The Post-Crescent from Appleton, Wisconsin • 36

(Si August 1, 1976 Sunday Post-Crescent, Apple ton-NeenohMenasho, Wis. Bennett battled back after terrifying crash at Oshknsh. a small niiartpr-mila .4.1 NOTIONS browski had been involved in a wild flip at De Pere in an IMCA sanctioned race when he was blocking Darell Dake, one of the circuit's hot shoes. "When I first joined IMCA, I told Dake, "This is the car you rolled over at De Pere," Bennett recalled. BY GARY VERCAUTEREN It was December 28, 1968.

A small airplane got caught in a downdraft and plunged 500 feet to earth. The pilot, alone in the plane, was still alive. He was rushed to the hospital where he was diagnosed to have 175 broken bones and 430 stitches were required to mend his mangled body. Bob Bennett, a Greenville auto racer, lived through that terrifying experience. He learned how to walk again and in May of 1969 was helped into his 1964 Dodge race car at the speedway in Kaukauna by his pit crew.

Bennett recalls with a smile, "I was only out of my body cast for a month. They helped me into the car and I went out and won the second heat race." The 42-year-old man continues to race on area ovals, including Shawano, Seymour and Kaukauna. He walks with a limp. His face is scarred from the airplane crash, but Bennett has never given up. He started his career in 1955 with a Jaguar in a Milwaukee road race.

The next two years Bennett drove sports cars in Europe before coming back to the United States. In 1958, he joined the Fox River Racing Club which was operating tracks in De Pere, Shiocton, Seymour, Apple Creek and Oshkosh. "In those days there wasn't anybody who really governed anything. There were a lot of fights, but I never got into anything like that," Bennett said with a wink. "I had track records at all five places on the circuit," Bennett added.

He drove a 1937 Plymouth and a 1934 Plymouth Coupe for several years. Bennett moved on to the International Motor Contest Association in 1961 with a '61 Ford he bought from Ap-pleton's Frank Dombrowski. Dnm- oval where the speed is not as great arm me uoiigei icbs apparent. if "I bought Jerry Smith's champioH snip mevene in it cost a lot, but was not a mistake," said Bennett. Brfc took first place in the Fox River RacinV Club combined point standings at Sell ,1 .1 iiiuui cuiu uaunuMi uidi aeasun ana ml 1974 won the first 50-lao feature evel neiu al me ouawanu ouecuway.

Near the end of the '75 season, Be nett debuted his newly designed indl? pendent rear suspension Camaro, al invention he is very proud ot. ft The rear wheels are mounted ind pendentiy oi tne Doay witn lnboar brakes-mounted inside the body anl not on the wheels as most automobil brakes are mounted. The car also has straight frame from front to rear anl An li oof rt Si 1 1 I ail amgaiui utnjr milium WIHCn completely smooth. "I had hoped to put the frame im production along with the rear en which costs only $t50 as compared ti almost $2,000 for disc brake reai ends, Bennett indicated. However bad crash on the season opener at Di Pere severely injured his left wristl "The wrist is still at only one-fifth it normal strength, Bennett said, "il looks like this year is thrown awav bp.

rancp nf that hrnlran wrict Bennett's 18-year-old son, Lowell. taking up some of the slack in the rac ing team. I he younger Bennett is rookie on the Northeastern Wisconsirl Driving Championship circuit, but if has already won two heat races. thJ urst coming opening night in the initial race of his career. Lowell won the race by an evelas over another first-year driver, Jerri Running oi Appieton, ana Drought th crowa to its reet using tne same stylt nis iainer naa always ariven an out an the time.

Changes mind about Janet Guthrie's car COLLEGE STATION, Tex. (AP) 4 The president of the Texas Won Speedway said Saturday he ha changed his mind about driver Jane Guthrie's Vollstedt race car. Earlier, R.C. Conole called the cai unsafe and said he would not allow it oil his race track. 'I have been assured by the United! States Auto Club that the car meets their safety standards and specifics tions," he said in a news release.

