Times-Advocate from Escondido, California • 16

A-16 DAILY TIMES ADVOCATE ESCONDIDO CA FRI AUG 3 1973 Unitas to make Charger debut Charlie Mack vr aitmg his turn T- Writer Sneed, who had a 60 3 completion average "The Giants have a young team which surprised a lot of people last year," Svare notes "They have a multiple offense as complex and as explosive as any team in the league. Running back Ron Johnson, who rushed for 1,182 yards, caught 45 passes and scored 14 touchdowns, is New York's big man The Giants are searching for a running mate to Johnson and Vin Clements will get first call The Chargers also have a 1.000-yard rusher little Mike Garrett, who'll sit out the opener because of a groin injury Thomas will be worked at halfback and Cid Edwards, last years MVP for the Chargers, will probably open at fullback. devised in the NFL, the Chargers were 4-9-1 and last in the AFC West in 1972 The Giants were 8-6 for third place in the NFC East. The Giants won the only league game between the two clubs in 1971, 35-17, in Yankee Stadium. The Chargers won the only pre-season meeting between the two, 30-27, by overcoming a 27-7 deficit in San Diego in 1970.

Unitas isnt the only newcomer making his debut as a Charger Saturday night Former Rams Coy Bacon, a defensive lineman who should perk up the pass rush, and Bob Thomas, a running back who has looked good drills, will also see action. Both were obtained the Hadl swap Websters Giants have the top passer the NFL 72, Norm experience isn't nearly as much as it should be Should Unitas fail his 19th season, the quarterbacking chores would go to Clark, with only rookies Tony Adams and Dan Fouts to back him up Fouts, from Oregon, suffered a broken collarbone in the Coaches All-American game and Adams, from Utah State, was second in the nation in total offense. "I do feel our quarterback situation is not in bad shape, Svare said "Better than it was a year ago. All our quarterbacks have good fundamental skills All Clark needs is field time. He's had all the time he needs in the classroom and hes had all the time he needs on the practice field.

Playing a schedule that may have been the toughest ever debatable Masters come along once in a great while Few coaches in football, Svare feels, can play preseason games solely for the purpose of evaluating the team You say to yourself you gotta see the kids but when you get in and the game is tight, you wanna win Some coaches say victory or not, Ive gotta see the young kids Its easy to say and hard to do Svare knows that the most important person on the team to quickly become experienced is his No 2 quarterback, third-year man Wavne Clark John Hadl, whom the Chargers traded to the Los Angeles Rams after last season, would pout if not given a lot of playing time in pre-season contests As a result, Clarks televised for showing at 5 Sunday on Channel 39 It was be heard on Escondido radio KOWN with the pre-game show starting at 7 45 Its a coaching clash between old Giant teammates Harland Svare and Alex Webster, who played together on the last Giant club to win a title (19561 Unitas was a rookie that season with the Baltimore Colts, throwing just nine passes Since then, Unitas has attempted more passes (5,1101, complete more passes (2,7961 for more yards (39,7681 and more touchdowns (287 1 than any player in National Football League history The man is a master," Svare says Whether or not he should be taking the risk of losing Unitas to a preseason injury is By LAKRY LITTLEFIELD T-A Sports Writer SAN DIEGO A legend with a weaker arm An immortal with an arthritic knee The great Johnny Unitas in the uniform ot the San Diego Chargers Its only a preseason football game An exhibition, if you will Yet it takes on the excitement of something much bigger in that it will help to answer the No 1 question on the Chargers 1973 list Can Unitas, at age 40, still perform well enough to helpthem' Unitas has been selected San Diego's starting quarterback for its first preseason encounter, an 8 contest Saturday against the New York Giants in San Diego Stadium A crowd of right around 40,000 is expected The game will be Newcombe, Billie Jean sign pacts NEW YORK (AP) Billie Jean King and John Newcombe were the first players to sign with the newly organized 16-team World Team Tennis, it was announced Friday by Commissioner George MacCall Mrs King and Newcombe were "preferential choices Each WTT team was permitted, prior to the draft, to sign or commit one player to a contract The team would then forfeit its first round choice Mrs King, from Hilton Head, the 1973 Wimbledon champion, was signed by Philadelphia while Newcombe. of Australia, was signed by Houston Kennedy defends blackout WASHINGTON (AP) Walter Kennedy, commissioner of the National Basketball Association, said today legislation to lift the television blackout of home games would be a serious miscarriage of justice To take away the home territory blackout authority which went with the authorization to sell a league package, either by repealing it or by imposing onerous conditions, would seriously injure the ability of professional sports to continue extensive telecasting and of sharing revenues with the poorer teams, he said "The implications of this proposal go deeply into the economics and existence of professional basketball the serious financial condition of which has been demonstrated Kennedy made his comments before the House subcommittee on communications which is considering several bills that would lift the home TV blackout when the game is sold out within 48 hours of the event Rep Tobert Macdonald. DMass subcommittee chairman, became quite angry with Kennedy after the commissioner read his statement Macdonald has introduced a bill which would affect pro football primarily because it would only lift the blackout on nationally televised games On the other hand, a measure by Sen John Pastore. DR I which has passed the Senate Commerce Committee, would ban the blackout on all games "Im very surprised at your remarks. said Macdonald "My bill wouldnt affect basketball or hockey, only football.

