The Charlotte News from Charlotte, North Carolina • 9

tk 4t x3wdl SECTION Saturday May 22 1976 MewMiAik8k- $3-5 Million Improvements Program Begins peedway Getting Major Face-Lift The Charlotte News A 'We are working on a master plan that will provide facilities to accommodate a crowd of 150000 comfortably for the next five years' Humpy Wheeler came vice piesident and general manager in Februaiy "Some special auto shows are already being discussed and we aren't daydreaming by saying that someday when Charlotte is ready for a National Football League team the speedway is the logical site for a stadium designing the grandstands to accommodate such a Extensive landscaping will begin in seven months when a landfill in the infield is completed Tor the past three years thousands of tons of garbage fiom Mecklenburg County have been used to fill a 40-acre hole Continued On Page 3B Col 1 lie company does a business of over $2 million annually and I expect that to double in the next five or 10 years The number of permanent employes may increase from the 13 we have now to 25 or Whctler said AN ADDITIONAL of 40000 seats would raise the seating capacity to 103000 larger than any other track except Indianapolis The track already has the largest seating capacity (63000) in the two Carolinas trying to make the speedway not just a place where major races are held but an entertainment center capable of hosting large said Wheeler who be the piesent strucluies aie expected to be built within the next year as a part of a $15 million face-lifting during that period rapidly we execute plans to make this the pie-nuer speedway in the country outside of Indianapolis will depend on Wheeler said Other major improvements or additions scheduled include: 40000 permanent seats landscaping resurfacing and repairing the 15-mile asphalt track expanding the garage area and field hospital camper and motor home facilities and VIP lounges 3 he speedway located 13 miles northeast of downtown Charlotte on 11 i riLiumr OO mef anrroo tVwa By BOB IY1YLRS News Staff Writer Charlotte Motor Speed'' ay revved for the May 30 World GOO with $250000 in improvements will undergo a $3-5 million overhaul by 1081 a speedway official told The News today "We aie working on a master plan that will provide facilities to accommodate a crowd of 150000 comfortably within the next five years The whole plan is geared toward providing a place for everybody regardless of the amount of money they have to said general manager II A (Humpy) Wheeler Jr Wheeler said a $350000 office building and a press box to replace heads" Wheeler said have one built-in situation here most businesses have We have a roof over our heads Maybe someday we will have that Wheeler said the office building which will replace an old remodeled frame house is given a top priority Billy's Bite Reputation Follows Scripture As Suns Win By STAN OLSON Newt Staff Writer Folks who know him say that there was a time early in his career when Billy Scripture used to sit in the dugout before baseball games and break rocks with his teeth Others talk of the time just last season when the Jacksonville manager bit a chunk off an aluminum beer can Last night after watching his Southern League Suns stop the Charlotte Orioles 3-0 before 3004 fans in Griffith Park to even the four-game series at one apiece Scripture was asked if the stories were true just say those are he said breaking into a wide grin Then he looked around the locker room with a twinkle in his eye and pointed to a nearby ball bag say this: when my teeth were in good shape I coulda bit through that rawhide like it was Billy Scripture But look for any of that kind of thing tonight when-the two teams meet again at 7:30 here What he likes to do best is teach young ballplayers and what rather talk about Mecklenburg County line in Cabarrus County was built in 1960 It is best known for the two major stock car races it hosts each year the World 600-miler in May and the National 500-miler in October do the improvements in staaes and not iump in over our i ANDY MESSERSMITH hurls three-hitter DODGERS 2 ASTROS I Steve Yeager hit his sixth home run of the year in the bottom of the seventh to snap a tie and lead Los Angeles past Houston before 535b8 fans on Cap Night at Dodger Stadium BRAVES 8 GIANTS 0 Andy Messersmith pitched a three-hitter and Dave May knocked in three runs with a triple and groundout to pace Atlanta past San Francisco Messersmith winning his second straight complete game following an 0-4 start allowed a triple by Chris Arnold in the first single by Bobby Murcer in the fourth and a double by Dave Rader in the CANT BEAR IT? spectator Van Story reacts during Orioles loss (Photo by Elmer Horton) Champs