Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 59

ffhirago (Tribune Monday, August 3, 1981 Section 4 i i i i i i Mize, Gibson enter the Hall, and they track in some mud Hi i Steve Daley Ma 1 CMcgo THbun Pm Swvict COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. It was a ceremony befitting baseball's shattertd season. Bob Gibson, Johnny Mize, and the. ghost of Andrew "Rube" Foster, the game's class of 1981, were Installed as members in the Hall of Fame on a balmy Sunday afternoon. i It happens every August.

There were testimo-. nials, memories, and even a wind-blown bit of doggerel from Detroit Tigers' announcer Ernie Harwell, winner of one award or another. As might be expected in this troubled baseball season, there was more. The Alice Longworth Roosevelt rule was in effect: "If you can't say something nice about somebody, sit down next to me." 1 i Listen to Johnny Mize, Bloody Mary in hand, on the -eve of his induction: "You writers are always telling Die about my a. 4.

AP Laserphoto Johnny Mize (left), Bob Gibson, and Commissioner Bowie Kuhn chat Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y. reputation as a rotten fielder," Big Jawn intoned. "I don't know how many guys told me that was the reason 1 had to wait 28 years to get here. "Let me tell you, some coach I had in St. Louis stuck me with that one.

Fellow named Gonzales told all the writers I was good hit, no field. And they believed him. I told Gonzales he was no coach and spoke lousy English. Didn't do me any IT WAS THAT SORT of weekend. Rube Foster, a pioneer in the old Negro League, did not register a complaint.

He died in. 1930. Were the old gentleman with us at this hour, he would have had to wait his turn to get a word in. Mize left the game in 1953 and retired to his boyhood home in Georgia. He became eligible for induction in 1958 and waited, not always patiently, for the call from Cooperstown.

"I started thinking about the Hall of Fame the year I hit 51 4 home runs (1947)," Mize said, strolling the veranda of the Otesaga Hotel. "For about the last 10 years people have been asking me if I'd given up on it. I swear; if the Veteran's Committee hadn't let me in this time, I think I would've packed it in. I'm grateful, but it's like a kid wanting a bicycle for Christmas and getting it on the Fourth of July. It just don't mean as much." While Mize held court, old friends like former New York Yankees' catcher Bill Dickey paused to congratulate him and.

assure him it should have happened long ago. THE GAME'S SENIOR CITIZENS did not pass up a chance to put the horn in modern-day ballplayers either. One of Mize's cronies reminded him of a one-liner attributed to Ty Shortly before his death, Cobb was asked how he would have fared as a player in modern times. "Well," he allowed, "I'd probably hit about .275 or .280." "But, Cobb," his perplexed questioner went on, "you were a great hitter. One of the greatest ever.

Why do you say you'd only hit .275 nowadays?" "Son," the Georgia Peach drawled, "you have to remember I'm 73 years old." If Mize and his cohorts used the Hall of Fame festivities to even some scores, Bob Gibson used the occasion to enhance i Continued on page 4, col. 2 Inside: A Sox-Cubs old-timers game will serve the opening act when the current teams begin their two-game exhibition series Friday night in Comiskey Park. Page 3. With Bobby Bonds, Leon Durham, and Steve. Henderson healthy again, Cub Manager Joe Amalfitano is faced with some roster decisions before the 'season Page 3.

