The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 132

fcfr tm i A fcl 2-B bro THE MIAMI HERALD Tuesday March 29 1977- i Baseball No Longer Tops With Young Cubans Tie kids today don't care as much about baseball as ue did in Cuba They don't take it as seriously In Cuba ue mostly played baseball We were most dedicated to Pedro Ramos former major league pitcher now in the cigar business in Miami as football but there is a wide variety of other activities places to go things to do the United States everybody has a car and they go to parties all the complained Evelio Hernandez who pitched briefly with the Senators in the mid-50s and is now the baseball coach at Loyola High School as well as running his own academy TRY to tell them (players) that you have to devote your full time to baseball to make it in the big he said willing to do In addition many of the old Cuban ballplayers came from poor often rural backgrounds much dif- ferent from the more affluent urban environment of Miami Ramos for example grew up on a tobacco plantation where his parents worked in Pinar del Rio province in western Cuba He had to make his own bats by cutting branches from trees he remembers and had to stuff a handkerchief into a hole in my Talk of men living in Miami agreed is a complete change in culture and lifestyle between pre-Castro Cuba and current day Miami In Cuba they said baseball was by far the most popular sport Boys growing up then had little to do in their spare time but play baseball But in Miami today not only are there other competing sports such the old-timers remain in the major leagues EVEN THOUGH there are many Cuban-Americans playing baseball in Miami few go on to sign pro contracts and even fewer make it to the big leagues The reason Ramos Pascual Ma-duro and other old Cuban baseball i 2 4-' influx came after the war In the 1950s and 1960s there were dozens of players on big league rosters But revolution ended all that Those already playing in the United States stopped coming home for the winter Younger players were forced to remain in Cuba Only about a half-dozen of BP rjw WP" I A fa By sam Jacobs Herald Staff Writer Bor a decade and a half In the 1950s and 1960s Camilo Pascual and Pedro Ramos confused enemy batters Pascual with his curve ball and Ramos with a fast ball and another puzzler which opponents claimed was a spitball and he referred to as Cuban Cuban pitchers worry too many major league batters these days There just that many Cuban pitchers anymore or catchers or infielders or outfielders Most of the outstanding Cuban ballplayers who began their pro careers before Fidel 1959 revolution such as Ramos Past cual Orestes (Minnie) Minoso Tony Oliva Zoilo Versalles Luis Tiant and Tony Perez either have retired or probably will do so soon Today no new ballplayers can come from Cuba And even though baseball is still extremely popular among Cuban exiles here there are few young Cubans going up to the major leagues The only one in a major league spring training camp this year was former University of Miami star Orlando Gonzalez and he was sent back to the minor leagues by the Cleveland Indians last week ALL OF THIS is very disappointing and somewhat puzzling to Cuban baseball fans including ex-major leaguers like Ramos and Pascual who live here now kids today care as much about baseball as we did in Cuba They take it as complained Ramos 41 now in the cigar business Ramos Cigars A Big League with offices in a rundown building on West Flagler Street boys today get involved in other added the 43-year-old Pascual who owns and manages rental property in Miami Cuba we mostly played baseball We were most dedicated to The dedication may not be as intense but no question of continuing popularity both in Cuba and among Cuban exiles in Miami For example: Castro a one-time amateur pitcher himself recently invited the New York Yankees to play a few games against Cuban teams in Havana in early April The trip was approved by the US State Department but the arrangements fell through In Miami more than 400 persons showed up at a recent testi- -jnonial dinner for Minoso the for- mer Chicago White Sox outfielder star The principal speaker was a former president of Cuba Carlos Prio Socarras The Baltimore Orioles have been playing to near capacity crowds in their spring training games at Miami Stadium A specta-t tor at one game observed that most everyone there was speaking I a Writer Asimov To Lecture Today Issac Asimov science and science fiction writer who claims to write a book a month will take time from his writing schedule to talk about his craft and the future at Florida International University today at 12:30 pm in the Athenaeum auditorium The lecture will be open to the public for a fee of $1 and free to students TODAY PYRAMID ENERGY: Pyramid energies will be demonstrated during a free lecture on the occult topic today at 1 pm sponsored by the Miami Beach South Shore Community Center at Meridian and Sixth Street TOFFLER SPEAKS: concept orignator Alvin Toffler will give Miami audiences another dose of future telling during a free lecture tonght at 7 pm Toffler wiill give his speech at the Wolfson Auditorium of Mount Sinai Hospital Miami Beach The public is invited INSURANCE ASSURANCE: Dade Consumer Advocate office staff member Neil Shonin an