Daily Independent Journal from San Rafael, California • Page 14

The BULLPEN With JOHN J. CONNOLLY Here's A Get Well Message To Oscar Vitt, Heart Attack Victim ON DECK AT HARDING PARK Gary Player of South left, golf's biggest winner last year; Ernie Ford, TV star, center, and Eugene Salvage, promoter of the Lucky International golf tournament wait to tee off in the pro-amateur phase of the $50,000 event at Harding Park golf course in San Francisco yesterday. Player shot a three-under-par 68 in the round. (AP Wirephoto) AAU, NCAA Pow Wow, But No Smoke'um Pipe NEW YORK The AAU and NCAA say willing to sit down and try to resolve their differences, as proposed by the U.S. Olympic head, but chances looked slim today for a quick peace in the war for control of American amateur sports.

The Amateur Athletic Union, in the driver's seat, professes a willingness to arbitrate. The rebellious National Collegiate Athletic Assn. says, in effect: talk been going through this for said Chick Werner of Penn State, president of the National Collegiate Track Coaches Assn. not settle for anything less than a new federation. afraid we have reached the point of no The proposal of an arbitration conference was made here yesterday by Kenneth L.

Wilson of Chicago, president of the U.S. Olympic Committee. After addressing an Olympic rally, said he planned to call a meeting within the next month to try to settle the AAU-NCAA dispute. differences between the two groups are not he said. am optimistic about settling all the issues and getting down to business with a single A group of college coaches earlier this month in Chicago set in motion plans for rival federations in track and field, basketball and gymnastics.

If they could gain international approval, these groups would supplant the AAU in the control of these sports, even for international and Olympic competition. Principally, the NCAA accuses the AAU of poor management and of denying the colleges and high schools a proper voice in the conduct of sports. Louis Fisher of High Point, N.C., president of the AAU, said his group would welcome an arbitration meeting. Walt Byers, executive director of the NCAA, said: the AAU is ready to sit down and really thrash out this matter with us, naturally we would agree to he said. must be assured, however, of honest intentions to air all the Archie Moore Must Pick A Fight Before Feb.

2 NEW YORK One of boxing's three tangled titles has been solved, the solution to another is in the making and squarely up to Archie Moore to unravel the third. And time is running out for the old campaigner. He has only until Feb. 1 or 2 to sign for a title fight or face suspension by the New' York Athletic Commission which, in eflect. would strip him of the last piece of the light-heavy-j weight crown he has worn for nine years.

The disputed bantamweight title was settled last week when Eder Jofre of Brazil stopped Johnny Caldwell. Each had claimed a share of the crown. Announcement yesterday of a Paul Pender-Terry Downes fight with the winner going against Gene Fullmer pointed toward probable settlement of the disputed middleweight title. Which leaves only the light heavy crown still in question. Moore who admits to being 48 and may be five or six years FIGHTS LAST NIGHT By ASSOCIATED PRESS SAN FRANCISCO Jos? Toluco Looez, 126, Mexico City, outpointed Bobby Gray.

126, Stockton, 10 UNION CITY, NJ. Ike Chest- older, is recognized as champion in New York, Massachusetts and Europe. Harold Johnson of Philadelphia is recognized by the National Boxing Association. making every effort to arrange for a title said Gen, Melvin Krulewitch. chairman of the New York commission.

He said he has recently conferred with Bill Yale of Sgn Diego, attorney, in an effort to arrange for a title bout with either NBA champ Johnson or Doug Jones, the No. 2 challenger from New York. Archie, shorn of the NBA version of the title because of in activity, outpointed Giulio Rinaldi in New York last June 10. It was his first title defense in almost two years. Downes won the Massachusetts-New York-European version of the title by beating Pender in London July 11.

They were signed for a return fight in Boston, April 7, but for a while it looked like it was going to fall through. Yesterday, however, the Briton agreed to fulfill the contract. At the same time Downes and Pender, of Brookline, accepted a proposal by the New York commission that the winner take on Fullmer, of West Jordan, Utah, within 90 days and clear up the middleweight title. The site has not been determined. Russell Hurt, Celts Just A So-So Team By ASSOCIATED PRESS Bob Cousy said it a year ago.

can win without me. We can win without Tommy Heinsohn. We can win without (now departed) Bill Sharman. But without big the Boston Celtics captain said. And Boston, sorely missing the services of big Bill Russell, lost one of its rare National Basketball Assn.

games last night, falling before struggling St. Louis 135-123. Russell was sidetracked with a pulled Achilles tendon, suffered in New York Tuesday. The lanky center, voted the most valuable player last season, w'ill be out a week. The loss was only the 10th this season for the Celtics, who are racing toward their sixth straight Eastern Division title, and only their second at home this season.

The victory lifted St. Louis to within 2 Vi games of Detroit which holds third last playoff the West. Detroit took a 111-102 victory over Syracuse on the home court, while Wilt Chamberlain led Philadelphia to a 122-108 conquest of weary Chicago in a Boston Garden game that preceded the Ccltics- St. Louis clash. At Los Angeles, the Lakers beat Cincinnati 136123.

Washington's Hanson Top Big 5 Scorer SAN FRANCISCO Hanson, star center, appears to be winning his rubber match with John Rudometkin, according to latest Big Five scoring statistics. Hanson, the I960 scoring champion, is hitting at a rate of 25.2 points per game. metkin. 1961 champ, is second at 22.5 per contest. Hanson is also the top rebounder, while Indian soph Tom Dose is close behind.