Conole had asked USAC for a ruling on whether the car was safe to race. THY POST-CRESCENT CLASSIFIED ADS it the white elephant," he said with a chuckle. In 1964, Bennett built a '64 Dodge. It was a flashy red and white racer pow-' ered by a 426 cubic inch hemi motor, the only hemi in the state other than Norm Nelson's USAC cars. Bob raced the IMCA and USAC events with the car for several years and his best finish at Milwaukee was an 11th in a 250-miler on the State Fair Park one-mile oval.

When the 1968 season came along, Bennett raced weekly in Kaukauna as the newly constructed half-mile paved oval was opened. Then came the crash which nearly snuffed out his life. He wasn't able to race as frequently as he would have liked to. A head-on crash at Shawano in 1970 sent him back to the hospital. "The 34 screws holding my metal plates together were shaken up in the crash.

I swel led up all over and the doctor said I was a walking wreck." During the 1971 and 1972 seasons Bennett somewhat curtailed his racing activity although he competed weekly Foyt sets pace COLLEGE STATION, Tex. (AP) -Texan A.J. Foyt puzzled other drivers and thrilled fans Saturday when he toured Texas World Speedway's two-mile oval track at 207.314 miles per hour to earn the pole position for Sunday's Indy car portion of the Twin 150s. After easily winning the pole in his controversial Coyote-Foyt Indy car, Foyt was the favorite to earn the pole in qualifying for the stock car portion of the United States Auto Club doubleheader. Al Unser, of Albuquerque, N.M., had engine trouble Friday but came back Saturday by qualifying second at 200.056 mph for the 18-car Indy field.

Joining Johncock on the second row will be Johnny Parsons Jr. driving an Eagle-Offenhauser. Parsons qualified fourth at 195.016 mph in the 18-car field. Johnny Rutherford, who has won the Indianapolis 500 two of the past three years, heads up the third row at 194.542. He'll be joined by Tom Sneva, who qualified at 192.926 mph.

Rounding out the field will be: fourth row, Wally Dallenbach, (191.744) and Billy Simpson, (189.673); fifth row, Mike Moseley, 188.976 and Spike Men-gelhausen 188.828; sixth row, Tom Bigelow, 188.729 and Bill Vukovich, 188.531; seventh row, Lee Kungman, 187.256 and Larry Dickson, 187.110; eighth row, Al Loquasto, 186.577 and Todd Gibson, 186.480 and ninth row, Bobby Olivers, 184.615 and Larry Can- nnn 183 253. After all of the pre-Olympics squabbling, maneuvering and politicking, I had had it up to here with the quadrennial classic. But, after watching the drama, excitement and pageantry that have been on display the last two weeks, I've come to this conclusion: even with all their flaws, the Olympic Games are worth saving. The Games have their problems, inequities and blunders (and the tragic bloodshed of the 72 Olympics remains a monument to man's inhumanity) but the merits continue to outweigh the disadvantages. Nowhere else in sports can you get a production that matches the Olympics for variety in events and talent and depth of emotion.

And, nowhere else in international relations can you approach the Olympics for wholesome competition and cooperation. But, all of this could go down the drain unless some constructive changes are made before the 1980 Games. The Taiwan incident and the withdrawal of nearly 30 nations put a black mark on these Olympics just as the terrorist raid did in Munich. The Olympics simply cannot continue being a political football and cannot continue to make' a mockery of the very virtues equality and sportsmanship that they're supposed to espouse. And, the Olympics cannot stand another weak-kneed performance by a host nation such as Canada exhibited in the face of economic pressure from Red China.

With Moscow due to be the '80 host, the prospects of discrimination are, if anything, even worse. Whatever it takes to restore the Olympics to their original purpose and structure should" be done in the next four years instead of waiting until the 11th hour in '80 to work something out. The U. S. and other fair-minded nations will have to take the lead.

if nothing short of a boycott will succeed, then so be it. The Games are truly worth saving, but not at the expense of several nations' dignity and pride. From a strictly nationalistic viewpoint, one has to be disappointed that the U. S. hasn't harvested more medals.

It's more than a little distressing that a comparatively small country like East Germany was able to outdo the U. S. in gold meals most of the way. But, it's a fact of life that a number of nations are catching up, or have caught up, with America in athletics. And, since they had farther to go, their progress has naturally been more dramatic.

