Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 36

4rdroopmermememoo 213 01985 FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM TUESDAY EVENING JANUARY 15 1985 a rs summ itrrs takes Aat yr? a 2 Es a a uper 811) Tv- A tar 1 01985 FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM TUESDAY EVENING JANUARY 15 1985 "If trd VtAraa rfeS 'in trike tar ss Ki 01 4 -i: -'1- 4 41' it t' -ti I e- I '4464'40 tvi 4004rAh 112N 4 v7 1 i ip inAokc r4 1 rc: A ti -e 1 i''''' I 4 "'k- I 1(44 I I I I I I get a break" Not that Dennis Cross was a hamand-egger "When he became an actor in 1946 he did a lot of Broadway and off Broadway work then moved out to the West Coast to do television" said Cross "He never really made it big but he worked regularly enough so that by the standard of living in those days he could afford to have seven kids "But he quit it after 25 years He's the vice president of a medical malpractice insurance company It seemed like a natural thing to get into from acting He deals with the doctors which is a natural for him because he's so good around people" Cross realizes that nobody would know his name had he chosen and excelled at an occupation other than football When one views the success enjoyed by a previously balky 49er running game Cross's accomplishments become better defined "This season I'm probably playing as well as I ever have" he said "It's really satisfying for me" By KEN SINS Star-Telegram Writer SAN FRANCISCO Three years ago in the wintry gloom of Pontiac Mich San Francisco 49er offensive guard Randy Cross was one of the darlings of the media The outgoing Cross was one of the factors that made writers forget about the location the NFL fathers chose for the Super Bowl Cross is back participating in his second Super Bowl in four seasons He says he learned much from his initial Supe experience "Remember the first time you went to Disneyland and rode the Matterhorn?" asked Cross "The first time you really didn't know what to expect There are a lot of hazards and twists and turns but at least the second time you knew where you were" Cross doesn't disturb easily but he wasn't the least bit happy when he read in a local newspaper that there was to be "A Night With Randy Cross" at a downtown hotel Wednesday It seems nobody had checked packed things to do in this world than play football "I can deal with people The radio and television is something I like to do There's some notoriety But Joe (quarterback Joe Montana) can't even go out and be around a group of people As the standard line goes 'Gee I hate to bother you but' He has to deal with that constantly and it's a real problem "He and Dwight Clark and Hacksaw (Reynolds) are probably the only three guys who have to put up with that on our team "That also has a lot to do with the area we play in This isn't the Oklahoma Outlaws where it's the only thing in town "My parents chuckle over how much exposure I get They say I've been overexposed I do a radio show on Monday nights and they can get it down in Los Angeles "I don't have any aspirations to act Naturally I'd like to try it But after watching my dad sit by a telephone and wait for it to ring I'm not so sure Either you're famous or you're one of the 99000 other guys who are waiting on tables until they official day of Super Bowl madness "It's just somebody trying to make a buck trying to exploit the whole thing I don't like it and I won't have anything to do with it" Under normal above-board circumstances Cross would be delighted to accommodate by hosting such a function He is after all the honey-glazed son of an actor "My dad says I've got a little ham-bone in me" said Cross with a grin A little? Cross has enough to keep a platoon of Arkansas fans well fed Cross inherited his gregarious nature from his father Dennis Cross who starred in the 1960 television series "The Blue Angels" The elder Cross for game-playing TV trivia types played Cdr Arthur "Tex" Richards an Air Force pilot for the stunt-flying jet squadron His role as Richards was one of the few heroes Dennis Cross played in a 25-year career "He played a lot of bad-guy parts all sorts of character parts" said Cross "He was either an Indian or an Italian bad guy He'd come home and tell us 'I got the part' Us kids would ask him 'Well do you "He's died on the screen more times than Lee van Cleel and all the other bad guys put together I guess one of the few times he didn't get killed was on Get Smart when Agent 99 knocked him out" As a kid Cross would get wide-eyed at the friends his dad would bring home Dennis now 60 and an insurance executive knew how to keep the kids entertained The faces on television leaped from the screen and into their parlor "I met John Wayne and Charlton Heston" said Cross "But my dad's real close friends were people like Russell Johnson who played the Professor in Gilligan's Island These are faces who you would recognize but you wouldn't know their names Just that they're character actors you've seen someplace before" Having been raised in a theatrical home helps Cross deal with the celebrity status that comes with a pro football career "It was interesting being around actors growing up" he said "SO it's beerreasy to keep things in perspective There are a lot more pressure Even super it or layers cope ry pro si 7 i 1 l'7' si r- '-i''''' 1 7 'Li '4 6 l- i'' 1' A if-i' 1 4 