The most accurate shot was Pete Blackman of UCLA at .714 with Ken Stanley of USC second with .586. Gary Cunningham of the Bruins was the sharpest free- throw shooter with a .900 average while Chris Appel of the Trojans was second at .886. Stanford and Southern California carved up most of the team honors. The Indians had a rebound mark of .532, a free throw percentage of .720, and a defensive mark of 51 points per game to lead these categories. USC had hit 73 points per game and had the best field goal mark, .447.

Once in a lifetime you get to meet a fellow like Oscar Vitt, now recuperating from a heart attack at his home in Oakland. Not many ball players make all the stops as economicalfly as Os did. He was the real soft shoe athlete of his time. He skidded in and out of places unnoticed until he reached Cleveland during the baby the first, and only stop he made as a major league manager. From the time he graduated from the Lick-Wilmerding school in the Potrero district of San Francisco, life was a bed of roses for Os.

He took in stride the third job with the S. F. Seals under Danny Long: then moved on to Detroit during the Ty Cobb era: then back to the minors with the Salt Lake Bees; then to Hollywood with the Bill Lane club and had a short spell with the Oaklaiid" Acorns. His all time batting average is the size of your hat. His biggest claim to fame in the American League was the fact that he recovered after being hit by a pitched ball by the great Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators, and that he was on the same club with Babe Ruth.

ANOTHER TRADITION Os upset was the fact that while a skinny third baseman for Detroit the club physician ordered him to drink beer daily to keep him from dehydrating entirely. Not until he retired from baseball did he become a booster for the youngsters in the game. As a manager he seldom gave a young ballplayera break, preferring on the veterans for his own security. Curley Grieve, the fine sports editor of the S.F. Examiner, is largely responsible for making Os a legend in his own It was Grieve who pulled Vitt out of the doldrums of retirement to head the Hearst youthful baseball campaign that developed so many young players now in the majors.

VITT HAD a strange philosophy. By that I mean it was completely opposite to the players of his time. There was no fun for Os. He preferred to keep his scissors well sharpened and his eyes glued to the stock market where he played music with his stock dividends. When the crash came in 1929, Os had a warning and yanked all his dough out of the bank and stored it in his basement, between the rafters and the sub flooring.

They say that was the reason Oscar stayed home so much. Bill Lane, boss at Hollywood, tried every ruse in the book to get Os to live in Hollywood. But it never happened and Vitt lived out the challenge with a residence address in Oakland and a hotel room in Hollywood during the season. Vitt must have been pretty rough on his players for down through the years seldom heard any of them make inquiries about him, which is kind of unusual for a fellow who enjoyed the popularity of so many newspapermen. THEY TELL a story on Vitt while he was boss of the Hollywood club that, to me, always provided a laugh.

Seems in CONNOLLY those days it was customary to stage for the players. Vitt was very anxious to have one for himself on account the fans usually presented the honored player with an automobile. give you my old car if they give me a day and 1 get a new Vitt confidently vised one of his most avid baseball friends among the reporters. That afternoon, following the game, baseball writing friends saw Oscar pulling away from the parking lot. help said the reporter, needed a stepladder to get into his old Buiqk it was that But I had many a laugh with Os and I am writing this note to him instead of a letter telling him to get well quickly.

Ruth's Widow Argues Babe Still Champ BOSTON Babe widow has three observations about modern baseball: 1. The home run record still stands despite Roger 61 homers over a longer season last year. 2. a market nowadays. 3.

The best sluggers carry compared with the bludgeon that Ruth once swung. In Boston to attend baseball writers dinner, Mrs. Ruth told newsmen that as far as she and per cent of the fans all over the are concerned mark of 60 home runs never was broken. Marijs hit 59 home runs over 154 games for the New York Yankees last season, tying 1927 standard of 60 homers in game No. 156 and adding No.

61 in the last game of the campaign that was extended to 162 games because of the league expansion. felt the record belonged to the Babe and should always belong to she said. did 98 per cent of the fans. Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick also agrees with 14 January 25, 1962 $60,000 REJECTED Maris' Autograph To Cost Yanks Dearly College Basketball By ASSOCIATED PRESS Hefstra 57, Army 45 Arkansas 99. Tulsa 77 Air Force 58, Denver 56.

P. INTERNATIONAL Strangers get Roger autograph for nothing but the New York Yankees can't even get it for $60.000. They tried yesterday and got nowhere when new home run king paid, an unexpected visit to their office, stayed only 10 minutes and then departed without signing after asking for $70,000 were friends when came in and were still friends when I came said Maris about his brief conference with general manager Roy Harney. not going to discuss my salary he added. comes out will have to come from the Harney left the following pre.

pared statement with the publicity department: Maris just visited me and talked with me. No ment was reached. Further contract negotiations will he resumed in Florida next Maris received $42,000 from the Yankees last year and has been offered an $18,000 raise. The general impression is that the 27-year-old slugger is basing his loudest argument for more money on the 61 homers he hit last season. Harney, a good businessman and an eminently fair one, undoubtedly is trying to get the fact across that the Yankees are perfectly willing to reward their players.

But prefer to do so over a period of years. There will be one more opportunity for Maris and Harney to talk contract in New York. That will be this Sunday at the baseball dinner where 1 both will be guests. New Team Enters S.R. Cage League Bobby DeRosa, one of Marin top former high 1 and semi-professional baseball players, has entered a baseball team called the Comets of San Rafael in that recreation adult basketball league, announced Dennis Sullivan, supervisor.

Coach team will take the resigned Ross Raiders spot in the. league. Hamilton To Host Boxing Tournament Third annual inter-service invitational boxing matches will be held Feb. 6 through 9 at Hamilton Air Force Base, it was announced yesterday. Hamilton boxers will see action against some of the best fighters from Fort Ord, Fort Lewis, 12th Naval District, Otis Air Force Base, Bolling Air Force Base, and Camp Pendleton, Calif.

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