1 Ex-teammate helps end Sting's streak Bears think rookie can fill for Hicks How Sting stacks up against NASL's best By Don Pierson ON THE NIGHT BEAR veterans joined rookies at the Lake Forest training camp, defensive coordinator. Buddy Ryan told some of Tom Hicks' buddies: "You better tell Hicksy-poo to get in here." "But Buddy," they said. "Mike Singletary is only 5-1L" "Yeah," said Ryan; "but he's knocking people on their butts and you don't have to be very tall to look at 'em laying orf the ground." The Bears cut their starting middle linebacker Saturday and cited dedication, contract, personality; and all kinds of things. There were pro scouts GF GA BP Pts New York 21 6 72 40 57 181 CHICAGO 19 8 66 39 52 164 Vancouver 17 10 59 37 51 151 Atlanta 17 10 59 44 50 148 San Diego 17 10 55 42 44 138 Minnesota 16 11 52 44 47 137 Calgary 15 13 51 46 45 133 Montreal 14 13 55 46 48 130 Tulsa 14 14 51 43 45 128 Seattle '14 13 55 49 46 127 Los Angeles 15 12 41 49 37 125 Tampa Bay 13 16 54 61 47 121 ill BP Bonus points. Remaining games Away Wednesday, Washington; Saturday, Tulsa.

Home (at Comiskey Park) Aug. 12, Dallas; Aug. 15, Minnesota; Aug. 19, Tulsa. mm.

By Mike Conklin Chicago Tifeuna 9m Sttmtot CALGARY, Alberta Sting Coach Willy Roy paid a visit to Calgary winger Jorgen Kris-tensen when he arrived here earlier last week, and Sting owner Lee Stern, shook Kristensen's hand before the starting lineups, were announced in McMahon. Stadium, Somewhere along the line, it might not have been a bad idea if someone in the Sting entourage had thought to put Kristensen's legs in irons and thrown away the key. On a hot Sunday afternoon that had most of the players gasping for breath, the popular ex-Sting player was all over the field In leading the Calgary Boomers to a 4-2 victory that ended the Sting's winning streak at eight games. "Finally I get a good result against Chicago, eh?" said Kristensen, emerging from a Calgary shower room with a big grin. "I've been waiting for this one.

I think that last game in Chicago we lost (3-0 was my most frustrating KRISTENSEN HAS BEEN frustrated a few times since Roy sold him to Tulsa last season. After just a few days of practice with the Roughnecks, Kristensen came back to Chicago and was humiliated in a 7-1 thrashing. Tulsa beat the Sting 3-1 later in the 1980 season, but Kristensen couldn't savor the victory much because Roy had benched most of his starters to rest them for the playoffs. "The thing about that game earlier this year was that we had so many chances to score and didn't," said Kristensen. "I'm not saying we should have won Chicago was the better team that day but at least if we'd scored some goals like we should have, we might have had a chance." Kristensen, voted the game's No.

3 star in the previous game, took command again, for the Boomers by assisting on their first two goals and banged in the go-ahead shot off ex-teammate Bret Hall for an own goal. He was voted the game's No. 1 star. "WE HAD A LITTLE help, too," said Jorgen. "Go look at the bulletin board and you'll see a story that appeared in the paper here.

Willy called us 'nice I think that got some of us aroused, but of course you're always little more inspired when you play against your old team." The Sting's Dave Huson had the same motivation; he left the Boomers after last winter's indoor season. When he chipped in his fourth goal of the season to tie the match at 2-2 early in the second half, it that Huson might be sitting in the catbird seat at game's end. "I really thought that would be the turning point for us," Huson said. "We've always come back so strong late in the past games, but this time the other team just seemed to have a little more desire. I'm sick about this result." SO WERE MOST of his teammates.

Paul in rif 'A si-1 1i! i t. Coffee, in goal because of Dieter Ferner's badly-bruised shoulder, played well, making several outstanding saves. He couldn't be faulted on Calgary's final two goals, with one bouncing off a teammate and the other on a penalty kick. Frantz Mathieu was chosen the game's No. 3 star for an assist and numerous tackles that broke up Calgary scoring plays against the frequently stretched-out visitors.

