Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 53

jrfuiny, if (f rw 0 fc 4J Even though he wasn't chosen to play with the American League in Tuesday's All-Star Game at Seattle, the Tigers' Ron LeFlore will be there as a fan. Page 3 For the latest sports scores and results. SPORTS PEOPLE 2 HORSE RACING 7 TELEVISION 0 COMICS 9-11 i II I DETROIT FREE PRESS CHICAGO FANS' RAMPAGE CANCELS NICHTCAP Aniidisco fever too ho It for Tigers Forfeit up in air; Detroit wins opener By JIM HAWKINS Free Press Sporls Writer CHICAGO Sparky Anderson saw his first baseball game in Chicago's Comiskey Park Thursday. And while he loved the result the Tigers whipped the White Sox, 4-1, in the first half of their scheduled doubleheader he definitely has spent more enjoyable nights. In an effort to boost attendance, the White Sox billed Thursday as Anti-Disco Night.

Any fan with a disco record was admitted for 98 cents, and a crowd estimated at from 40,000 to 55,000 fans showed up. The fans disrupted the first game, and about 7,000 of them rushed on the field during the break between games after a publicity stunt in which a big box of disco records was blown up. They dug up the field and refused pleas to return to the stands so the second game could start. One hour and 16 minutes after the scheduled start, umpire Dave Phillips ruled that the yi --r-v. i -e.

I 5 i xjA a "IV ft I "J6 1 for- 3 ri" George ft iPascas I field was unplayable and canceled the game. Phillips said that American League president Lee MacPhail will decide later whether the game should be awarded to the Tigers on a forfeit, or postponed and played later. White Sox owner Bill Veeck, however, said he had spoken with MacPhail and gotten permission to reschedule the game as part of a doubleheader on Sunday. Sparky disagreed, to put it mildly. "There will be no doubleheader Sunday.

The game was scheduled to be played tonight and only an act of God can cause a postponement. This was not an act of God and the home team is responsible for the condition of the field. "Besides, there's a night game Saturday and you can't play a doubleheader Sunday after a night game Saturday." THE WHITE SOX and Steve Dahl, a former Detroit disc jockey, staged the promotion. But the publicity stunt showed signs of turning into a disaster in the first game as the unruly fans bombarded players from both teams with phonograph records, smoke bombs, fire crackers, toilet paper and assorted other debris in the first game. Play had to be halted countless times in the first game to give the grounds crew and the players an opportunity to clean up the field.

At times, it seemed more like a rock concert than a baseball game. After the first game, more than 7,000 fans ran wild over the field. Dahl, who works for rock and roll radio station WLUP-FM in Chicago, professes to hate disco music. All the disco records brought into the park by the fans were piled in a big cardboard box in centerfield and blown up. At that point, fans streamed onto the field and would not leave until Dahl got on the public address system and began a chant of "Go back to your seats!" After the game was called off, Veeck appeared on the field and apologized to fans, telling them to hold their rain checks so that they could be admitted to another game.

GETTING HIT by a flying record was the Tigers' biggest worry in the first game, as they had little trouble handling the White Sox. Between them, rookie Pat Underwood and relief ace Aure-Ho Lopez held the White Sox to five hits as they snapped Chicago's four-game winning streak. The Tigers took the lead with an unearned run in the first Inning of the opener when Lou Whitaker walked, went to third on Rusty Staub's single and scored as Chicago catcher Mike Colbern threw the ball away on, of all things, a steal by Staub. The Tigers scored again in the second inning, and again their run was unearned, as Jerry Morales was safe on an error by third baseman Jim Morrison and Alvin Moore misplayed Tom Brookens' single to left into a triple. See TIGERS, Page 3D 'Sparky's Tigers playing lo-o-n-g exhibition season The Love Letters of a sports writer: "Detroiter Tommy Hanna and Leon Spinks, who now lives in Detroit, have come on hard times.

They deserve our respect. Neither fighter ever took a backward step." ALLEN ROSENFELD, W. Bloomfield They should have. Maybe they still would be on their feet. "The whole idea of baseball's All-Star Game is to have the best players of the year playing.

It is not a game for yesteryear's stars. As it is, the whole thing is a farce." JOE LAMB, Wayne Of course it is. It becomes more so when the public is encouraged to stuff the ballot boxes for local favorites. Major league club owners get a lot of dough and all the razor blades they can eat, so they let the game wallow. Chicago White Sox fans run wild on the field Thursday night between games of the double-header with the Tigers.

The story is on Page 1A. i 4l fLU jLmA AP Photo Chicago's version of the hit and run, White Sox fans mill about on the in field of Comiskey Park. In "What the heck was eating Michigan coach Johnny Orr? Those comments about Greg Kelser, the Pistons and Dick Vitale didn't show much class for a guy coaching at one of the most prestigious schools in the country. In fact, it didn't show much class for a guy coaching at any level." D. PETERSON, Holland My ol' pappy always insisted we tune in carefully on all such assaults, simply because tbey would reveal far more about the attacker than any of his victims.

It works; I never knew John Orr was such a creep. TFio'J dare peddle LeFlore? "Sparky Anderson looks like just another plug to me and even at that, he never will be a Champion." BILL CLARK, Durand At least he's straight. Right off, he said this was a lousy ball club which deserves fifth place. Jim Campbell's brow i Pistons' Porter signs with Bullets By MICK McCABE Free Press Sports Writer Free agent Kevin Porter, the Pistons' most consistent and most productive player last season, on Thursday signed a five- must have wrinkled back to his ears when he heard that. Only a guy with a fresh five-year contract could afford such candor.