i 0 '7 1 yi7' 7 4' t'' i '4 -4 e- t'-' e' ''d '''''''''7' I' t' i 1 ::7 i 1 q-v (b" -''2-' A 47'5 4 i I 1 'i14 to I 5'-j- "Jowl 2 1 4 k' k-11k 777Iwr lc: 1: 'S 1 A A' 2 1 'i i'' 1 2- 4: 7T i ::2 :4 1 I 4 I i Of S- 1 '''''''''11 1 4i I'i i' f'' A r': 1 -1 1k --'''1 4: :4 1 1: 1 tt i' 'i ''F '''''N 1 4- ok -k -k ''sk it By PAUL HAG EN Star-Telegram Writer OAKLAND We see professional football players trot onto the field Sundays in their pretty uniforms we read in the pa- pers about their big salaries and we don't think about i the unsettling fact 'f''t71r that they are i human beings 1 too Maybe we don't iia want to But profession- Don McNeal al football players can bruise and bleed and hurt They fight with their wives and are faced with the entire spectrum of human problems Take for example Miami Dolphins cornerback Don McNeal His father Henry had a stroke at mid-season The family was led to believe he was improving but the week before the Dolphins AFC championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers Henry 71 died "That game" McNeal said after the Dolphins had disposed of the Steelers to advance to Super Bowl XIX Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers "was for my dad" A few hours before he died McNeal's dad had nurses prop him up in bed so he could watch his son play against the Seattle Seahawks in an AFC divisonal playoff game McNeal's mother died 20 years ago leaving his father to raise 12 children by himself "He was my biggest fan" McNeal said of his father "Always was Anytime I needed somebody to talk to about my football about my life he was there My brother told me he watched the entire Seattle game with a smile on his face Knowing my dad I believe it" McNeal spent much of the week before the Pittsburgh game away from the team making funeral arrangements Then he came out and did a creditable job against Pittsburgh's super rookie Louis Said Dolphins coach Don Shula: "I feel so good for Don the way he played He's been through so much that it means something extra for him to have played as well as he did" Responded McNeal: "I played my hardest I know my dad would have wanted it that way" said McNeal "Deep down I knew he was watching" Playing in a Super Bowl is incentive all by itself But McNeal in addition to the extra money and the acclaim and the memory of his father has even more than that That's because the last time Miami was in the Super Bowl two years ago against the Washington Redskins McNeal figured in a key play that helped Washington win The Redskins were trailing in the fourth quarter and faced a fourthand-one situation from midfield Washington fullback John Riggins ran left McNeal came up and wrapped his arms around Riggins Riggins broke the tackle and rambled 53 yards for the touchdown that put the Redskins ahead for good "I remember that" he said "I'll be doing my best to make up for that this time around" NOTES The Dolphins arrived at their Oakland hotel Monday evening Hard to believe but the team chartered a 727 for their trip to the coast By not getting a bigger jet the Dolphins saved a few bucks but had to make a refueling stop in Houston As a result the trip took seven hours The 49ers are the second team in Super Bowl history to have a "home field advantage" for the game Because Stanford Stadium where the game will be played is so close the 49ers will be able to use their regular practice facility at Redwood City and stay at home while the Dolphins will be practicng in the unfamiliar Oakland Coliseum and staying in a hotel No team has ever played a Super Bowl in its home stadium Add home field advantage: Sports psychologist Dr Thomas Tutko was quoted in a Bay Area newspaper as saying that he believes the Dolphins disadvantage will be negligible "There may be a slight advantage to sleeping in one's own bed being around what we call a 'support system' but it will not be an overriding factor" Tutko said "It depends wholly on the type of athlete There are athletes who are very autonomous very rebellious very defiant who take delight in pounding you on your own turf" What about jet lag? It's supposed to take a day to orient yourself for each time zone crossed "It's only a factor if you let it be If you think 'I'm supposed to be tired' then you'll be tired But it shouldn't affect Miami at all They'll have enough time to adjust" he said Second add home field advantage: The Dolphins played in West Coast Super Bowl just two years ago (against the Washington Redskins in the Rose Bowl) and of their starters all but inside linebackers Mark Brown and Jay Brophy and punter Reggie Roby were on the team then "The last time there were a lot of things going on a lot of distractions" says Dolphins nose tackle Bob Baumhower "This time I think we'll be able to handle it a lot better People are talking about them having an advantage But we've won a lot of big games on the road and and it's going to make it that much sweeter when we beat them in their own backyard" Last add home field advantage: 49ers linebacker Jack Reynolds believes the Dolphins may even have the edge He should know because he played for the Rams in Super XIV when the game was played just up the road "It was a pain being at home the week leading up to the game" said Reynolds "You get no rest And even if you win you wouldn't get the prestige and the respect When you come home after