Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 57

oris Section 5 Chicago (Tribune Monday, September 25, 1978 A young and gifted man dies on a Saturday night David Israel of American professional sport are played, into a world of privilege, of exclusive travel and fashionable lodging and glittering people. It is preferred that this be a world inviolate; that is how it was constructed: To be a world in which tragedies are accounted for 1 scoreboards and in the standings, not on police blotters and in the obituary pages. The high priests of sport had preached that achieving victory was more important than life itself. They told us that after the Kennedys were killed and they still went ahead and played their games. They told us that when Martin Luther King was killed and they went ahead and played their games.

Defeat is worse than death, they have said, because you have to live with defeat. THE CALIFORNIA Angels went ahead and played Sunday, too. but they now know that the high priests have spoken self-serving untruths. The day presented them with a series IT HAPPENS every Saturday night in the ghetto. The liquor and the guns and the despair and the anger come together.

Someone gets brave. The amalgam is almost always tragic. Ordinarily, the tragedies are shrugged off. In a society that has become inured to death, the sad stories are dismissed as routine, as part of a drama that is to be ignored. The accounts of the tragedies are printed in the unread recesses of the newspapers, if they are published at all.

On Sunday the family grieves and the reverend mumbles a few words of sorrow and condolence. On Monday everyone is back at work. This time, though, the tragedy is not Ignored. This time, the stories are not buried. This time, the victim is not another black from the ghetto.

This one's name was Lyman Bostock. He was also young and gifted. He was a member of a major league baseball team from California with the unfortunate nickname of Angels. He was man of accomplish- of absurd counterpoints. They won joylessly.

They avoided elimination from pennant contention in the American League West, but that success was meaningless. It was a day for love and death, a most absurd day: Before the White Sox requested a moment of silence for Bostock, they were host to a wedding held at home plate. The Angels approached the day cautiously, with uncertainty. When they filed into their clubhouse in Comiskey Park Sunday morning at 11:13, they were absolutely silent. No one said a word.

Their entrance was not accompanied by the music that usually plays loudly in dressing rooms. The only sounds you heard were the rustling of hangers or the occasional pop of a fist into a glove. The Angels were fatigued and unnerved. Most of them had spent the night sleeplessly as word filtered in after midnight that Bostock had been murdered. When the team arrived, Manager Jim Fregosi, who had Continued on page 4, col.

1 ment. They say he was one of the two or three highest paid players in the game. THIS TIME we were shocked because the murder was an intrusion into a world that had very carefully been insulated from reality. It intruded into the world in which the games JAN'S i Steelers utilize overtime trick to stay in first 'H5? Sill "if lilt Tribune Photo by Walter Neat Coach Bob Skinner on Angels' bench Sunday at Comiskey Park, Slaying of Bostock overwhelms Angels Kir By Cooper Rollow Chicago Tribune Press Service PITTSBURGH-Quarterback Terry Bradshaw entered the huddle, snapped his fingers, and barked: "OK, guys, this is it. This is when we do it.

Fake 84 reverse." The Steelers broke from the huddle. Bradshaw took the snap and handed off to Rocky Bleier, running to the right. Bleier handed off to Lynn Swann, who headed back on an apparent reverse. But Swann didn't keep the ball. Instead, he flipped a lateral to Bradshaw.

The Steeler quarterback took dead aim at tight end Bennie Cunningham, who had dashed behind Cleveland safety Tony Peters. Cunningham fielded Bradshaw's high pass on the Browns' 3 and went into the end zone. The magnificently zany 37-yard touchdown pass, with 3:43 elapsed in overtime, gave the Steelers a 15-9 victory Sunday in a battle of previously unbeaten American Football Conference Central Division powers. "WE CALL IT OUR gadget play." Coach Chuck Noll laughed after the Steelers' version of the flea-flicker had ended a dull, penalty-infested battle of field goals three for Pittsburgh's Roy Gerela, three for Cleveland's Don Cock-roft. "We practiced the play last Wednesday," Noll said.

"Bradshaw called it himself." "I was afraid for a minute I wasn't going to be able to get the pass off," said Bradshaw of his 100th TD pass of his career. "The ball was soaking wet with perspiration because it had been handled by so many other people. I had to spin it in my hands to get a grip on it. By then, Bennie was out so far I had to hang it up high." Cunningham said the play, which came on second and nine, "is designed to take advantage of the defensive secondary coming up for the run. I wasn't necessarily the primary receiver.

As soon as I saw the safety come up, I took off." THE STEELERS ALMOST didn't get an opportunity to pull off their overtime dramatics. They wouldn't have had the chance had not the officials allowed them to keep the ball after they apparently had fumbled away the kickoff at the start of the extra period. Larry Anderson let the ball squirt from his grasp when he went down on his knees after returning the kickoff 11 yards to the Stealer 21. Ricky Feacher, Cleveland reserve wide receiver who was playing on the kicking team, pounced on the ball. But officials blew the play dead and ruled it no fumble.