There are a few things Dan Fouts has always been and probably will be until the day he dies: strong-armed, strong-willed and skinny-legged For the time being, though, the rookie quarterback from the University of Oregon is trying on a new label injured. Pro football players usually arent worth much when theyre injured, but after breaking his collarbone on the first play from scrimmage in the Coaches All-American game, Fouts held out for more money than the San Diego Chargers were offering Yeah, the guys also got guts. To make things worse, Fouts got injured in a game the San Diego brass didnt even want him participating in, for the very reason that he might be harmed. Then Fouts had the nerve to hold out for more money. And people wonder why Dan Fouts, the teams No.

3 draft choice, the guy who broke almost all of Bob Berrys school passing records, the reigning all-Pacific-8 quarterback, is listed last on the Chargers most recent depth chart. Right there behind gimpy-legged Johnny Unitas and those two household names, Wayne Clark and Tony Adams. My guess is that Fouts wont stay in the No. 4 position for long. All its going to take is some time on the field to-put him past Adams and then maybe even Clark, the perpetual backup from U.S.

International University. Fouts is a natural. He stands about 6-3, depending upon the time of day, and weighs around 196 pounds. He also has a rifle disguised as a right arm. But that healing left collarbone has kept him from effectively showing his wares at the Chargers Irvine training camp.

At this stage, says Harland Svare, who has yet to coach a team with a winning record, Id have to say Fouts is about a year behind. Hes missed three very important scrimmages and hasnt been in camp long enough to be completely familiar with our system. Confidence keeps him going Fouts feels hes very important to the Chargers. First of all, he rationalizes, the team wouldnt have drafted him as high as it did if it thought otherwise about his talents. Hes also had the advantage of playing three years in the Pac-8, one of collegiate footballs toughest conferences.

Compare that with his two main rivals. Clark played at USIS, but its been so long since hes played regularly. He also has a reputation for being gun-shy. And Adams, although he set all kinds of records at Utah State, operated from an option offense and didnt exactly play teams like USC, UCLA, Stanford, Oklahoma and Missouri Oregons opponents last season. At first, the injury really got me down, Fouts says, because I could follow what was going on, but I couldnt do it physically.

But the shoulder is getting stronger and its just a matter of time before Ill be able to get out there and perform and show them what I can do. I know Ive missed scrimmage time, but I do feel confident. Fouts was practically weened on football. His dad. Bob, was for many years the play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco 49ers and Fouts calls 49er quarterback John Brodie one of his closest friends.

John has been a big help to me, both on and off the field, he says. A quarterback, naturally, has got to be confident. Hes the take-charge guy and you dont want some pussyfoot leading your football team But in the eyes of Svare and his staff, Fouts has one big strike against him hes a rookie. There's no way Im going to play a rookie quarterback, it I dont have to, Svare has said many times and Fouts has been forced to align his thinking accordingly. In terms of being a starter, he says, I think I could play next year here.

But I dont think Ill play much this year unless theres a disaster Unitas and Clark both go down and the Chargers change their thinking about using a rookie quarterback. Has learned to laugh at himself Fouts also has a dry sense of humor, which some may construe as arrogance. Fouts on injuries: No, I wouldnt say Im injury-prone. I just havent been able to finish the last two games Ive played. At one time, I seriously considered changing my lifestyle, I must have been doing something wrong.

Fouts on the possiblity of never playing football, because of injury, illness or plain not being good enough: Because of the fact that I could get hit by a car and never walk again, Ive come to consider my options, just like anybody else in this world. You know, accidents can happen to anybody, not just football players. Fouts has been playing quarterback ever since he can remember. There were other sports as a schoolboy basketball, baseball and track but footballs always been No. 1.

with him. The most frustrating thing about football, he says, is losing. I dont put much stock in the play-by-play. The end result is the most important thing. Its the most frustrating at times and also the most rewarding.

