Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 180

In This Section Sports on Television Page 2 Travel Pages 9-10 Radio Page 3pclroit4fvccJ3rc50 Sports SUNDAY, JULY 4, 1976 SECTION Fidrych Fills The Old Ball Park -dlh-fp'i i.A. i'tt M- -y lr With Bird-Lovers BY JIM HAWKINS. Free Press Sports Writer Officially, it was billed as "Windsor But Saturday evening at Tiger Stadium belonged to The Bird. The ancient ball park was filled as it hasn't been since at Free Press Photo by CRAIG PORTER Bird Has Good Shot At Rookie of Year least 1973 and Mark Fidrych was the young man most of the people came to see. Such is the hold the Tigers' rookie phenomen has.

on this All the reserved seats were sold soon after it became known that Fidrych would perforin Saturday night at home against the Orioles, instead of Friday in Baltimore, as originally planned. By Saturday morning, all that' remained were about 1,000 general admission tickets and space for approximately 10,000 bodies in the bleachers. THE GENERAL ADMISSION seats, many with obstructed views, were gobbled up within an hour after the ticket booths opened Saturday. And by the middle of the afternoon the fans were lined up outside the stadium waiting for the bleacher space to go on sale at 6 o'clock. All because of Fidrych.

Thanks to The Bird, Saturday's turnout doubled in size. The Tigers had originally expected a crowd of about 25,000. Instead, because of Fidrych, they were virtually assured of their biggest throng since at least '73. Earlier this season, the Tigers were caught by surprise when 51,650 showed up on "Jacket exhausting the ball club's supply of free coats. LAST MONDAY NIGHT, Fidrych pulled 47,855 into the park and the Tigers were forced to turn thousands of others away.

However, Saturday's gathering was expected to exceed when all the ticket stubs were counted. The Tigers encountered a problem the last time Fidrych pitched, in the Monday night national TV game of the week against New York because it was also "Family Those people entering the park under the special "Family Night" plan were merely sent to a specific section instead of being assigned actual seats. Of course, no one chose to sit in an undesirable seat, such as Neither rain, nor wind interrupted the vigil to buy tickets for Saturday night's game those where a pole partially blocks the customers view of the field. And, since many of the fans arrived together in large family groups a number of isolated seats went unoccupied. That was why the Tigers had to close the gates and stop selling tickets Monday, even though they were nowhere near capacity.

Saturday evening, however, aside from the bleachers, everyone entering the stadium had a ticket for a specific seat. The Tigers haven't popped 52,000 at the gate since 1973, when, as the defending American League Eastern Division champions, they drew 52,622. THAT WAS THEIR biggest crowd since opening day 1971, Please turn to Page 2D, Column I 'l One thing about this season's Rookie of the Year Award in the American League it's not going to be Fred Lynn again. The question is, will it be The Bird? Everybody around Detroit is just about ready to concede his honor to Mark Fidrych, the sensational young pitcher of the Tigers. It might be wise not to rush things.

It is not so easy to become Rookie of the Year, in any year. Al Kaline never made it. Neither did Bill Freehan, Willie Morton and a wholelot of players who have performed for the Tigers since the award was inaugurated in 1949. In fact, only one Tiger has won it in 27 years Harvey Kuenn in 1953. At the moment, Fidrych is a strong competitor for the honor maybe the No.

1 candidate. But it's not so easy for a pitcher to win this award. It has happened only six times in the 27 years Harry Byrd (1952), Bob Grim (1954), Herb Score (1955), Don Schwail (1961), Gary Peters (1963) and Stan Bahn-sen (1968). YouTI note that such names as Dennis Dale McLain, Mickey Lolich, Frank Lary and Jim Bunning are among the missing. The Bird, in other words, may have to sustain his streak or at least stay reasonably respectable the rest of the way to earn the honor.

Pitchers just don't win awards like batters. For instance, only six pitchers have won the Most Valuable Player Award since it was established in 1931. Hal Newhouser won it twice (1944-45), while Lefty Grove (1931), Spud Chandler (1943), Bobby Shantz (1952), Denny McLain (1968) and Vida Blue (1971) won it once apiece. Mark Fidrych Willie Horton Ron LeFlore Ike oiibcl Borg ues ToWi in Wimbledon There Are 4 Contenders Fidrych AVs Player of Month The Detroit Tigers grabbed off the American League's Player of the Month award for June, maintaining their domination of the award this season. This time the winner was Mark (The Bird) Fidrych, who recorded a 6-0 record and a 1.99 earned run average during the month, raising his record to 8-1 going into Saturday night's game at Tig3r Stadium.