attorney today will face off with Joseph De Bello president of General Insurance Co of Florida to discuss State Insurance Commissioner Bill new auto insurance proposal The meeting sponsored by the Concerned Democrats of Dade will be at 7:30 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Society 7701 SW 76th Ave The public is invited "ru '--u Cuban Coach Instructs His Young Players on Finer Points of the Game action took place in game featuring South Miami Boys Club team glove so I hurt my In addition Maduro said Minoso grew up in a family of sugar cane cutters in Oriente Province: Leo Cardenas later an outstanding Reds shortstop had to shine shoes to help support his parents and six brothers and sisters who lived in one room Orlando Pena a longtime big league pitcher had to deliver milk Tony Perez the Expos first baseman worked in a sugar mill PEOPLE from this type of background tend to be more highly motivated to succeed in sports said Dr Juan Clark a Cuban-born sociology professor at Miami-Dade Community College The young Cuban considered to have the best chance to make it to the big leagues now is outfielder Orlando Gonzalez who came to Miami from Cuba with his family in 1961 at the age of nine and went on to star at Miami Senior High School Miami-Dade and the University of Miami Our Town menthol: Government figures for General Has Determined Dangerous to Your Health All 4 Suspects Booked In Coffee-Theft T- $400- 4 wm yf iV7T: a 3 '4 T- DAVID SMITHV Miantf Case County Annex Rules Upheld An appeals court has ruled that Dade cities may not ignore the county charter when they attempt to annex new land Metro officials considered the ruling an important test of the county charter The ruling by the Third District Court of Appeals concerned a suit brought by the city of Sweetwater against Dade County Sweetwater annexed five acres of land in 1973 using a state statute that requires only the affected homeowners to approve the move The city then brought suit to validate the annexation although it did not conform to the rules for annexation under the Dade County Charter The charter requires approval by the Metro Commission method of the municipal annexation set forth (in) the Dade County Charter presently constitutes the exclusive method of modifying municipal boundaries in Dade the ruling said Attorneys to Ask Clemency Denial Assistant state attorneys Edward Carhart and Carol King Guralnick will go to Tallahassee today to ask Gov Reubin Askew and the Florida Cabinet to order the execution of Dade County slayer Robert Austin Sullivan 29 Sullivan on death row at Union Correctional Institution at Raiford for the 1973 shotgun slaying of a Homestead Howard Johnson's restaurant manager has asked the Executive Clemency Board (the governor and the Cabinet) to commute his dedth sentence to life imprisonment Sullivan and a friend Reid McLaughlin 24 kidnapped Donald Schmidt 39 on April 9 1973 after taking $2700 from the restaurant office safe They drove him to a deserted area where Sullivan pumped four shot-' gun blasts into the victim At trial police quoted the man as saying he wondered what it would be like to commit Over Rust named in the suit taped together the inside right door panel Mrs Woods had to reach outside the window to open the door of her 1974 red Pinto The inside door handle was inoperative notice the rust until after the warranty (12000 miles or 12 months) had she said know that much about cars all I do is drive them" WATCH THE WATER: Residents of Ives Estates who get their water from the Dade Utilities Co are advised that today Wednesday and Thursday their water lines will be cleaned Residents are asked to wash clothes before 9 am or after 4 pm because there is a chance that the water may be temporarily discolored IF EVER A WIZ THERE WAS: Follow the yellow brick road to Cutler Ridge Elementary School 20210 Coral Sea Rd tonight for a show of creative writing and art topped off by a performance of Wizard of by the young actors of the school The program begins at 7 pm The public is invited PEOPLE Edwin LaFary Robert Beck Adalberto Garcia and James Lynch have all been elected to the Board of Hospital ET Walters of Assistant County Manager Dewey Knight were recently selected as chairman and co-chairman respectively of the 1977 Dade County Campaign for the United Negro College Fund Jack Eckerd has been named interim president of Eckerd College in St Petersburg Dr John Moore has been named associate director of the Law and Economics Center for the University of School of Law Mae Knight Clark a pioneer Dade County educator was awarded the honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by her alma mater Florida State University tors of Variety Winn-Dixie and Box or IN ADDITION thousands of Cuban-American youngsters are taking part in various youth base- ball programs in addition to regular school athletic programs Some are in programs run by nonprofit groups such as the Khoury League and various service organizations which serve all ments of population But other youngsters pay from $10 to $20 a month to enter one of more than a dozen Cuban to learn the sport from former pro players such as ex-Washington Senators pitchers Evelio Hernandez and Julio Moreno and Camilo older brother Carlos The great Cuban interest in baseball may surprise