Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 7

Is jil DETROIT FREE PRESS Saturday, Nov. 1. '75 1-C t) Jt1 1 JLJL "WW CI mr McKay To Quit US for CEtS Pro Job Injury 4 klv I By th Allocated Presi Is there a doctor in the stadium? With six weeks gone in the season, the National Football league's injured reserve lisl resembles the rolls of the wounded after a small war, with the present toll now at 127. There are another eight weeks remaining in the 1975-76 season, and if the situation worsens almost a certainty i 5 (W i in 'MX, Congressman lakes another potshot at commissioner Pete Rozelle's testimony on TV football blackouts. The story is on Page 5C.

in imi.lt.-l III! I llli I IMr.mln 1 lit iiMlilj A7ew Red TFfig Harper Diliercnl Breed oS Player the league may want to hold their Bicentennial Super Bowl at Valley Forge. With 1,118 athletes employed by the NF L's 28 clubs 43 to a team the 127 disabled men sidelined for the season represents a dismpying 11 percent chunk of the total playing force. MANY SEE THE problem as a direct result of the NFL's controversial decision to economize by cutting rosters from 47 to 43. A spokesman for the Kansas City Chiefs, who have 15 men out for either all or part of the season, felt that there was "no doubt" the reduced roster was the culprit. "We're playing the same number of games, but with four fewer men," he said.

"We have less depth, so folks don't get as much rest as they used to." Washington Redskins coach George Allen agrees. "I've never seen anything like it," he said, surveying his team's Injury census. "With no taxi squad," Allen explained, "you are playing players that have bumps and bruises. Normally, you take them off for a week and let them rest and recover. One of the reasons coaches cannot wait a long period of time for players to recover is that every game is vital." A player on the NFL injured reserve list is paid his salary as long as he remains there.

If a player on the list recovers during the season, he may be placed on waivers and another club may pick him up and use him in the same season. However, he cannot play for the club that put him there. A rule change this year allows a club to protect only three players on its injured reserve list. The rest are vulnerable in the market place next year and so many teams may have trouble protecting their rosters for next season while struggling to maintain a healthy squad this season. THE DETROIT LIONS are feeling the pressure exerted by the team's health hangups.

Veteran receivers Larry Walton and Jon Staggers and rookie Dennis Franklin are among the nine players on the Lions' injured reserve list. If Detroit adds either or both of its injured quarterbacks Bill Munson and Greg Landry to the ranks, it will surrender one or two valuable players. If it does not add them to the list, the Lions will play with less than a 43-man roster. A few teams have escaped the injury plague, and that could account for their success. The Minnesota Vikings (6-0) have only one player reserve Amo Martin on the reserved list.

The Dallas Cowboys (5-1) are only missing kicker Efren Ilerrara, and the Cincinnati Bengals (6-0) have one starter, defensive end Royce Berry, and two reserves, Gary Burley and Charles Davis on the injured reserve list. ligjWinMniA to.tM.tffO itiiUKgmni AP Pholo John McKay talks via telephone to a Tampa (Fla.) news conference. He'll coach the Tampa team in 1976. FLU HITS. BUT LION TO I'LAY Reed in Hospital, Too TAMPA, Fla.

(AP) -John McKay, one of football's most successful collegiate coaches for 15 years at the University of Southern California, became the newest and one of the highest-priced in the National Football League Friday, agreeing to take the reins of the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "I'm tickled you picked fne," McKay said on a telephone hookup from Los Angeles to Bucs' owner Hugh Culverhouse, whose team begins play next year, along with the Seattle Seahawks. "He's the only man I made a firm offer to," Culverhouse said of his new head coach. "I went after the man I thought could do the job better than anyone else." McKAY'S acceptance of a five-year contract ends months of speculation and negotiations. Culverhouse said he had interviewed a number of other coaches for the job, but he declined to name them.

Although neither Culverhouse nor McKay commented on terms of the contract, earlier reports indicated that McKay will receive: A $750,000 salary over the five years. A $500,000 lire insurance poficy for himself. A $250,000 life insurance poficy for his wife, Corky. About $250,000 in Florida real estate with a guarantee against depreciation. A expense account.

Three new cars. McKay, who has turned down six previous offers to coach NFL clubs, said his decision to leave Southern Cal, where he has served as head coach and athletic director, was prompted by financial consideration and a desire to seek new challenges in the pros. "I'll be there as soon as I can," McKay told Culverhouse. If the fourth-ranked Trojans, 7-0 this year, receive a post-season bowl bid, that won't be until January. They play California on Saturday.

McKay has compiled a Please turn to Page 2C, Col. I The only other quarterback on the squad is Jack Concannon, who was signed by the Lions after the loss of both Landry and Mun-. son. Concannon was a backup quarterback at Green Bay when training camps opened this summer, but he was cut after the exhibition season Ivgan and was unemployed Terry Harper unlaced his hockey skates and tossed them onto the floor in the Red Wings' dressing room. He sat in a heap, tucked in a corner just inside the door.