Tiger designated hitter Willie Horton won the award for timely hitting during the month of April and outfielder Ron LeFlore took the honors for May on the basis of his 30-game hitting streak. THE RIGHTHANDED Fidrych didn't get his first major league start until May 15, beating Cleveland, 2-1, on a two-hitter. After a 2-0 loss to Boston on May 25 the 21-year-old rookie began a string of seven straight wins with a 54 decision over Milwaukee on May 31. The Bird, whose unusual and refreshing antics on the mound have attracted national attention, then built his phenomenal June streak with victories over Texas, California, Kansas City, Minnesota, Boston and New York. The American League office chooses each month's winner, who receives a fine wristwatch.

Runnersup for June were Kansas City lefthander Paul Sp'ittorff (5-0 and 2.55 for the month) and New York Outfielder Mickey Rivers, who hit .348 and had a 20-game hitting streak during the month. It is probably because pitchers work only once every four days and simply do not make the same enduring impressions as the batters. That's why the Cy Young Award was founded to do away with this inequity. (You don't suppose The Bird can win all three awards Rookie of the Year, MVP and Cy Young?) The point is, it's not easy for a pitcher to win the Rookie of the Year title. Right now Fidrych has four competitors for the honor.

There is a catcher, Butch Wynegar of the Minnesota Twins. He is not the greatest defensive specialist among the league's backstops but he has been an aggressive hitter, with a .298 batting average, six home runs and 30 RBIs, through Friday night's game. Outfielder Tom Poquette of the Kansas City Royals rates high with a .347 batting average. But he doesn't play fulltime and, at the moment, is out with a face injury. The New York writers as always have their own special candidate, second baseman Willie Randolph.

They would have you believe he is as responsible as anyone for turning the Yankees around this season. Butch Wynegar All Much etter Clot Fears Over From AP end UPI WIMBLEDON, England -Bjorn Borg, deciding "attack was the best form of defense," against the artistry of Hie Nastase cut the tempermental Romanian down in straight sets Saturday to become the youngest Wimbledon champion in 45 years, despite play-i with three cortisone injections to ease a painfully strained stomach muscle. He is the first Scandinavian ever to win Wimbledon. The athletic Swede raced about the Wimbledon center court and hit top-spin forehands like a demon to crush Nastase 6-4 6-2 9-7 in the men's singles final. He went through the whole tournament without dropping a set.

AT 20 YEARS and one month, Borg is the fourth youngest men's champion since Wimbledon started 99 years ago. Three 19-year-olds have won the title Wilfred Baddeley of Britain in 1891, Rene Lacoste of France in 1925 and Sidney Wood of the United States in 1931. While Borg struck a blow for youth, Billie Jean King at 32 failed in a bid to make history. She needed to win the women's doubles with Betty Stove of The Netherlands to break the all-time record of .19 Wimbledon titles she shares with Elizabeth Ryan. Chris Evert, this year's women's singles champion, and the exiled Czech, Martina Navratilova, beat the King-Stove team 6-1 3-6 7-5 in the final.

King has won six singles and 13 doubles titles since 1961. Ryan won her 19 titles, all in doubles play, between 1914 and 1934. Ryan, now 84, watched from the stands as King failed to crack her record. In mixed doubles, Australia's Tony Roche and F'rance's Francoise Durr survived a match point to take the title 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 over Dick Stockton of Dallas andRosie Casals of San Franscisco. IN DEFEATING Nastase for only the fourth time in nine meetings, Borg, normally a baseline topspin hitter, attacked the net.

"I was mare aggressive than I usually am against him," Borg said. "I served harder and came in more often. "I had to learn to be aggressive, otherwise there is no way you can win Wimbledon. I have never played better on If '-j V7 Xv'i Randolph is a big improvement over what the Yankees had at second base a year ago (Sandy Alomar). He gives the Yanks more speed and his figures show him with a .263 batting average.

Finally, there's pitcher Pete Vuckovich of the White Sox. He has a 6-2 record, with a 3.65 ERA. All of this compares with Mark Fidrych's 8-1 record and his 2.05 ERA. The Tigers have had many promising pitchers in the past who failed to pan out Les Cain, Mike Kilkenny, Tom Timmerman (not so young but still a rookie), Daryl Patterson, Joe Sparma, Bill Faul, Fred Lasher, Ron Nischwitz and Bob Bruce, to name some in the past 15 years. Remember Purnal Goldy? They've had other promising pitchers who didn't do much as rookies but who came on later to establish themselves as solid major leasuers.