There's one obvious advantage to this turnaround from the old days when the U. S. reaped gold medals like dandelions each individual and team victory is now relished and appreciated more than before. The U. S.

basketball gold medal is certainly a case in point. While such sports as men's track and women's swimming have experienced embarrassing recessions, such American units as the boxing and men's swim teams were as strong as, or stronger than, ever. The unrestrained joy (at gold medal time) and tournament-long togetherness of the U. S. cagers had to make any American feel good.

It's hard to believe that signing a lucrative NBA contract can make these players any happier than they were at Montreal. Among other memorable Olympic moments for me were the electrifying gymnastics perfection of Nadia Com-aneci; the amazing performance of Marquette's "Butch" Lee in nearly sin r0i W1 MID-SUMMER SALS CHflSKR 1045 Phone 7S7-S7S7 gle-handedly upsetting the U. S. "5" as a member of the Puerto Rico team; the valiant drive of hurdler Willie Davenport for a bronze medal at age 33; the unbelievable last-second, 2-point scoring of Ben Peterson to pull out a wrestling win that apparently had been lost; and the poignant loss of a possible gold medal by steeplechaser Frank Baumgartl, who fell over the final hurdle. We want to wish Coach Avitus Ripp well when he leaves the Fox Cities area shortly.

One of the most colorful coaches I've encountered hereabouts, Ripp will take over the football controls at Richland Center. Ripp is a disciple of old-fashioned discipline and emotionalism and won't stand for any player giving a half-hearted effort. In more cases than not (at both Little Chute St. John and Menasha St. Mary), Ripp's teams had to battle the odds of larger enrollments and superior manpower.

But, regardless of the record or the score, nobody has ever had an "easy" game against a Ripp-coached team. In '67, Ripp put together an unbeaten machine at St. John to spoil the perfect record of Xavier's "Torchy" Clark. This was the only championship out of a possible 16 in football and basketball that Clark failed to win in eight incredible years of coaching. Ripp and Clark staged a reunion of sorts on an Appleton street corner the other day.

Clark and his wife, Clare, stopped here briefly during a vacation trip. It's been seven years since Clark and Ripp opposed each other, and they recalled fondly some of their battles of wit. Clark brought along the news that plans are being finalized for a December basketball tourney at Lawrence University that would involve his Florida Tech team (as well as Monmouth and Milton). It would be his first coaching appearance in Appleton in eight years. Clark is understandably happy that Wittenberg-Birnamwood's All-Stater, Pete Krull, will be playing for him.

In the final analysis, Krull picked FTU over Northwestern U. (Evans-ton). Besides its coach, FTU's top at- -tractions will be Krull and Clark's son, Bo, who had an outstanding freshman season last year. The fortunes of Jerry Tagge don't seem to be improving too rapidly. As the exhibition season gets under way, Tagge apparently rates no better than No.

4 on the Chicago Bear quarterback staff. Bob Avelini, Virgil Carter and Gary Huff are all considered ahead of Tagge. So, unless a trade or an injury occurs, one has to wonder if Tagge will be in the NFL this season. It would be quite a feather in Alex Grammas' Brewer cap if Milwaukee could finish second to the Yankees in the AL East. This is a possibility, even though Baltimore is starting to uncork its usual late-season move.

But, if Bill Travers, Jerry Augustine and a few other cohorts continue to pitch as they have been, Milwaukee could indeed move up several notches. A month ago, the Brewer cause looked hopeless, but the Milwaukeeans have been playing close to .600 ball ever since and, hopefully, there will be no repetition of last year's second-half debacle. The 5-game sweep of Texas which permanently knocked the Rangers out of the AL West race -seemed to give the Brews needed confidence. imagine living without him. I apply to you, as to a son, with my greatest request to help him return back to his motherland as soon as possible." The Canadian government, which Friday night angrily rejected a Soviet charge that it had kidnaped Nemtsa-nov, said he was in good hands and traveling with friends in central Canada.

