The Kansas City Times from Kansas City, Missouri • 23

Monday January 27 Wf THE KANSAS CITY TIMES 1C Littler Grinds Miller Into a Golfing Mortal alone in second with a final the best round of the and a 284 total Green was the only man in the field who escaped without a bogey in the final round but commented made some awfully great pars like on 13 I holed a 20-foot downhill side-hill breaking curving putt that was going 30 miles an Tom Kite came out of the pack to capture third with a 70-285 Graham birdied the final hole for a 75 and at 287 was the only other man under par for four rounds Miller had a 74 and 289 total a 4-shot advantage and was never really threatened felt pretty good about he said figured witi anything short of disaster JT could get it home jj He took it out of doubt with an eagle on the second bote using the swing that won him the ni kname to loft a 3-iron shot that came to rest only a foot or so from tlie cup He tapped in and it was all over Littler collected $37600 from a purse of $185000 and became a extent second on the money-winning list to Miller was about par really it Miller said He shot in the 60s in all of his eight rounds In Arizona but failed to break 70 in this tournament have any Miller said was a direct result of winning the last two weeks I just didn't have anything left inside of Nicklaus making his first start of the season also failed to break 70 He was never a factor and finished with a 72-289 Weiskopf had a 75-291 and Hale Irwin US Open champion had 73-292 Littler started the day with Pebble Beach Calif Johnny victory string came to an end in the whipping winds and subtle terrors of Pebble Beach and unflappable Gene Littler calmly sauntered off with a 4-stroke victory yesterday in the golfing horror show that was the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am Littler the soft-s nerveless 44-year-old veteran who had to make a comeback from cancer needed only a final round of 73 one over par on the crags and cliffs of the Pebble Beach course to score his 26th career victory Pressure wind and cold took care of any would-be challengers as some of the finest shotmakers fell a sorry victim to the trees and traps wind and water worry and woe that make up this seaside course Miller Nicklaus Battle Much Ado About Nothing mm is ipfep Sporting hit new-look mustache Jack McKeon manager of the Royals was an attentive listener last night to Lou Brock (left) the major league base-stealing champion The St Louis Cardinal out- putting I dam near made every putt but not one of them would drop the Golden Bear from Ohio complained after using 37 putts in one Crosby round When the putts start dropping for Nicklaus the Miller-Nicklaus confrontation will be a lot more meaningful Even Littler the new Crosby champion is looking forward to that now Johnny Miller is the best player in the Littler said I think Jack is playing up to his capabilities yet If the US Open were to be played this week Miller would be the man to But such tour spear carriers as Tom Kite Lou Graham Rik Massengale and Leonard Thompson were their equals or better in the Crosby guess you could call it a admitted Miller who was a combined 49 strokes under par through two tournament victories in Arizona before coming here think everything will be back together at the Miller said he play any rounds in his week off but might work on his chipping and sand play leaves a lot to be main problem in his first 1975 tournament was with his putting felt I was fielder who stole 118 bases last season was honored last night as the National League Player of the Year at the annual Kansas City Baseball Awards Dinner (Staff photos by George Olson) 'On the 8th' Pebble Beach Calif The well-publicized first confrontation of the year between Johnny Miller and Jack Nicklaus finished in a standoff Miller the defending Crosby champion and challenger to unofficial title as box office king finished with a 74 and in a sixth-place tie with Nicklaus and four others at 289 in the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am yesterday game just needs Miller said and headed for his home 150 miles away in Napa Calif for a week a-way from the pro golf tour had enough competitive rounds yet to get the whole deal said Nicklaus who opened his 1975 season here and closed with a par-72 for the 72-hole total that was nine strokes higher than Gene Littler the winner Nicklaus will play in the Hawaiian Open which begins Thursday Then there will be another meeting with Miller in the Bob Hope tournament the following week in Palm Springs Calif where the two stars are good bets to be Do-Gooder for Baseball Gets just and Due Award There was Tom Weiskopf hitting out