Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 25

CLASSIFIED ADS section TUESDAY. DECEMBER 6, 1977 E) ST. PETERSBURG TIMES KowdBes' seairclh ffoircoaclh) ends: Gordon Jago Player changes possible, 3-C By MIKE TIERNEY St Petertburj TiiriM Staff Writer Monday, "but we continued to keep him in the back of our mind." Two weeks ago, Jago told The St. Petersburg Times that, "I'm in no position to contemplate a move now." He cited family reasons and contractual obligations to his British club, Millwall. In the meantime, the Rowdies, without cost to them, were able to convince Millwall to release Jago from his contract, which extended through January 1979.

And Jago was able to convince his reluctant family wife June and daughter Kim, 13 to move with him to the United States. Tampa Bay will not be Jago's first tour of duty in America. He was with the Baltimore Bays, forerunner of the NASL, beginning in 1967 and he directed the U. S. National Team during its preliminary World Cup rounds with Woosnam in 1969-70.

He turned down that job as well in 1975. "My family was pretty averse to that, but I don't think they were averse to me joining a club," Jago said Monday by phone from England. "You really had to be a single man in that position, or a man ready to get a divorce. See ROWDIES. 4-C ployed a fulltime coach.

According to acknowledged soccer expert Gordon Hill, longtime referee and now Rowdies' director of youth, Jago is regarded as among the top five coaches in England and top 10 in the world. Based on a recommendation from current NASL commissioner Phil Woosnam, Strawbridge-asked Jago before anyone else to be Tampa Bay's first-ever coach in 1975. Jago declined, but suggested a few other names. One was Firmani, a former teammate of Jago's when the two played for Charlton Athletic. The Rowdies took Jago's recommendation to heart when they hired Firmani, and he remained on the job until unexpectedly resigning in the middle of last season.

Coincidentally, Jago was vacationing In Tampa when his friend quit. Again Strawbridge made a proposal to Jago. And, again, Jago refused. Early in the off-season, first former general manager and minority owner Beau Rogers and then Strawbridge made trips to England in pursuit of a coach. Jago remained their most-wanted man, but he continued to beg off.

"We talked to other people," a team spokesman said Two weeks ago Gordon Jago (loft) said ha was in no position to contemplate a move, but in the interim he persuaded his English League club to release him and convinced his family to move to America. TAMPA Englishman Gordon Jago, who hag turned down offers to coach the Tampa Bay Rowdies since the inception of the franchise, finally accepted Monday. The 45-year-old Jago becomes the third coach of the North American Soccer League club. He succeeds interim boss John Boyle, who returned to England as the Rowdies' scout and recruiter in Europe. Jago's contract calls for three years of service to the Rowdies.

Team officials declined to confirm a wire service report that his salary is $36,000 annually. Jago will carry the title of head coach, but team owner George Strawbridge said he will have autonomy in all player matters other than salaries. That responsibility will fall on General Manager Chas Serednesky. When Jago signed a contract Monday under the guidance of a British attorney representing the Rowdies, a long and tedious search had ended. Not since last summer, when Eddie Firmani abruptly resigned, have the Rowdies em Am SPORTS COLUMNIST non igl BoDplhSos clip Colts 1 7-, gaim) East tie when Jones riddled the defense, bringing the Colts back from a 28-10 deficit to a 45-28 victory.

"I'm just so proud of all the players and all the assistant coaches and everybody else connected with the team," said Shula, whose Dolphins were supposed to be rebuilding after a 6-8 record last year. "We are proud of the product we've put on the field. They did a tremendous job getting ready for St. Louis (a 55-14 victory), and then they knew they could control what happened if they could win tonight." Despite the 10-6 lead, it looked doubtful for awhile. After taking a 3-0 lead on its first possession on Garo Yepremian's 27-yard field goal, the Dolphins gave the Colts two field goals.

Toni Linhart kicked a 32 -yard field goal after a bad snap on a punt which resulted in only a 26-yard kick by Mike Michel, giving Baltimore possession at the Miami 36. Then Bob Griese had a pass picked off by Tom MacLeod on the next series, and MacLeod returned 33 yards to the Dolphins' 12. Linhart kicked a 27-yarder after three plays netted just three yards. Griese, inaccurate with his passes in the first quarter, found the range in the second and carried the Dolphins 49 yards with four pass completions for the go-ahead TD. The final one was a 15-yarder taken by Andre Tillman at the four, and Tillman clawed through three Baltimore defenders to get into the end zone.

But just as important as the points the Dolphins scored were the ones they didn't. They drove to the Baltimore nine and to the 11 later in the second quarter and came up pointless. Gary Davis fumbled on one occasion, and Garo Yepremian missed an easy 29-yard field goal on the other. These failures seemed to set the stage for Jones, who was limited to just 34 yards passing in the first half. He took the Colts from the Baltimore 34 to the Miami four in the third period, but Roosevelt Leaks fumbled into the end zone and Norris Thomas recovered for Miami.