But Mathieu also was called for a tackle in the box that led to Gerd Zimmerman's penalty shot. "I got the ball on the tackle and never touched the other man," Mathieu said. "It was unbelieveable." CHICAGO MADE IT 1-0 in the 20th minute, when Mathieu and Rudy Glenn, roommates on almost every trip, teamed for a beautiful goal. Mathieu took the ball from a Calgary player in midfield, dribbled in for a shot, decided against it, dribbled to one sideband then crossed a perfect ball that Glenn converted with a sliding tackle from the rear. Franz Gerber made it 1-1 by slamming home a long cross from Kristensen, who was left unchallenged while dribbling nearly 25 yards to corner.

Holger Brueck made it 2-1 for the Boomers by smashing home a short pass from Jorgen after the fancy-dribbling winger had swept through several Sting defenders in the penalty area. THE GO-AHEAD GOAL came when Kristensen cut down several more Sting defenders to find himself at the end line 10 yards to the right of the goal. Jorgen pivoted, took a few dribbles, and then fired a pass back out that caromed in off Hall. "I think our failure to play well was the key factor, not Jorgen Kristensen," said Roy, whose club now is 19-8 and halfway through a tedious four-game trip. "We Just didn't have any desire out there," he added.

"There was no killer instinct." 1 7 UPI Tolephoto who never did like the way he filled the holes. When he hurt a knee, he rehabilitated on his own, away from the Bears' training facility. General Manager Jim Finks never liked, him much. "I remember once when we were yelling back and forth about a contract and I said, 'I could go drive a truck and make that much said Hicks. "He said, 'Then go drive a HICKS ONCE DECIDED he didn't like to eat red meat and maybe this stuck in the back of the Bears' braintrust.

How would he ever replace a middle linebacker who ate halfbacks? But one of Finks' favorite sayings is: "There are good reasons and there are real reasons." The Bears cut Tom Hicks because they think rookie Singletary will be better. The only question left is how soon. Hicks and other defensive players think there is just no way a rookie can step in and learn all the adjustments and calls that must be made by the -middle linebacker in the Bears' complex multiple alignments. Ryan wonders, too. "We've been high on Singletary, but we haven't got that complicated with him yet.

We haven't worked him in a game-plan situation," Ryan said Sunday. "We will this week and if he does a good job, he'll call signals. If not, Muckensturm will do it." JERRY MUCKENSTURM is the left Uneacker. Ryan would rather have the middle man relaying Ryan's sideline signals and calling adjustments because he can see the offense better and team-' mates can hear him better. Ryan praised Hicks' understanding and handling of the system.

"I was shocked like anybody else when they let him go. We've had good defenses and Tommy has played an important part. I wish him well," said Ryan. "But we've got to still Ryan calls middle linebacker "the toughest post-' tion in football." He thinks it would be unusual for' a rookie to step right in, but calls Singletary "an exceptional rookie." Hicks thinks the Bears made the move because mistakes on defense aren't always so noticeable to the fan as they are on offense. Blame is more, easily masked.

And Hicks is sure there will be mistakes. "When there's 30 seconds left in a game and you've got to check, out of a blitz, hey, I've been there," Hicks said. "It's Inevitable they're gonna be hurting for a while. And I don't even know Mike Singletary and I have nothing against him. I'm not saying I'm the greatest middle linebacker either." HICKS' DECISION to retire and give Singletary a head start in the job fight was viewed by some as poor advice on the part of Hicks' agent, Jack Childers.

Hicks emphasizes it wasn't Childers' idea. 1 Childers reasons that Singletary was going to get the chance to beat out Hicks whether or not Hicks was in camp. "The Bears knew what Hicks could do," said Childers. i Hicks said he could not understand why Finks questioned his dedication. "I thought I ran the defense pretty good.

There are a lot of things Involved," Hicks said. "How many guys are going to throw Dan Hampton out of the huddle on a Monday night game? Someone came in for him and he didn't want to go out. I was going to punch him out. Can you imagine? Hampton could throw me out of the stadium if he wanted." SINGLETARY APPEARS lets concerned about the whole thing than anyone else. He is a pensive man who quietly expressed "no reaction at all" to the news that the Job is his.