of bounds on his way to a double bogey There was Australian Bruce Devlin in the fight for second also making a double bogey There was Lou Graham once a challenger taking a triple bogey There was Ole Sarge Orville Moody splashing his way to an incredible 87 And there was Miller the young man who captured the imagination of the golfers with his fantastic success in two Arizona tournaments suddenly very mortal and struggling just as the others He made bogey from a bunker on the 14th then got it in a trap left it there and made double bogey on the 15th When it was over the placid Littler had won with a 280 total eight under par Hubert Green he of the crouched and curious putting stance was Races Go On Without Jockeys Philadelphia The jockeys refused to ride at stone but the show went on with exercise boys valets and even a trainer riding to the delight of the bettors who plunked down $1222127 for the 9-race card The jockeys contended the track was unsafe and were roundly booed by a crowd of 12763 cessful Kansas City Baseball Awards So the irony was that the man who more than anyone else has contributed to the smooth functioning of the event should receive its highest award as the Fourth Annual Kansas City Baseball Awards Dinner unfolded with presentations last night at the Plaza Inn The Mr Baseball award given to Phillips the only one not announced in advance was the culmination of another night of elbow-rubbing and celebrity-ogling with the fourth straight sellout crowd of 1200 this one at 20 bucks a jammed into the Regency Room That the dinner is now a staple of Kansas winter sports diet is directly attributable to the efforts of men like Phillips who has been chairman of the program since its beginning But his involvement with baseball in Kansas City has been total and his role in developing the dinner has been only a logical extension of his other activities The president of Bill Phillips Associates a representative Phillips was instrumental in starting along with owner i Kauffman the Royal Lancers By Gib Twyman A Member of the Sports Staff The inscription on the cup awarded to Mr Baseball says it is given to: person who has contributed greatly to the cause of professional baseball in Kansas Where Royals baseball is concerned it is difficult to imagine a man more dedicated to nor more synonymous with those words than Bill Phillips It was not surprising then that Phillips should be singled out for the award But the inscription could have been extended to read: without whom there might not be a perenially suc GENERAL TIRE YOU CAN TRUST A group of local businessmen who are dedicated to furthering major league baseball the Lancers have been instrumental in boosting ticket sales so successfully they have led the American League the last three years Over that span they have averaged about 6000 season sales Phillips served as the second president of the organization having been elected in 1969 Never was service to baseball more evident however than in 1973 when Kansas City hosted the Major League All-Star game Phillips was the chief organizer of all the peripheral activities surrounding the game spearheading public relations transportation and hospitality arrangements Most of all however Bill Phillips is a fan A totally committed involved and interested fan who practices what he hopes others hear him preaching His message is: Go see the Royals Support them This he has done by attending better than 90 per cent of the home games the Royals have played every season It has been efforts to get people to join him that led to his honor as Mr Baseball honored The first winner was Les Milgram then in 1973 Ernie Mehl and Earl Smith shared the award and last year it went to Sen Stuart Symington CD-Mo) Other recipients of awards all of which had been announced prior to the dinner: Mickey Mantle nostalgia Bill Virdon manager of the year Sal Bando American League player of the year Lou Brock National League player of the year Dick Green World Series hero Hal McRae player of the year: Steve Busby pitcher of the year Hank Bauer special award and Dannv Murtaugh accepting the Ernie Mehl award for service to baseball on behalf of the late Roberto Clemente OUR LOW Any Delco or Willard Battery in Stock Why take chances with an old worn out battery suffering from an energy shortage? Get a sure start every time with i A-riruu a new Delco or Willard Battery Act Now! I lo iyLLTI Ull Offer Ends Saturday February 1 Bill Phillips (right) who last night was chosen Mr Baseball at the Kansas City Awards Dinner et the Plaza Inn chatted with Ewing Kauffman owner of the Royals at the celebrity-laden event in the Regency Room of the Plaza Inn Leaders Bruin Trap