"I heard the whistle on the sideline," Noll said. "Then the ball came loose." "Once the man calls it dead, there is no play on the ball," said Cleveland's rookie Coach Sam Rutigliano. "I saw the ball falling on the ground with a white-jerseyed Browns player on top AP Wirephoto Jets' quarterback Richard Todd is helped to the sidelines after injuring left shoulder. Theismann sparks 'Skins Rick Talky, page 3 Tampa Bay beats Falcons Story on page 2 Packers roll by Chargers Story on page By Dave Nightingale WHEN 36-YEAR-OLD Jim Fregosi was invited to take over as manager of the sagging California Angels on June 2, they told him the job would be tough but they never told him there would bo days like this. Days like Sunday, Sept.

24, 1978. "It all seemed like a perfectly calm Saturday evening," the red-eyed Fregosi recalled quietly, his voice choking at times with emotion. "I went out for dinner and came back to our team hotel about 11:30 p.m. to look for messages. There weren't any." No message that at 10:44 p.m., in nearby Gary, a man had stuck a shotgun into the back seat of a car and pulled the trigger, the shot striking 27-year-old Lyman Wesley Bostock budding superstar, California Angels.

"A jeweler friend and I went out for a couple of drinks at that time," Fregosi continued. "And I got back to the hotel about 1:30 a. m. "THE FIRST PEOPLE I saw in the lobby were Kenny Landreaux and Danny Goodwin two Angel rookies. And I yelled at them: 'Hey, It's kind of late for you guys to be up, isn't it? "It was only then that I noticed both of them were bawling their heads And Landreaux told me: 'Lyman's been At almost precisely that moment, Bostock son of a former star in the Negro American League and completing the first year of a five-year Angel contract, worth $2.25 million was being pronounced dead in the intensive care unit at St.

Mary Medical Center in Gary. It was all over for Bostock. But the long nightmare was just beginning for Fregosi and all of those who were close to the player. "The phone in my room started ringing and it never stopped," said the manager, who would not sleep again. "And as the night wore on, it became more and more incredible.

I couldn't believe the ghoulish questions that people asked me. "SOMEBODY ASKED me: 'What effect will this have on your And I said to them: 'A man just lost his life, How can you ask me a question like Fregosi's anger and emotions would not subside as the day progressed. Channel 7's cameras were the first to get to Comiskey Park on Sunday morning. Fregosi slipped into a T-shirt and some shorts and went out to meet them. He came back seething.

"That's it. No cameras in the clubhouse," he yelled to the security guard at the door of the Angel locker room. Fregosi, you see, lost more than an all-star ballplayer in the dark hours of Sunday morning. "I lost a friend a good friend. He was a super kid, just a super kid," said the manager.

"I first got to know him when he came up with the Twins in 1975 and I was still hanging around the American League with Texas, He came up to me one day and he said kiddingly: 'You know, I grew up right around Wrigley Field in Los Angeles and when I was a little kid, I used to come out all the time just to watch you "WHO WAS HE close' to on this team? He was close to everybody. He was just a wonderful guy, a concerned guy." So concerned that he spent last winter working with ghetto kids in the Los Angeles area. So concerned that when he hit less than .150 in his first month with the Angels after obtaining his gigantic contract following free agentry, that he donated his April salary to charity. "A lot of players thought he was cra-'zy to do that," said Ron Schueler, a Minnestoa teammate of Bostock's. "But if you knew Lyman as well as I did in Minneapolis, you knew that he was sincere, you knew that he did donate it." "I can't believe it.

I just can't believe it," Fregosi kept repeating. "And I can't believe the tragedies that keep following this team Miley; Heinbechner, Wantz, Itojas and now Bostock." Dick Wantz died of a brain tumor; Mike Miley and Bruce Heinbechner were killed in automobile crashes; Minnie Rojas was left paralyzed by a car crash. WHITE SOX rookie Joe Gates couldn't believe it, either. Gates is a Gary native. "I live just a few blocks from Lyman's kinfolk in Gary the kinfolk he always comes over to visit when he's in town.

Matter of fact, his uncle Thomas Turner was coming over with my folks to watch today's game. Guess that's all changed now." The Angel players were entering the locker room now solemn, teary-eyed and somewhat catatonic. Fregosi closed the clubhouse doors and spoke to them. He told them that pregame batting practice had been canceled. He reminded them that Sunday's baseball chapel services might have additional meaning to them.