He said he was confidently going about the business of learning the defenses. He said he' always knew, he was I'strong enough physically, aplritually, and mentally" to play. Asked whether he Just "thought" or "hoped" he was good enough, Singletary quickly corrected the reporter; "No," he said. knew I was strong enough even before I got here. "Every day, I get more and more encouraged.

I feel like I'm blending in with the veterans. They are great guys and they are all helping me. They so out of their way to make sure I understand." No ifs, ands, or putts i Jack Nicklaus' shows what he thinks of "his playoff in, the Canadian Open. Peter Oosterhuis putter after missing an 18-foot eagle putt on won by a stroke, his' first victory in seven years final hole Sunday that would have forced a i on the PGA Tour. Golf roundup, page 4.

on fire, but won't try NFL Mdrek sets Chicago 1 By Skip Myslenski HE IS NOW A STAR for the Chicago Fire and the leading rusher in the American Football Association, but in the summer of 1976, Billy Marek was simply weary. He had, in autumns past, starred for. a pair of Rita's city championship teams; won a Prep Bowl MVP award; three times led Wisconsin in rushing and scoring; once led the nation in -scoring; set 24 Wisconsin records and a Big 10 career scoring record, and thrice earned all-Big 10 honors and now he was not certain that he wanted to continue in the game he had played all his life. He had started to lose weight after his final season with the, Badgers sometimes felt antagonism from other students at Wisconsin be- cause you were an athlete, and I was trying to look less like one," Marek recalls). And when he wasn't selected in the 1976 NFL draft, he was not surprised, for he had long heard that he was too 'Small at 5-8, 188 pounds.

Still, he signed a free-agent contract with the Bears in April of that year; and in July, he Joined a bevy of running backs at the club's Lake Forest training camp. His wife Bobbie was still in Mad- cut. "I hate to say it, but I just wasn't sure I wanted to play," he says now "I had taken quite a beating at Wisconsin, and gone through three years with a lot of pressure, so I just wasn't sure. I wanted to give it a shot, but my heart wasn't in it. What I should have done is waited a year, got my degree, and then tried it.

Let's face it, everyone would like to play pro football, but at that time, my heart wasn't in it. I had an unsure feeling, and I couldn't shake it. "Later, I was disappointed that I didn't give it as much as I should have. That's what bothered me. It's the only time in my life I can remember not giving it as much as I could.

If I had done that and then didn't make it, I wouldn't have been so disappointed. But since I didn't I don't even, know if I regret what happened because things have worked out so well for me. I don't think I'd ever have gotten an ulcer over It, but the thought has always annoyed me." BILLY MAREK LIVED with that' thought through the next five falls, yet-he was not a dreamer youYe very realistic' when you grow up on the South.Slde"),,nor consumed wkh Continued on page 2, col. 1 Fire facts What Chicago Fire. vs.

Austin Texans. Where Soldier Field. -When Monday, I p.m. Teama' records Fire 5-3, second place In 'American Football Association Western Division. Texans 1-6, last place In Western Division.

Previous meeting Fire won 20-0 on 'June 6.. i Fire's remaining games Aug. 10 vs. Jacksonville In Soldier Field; Aug. 15 at San Antonio, Playoffs The first two teams In the Western and Eastern Divisions will qualify for the playoffs.

son, arid his mind was how He spent two weeks just pushing himself through drills and not exhibiting the fervor of his past efforts. a difference between hustling and busting your tail," he says. "I was Just FINALLY, BOBBIE MAREK Joined her husband, and the night after his first Bear scrimmage, they talked and together rekindled the flame that had expired within him. not that I was walking out there and doing noth-; ing, but until then. I just wasn't The next day, Billy Marek was I Bill MareK's record at Wisconsin i i' Games Rushes TD 1972 1 6 1973 11 241, 1,207 13 1974 9 205 1.215 18 1975 11 272 1,281 13 Totals 32 718 3,709 44 CNcigo Tttun OinOm.