," he reacted by shouting, "Shut up." Later, when a group of fans disturbed his (concentration, he bellowed: "Quiet." favorite in the women's singles and made Navratilova and Lloyd co-top seeds others advancing on a chilly, overcast day included Yannick Noah of France, Sweden's Stefan Edberg and Joakim Nystrom, and Americans Jimmy Connors, Johan Kriek, Tim Mayotte and Kevin Curren. In the women's singles, Claudia Kohde-Kilsch of West Germany and Americans Pam Shriver and Bonnie Gadusek won first-round matches, while Helena Sukova of Czechoslovakia, West Germany's Steffi Graf, Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina, and Americans Zina Garrison and Kathy Jordan posted second-round victories.

McEnroe, who is trying to become the first American to win three consecutive men's singles titles at the All England Club, was way off his game, yet still managed to win in straight sets, downing jftitfr' i 1 1 Walker of Alabama quarterback Walter Lewis, 34,500 were scattered around the stadium. Second largest crowd For the Jacksonville Bulls, 41,200 showed up and proved to be the second-largest crowd of the season. Then came the biggie of the year the Oakland Invaders and after that it was all downhill. For the Tampa Bay Bandits, 28,900 paid to watch head coach Steve Spurrier stroll along the sidelines. For the Portland Breakers, without Marcus Dupree, 28,500 came through the portals.

For the Orlando Renegades, the worst team in the Eastern Conference, 24,500 showed. And for the Baltimore Stars, last year's USFL champion when they were in Philadelphia, 24,500 were interested. For the year, Birmingham has averaged a little more than 32,000 at home. That's not so bad when considering the plight of the Los Angeles Express, whose attendance was atrocious. The league average for the 1985 season was in the neighborhood of 25,000.

Despite its plans to play a fall schedule in 1986, the future of the USFL still looks shaky. Birmingham's future is shaky, too. With a good showing, perhaps the Stallions can generate more interest and convince investors to jump aboard. But it's going to take more than merely advancing in the playoffs. Birmingham could win the USFL championship and still be a loser.

What's more appealing? What's more appealing to a possible investor, having partial ownership in a team that wins a league championship or having partial ownership in a team that puts people in the stands? An impressive playoff attendance and that's talking about at least 40,000 in Legion Field Saturday afternoon may be enough to persuade some more wealthy folks to sell some stock and invest in the Stallions. Anything less than 40,000 for the first-round playoff game would have to be considered disappointing. Looking at it from an investor's standpoint, if a city won't turn out to support a team when it's playing for a league championship, then what chance for support is there during the regular season? Stallion officials said Friday they are expecting an above-average crowd. But an above-average crowd won't cut it enough if Birmingham expects to have a professional football team in 1986. ABC's decision to televise the Stallions' game nationally will certainly hurt attendance, and the 1:30 p.m.

kickoff won't help, either. If the game was later in the day when the temperature wasn't hovering around the 90-degree mark, then attendance would probably be much better. Birmingham's history has been to draw a big walk-up crowd the day of the game, but it's silly to think many fans will want to suffer through the heat at Legion Field when they can see the game on television in their air- But he said later that he was not disturbed by the fans' behavior. "I GET MORE vibes from the people here and I get more fan mail here and In Japan than anywhere else," he said. Navratilova, who has dropped only seven games in two matches, rushed to a 6-4, 5- 0 lead over Anne Minter of Australia before the first rain interrupted her match.

When they returned to the court, Minter held serve before Navratilova, going after her fourth straight women's crown, closed out the 43-minute match 6-4, 6- 1. "My opponent today was a baseliner, which for an Australian is unusual," Navratilova said. "It's strange to play an Aussie who stays back, so I prefer to play Please see MOST, 5D Stallions, Gamblers meet today By GLENN GUILBEAU Advertiser Sports Writer The Birmingham Stallions must keep alive their championship vision amid the tiredness of what was an 18-game regular season when they host the Houston Gamblers in the first round of the United States Football League playoffs Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Birmingham's Legion Field. "It's a very long season," said Stallion center Mark Battaglia.

"A lot of us are physically tired and drained, but all we keep thinking about is the ring. The drive for the ring is keeping us alive," he said. "IT'S GOING TO be hot out there," Stallion linebacker Bill Roe said. "And It has been getting hotter with each game lately. I hope it's not too hot for the fans.

It will be a shame if they don't come out to support us. The playoffs are a whole new season and we're more intense now however hot it is." Temperatures in Birmingham Saturday are expected to be in the mid-80s. Gambler Head Coach Jack Pardee, whose team plays in the air-conditioned confines of the Astrodome, is worried about the heat. "We've taken every precaution this week in preparing the team to avoid heat complications," Pardee said. "We might have an advantage there," Battaglia joked.