'i iC it! 'Vj J-rfe vi '-x 4 Nin i ft fy. of it. 1 wailed for (lie THE STEELERS KEPT the nine-play. 79-yard drive alive by gambling on fourth and one at the 50. Franco Harris plunged a yard for the first down.

"We didn't want to give up the ball in overtime." Noll said. "Our football players wanted to go for it. When they have that kind of commitment, we let them do it." Pittsburgli drove 53 yards in seven plays to tie the game in regulation en Gerela's 36-yard field goal. He previously had clicked from 19 and 33 yards. Cockroft had Cleveland ahead 9-3 in the third period on boots of 43.

30, and 41 yards. Bears hope Vikings cure sulking Payton Tribuni poio by Walter Netl Lyman Bostock's uniform hangs in Comiskey Park locker Sunday morning before it was removed by Angels. Arizona bank employe wins Daley Marathon Photos on the Back Page By Don Pierson WALTER PAYTON had the flu the last time the Bears played the Minnesota Vikings. Ho gained 275 yards. Payton hasn't been feeling too well lately, either.

He has sulked about gaining only 240 yards in three games and hopes the Vikings and a national television audience can cure him Monday night in Soldier Field. The fact the Bears have won their first three games is not satisfaction enough for Payton. Neither is it for Coach Nclll Armstrong, who says, "We don't know how good we are. The Vikings will give us an idea." Armstrong odds: "We're not llirowing to Walter as much as we would like. Maybe it's because other teams are taking that away or we haven't tried, but I'd like to see the backs used in terms of throwing the ball.

"We're not getting out of the passing game as much as we need. It's not good enough and it's going to have to get better." PAYTON. reluctant to discuss his role in the offense except to say he's not satisfied with his own production, would rather run than catch. He always has said that. He has carried 23 tunes a game for Armstrong and caught 5 pusses total, so he is getting the ball less than 25 times a game.

Last year, Payton got the ball an average of 26 times a game. But during the first eight games, when the Bears were 3-5, Payton got it 22 times a game. Over the six-game winning streak that ended the season, Payton got it 30 times a game. Although Roland Harper is running twice as much as he did last year, the new balance has not accomplished its purpose to free Payton. "I DON'T know what's wrong, tint something is," said guard Noah Jackson.

"Against Detroit, he looked like he was Just on the verge of breaking a couple," said tackle Ted Albrecht. Paylon's longest run is 16 yards. In his six games ugainst Minnesota, Payton has averaged 118 yards game and 5.6 yards a carry. If he doesn't Continued on paije 2. cut.

3 By Mike Kiley LIKE THOUSANDS or runnen la Sunday'! Mayor Daley Marathon, Mark Stanforth said he felt too high to be tired after running 26 miles, 385 yards. Like others, he stepped tenderly with a stinging blister and talked about how long distance running is not good for your body. But unlike the other finishers, Stanforth won. He knew few of the people he beat and few recognized his name. Most of them were too concerned with their own times to care much, anyway.

Stanforth's clocking of 2 hours 19 minutes 20 seconds was unexceptional, almost two minutes slower than last year's winning mark by Dan Clocter. "The time was not national class caliber," admitled Stanforth, a 28-year-old bank employe from Phoenix, Ariz. Ho explained that the CO-dcgree beat on the lake-front affected his performance, "but not as much as it affected those who finished after me." Flaherty said he arranged the time so that out-of-town runners could have enough time to get into town. Stanforth said that the course "is not fast. There are too many turns and you change surfaces too much, going from asphalt to concrete to cinders." AN ESTIMATED 200 to 300 runner were treated in the rr.edical tent in Grant Park at the end of the race, most of them for blisters and exhaustion.

Ten runners were taken to Chicago hospitals suffering from heat problems and dehydration shortly after the race. ohn Loeffler, 17, from Libertyville, was not only driod out and tired, but complaining about being hit by a car. He was taken to Mercy Horpital for X-rays. While many wre complaining about the late starting time causing heat exhaustion problcmc, Mayor Biland-ic wa'kcd into the First Aid tent. He shook his head when asked if next year's race would start earlier.

"No," he replied. "The main reason all these people are hurting is becauso they weren't really in shape." One of those was Cloeler, who saw a big lead melt in the late stages and struggled across the finish line at the Grant Park bandshell in third place. Barney decker of Chaska, was second at 2:24.13. MARATHON OFFICIALS estimated that more than 9,000 ran in the race, ranging from 70-year-olds to 8-year-olds. Hours after the 10:30 a.m.

start, they still poured In. Lynae Larson, a 24-year-old high school teacher who drove to Chicago Saturday from Brookings, S.D., was the first woman finisher, timed in just under 3 hours. The former track athlete at North Dakota's Dickinson State, where she placed in national championship competition, was running in her second marathon. She complained about the late starting time, noting that it was a long drive back home. Race sponsor Leo.