Is Set Again TERRIFIC TRACTION For Light Truck Operators PRECISION ENGINE TUNE-UP I A precision engine tune-up can restore lost power and give you better gas mileage Let our car care specialists Install new spark plugs breaker ft points condenser and rotor You'll be glad you did! The General GLT AS LOW AS I Size 670-15 tube type (6PR) plus $236 Federal Excise Tax 95 Reg $30l50 This Week Only Ws By Jay Greenberg A Member of the Sports Staff Tonight could very well be midnight and Cinderella Bep though hopeful realizes it The coach was asked yesterday the odds on beating the Boston Bruins twice in one week we play the same way we did there we can do said Guido lin yesterday our positions throw the puck away a powerful team but we can Whatever help the Bruins provided in the 3-2 victory Thursday night in Boston Garden by taking the Scouts lightly will probably be absent tonight for the rematch as they meet the Bruins for the final time this season at 7:35 pjm in Kemper Arena The National Hockey League schedule only gave David three days to gloat after muscling out Goliath and for the most part the Scouts passed up the opportunity got to play them again explained Bep who bit Ms delighted tongue under intensive ques tioning from the Boston press Thursday night want to give them any Bep who coached the Bruins last year knows the Bruins have enough as it is It is the combination of the name attractions Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito the Bruins present plus the circumstances of the rematch that would prompt one of the better crowds to Kemper Unfortunately Monday one of two such dates the Scouts were stuck with this season They turned the other into stick night and drew respectably there 14000 people in our building Monday he said after the game Thursday something In an attempt to simulate conditions that produced the victory in Boston Guidolln will start Denis Herron In goal again It will be the first Kansas City start for the 23-year-old goaltender who stopped 34 shots includ ing Orr on a breakaway in the last 30 seconds in the victory Thursday Both Gary Coalter and Roger Lemeltn recalled from Baltimore of the American League Friday will be in uniform for the Scouts Coalter a right wing will be making his debut while Lemelin a defenseman had a 5-game trial in November It has been usual style to throw newcomers to the wolves immediately but he said yesterday since the team is playing well he sees no reason to shake up lines nor vary from his recent use of only four defensemen What worked Thursday will just have to work again tonight It may not of course The Bruins the best offensive team in hockey could get untracked roll up a score to make last efforts look like a fluke Yet nothing that happens can deprive the Scouts of their accomplishment in Boston Two in a row is a lot to ask for LOOSE PUCKS Mike Baumgartner the defenseman who was struck above the right eye with a puck Dec 14 was examined by a Boston specialist last week He will confer with Dr Ray Kandt Kansas City eye doctor before reaching a decision about a hockey future Baumgartner said yesterday that a scratch was found on the cornea but he had no indication when or if he could continue A crowd of a little more than 1000 attended the Meet the Scouts promotion yesterday at Kemper Arena The Scouts will play at home twice more this week against Atlanta Wednesday and Minnesota Saturday The Scouts are 5-5 for January Esposito scored twice in the 2-2 tie with Philadelphia yesterday to bring his total to 45 It was the 47th game of the year which leaves Espo three games to score five 'goals and become the only player besides Maurice Richard in NHL history to score 50 in 50 games The GLT is built with a strong nylon cord body wide-flat tread contoured shoulders and an aggressive rib pattern Larger sizes also available at comparable prices! Add 2 for air conditioned cart and 25a for each resistor typo apark plug MAIN CHECK Should our supply of i Charge it at General Viw s- -'-'MS? sizes or linn run anon during hi ovent wo will honor any ordsr placad now lor lutura dal vary at the advaniaad erica GENERAL TIRE SERVICE BUY IN TIM BUY CM TIM 1500 BALTIMORE Kansas CHy Mo Pbona 221-0100 7:00 to 5:30 Weekdays 7-00 to 5:00 feat 1200 MINNESOTA Kansas City Kansas Phona: 321-S750 Opsn 8 to 5:30 Wsakdays Saturday 8:00 to 5:00 7425 METCALF Overland Pa Kansas Phorta: 432-8800 OPEN EVENINGS TIL 9 PM Sat 8:00 to 5:00 550 DEARBORN Mias ion Kansas Phona432-4811 Tuea Wad Fit a-m- pjyi Mon Thors sni5 pm Saturday Pr food as shown of Oonorpl Tiro Sloroa Compolitivoiy prtcod at indopondonl doal-ra displaying tha Oanaraf aign Mastsr Charga RankAmsricanf Dinar's Club Amarican Ex.