It was the same corner that veteran defenseman Gary Bergman occupied for many seasens when he was with the Wings. But it is Terry Harper who sits there now, completely fatigued after another hard grind in practice, forced to contend with the spirit of an eager 21-year-old rookie but saddled with the body of a weary 35-year-old veteran. Terry Harper Is a different kind of player than the others, though. Compared to the rest of the Wings scattered around the dressing room, peeling off their sweat-soaked uniforms, he is very different in the way he thinks, the way he acts everything about him, in Those skates, for instance. Harper uses a brand by the name of Penta.

He helped developed them, engineer them, helped manufacture them, and now, even helps sell them. Obviously he has to do a selling job on the Wings. Nobody else on the team uses Pentas. Players like Mickey Redmond and Danny Grant use plastic-booted skates made by Lange. Jean Hamel and Walt McKech-nie wear leather skates by CCM.

And Dan Maloney and Nick Libett prefer leather skates by Bauer. But Terry Harper, the newest of the Red Wings, proudly points to his Pentas and says: "Yep, they're mine." Skiing Starts Project It was five or six years ago when he was still with the Montreal Canadiens, winning Stanley Cup championships almost every season, when Harper got an idea to develop plastic skates. "I skied quite a bit when I was with the Canadiens," he said. when the Lions signed him Wednes- day. The nine-year '-3 NI veteran has been given a crash course in the Lions' 7 system, dhI with just two days of work -with the team, Concannon could Gopher Passes Threat to U-M BY BRIAN BRAGG Fru Preit Spqrtl Writer The hard-luck streak of health prohier.is and injuries that has dogged the Detroit Lions all season long, struck another blow Friday when the team's last remaining experienced quarterback, Joe Reed, was hospitalized with what appeared to be intestinal flu.

Reed, who only a week ago was the ions' No. 3 quarterback, is being counted upon to call the signals for the Lions against the 49ers at San Francisco on Sunday. Both Bill Munson and Greg Landry suffered knee injuries in a 24-8 loss to Houston last Sunday and underwent surgery this week. Reed, speaking from his bed at Pontiac General Hospital, said the ailment struck him about 4 a.m. Friday.

"It's a lot of aches and pains," said Reed. "I think it may be just the 18- to 24-hour variety." The Lions are scheduled to leave for the West Coast on a 1 p.m. flight Saturday. But Friday, it wasn't certain whether Reed will be on that plane. "The doctor is pretty optimistic," Reed said.

"He thinks that if I don't make that plane, I can maybe make it later in the afternoon. "The main thing I'm in the hospital for is to get some rest." The Halloween hex forced the 27-year-old Reed to miss the Lions' final practice Friday for the 49ers. If he is unable to make the Sunday affair at Candlestick Park, the Lions and coach Rick Forzano will be in desperate straits. hardly be expected to run an effective offense. Forzano has" indi Joe Keed "Either Monday or Thursday was my skiing day.

We'd get the day off and I'd go up to the Laurentians ana ski. i a if it 9 r4 cone back the next day and all the guys asked me about my suntan. It got to be a joke." It could have been a bad joke. There's a law in hockey that players cated that wide receiver Marlin Briscoe a quarterback in college could call signals in a dire emergency. If Reed is able to make Sunday's game, he'll have the chance to exact some revenge against the team that traded him to the ions a year ago.

Reed started two games for coach Dick Nolan's '49ers in 1973 and started the first four last season, but he was soon dealt away for a draft choice. The former Mississippi State athlete has played just four series of downs for the Lions this season, hitting one of his eight passes for 40 yards. I I don't ski during the season. Evidently, 9. snmp.

nponle believe skiir-e causes imu ries. No matter. Harper skied and used plastic boots, Lange boots, if you care "I got the Idea that plastic hockey skates could be made just like the sk boots," said Harper. "I went to Lange Terry Harper and cot the thing rolling. Naturally we 1 i BY CURT SYLVESTER Frtt Prni Sporti Wrlttr MINNEAPOLIS Give Minnesota credit for valor, at least.

The Gophers say they are willing to stand up and take whatever is they have coming. And since it is the University of Michigan 5-0-2 overall, co-leader of the big Ten at 4-0 and No. 7 in the nation coming Saturday, that is saying something. "We're very anxious to try and play them," said Minnesota coach Cal Stoll, presumably reflecting the mood of his players. "After all, they're a tremendous football team." THE GOPHERS (4-3 overall and 1-3 in the Big Ten) will get their chance when the teams meet at 2 p.m.

(Detroit time) Saturday in Memorial Stadium with some 35,000 fans expected to witness the outcome. Despite the Gophers' willingness to mix it up and their 31-7 rout of Iowa a week ago, Michigan is again a prohibitive favorite this time 26 points. The Wolverines, nevertheless, have been warned to report ready to put in a full day's work against Minnesota, something that has not been necessary in the most recent victories 69-0 over Northwestern and 55-7 against Indiana. "I think Minnesota will be our hardest game since Michi-Flease turn to Page 2C, Column I Purdue Fears MSU's Baggett BY CHARLIE VINCENT Frtt Prttl Sporti Wrlttr WEST LAFAYETTE. Ind.