The Colts later got to the Miami 49 before being forced to punt, and it was on the first play after this kick that Harris put it away with his Lee Roy: Bucs' unheralded star TAMPA The National Football League's players and coaches trek to the polls a week from today to select their representatives for this year's Pro Bowl game. But when the ballots are tallied and the two 40-man rosters are announced for the Jan. 23 game in Tampa Stadium, one worthy candidate will most likely be missing from the NFC team. Lee Riy Selmon, the second-year defensive right end of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and former No. 1 draft choice, will probably be overlooked on most of the ballot.

For the Bucs, and for the NFL, that will be unfortunate. Selmon deserves to be on the team. "He's the toughest man I've faced all year," Bears' rookie guard Ted Albrecht said Sunday after Jessie Selmon's youngest son had bloodied his nose and embarrassed him in front of 48,948 Tampa Stadium spectators and a Chicago television audience. Albrecht learned Sunday what many more experienced offensive left tackles in the NFL learned this year: About the only way to stop Selmon is to hold him or tackle him. "I finally started using my hands more' in the second half and stopping him at least some of the time," said Albrecht.

Still, Lee Roy recorded two sacks against the Bears, running his season total to 11, blocked a pass and forced quarterback Bob Avellini to throw early four times. In NFL parlance, these are known as "hurries" and Lee Roy leads the Bucs this season with 30. The next closest is middle guard Dave Pear with 14. "Lee Roy has played that way all year," says Bucs' Coach John McKay. "But Dave Pear has gotten all the publicity because he's so colorful." SELMON KNOWS that he is laboring under a number of handicaps when it comes to being recognized as one of the top defensive ends in football.

First and foremost is the fact that he's playing for a team that is 0-26. Then, he does his job with quiet efficiency, not with the flair of Pear. And, he is not that well-known around the league. Last year he missed nearly half the season with knee and elbow injuries. But the knee healed, the elbow was surgically repaired, and Selmon is now playing as well as any defensive end in pro football.

"The experience I've gotten this year has really helped me out," Selmon said Monday. "That's why it was so difficult for me to sit out so much of last year with those injuries. The experience you get in this league is invaluable and the more experience you get the better you get." The one thing which Selmon learned is that most offensive linemen will do anything to protect their quarterbacks. That includes tripping, tackling and holding defensive linemen. It was most noticeable in the San Francisco game, when left tackle Jean Barrett did unspeakable things to Selmon.

Lee Roy complained to the officials, but to no avail. Since then, on McKay's instructions, Lee Roy has become his own policeman and it has improved his play. "When they start holding me, I start swinging my arms just to let them know that if they are going to use illegal tactics, so am I. They're going to hold as long as they get away with it so I'm going to retaliate." But the respect that offensive linemen have shown Selmon by holding, tripping and tackling him probably won't extend to their Pro Bowl ballots. Only three defensive ends will be named from the NFC and Selmon is a longshot to be one of them.

"If I make the Pro Bowl it will be a surprise to me," says Selmon. "There are a lot of good football players in the league and you could pick out 12 or 13 defensive ends who are playing about the same. If I get selected, it will be quite an honor for me to represent the Tampa Bay area. "But if I don't get selected, I won't lose any sleep over it. Life's too short to get upset about things like that." By RAY HOLLIMAN St.

Paunburg Times Staff Writar MIAMI Rookie Leroy Harris turned a simple up-the-middle plunge into the longest run in club history Monday night, sending the Miami Dolphins to a 17-6 victory over the Baltimore Colts and putting them two victories from the American Football Conference East Division championship. Trapped three yards behind the line of scrimmage on a play designed for a two or three-yard pickup, Harris spun off a tackier, broke to the outside and went 77 yards for a touchdown with 7:42 to go in the game. The run increased a shaky 10-6 Miami lead that had endured since the opening minutes of the second quarter. But Baltimore quarterback Bert Jones, shackled by Miami's defense in the first half, was showing signs of bringing the Colts from behind when Harris sealed matters with his run. "One of our great said usually-understated Coach Don Shula of the victory which gives Miami and Baltimore identical 9-3 records with two weeks to play.

But Miami now will win the division and go to the playoffs for the first time since 1974 if it can defeat New England and Buffalo in its last two games. Harris, an unheralded running back most of the season, was merely trying to sustain the Dolphins' ball-control offense they had been using all night to compensate for a defense mangled by injuries. "It was just a straight-up-the middle play," said the No. 5 draft choice from Arkansas State, who carried 18 times for 140 yards. "But the middle was plugged up, and I was lucky enough to break a tackle (by Fred Carr) and get to the outside." Harris got past another defender at the 30 and then had no further trouble until he reached the Baltimore 25.