This group includes Lary, Bunning, Lolich, Billy Hoeft and Paul Foytack. Mostly, the Tigers have had a lot of hotshots in Florida who failed to make it once the club came north to plqy games that counted. There was the never-to-be-forgotten Purnel Goldy, who looked so awesome in the spring of 1962 it seemed as if the Tigers had found an outfielder who would play for them for the next 15 years. Goldy lasted 20 games, batting just .229. And then there was Johnny Baumgartner, a third baseman and another couldn't-miss rookie in 1953.

He played so well in Florida he seemed almost too good to be true. Baumgartner's career spanned exactly seven games and he left with a .185 average, never to be heard from again. In the mid-1950s, when bonus players were becoming the vogue in baseball, the Tigers signed two youngsters they felt would make a big mark in the major leagues pitcher Jim Brady and outfielder Jim Small. Brady never did pitch in a major league game while Small played 12 games one season, 58 the next and seven the year after that and was gone to Kansas City, where, after two more games, his major league career ended. Probably the most heralded rookie the Tigers have had in the post-war era was outfielder Johnny Groth.

He came up in 1949 and for a few years lived up to his advance billing. He batted .293 in his first season and was a candidate tor Rookie honors, except Roy Sievers, a home run slugger, happened to have an outstanding season for the St.Xouis Browns. Only time will tell about The Bird. If he makes it, it'll be beautiful. If he falters, he can think back to 1905 when another player on the Tigers failed to win Rookie of the Year honors.

A young man named Ty Cobb out of Aususta, Ga. He batted only .204 that first season. Tch, tch, tch. UPI Photo Kjorn Borg holds Wimbledon trophy aloft after trouncing Nastase SANTA MONICA, Calif. (UPI) Muhammad Ali was reported making "substantial progress" Saturday from a variety of leg ailments suffered in his martial arts exhibition match in Japan, which included apparently minor blood clots in both his knees.

His physician, Dr. Peter Boasberg, said the heavyweight champion spent a restful night at St. John's Hospital and was taking whirlpool baths for his legs Saturday. "He appears to be in very good spirits," a hospital spokesman said. "Ali is in good condition and continues to improve." THE HEAVYWEIGHT champ was expected to remain in St.

John's for several more days of rest and medication. No further tests were planned. When Ali first limped into the hospital Thursday, complaining: of severe leg pains, it was feared the clotting in his legs migM have been serious. But tests conducted Friday by Dr. Robert Kostichek revealed only superficial clotting near the surface of both knees.

Ali also was suffering from severe muscle damage in his left leg; anemia produced by bleeding into the leg from the injury to blood vessels in the muscle of the leg; vein damage and an accumulation of both fluid and blood in the entire leg. Ali, who was receiving selected visitors, was expected to get a visit Sunday from his next opponent, Ken Norton, who was scheduled to light Ali at Yankee Stadium Sept. 25. Norton will break training camp at Oilman Hot Springs Sunday morning and drive to St. John's to pay a personal call.

"I want to see him because I respect the man and like him very much as a person," Norton said. The 31-year-old California boxer paid a visit to Ali in the hospital once before, in 1973 when Norton broke Ali's jaw in a bout. Ali's doctors would not speculate how his injuries will affect his boxing career. He suffered the leg injuries June 25 in a Tokyo exhibition bout with Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki, who pummeled Ali's legs with scissor kicks. The match ended in a draw and a reported paycheck of $6 million for Ali.

it is my best grass. I think surface now." has held since he was a boy, Borg earned $22,125 and can pick up another $2 million in endorsements. Nastase, beat for the second time in the final he lost a five-setter to Stan Smith in 1972 received $12,400. NASTASE, the tempermen -tal 29-year-old Romanian, admitted he feared he had blown his last chance to be a Wimbledon champion. Like Borg, he had gone through to the final without losing a set.

Before the title match started, there was a notable event in the royal box. On one of the hottest and most humid days of the year, the Duke of Kent, cousin of Queen Elizabeth, arose and in full view of the 12,000 center-court crowd, removed his jacket and sat in his shirtsleeves. His example was immediately followed by King Constantine of Greece, the Lord Mayor of London and assorted generals and air marshalls. Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, Queen Mother Ingrid of Denmark, The Dutchess of Kent, and Princess Alexandra of Kent were also in the Royal Box along with Swedish and Romanian ambassadors. The commoners in the stands had been jackerless Please turn to Page 2D, Col: 4 The bearded swede, his long hair wet with sweat, laughed because Wimbledon is the only major championship still played on that type cf surface.

Forest Hills switched to composition hard court last year. Borg lived outside London for the tourney so he could get away from his teen-age hero-worshippers and concentrate on his game. "I played well from tfhe first match and felt good every day, apart from my injury," he said. In achieving an ambition he 4T.