winning a Super Bowl on the road it's like coming home from war" An extended weather forecast for the Bay Area issued Monday predicts storms moving in Friday night and rain continuing through Saturday By game time Sunday it's expected the rain will have stopped and the Super Bowl will be played under partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the mid-50s Althea 1 Randy Cross Cross's social calendar He says he's booked Wednesday night even if he only has to wash his briefs "There's no such thing" said Cross Monday night during a brief press conference marking the first Gil Le Breton "You'd have to say he feels more comfortable with all those things plus his personal life is a little more settled He's totally at ease" "If you're happy at home" Montana admits "it carries over into your work" The Montana that we saw Monday Day One of the week-long media blitzkrieg did seem happy enough He had his Barry Mani low nose his dimpled chin a white collar turned up over a black Polo "Will trade 12 new Cabbage Patch Kids" "Trade 30-foot Trimaran Sailboat" "Trade Osborne or IBM computer" "24 Gold necklace for good Super Bowl tickets" One individual offered to trade $1700 worth of fine quality California champagne "perfect for a tailgate party" for two tickets which have a face value of $60 each at least three others were ready to swap car body work and a handful put up free time in condominiums and cab io A Gil i 1 LeBreton i I 1: Dolphins Coach Don Shula clinches his fists upon arrival in San 1qontana maynot be all 49ers have but would theybe here without him? Continued from Page 1 tana II "I don't know if I was ready" he -says now Joe and Cass Montana were di: 7vorced last spring Joe kept his Super Bowl XVI trophies and Cass reportedly got the Arabian horse two German shepherds and a goodly -chunk of everything else Joe Montana age 28 and in love again however gets to retain his peace of mind "All the things that were new a year ago that affected him from different directions I think he subcon: sciously got used to them" says Paul Hackett who coaches the San Fran' cisco quarterbacks "He's certainly more relaxed with me with the new coaching staff and with the fact we have Wendell Tyler (a running game after being so de pendent on Montana's passing) Associated Press Francisco Monday sweatshirt and a 17-1 record And he had the future Mrs Montana III standing off to his side looking all blonde and blue-eyed and decidedly Californish "He'll be the same person you see in pregame warmups" says 49er guard Randy Cross "But then it gets to be the fourth quarter three minutes to go we need a touchdown to win and Joe becomes a different person It's sort of like he does things in the third person not robotic but so programmed into what he has to do" Stop Joe Montana? Not likely says Randy Cross He remembers sitting in his den in the off-season watching old 49er replays with teammates and shaking his head as Montana did it again "I remember saying" Cross recalls 'Maybe he is all we have'" ins from Lake Tahoe to Honolulu to St Croix For those still reluctant to part with their tickets how about a Salvador Bali lithograph a contractor's license course dental work or restaurant food and drink? Some buyers tried a more personal approach "HELP PLEASE! 49er fan with nation's longest handlebar mustache needs I Super Bowl ticket" "Wanted: 49er faithful who is not rich would value 2 tix for the Super Bowl Can only afford $175 each" Fot B941 kfff'-'''''---dell Wr orth zi Show 1 SUMMER STARTS TODAY 1 I i $5 MILLION $-- i 40- 7 157 ''414- if WORTH OF EX- ::00 ir 7 i 1 CITING NEW 'UNE' at '85 BOATS 1 Ifrom 8' 2-man tr 4 I fishing boats to 1 luxury cruisers nmiu and sailing to-n 4 1: yachts 1 ALL AT SPECIAL 11 i SHOW PRICES! ii: MOBABIB I TARRA NT COUh i I 77 CONVENTION CENT f-FA T- 4-titti41 0 Tuesday 5 to 10 Wednesday Thursc and Friday Noon to 10 i 'lq- MI 4s I- '91F Saturday 10 am to 10 Sunday 10 am to 6 For Info Regular Admission $350 Children under 12 FF Call LOOK FOR SPECIAL DISCOUNT COUPONS 335-1211 $150 OFF AT TARRANT CO MARINE DEALE Alit'somitioNitif woo eFort Worth 6 A89fd 141 r2 zi Show SUMMER STARTS 'TODAY $5 MILLION WORTH OF EXCITING NEW '85 BOATS from 8' 2-man fishing boats to luxury cruisers and sailing yachts ALL AT SPECIAL SHOW PRICES! hat 4921-75 -oer For Info Call 335-1211 DM T-711 TARRANT COUNTY CONVENTION CENTER Tuesday 5 to 10 15 Wednesday Thursday a and Friday Noon to 10 Saturday 10 am to 10 Sunday 10 am to 6 Regular Admission $350 Children under 12 LOOK FOR SPECIAL DISCOUNT COUPONS $150 OFF AT TARRANT CO MARINE DEALERS sitirkwoolostabotENtfolminto UZI igvulluLidyt inursaay and Friday Noon to 10 Saturday 10 am to 10 Sunday 10 am to 6 50 Children under 12 IAL DISCOUNT COUPONS RANT CO MARINE DEALERS ilaikinaminaksowamotonomil iiIn search for SB XIX ducats anything goes Associated Press pm pm pm pm FREE pm pm pm FREE SAN FRANCISCO In a Super Bowl version of "Let's Make A Deal" 'frantic fans Monday offered to trade everything from a 30-foot sail- "boat to a dozen Cabbage Patch dolls -for a few of the hottest tickets -around -al Peopleaching for a seat at thaan 20 game between the San Francisco 7--49ers and the Miami Dolphins combined equal parts of creativity and zAesperation in the classified columns of Bay area newspapers "DO YOU NEED ANEW ROOF?" I I ollinablEMENNImillanamanoollth.