"Like Sparky says, the Tigers have been playing good baseball but they keep losing. Maybe they will put it all together after the All-Star Game and make the second half of the season truly exciting." EVELYN JOHNSON, Livonia What he also says is the final months of the season will be used for love letters lit fli if Ml WrariIi tr iMiiiiiin'm liiiin i liWin i.miiirinm- -vrtintin i- tr nmnn fl year contract with the Washington Bullets estimated to be worth more than $1 million. The Pistons offered the 5-foot-10 guard about the same amount of money as the Bullets, but the hangup came when the Pistons would not guarantee the final two years of the contract. In other words, Porter would have had to make the team in order to collect the last two years of his contract. The Bullets made no such demand in their contract offer.

"I'm really glad to be back here," Porter told a Washington press conference. "The man on my left (Bullets' general manager Bob Ferry) gave me Kevin Porter the confidence to play when they drafted me." "That's where the chips fall," said Pistons' owner Oscar Feldman, who negotiatied for the Pistons. "We made a very substantial offer, but they (the Bullets) offered him tremendous security." The 30-year-old Porter, who set an NBA assist record last season with 1,099 and averaged 15.9 points a game, played out his option this past year and the Bullets must compensate the Pistons for his loss. See PORTER, Page4D Are the fans on the field celebrating a White Sox pennant? No, it's an anti-disco demonstration. 'urn- Ex-Spartan's 68 tops Open on U-M golf course yet! experimenting and testing players.

It becomes the longest exhibition season on record. Be my guest." Tigers would be crazy to lose Ron LeFlore. To me, the solution seems rather simple. In a year or two, Staub will be ready to retire. Then Gibson and Leach will come up and LeFlore and Kemp will stay where they're at.

Leach will play rightf ield and Gibson will be the DH. But LeFlore must stay." STEVE DU DOIS, Rochester You assume too much, Steve. To begin with, I doubt Jim Campbell would dare cast LeFlore away. I also doubt the Tigers will be so lucky as to have both Gibson and Leach pan out as major leaguers. Gibson, for one, has yet to show he can hit good pitching.

He might wind up wearing a helmet yet. Let's not get carried away "Do you realize our four major sports teams in town now have four fighting, colorful and wianing coaches? We have Bobby, Dick and Monte and now they are joined by Sparky. And they are all going to win. Detroit will be a maajor power to be reckoned with in all four sports. You can feel it.

It's in the air." BOBBY HOEFT, Ann Arbor Good grief, give me a sniff of that. Last time I looked, all of 'em were closer to the bottom than the top of their games. "Why all the fuss and delay with Thomas Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard? If they're the two best prospects for the welterweight championship, why not match them and let the winner go on to a title fight?" STEVE ROZMAN, E. Detroit The fight game doesn't work that way, Steve. Sugar Ray is such a big deal he picks his opponents, the promoter, the site of the fight, and the television people pay him $200,000 every time.

He won't risk that. He already has said he is in no hurry for Hearns; as for Thomas, he can use a bit more seasoning. A title fight for him probably is still a year away. (Dandies, eh? Those smart, dashing, LL lapel pins are gifts to all whose sparkling thoughts appear here. Send your sports beefs or bouquets to Love Letters, Detroit Free Press, Detroit, Mich.

48231.) Monte is still high on Gene's chances By CURT SYLVESTER Free Press Sporls Writer The Lions' young wide receivers ran their 40-yard dashes Thursday. And Gene Washington played catch on the sidelines. The wide receivers labored through their 12-minute endurance run in the steamy Michigan morning. And Gene Washington jogged a couple of easy laps around the field. The wide receivers put on the pads for the first time at Oakland University.

And Gene Washington watched. Washington, the classy wide receiver who came to the Lions from San Francisco early last season, is coming back slowly from the most serious injury of his nine-year National Football League career. And the key word there is "slowly." "An achilles tendon is a strange injury," Washington explained. "I had never had a serious injury before last season, so when it happened I thought in a couple of weeks it should be back to 100 percent. But it takes time.

You have to rebuild your whole lower leg." See LIONS, Page 60 By JACK SAYLOR Free Press Sports Writer ANN ARBOR They turned the University of Michigan golf course over to the Michigan Open field again Thursday and guess who grabbed the first-round lead? A Spartan, of all people. Lynn Janson, the ex-MSU star, now pro at Green Ridge in Grand Rapids, mastered the tough greens and precarious pin positions of the rugged U-M course with a 35-3368, three under par, and a one-stroke lead in the $20,000 tournament. Janson led a cavalry charge that might be the biggest since Custer took on the tribe. only this time there seems to be more chiefs than indians. No less than 12 players equaled or bettered par on the rolling U-M layout.

JUST A STROKE back of Janson are his old college rival, defending champion Randy Erskine, who tamed his irons and his old collegiate course with a two-under 69 and Tommy Horton and Dave Smith not to be confused with Horton Smith, although they putted nearly as well. Another former champ, Bay Pointe's Gene Bone, who will be 48 next month, shot himself into the thick of it with 70, where he's tied with Glenn Hall of Pine Lake, Brien Charter of Red Run and Jim Franklin, assistant pro at Bay Valley. Another foursome is bracketed at 71 and 'no less than 1 1, including three amateurs, are clustered at 72. But the pin positions were tough and the cream came to the top. "The course was set up See OPEN, Page 2D "I'll tell you," Gene Washington said Thursday, "I'm glad I didn't have this injury five years ago.".