The cable from the diver's mother to the IOC said "he is still under age and is not able to judge life properly. As Hi mother, I address to you, dear sirs, my appeal to your hearts as mothers and fathers to take all measures you can to return my son to his parents." There was some speculation here that the letters were essentially intended for the defector, who may see them in Canadian newspapers. The Soviet officials who handed out copies of them were unable to give additional details on the athlete's 'amily or how it was being kept informed. Discussions continued between Soviet officials and the Canadian government, with the Canadians offering to let a Soviet official see Nemtsanov in the presence of a Canadian witness if the athlete desires. Stones tries to make peace MONTREAL (AP) High jumper Dwight Stones attempted to make peace Saturday with track and field fans at the Olympic Stadium by wearing a warmup T-shirt with "I love French Canadians" on the back.

The 22-year-old world record holder irritated many residents of Montreal when he was quoted Thursday misquoted, he said in a newspaper arti- cle as saying French Canadians were rude and inconsiderate. Friday, during qualifying for the high jump, Stones was booed roundly on every attempt. Later he said he was not angry at French Canadians but at the Olympic organizing committee for not providing adequate training and competition facilities. And he said his warmup clothes might surprise a few people on Saturday. The front of his T-shirt was a traditional Canadian maple leaf and the word "Montreal" above Olympic rings, but the back appeared to be hastily written in red lettering.

Bob Bennett Bob looked back on his days on the IMCA trail with fond memories. "It was a very greatly run affair. You always appeared on TV the night before ther race and the grandstands were always overfilled into the infield. At To-peka, it rained until 2 p.m., but we still raced. It was the hottest, muggiest and most dust on the window race I ever remember," Bennett said.

"I finished fourth." While racing on the IMCA circuit Bennett also raced during the week on the Fox Valley area tracks. He drove a Hudson six-cylinder car which he bought from Bob Webster. "We called sacrifices to stay active in world wrestling. An advantage for them is that they train together and are able to compete against each other because their weights are almost identical. Hellickson, 28, is the senior member of the Wisconsin contingent and the most experienced member of the United States team although this was his first Olympic appearance, while the Peterson brothers were 1972 medal winners.

Hellickson's experience came in Pan American, national and world competition. The University of Wisconsin assistant coach, who publishes "Crossface" magazine, is a two-time gold medal winner in the Part Am games. Wrestling demands as much from an athlete as any sport. It not only requires strength, quickness and knowledge but maturity. Haines lost his first bout by yielding five points in the last 30 seconds.

Ben Peterson won by scoring two points in the last five seconds. I have to believe that at age 21, Haines doesn't have the same physical maturity as Peterson who is five or six years older. The same holds true in the other Olympic sports where the victorious athletes mainly from the state-supported programs of communist countries are in their mid- and upper-20s while the U.S. contingent consists mainly of collegians. Tiie most impressive wrestler I have ever seen is the Russian Ivan Yarygin who logged seven pins enroute to the 220-pound title in the 1972 Olympics.

Yarygin won a default from Hellickson in the 1973 dual meet. Yarygin is an exceptional upper-body wrestler and the week prior tc the 1973 meet had dislocated Hellickson's shoulder in the "World Cup" games. In addition to Andiyev, the 6-7 super heavyweight, and Yarygin, Russian wrestlers in the Olympics, who Wis-consinites saw three years ago were Roman Dmitriyez, the 1972 Olympic champion at 105.5 pounds; Pavel Pini-gin, 150 pounds; Ruslan Ashuraliyev, 163 pounds; Viktor Novozhikov, 180.5 pounds, and Levan Tedashvili, 198 pounds. It should be noted that in 1973 Tediashvili, the 1972 Olympic champion, demolished Ben Peterson, 7-2, while Novozhikov edged John Peterson, 4-2. Hellickson, who knows the world wrestling game as well as anyone, felt going into the Olympics that John Peterson, a 1972 silver medalist, had as good a chance of winning a gold medal as anyone on the United States team.