Oakland i Boston Beaten Sandlof Umpires Moonlight In NL ball Woild" show last Seplrmber and the Sun boss has been hearing about it ever siiki I IRS I I told him I wanna do said Si upline a 33-yeai -old with 209 pounds packed onto his 5 5 fiame "I told him I done it in eight oi nine years and I know if 1 could But Garagiola kept calling back insisting and finally Scripture relented Die outcome9 "It was no In ti plied I here nothing to it it was like tating a marshmallow So how did the Wake Foiest giad-uate get started gnawing on baseballs anyway9 Scnptuic who some feel resembles country singer Roy Claik with bis lound tare and mop of curly brown hair explained was back when I was rooming with Merv ReUenniuiul (now a major league outfielder with San Diego) in Rochester He playing too much right then so to cheer him up I bet him I could do it And I did How? "Heck vou ptsl For a guy who used to do things like bet p'avcrs that he could catch their hardest throws bare-handed and then go out and do it it was no big deal In fact he says done just about everything in his careet including "striking out a But Scripture bite baseballs anymore rather concentrate on managing He says his goals are tw'ofold to make the major leagues (he never quite got there as an outfielder-third baseman) and to make a lot of money This is the Virginia Beach Va fourth ycai managing and this year he says has been tough Jack-sonulle is last in the Fusion Division with a 13-21 record but he remains philosophic al "My not as tough as what the kids are going he said "The on them to make it I just try to teach them how to handle it and to teach them the mechanics of the game I tiv to keep them on an even keel win or When not playin'7 baseball find Scripture hunting fishing or trap shooting Or reading anything and everything even read the want ads lie says if nothing else is available He'll piobably lead last box score a couple of times Dave Overstreet won his fust game against four losses stopping the Orioles on tour hits and handing Mike Darr (3-4) the loss pitchers will be Mike Pagnozi (3-3) for Charlotte against Roy Branch (2-2) Tonight is Night and anyone bringing a fresh fish will be admitted to genera! admission seating (regularly $250) for $1 and could only move two he said Through February and March he tried and failed one night I had a dream that I could catch the ball by closing the glove with the other hand I tried it and it He signed up for a minor Little League team and kept practicing with his brother Jeff who had been driving the motorcycle when the accident occurred David is playing again pitching batting and fielding He also plays tennis and tackle football with his sewn-on arm His only problem he says is constantly having to explain to other youngsters how he got those strange-looking scars on his arm tell them I got bitten by a he says By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A1 Cohen the secunty chief of a suburban Pittsburgh school did some moonlighting last night as a major league baseball umpire He was a little rusty though lie done it for two years came to me very easily said Cohen one of four sandlot umpires rushed in for the Pittsburgh-Chicago game after the regular National League crew honored a picket line by striking vendors at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh last umpiring job was in a 1974 American Legion game but he and his rookie colleagues handled all chances cleanly as the Cubs beat the Pirates 5-4 Cohen the of the makeshift crew at home plate was joined by Ralph Detcher at first base Joe ShraU at second and Elmer Guckert at third was easier than Pony said Shratz a former Arizona State baseball player are great players They make the easy plays and the hard plays and you have to worry about anybody throwing to the wrong base and things like There were no disputed calls in By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Boston Red Sox and Oakland may be the defending champions in the American League but right now only second-division teams The Red Sox dropped a 6-5 12-inning decision to the New York Yankees at New York last night and fell into fourth place in the East Division six games from the top The fifth in the AL West lost their fifth in a row 6-0 to the Chicago White Sox in Chicago and are eight games off the pace Neither manager is particularly worried though consider this a crucial Darrell Johnson said of the Red current four-game set with first-place New York I want to get too far not discouraged because of our losing insisted Chuck Tanner "Baseball is a season not a month a solid club and come out of ELSEWHERE THE Kansas City A -1 '4-' BILLY SCRIPTURE unusual snacks But he escape the reputation his unusual