By his own admission, Charlie Baggett has not been the motivating force he had hoped to be for the Michigan State Spartans this season. But Purdue, which plays host to the Spartans Saturday at 1 :30 p.m. (Detroit time) in Ross-Ade Stadium, has some bitter memories of what the senior quarterback has done to them in the past. And the Boilermakers have prepared themselves to guard against being hurt by Baggett again. In 1973 he scored MSU's only touchdown on a 69-yard run and the Spartans won, 10-7.

Last fall he scored twice and massed 136 yards total offense while leading MSU to a 31-7 victory. "We have to stop Charlie Baggett If we're going to win," acknowledged Purdue coach Alex Agase after sending his squad through a light Friday afternoon workout. "He's very dangerous." Agase has worked his defense long and hard this week, concentrating on stopping the quarterback option. "We've got to play our very best," Agase said. ''We've been getting better each week, and we're very capable of winning." THE ODDSMAKERS, though, have installed Michigan State as a nine-point favorite and a couple of injuries to key Purdue defensive personnel have fortified that prediction.

Please turn to Page 2C, Column I 7 L'i had some problems at first. But we worked out a pretty good skate." Harper and Redmond were friends during their Montreal days and Redmond was the first to test the newfangled skates during the development stages. About two years ago, however, Harper and Lange got into a contractual squabble and Harper joined forces with a new manufacturer, Penta. He certainly knows hisproduct.He can recite figures comparing the hardness of various steel skate blades fomething called Rockwell hardness and he knows which materials can and cannot be used in skate construction. He knows a lot about how the game of hockey should be played, too, And he says the Wings aren't as bad off as some people think.

"This team is a lot better than Los Angeles was when I went there three years ago," Harper said with a wry grin. "The Kings didn't have anyone capable of scoring 50 goals in a season like Mickey Redmond and Danny Grant. 1 hey didn't have a player who plays as hard as Nick Libett, either. They didn't have anybody to compare with Bryan Watson, nobody with as much competitiveness and desire like him. "Dan Maloney was like that.

But he's on this team now." Harper Arot a Brooder Harper and Maloney were an institution in Los Angeles. With their tough, aggressive style, they put guts into the Kings and made them a playoff club. Last season, the Kings challenged the Canadiens for the Norris Division championship but ended up eight points short of the title. Harper's opening appearance on the Ice last Wednesday made a difference for the Wings, who snapped a 10-game win-less streak and won their first ganie of the season. With Harper In town, the Wings' defense will be Improved.

He plays a strong, steady game. No nonsense, no running around. His intelligence and ability to sort out and reason with problems are assets in themselves. He doesn't brood. He doesn't get overly excited.

He is calm and contident. And he has the desire to win. "There's another big difference between this club and Los Angeles," he said. "A lot of the players here have been on a winning team before. They know what the pressure is when you win.

There's no pressure when you It's obvious the Red W'ngs haven't had to deal with pressure for a long time. Harper is waiting to show them how, though. 9, wet i sfowirt Joe Falls Is on Vacation Hi Judge Overrides WFL Signing Ban 7 The gentlemanly zip-lined raincoat by London Fog' certifies your taste for timeless styling. Left: the split raglan-shouldered Glencoe, in British tan or navy at $105. Right: the Dillon trenchcoat with shoulder gun patch, epaulettes and back yoke, in a natural shade at $105.

Both are tailored in Imaginit; an exclusive texturized polyester; and both have zip-out linings of warm Orion pile. coach John Wilbur was withdrawing to file his own suit. WILBUR SAT in the spectators' seats and plaintiff Ken Bowman was at the plaintiff's table. The former Green Bay Packers center, who was waived and went to Hawaii this season, is an attorney in Green Bay, Wis. Others bringing the suit were Charles M.

Detwiler, Mike Donohoe, John Kelsey, Karl Lorch, David Olerich, Robert Richards, Thorwald Solverson and Harold Devitt's order states that the ST. PAUL, Min. (AP) -Nine former World Football League players have won a temporary restraining order that knocks out the National Football League edit banning the hiring of players from the defunct WFL. U.S. District Judge Edward Devitt, who rejected arguments by NFL attorneys that lifting the ban could do "irreparable harm," signed the order after a 2'i hour hearing Friday.

Defense attorneys claimed signing players at mid-season could upset the league's competitive balance and. bring down the fans' wrath. DEVITT SET another hearing for next Wednesday on the plaintiffs' request for an injunction that would free not only the nine former Hawaii players, but all other players affected by the WFL demise. The WFL, plauged by a second season of poor attendance, folded on Oct. 22, and two days later NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced league clubs rould not hire players from the WFL this season.

Ten former Hawaii players had filed the complaint. But as court opened Friday, the plaintiff's attorney, Edward Parker, said player- league front office and club owners are restrained "from taking any action prohibiting, discouraging or otherwise preventing plaintiffs from negotiating and contracting" with NFL clubs. Parker argued that depriving players from the dead league from negotiating with NFL clubs unfairly deprived them of employment opportunities. "These players need competition to maintain their skills in a highly competitive field," he asserted, adding that the average playing life of a pro gridder is about five years. HUGHES HATCHER MOST HUGHES HATCHER STORES OPEN EVENINGS.

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