The improved showing of United States wrestlers and boxers shouldn't be surprising (as Sugar Ray Leonard said of the boxing) because of the emphasis and support both sports have gotten in recent years. Of all the Olympic sports, I found those two the most enjoyable and my insatiable appetite unsatisfied. FAMILY BOWLING SUNDAY (Chock TJmot Mow) At Lanes: SABRE LANES APPUTON 900 a.m. lo 1 rOO p.m. THUNDER BOWL NONAH 9:00 q.m.

to 1:00 p.m. ASTRO LANES MENASHA 00 em. to 1 00 em. 3 oo 0 ONLY I Soviets withdraw threat HWY P.G.A. Ryder Cup 1976 Portx Vordon Cup, 1976 1975 Wilson 1976 1976 X31 1200 tWoods 8-lrons 8 Irons 4-Woods IWoods 8-lrons 8 Irons 9-lrws Walter Hagen Uhrodym I (Irons 9-lrorn Hoig Ultra 8-lrons 9-lrons Ben Hogan ftoductr 8-lrons Direct of 8 Irons Apex 8 Irons Persimmon Wood Heads Spalding Elite Centurion 8-lrons legocy Top Rite Pro Hire 8 Irons 8-lrons 3Woods 4-Woods 8-lrom 3- Woodi, 8-lrons 4- Woods Titleist Pro 100 dub Special AC108 Acushnet Titlette-ladiei 8-lrons 3 Woods Ping 8 Irons Dunlop 8-lrons first Flight Phanton 3 Woods 9-lfons 4 Woods 4-Woods 4 Woods no Golden Eagle left Hand Arnold Palmer 4 Woods Patty Berg P.G.A.

Conteissa ladies' Cask lodlel Lady Palmer Daisy oval 8-lrons P.G.A. lady lyder Cup 8-lrons lady Par Ex 8 Irons Lynx USX I Master Models 8-lrons Retail Sale 168.00 '126- 260.00 '155" 22800 M65" 140 00 85" 177.00 '120- 220.00 t16J 280 00 210" 315.00 '240" 28000 210" 315 00 "246" 230 00 184" 25875 207" 28400 '239" 264 00 200" 257.20 M93" 287.00 '205" 266.50 "200" 175.00 '135" 176 00 '132" 288.00 -216" 165.00 '99" U50.00 99" 186.50 M45" 304.00 '205" 268 00 '200" 120 00 '90" 285.75 -200" 172.00 '119" 14400 95" 144.00 "95" 90 00 '68" 20000 M60 268 00 20l" 260.00 '175" 272.00 '204" One couldn't watch the Olympic Games without becoming caught up in the emotion of the contests. sports are geared to pique the enthusiasm of the fans who so ardently follow them with more passion and zeal than the devotees of other sports. While United States fans other sports had a lot of sour moments to offset the highlights, wrestling and boxing enthusiasts were treated to action which steadily built to a cresendo as the competition advanced through its various stages. Boxing was particularly outstanding as six U.S.

fighters went into the gold medal round two others Davey Armstrong and Clint Jackspn could easily have made it with a single punch as both dropped 3-2 decisions. While we saw plenty of boxing competition, this writer was somewhat disappointed with the lack of coverage given to the freestyle wrestling. ABC was swamped by telegrams from wrestling enthusiasts wanting to know why the network hadn't had any wrestling on last Monday. ABC had a good reason, the competition hadn't begun yet. Some of the highlights showed U.S.

heavyweight Jimmy Jackson being pinned by the Russian Soslan Andiyev and Ben Peterson pulling out an incredible last-second win in a bout. Seeing Andiyev and the Peterson brothers, Ben and John, in action kind-. led memories of 1973 when the Russian National Team faced a group of United States wrestlers in Madison. Certainly the 8,619 fans who viewed the proceedings harbor memories of that night. Andiyev was a 21-year-old who had the task of facing the mammoth Chris Taylor, weighing 460 pounds.

Andiyev, at the time, was not an Olympic veteran but a youngster the Soviets were grooming for the 1976 Olympics. He was the 1969 Junior World Champion and 1972 Junior European Champion. Andiyev managed to tie Taylor by using a "Russian bear hug" and trip for a two-point move at the end of the match for a 2-2 score. The Andiyev three years ago was slow, inexperienced and crude. The Andiyev who put Jimmy Jackson away was quicker, more-polished and stronger.

Russia's lengthy grooming process for an Olympic champion had been successful. Of the ten competitors the Russians sent on the mat May 23, 1973, seven competed in this year's Olympics. The four Wisconsin wrestlers Jim Haines, Ben and John Peterson, and Russ Hellickson were the only United States wrestlers on this year's Olympic squad. That fact alone defines the diffence in the two systems. Most United States athletes are out of competition by the time they reach their physical peak of 26 to 28-years-old because of the cost and time required to maintain a rigorous practice schedule and engage in world class meets.