Then he made one last cutback and outran two defenders to the end zone, being hit just as he was falling across the goal. "I wanted to stop at a filling station and gas up," Harris said. "I saw Nat (Moore) in front of me trying to throw the last block, and I figured if I kept straight-on they might make the tackle." Harris' dash, which sent a crowd of 68,976 into an uproar, overshadowed a superb performance by the Miami defense. Not only were the Dolphins missing defensive end Vern den Herder and defensive back Charlie Babb, but middle linebacker Steve Towle went out in the second quarter with a shoulder separation. Yet, the Dolphins limited Jones to 18 completions in 34 attempts for 189 yards, some of this coming in the final minute as Baltimore went into a desperation drive.

This was a vast improvement from the first meeting between the two -j; 1 IMS. -v'- 1 First downs Rushes-yards Passing yards Return yards Passes Punts Celts 17 1t 11-34-0 7-J 2-1 J-35 1 Delphins 17 31-207 145 it 1J-22-1 4-32 1-1 3:15 0-4 I 7-17 Fumbles lost Penalties-yards Baltimera Miami AP Mia FG Yepremian 27 Bal-FG Linhart 32 Bal-FG Linhart Mia TTum 15 pail from Griesa (Yepremian kk) Mia-L Harris 77 run (Yepremian kick) Dolphins' Leroy Harris explodes on 77-yard TD run. Bonds traded; Grimsley signs Mudra returning to coaching ranks Draft selections, 2-C Associated Press Unitod Prns International Dyes, both of whom spent last year in the low minors. Three players were lifted from the St. Louis organization in the draft with Minnesota picking pitcher Johnny Sutton, Oakland choosing infielder Taylor Duncan and Baltimore going for pitcher Andy Replogle, formerly of the St.

Petersburg Cardinals. But the Bonds trade dominated the first official day of the meetings as Chicago continued its policy of playing for the present and not worrying about the future. A year ago, the White Sox traded for outfielder Richie Zisk, who was unsigned and became a free agent following the 1977 season. In spring training, they dealt for outfielder Oscar Gamble, who was in a similiar situation. The prospect of having the same thing happen with Bonds didn't stop them from making Monday's swap.

"Because of the re-entry draft, you don't know if you own a guy for just one year," said Red Patterson, vice president of the Angels. "That's something the White Sox are taking over." Chicago also is getting one of baseball's most exciting performers. Bonds hit .264 with 37 homers and 115 runs batted in for the Angels last season. He also stole 41 bases. In 10 major league seasons the first seven with San Francisco and the last three with the New York Yankees and Angels he has averaged almost 27 homers and 36 stolen bases per year.

4 CHARLESTON, 111. Veteran Coach Darrell Mudra, who has specialized in turning around losing college teams, was named Monday new head football coach at Eastern Illinois University. Mudra takes over the Panthers July 1, replacing John Konstantinos, who resigned after ElU's 1-10 season. "I'm excited to get back in the Midwest," Mudra said. "I think the program here has a great future.

We will be competing in one of the best athletic conferences in NCAA Division II and I look forward to that competition." Mudra, 48, was head coach at Florida State University in 1974-75. Under a four-year contract, he was released after two years and has been out of coaching the past two years. Mudra has sent five teams into post -season bowl games, had one national champion and reached the Canadian Football League playoffs. His 16-year collegiate record is 110-51-2 with two undefeated teams. Mudra has been head coach of the Montreal Alouette of the CFL, Arizona, Florida State, Adams State, North Dakota State and Western Illinois.

HONOLULU Slugger Bobby Bonds was traded for the third time in the last four years Monday as the Chicago White Sox and California Angels completed a six-player deal at baseball's winter meetings. The Sox, unconcerned about Bonds' intention to test the free agent market after the 1978 season, acquired the veteran outfielder along with speedster Thad Bosley and teen-aged pitcher Dick Dotson from the Angels in exchange for catcher Brian Downing and two pitchers, Chris Knapp and minor leaguer Dave Frost. And, in another deal late Monday night, the Montreal Epos signed free agent pitcher Ross Grimsley to a six-year contract estimated in excess of $l-million, including a signing bonus. Grimsley won 14 games, lost 10 and posted a 3. earned run average for the Baltimore Orioles last season as he played out the option year of his contract and became a free agent eligible for the re-entry draft.

Earlier in the day, eight players were claimed at $25,000 each in the bargain basement minor league draft with the Toronto Blue Jays making two of the selections. The Jays chose a pair of outfielders, Willie Upshaw and Andrew -t. DARRELL MUDRA ax-FSU boss. BOBBY BONDS traveled..