"If there's a cold weather town in the league it might be Houston. They're not used to the heat." The 13-5 Stallions are coming off a 14-6 win over New Jersey that gave them the Eastern Conference title. "AS A TEAM, we've accomplished two of our three goals this year," Stallion Head Coach Rollie Dotsch said. "We made the playoffs. That was the first goal.

Then we won the Eastern Conference. That was the second goal. The third one is to win the league championship." The Stallions are coming off a good week of practice, according to Battaglia. "The offense really worked well this week," the center said. "Last week we practiced bad and it showed in the Jersey game." Houston's pass-happy Run 'n' Shoot offense will be boosted by the return of starting quarterback Jim Kelly, who missed the last three and a half games Please see STALLIONS, 2D WIMBLEDON, England (AP) John McEnroe overcame questionable line calls and fan taunting, while Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert Lloyd won easily, leading a stampede of seeded players into the third round of the Wimbledon tennis championships Friday.

But two seeds fell on a day when rain interrupted play for 35 minutes, then later halted it entirely. No. 8 Eliot Teltscher of the United States was ousted by Britain's John Lloyd 6- 3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 7-5, and Canada's Carling Bassett, No. 13 among the women, was toppled by Rene Uys of South Africa 0-6, 7- 6, 6-3. Uys won the second-set tiebreaker 14-12.

ALONG WITH THE three No. 1 seeds -for the first time in history, tournament officials couldn't decide who should be the Hunt makes lstat-bat a good one By DOUG AMOS JR. Advertiser Sports Writer It was, for Harold and Thelma Hunt, almost too much to believe. Like a chapter from a fiction novel. Their son's first at-bat in the major leagues had produced a line-drive single.

And as they celebrated wildly at St. Louis' Busch Stadium, a stranger approached who matched their wide smiles. "You must be Randy Hunt's parents," she said. "My husband is the shortstop Ozzie Smith. My name's Denise and welcome to St.

Louis. "You two must be awful proud." IT WAS THEN, Thelma Hunt recalls, that reality set in. Her son, after a sometimes treacherous five-year journey, had finally fulfilled his lifelong ambition. He was in the major leagues, wearing the uniform of the St. Louis baseball Cardinals.

"The whole thing was amazing," Mrs. Hunt, dressed appropriately in a Cardinal T-shirt, said at her Montgomery home. "I wish I could sit here and recreate the whole thing for you. It was the most thrilling thing that has ever happened to us. "Knowing everything that boy has been through, and to see so many people cheering for him at a place so far from home well, I think you could imagine what it was like." Hunt's base hit came last June 4 against Joe Niekro and the Houston Astros.

The game was stopped, and to a standing ovation from the crowd of 23,203, he was given the ball. It will soon be on the mantle at his parents' home. "It was the happiest night of our life," Mrs. Hunt said, "and the happiest night of Randy's life, too." ALL THE NIGHTS in the Robert E. Lee graduate's road to the majors haven't been so happy.

Hunt fought through the perils of minor league baseball and the bus rides and fast-food restaurants along the way. And he won the toughest bout of his life a six-month battle with alcoholism that began toward the end of the 1982 season. "The whole time it was going on, Harold and I knew nothing about it," Mrs Hunt recalled. "Randy was meeting with a group every week, but he told us it was to help one of his close friends. "We didn't know about il until we read I l' Ah A ir if? Ami niiliini a-1 APwirepboto Randy Hunt puts on equipment before St Louis game Friday was pulled up from Triple A team in Louisville, June 3 conditioned family room.

The Stallions, led by quarterback Cliff Stoudt, are favored by a touchdown to beat the Gamblers and the league's best quarterback Jim Kelly. And with the best defense in the USFL, the odds are even pretty good they could become the next champion. But the odds of the Stallions it in the paper last year. Randy called us the day the story came out from training camp and, when I asked him why he hadn't told us, he said 'because I knew you would cry, mom. I wanted to beat it "He wanted us to see the article because he left us a note the day he left telling us to make sure and get Monday's paper.

He just didn't want to be here. "HIS FATHER AND I were sure proud of him when we read about it, though." As soon as he curtailed his drinking problem, Hunt began making strides in the Cardinal organization. He finished last season with the Arkansas Travelers of the Class AA Texas League. Hunt earned a spot on the Cardinals' 40-man roster at spring training and was assigned to their Triple A team in Louisville, Ky. The news of his promotion to St Louis came while on the road in Des Moines, Iowa.

Hunt and three other players were enjoying a round of golf before a night game when Jerry McKeon, the team's trainer, came riding up in a golf cart. Please tee HUNT, 2D Stoudt staying put look lousy. Despite the efforts of local investors and the City Council, the days of professional football in Birmingham appear to be numbered. The writer is sports editor of The Alabama Journal..