Haines was a University of Wisconsin freshman in 1973 and has managed to stay active in "world class" competition the past three years as a college athlete. Ben and John Peterson have been required to make several Bi-centennial CAR 570. 7 dt rr way Ptr Mil (Oeiellne Net Included! IOTA 1 i vvvi nungDQUI Coll 722-4347 (or Reservations Ottwr NWtli leaienekfe Prices! HUH JOHNSON FORD Salts Inc. Ut'l Ms! Nfi norm il ML.I1 I Retail Sale 9 Irons, Over Hosel 301 50 '15" 9-lrons, In Hosel 301.50 '193" J-Woods 12600 '94 3-Woods 112.50 74" 4-Woods 15000 0" 9-lrons 256 50 IBS" 1976 Woods 15000 20" 8-lrons 256 00 '1 84 4-Woods 14900 M05" 4-Woods 18900 M38" 3Woods 138 00 M05" 4-Woods 184 00 M30" 3-Woods 138 00 '103" 4-Woods 184 00 138" 3-Woods 12000 "96" 4-Woods' 180 00 M35" 4-Wood( 18000 '135" 4-Woods 176 60 132" 4- Woods 200.00 '160" 4 Woods 16700 H5" 4-Woods 160 00 '1 20" 8-lrons 233.00 '150" 9-lrons 324.00 '243" 8-lfons 240.00 '160" 4-Woods 200 00 M30" 3-Woods 12500 '94" 8 Irons 25400 M85" 8-lrons 212 00 '150" 9-lrons 238 50 '165" 9 Irons 238 50 '165" 3-Woods 67.50 '51" 8-lrons' 110.00 5- lrons 2-Woods 89.75 '72" 3-Woods 8-lfoni 17500 '140" 3 Woods 8-lrons 133.50 '105" 8-lrons 3-Woodt 160.00 '130" 3-Woods 97.50 '70" 3-Woods 126.00 '94" 4-Woods 150.00 '90" 3-Woods 129.00 '91" MONTREAL (AP) The Soviet Union withdrew its threat to pull out of the Montreal Olympics Saturday and then began a "Sergei-Come-Home" campaign to bring back the young athlete whose defection to Canada led to the Russian ultimatum. The Soviet delegation backed away from its insistence that Sergei Nemtsa-nov, the 17-year-old diver who left the Olympic Village Thursday, be returned to Russian officials immediately or it would feel free to withdraw from the final two days of the Games.

Soviet officials said the decision to stay came after a meeting with ths International Olympic Committee at which IOC executives requested the Soviet Union "not take extreme measures." "We will participate in the final competitions and in the closing ceremonies because the IOC has asked us to," said Mikhail Efimov, a Soviet press officer. Soon after the decision, Soviet media officials began handing out copies of caules, said to be sent by Nemtsanov's mother and his 80-year-old grandmother. The cables appealed to Premier Pierre Elliot Trudeau of Canada and the IOC return the diver to them. "I'm about 80," read the cable from Nemtsanov's grandmother to Trudeau. "Sergei is my only grandson.

I brought him up. I love him very much. I cannot Tennessee trying to recruit foreign cagers NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) The University of Tennessee basketball team is trying to recruit two Olympic-caliber foreign players, says Coach Ray Mears. Mears declined to identify the players, but said both played in the Olympics or in the pre-Olympic tournament in Hamilton, Ont.

"We have a shot at two foreign players, and one of them is 6-foot-ll," Mears told an alumni meeting Friday night. Earlier this week, Mears was in Montreal and watched Tennessee player Ernie Grunfeld help the United States win the gold medal in men's basketball. "He said he had learned a lot from players like Scott May and Adrian Dan-tley, especially May, ubout working and that he was coming back to Tennessee and lead this basketball team to a national championship," Mears said. All Pro Line Balls Do.en 1 2" All Gloves 100OFF Bag Boy Carts Sale Priced Complete Stock or All rfo ape I LaaW Sheet 20 OFF Haymaker, lied, Laura Bough Clothing, SasTprtcedot 25 OFF 20 h. 25 OFF.