many Americans who think of Latin America as soccer country That is true of places like Argentina Brazil and Peru But in Caribbean countries and territories such as Puerto Rico Cuba the Dominican Republic and Venezuela where there has been a lot of contact with Americans baseball has been the most popular sport for years IN the days before Roberto Maduro recalls a lawyer or businessman know anything about baseball he make it talk baseball for a half hour and then get down to The 60-year-old- Maduro who lives in Miami is a special assistant to Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn in charge of Latin American baseball Before the Castro government confiscated everything he had including insurance companies cattle ranches bus lines and sugar plantations Maduro owned a minor league team in Havana and also the 35000-seat baseball stadium Although his team the Havana Sugar Kings drew big crowds during the summer they were nothing compared to the crowds when top Cuban major leaguers and some Americans came home to play in the Cuban Winter League you would hear announcements on the public address system (congressmen) please return to the Capitol going to be a roll Maduro recalled Although a few Cubans began playing professional ball in the US before World War II the big Consumer All four persons sought in the theft of 17 tons of coffee have surrendered voluntarily to federal authorities and been released on minimal bonds Fred Reilly Gilbreath appeared before US Magistrate Charlene Sorrentino with his attorney Tom Almon and entered a plea of innocent to theft from an interstate shipment Judge Sorrentino released him on a $10000 personal recognizance bond Also charged in the alleged theft of the coffee and the attempted resale to its owners are: Jake Garrett Eduardo Rodriguez and Leo Bozza No date has been set for the trial of the four men befor US District Judge Clyde Atkins Sliolgun Wounds Fatal to Man 28 A Miami man died Monday morning after spending more than fifteen hours in surgery Sunday while doctors tried to restructure his face tom apart by a shotgun blast Police said Robbie Lee James 28 was shot in the face after he had an argument with his cousins Doctors at Jackson Memorial Hospital spent several hours with James who died at 2:29 am Monday cousin Gary Mitts 25 of 2415 NW 42nd St was arrested and charged with first degree murder Police said a second cousin is being sought Fire Gills Closet In Dade Home A room-sized closet filled with stored household articles caught fire and caused an estimated $40000 damage to the Dr William residence 6300 SW 104th St Monday Metro fire captain Thomas Tom-berlin said that the cause is unknown of the blaze that started the blaze which gutted the room and Advocate 1971 Ford pick-up truck Monday pointing to a galvanized metal strip she said is holding together the right side of the truck bed She lettered the metal strip Better Idea" NOTICED rusting along the side about 18 months after we got the said Mrs Blakely an artist went to the Ford deal-- LOCAL NEWS CAPSULES spread heavy smoke throughout the house Firemen found Mrs Brown fighting the fire with a garden hose despite minor burns on her arms when they arrived at 3:57 pm Six other members of the household got out without injury firemen said Gables Man Cited By ew York Jury A Miami man and three others were charged Monday in New York with taking part in a scheme to defraud the federal bankruptcy court and the creditors of three trucking companies Businessman Philip Landwehr 54 of 2951 Bayshore Dr in Coconut Grove was named along with three men from New York and New Jersey in a 33-count conspiracy and bankruptcy fraud indictment filed by a federal grand jury in Manhattan Landwehr and the others the indictment alleged misused the federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan to defraud creditors and loot the companies of their assets Landwehr also was accused of lying to a bankruptcy court judge when he denied under oath any connection between the three bankrupt companies and another bankrupt company in New Jersey Landwehr and his associates who had offices at 400 Park Ave Manhattan acquired control of the three trucking companies in 1973 If convicted each defendant faces up to five years in prison and a $10000 fine on the conspiracy count and an additional fine of $5-000 on each of the 30 bankruptcy fraud charges Sues Ford er and he said the repair would cost she added have no more faith in local Ford dealers or in writing letters to the company to she said no way going to pay for the repairs drive this until it falls apart Another disgruntled owner Mrs Margaret Woods who with Marvin King of Hollywood are two owners fis IiOok at the latest US Av p'CHii(Qyl-'TCnvthod Less than 1 mg tan Ol aii brands lowest Carlton 70 less than 0 5 mg tar mg nicotine av per cigarette FTC Report DEC 76 Warning: The Surgeon That Cigarette Smoking Is FROM PAGE IB met with Dartland about a year ago to discuss rust problems He said Dartland at that time was unable to give them a list of dissatisfied owners Dartland have a list then but he does now One of those on the list Mrs Wary Blakley stood beside her tan Soft Pack and Menthol 1 mg 01 mg nicotine ait pet cigatette FTC Hepoti DEC 76 Box 1 mg 'Tat" 01 mg nicotine av per rgateite by FIC method.