Not being able to participate in practice has been frustrating to Dan Fouts. That hes finally about ready to play shuuld be rewarding to the Chargers. Third baseman Ron Cey of the Los Angeles Dodgers was tagged out at the plate in the second inning Thursday night by Houstons John Edwards. Cey attempted to score on Bill Russells single to centerfield. It took them 11 innings, but the Dodgers salvaged one game of the three-game series with a 4-2 win over the Astros.

The Dodgers open a three-game set with the Giants tonight. See story, Page A-17. Match set for Sept. 20 Riggs, Billie Jean trade jabs NEW YORK (UPI) Billie Jean King, looking quite pretty on closed circuit color TV from Denver, said: Bobby Riggs is a great con man. Hes good for tennis, but I hope to put him down.

I hope they have to scrape him off the court. Billie was referring to her match with male chauvinist Riggs, now set for Sept. 20 in Houston's Astrodome, where she will seek to eradicate the harm done to Womens Lib by Riggs outrageous victory in May over Margaret Court. Riggs, 55, professing that he was appalled when he learned that his clash with the 29-year-old Mrs. King would be best three of five sets, nevertheless told Billie that he would have her bewitched, bothered and bewildered in short order.

Shes going to serve, he said, and try to come to the net, but the ball will go down the line, or over her head, or to her feet. So shell retreat to the backcourt and shell get flustered. I wont give her roses before the match, the way I did on Mothers Day for Margaret, he continued. Maybe a box of candy. Billie shrugged off the opening needle, then said that while she wasnt going to discuss tactics this early, she believed her own all-court game would be more than enough to handle Riggs.

I think I have an advantage over someone like Chris Evert, the Wimbledon queen said. Chris is murder from the baseline, but to beat Bobby you have to be able to play the entire court. Riggs remained unimpressed, and even this early in his con job attempt told Billie to do nothing but prepare for his lobs, so high you wont believe them, he said. Im glad I finally got her to come out of hiding. She would not budge for a mere $10,000, but $100,000 is something else.

And you know anyone can play for ten grand. But 100 grand, thats different. Wrigley enjoys his privacy Wrigley may not be exactly the Howard Hughes of baseball but he's the closest thing to a multimillionaire hermit the sport has. Wrigley has owned the Cubs for 40 years The team has not won a pennant since 1945. From 1947 it spent 20 straight record-smashing seasons the second division despite some of the weirdest contrivances by its owner.

In recent years the Cubs have gained fame for late-season flops. But now they just might stay on top So people are wondering again, who is this mystery man Who, in fact, is this unswerving individualist who has CHICAGO (NEA) "Im loose, said Phillip Wriglley, actually standing there in person his white shirt sleeves, a little smaller in physical build than one might expect from a genuine mystery man, and a little hunched from his 79 years of cowering from the public glare. He does exist! He was talking to his prospective interviewer and asking him into his office He was standing there pouchyeyed and a bit floppy-eared but not dour-looking at all as some of the stiff old photographs show him There was a sort of comfortable old Home Sweet Home sampler look about him Chicago Cub owner Phillip K. done everything from withstand the pressures of putting lights in his ballpark (the Cubs are the only major league club to play only day home games) to pay for the families of his players to I'irsl of tiro jxirts accompany the team on a road trip to try a system of rotating managers. Wrigley hasnt been to Wrigley Field, home of the Cubs, in over 10 years.

He got tired of being fawned over by the ushers when he came to his special box Then he tried sitting incognito in various parts of the park. He was always being discovered by gaping fans and being photographed by the press always with my mouth open). So this gigantically rich fellow (estimated daily! income of $10,000) does not go to Wrigley Field at all (in fact, he hardly ever went even when the team won a pennant 1945, he stayed in his office and wrote personal letters to fans explaining why everyone couldnt get tickets) but slips into the white wedding-cakelike 32-story Wrigley Building on the north bank of the Chicago River, where he conducts the business of the largest chewing gum company in the world. It is here that to the man in the street Wrigley may become a disembodied voice. Everybody who works in the executive offices of the gum company answers his own phone.

His father taught him that they were in a five-cent business. "But even if its a 10-cent business now, says Wrigley, we should still remember our level. Hello, hello, I wanna talk to Mishter Wrigley, says the caller with the sudsy voice. This is Mrs. Wrigley.

Oh. "What can I do for you Well, Im watchin the game Cont. On Page A-18, Col. 1 PHIL WRIGLEY Baseballs Howard Hughes.