snacks have created Like biting the covers completely off baseballs with nothing but his teeth Sportscaster Joe Garagiola after much pleading finally got him to do it on his nationally televised "Base- Royals downed the Minnesota Twins 5-1 at Minnesota the Texas Rangers defeated the California Angels 5-2 at Texas the Baltimore Orioles outlasted the Detroit Tigers 8-5 at Baltimore and the Milwaukee Brewers nipped the Cleveland Indians 4-3 at Cleveland Kerry Dineen who arrive at Yankee Stadium until the middle innings after his recall from the minors singled home an unearned run with two out in the 12th inning to boost the Yankees over the Red Sox Carlos May reached base when second baseman Denny Doyle booted his two-out grounder and went to third on a single by Graig Nettles before Dineen came through The Yankees came from behind to tie the score twice on Thurman two-run single off Luis Tiant in the seventh and Roy sacrifice fly off Tom House in the ninth Meanwhile Bucky Dent rapped out four hits and ex-Yankee Ken Brett made his Chicago pitching debut a success as the White Sox downed the skidding chain pulling him off the bike and sending his arm through the spinning steel spokes of the rear wheel Within seconds the spokes had cut through bone and nerves leaving only a small piece of skin holding his left arm to his body Dr Tony Woodall at the field for an awards ceremony that day splinted the severed arm and wrapped it in a plastic bag as the youth was rushed to Scnpps Memorial Hospital WERE GOING to amputate the said David the doctors saw some movement in my little finger If the finger moved they would have taken the arm But the arm was reimplanted in a 4 2 -hour operation and no infection developed Then began fight for a trip to the mound again had no flexation in the wrist the game which was decided by four-run fouith keyed by Jose two-run double think either side can said Chicago Manager Jim Marshall told my players to understand the situation and be lenient and as it turned out those guys did a grand In the other National League games the Philadelphia Phillies beat the St Louis Cardinals 2-1 at Philadelphia the New York Mets tripped the Montreal Expos 4-3 at Montreal the San Diego Padres stopped the Cincinnati Reds 4-2 at San Diego the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Houston Astios 2-1 at Los Angeles and the Atlanta Braves blanked the San Francisco Giants 8-0 at San Francisco (boxes in Score-board P2B) PHILLIES 2 CARDINALS 1 Steve Carlton scattered eight hits and Garry Maddox cracked a two-run homer to lift Philadelphia over St Louis Carlton 4-1 struck out seven and walked only one as he handcuffed the Cardinals for his fourth complete game this year DAVID Youngster Plays With fSewn-On Arm1 Little League Big Comeback Patriot rack Team In Finals GREENSBORO On the strength of victories in the 880 relay and low hurdles and three second-place finishes Independence High sprinted to a five-point victory in the Western Regional track championships here 1-st night and advances to the state finals next Friday in Raleigh Ihe Patriot foursome of Freddie Mungo Reggie Wilson John Ward and Brad Cox missed an 880 relay record by a tenth of a second on Grimsley cinder track Ward then clocked a :19 5 to win the 180 low hurdles second-place finishes were notched by Tony Reid in the triple jump Cox in the 220 and the Patriot mile relay team Independence never a state champion totaled 28 points to host 23 Olympic was third with 19 Seven other events were won by Mecklenburg athletes North Newton Williams captured the high jump Stan Cunningham the shot put Myers Tracy Lyons the pole vault Rocky Cunningham 440 and 220 his teammate Joe drank triumphed in the 880 and East Mecklenburg's Jack Durkin won the two-mile run In all Mecklenburg athletes won nine of the 16 events three more than last year when Myers Park won the regional and continued to Raleigh to capture the state title In team scoring yesterday Myers Park placed sixth Last ninth and Gannger tenth SAN DIEGO UPi This week David Goldberg pitched his first Little League game in almost a year striking out seven batters in three innings Not bad for an 11-year-old boy whose arm nearly was severed in a motorcycle accident last June "The child is unreal" said his mother Carol who fought off tears as she watched her son throw pitch after pitch as if nothing had ever happened to him He had been en route to a Little League field last June 29 when his playing days and his life almost ended was riding on the back of my motorcycle when we hit a bump and the shock absorber David recalled slowed down and all of a sudden it A baseball jersey he had been carrying caught in the motorcycle GOLDBERG makes his pitch liBK.