Newspaper Page Text
Griffin Daily News
TIME:
I Was Five When My Dad Brought a Football Home'
J
By LEE
MUELLER,
NEA Sports
Writer
Every athlete begins as a
small boy. The day he dis
covers his first football, or
his first baseball, or first
pair of boxing gloves, is one
of the most important in his
life. In the first of a five
part series, Lee Mueller
describes Johnny Unitas’
first experiences with a foot
ball.
Columbus Beats
Griffin, 9-3
The Griffin 14 and 15-vear-old
Bage Ruth All-Stars lost their fir
st tournament game last night
and it dropped them into the lo
ser’s bracket of the State Tour
nament at Columbus, Ga.
North Columbus, the host
team, beat the local lads, 9-3.
Griffin had won four straight
tournament games before losing
to the Columbus team. Three
of the victories were in the dis
trict tournament at Newnan. The
other was in the onening round
of state competition.
North Columbus jumped on
Griffin for four runs in the first
inning, three of them trotted
home on Mickey Bruner’s home
run.
Columbus scored two more in
the third and throe in the sixth
to take a 9-0 lead.
Griffin finally broke the 1 c e
with a pair of runs in the bottom
of the sixth. Four more Griffin
runners crossed in the seventh.
Stove Jinks was Griffin’s
starting pitcher. Chuck McCarty
and Gary Mullis pitched in re
lief. The Griffin pitchers gave
Illi ni l r
(fe»IW SlHIQjp) / W ■ ■ J
IN EVERY DEPARTMENT. . / W I I ■ • I
EXCELLENT BUYS FOR you L 7/ 11 JI J
I SUITS - SPORT COATS I
WERE $55.00 Now $38.50
SPORT COATS WERE ss ° oo Now $ 35 75
I WERE $37.95 . Now $26.50
WERE $34.95 Now $24.50
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ClllTe WERE $ 79 - 95 Now $63.75 I
oUIIO WERE $60.00 Now $47.75
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Some others reduced to 1 price
I SUMMER SLACKS REDUCED I
DACRON BLENDS MOSTLY PERMANENT PRESS IN SOFT SOLID SHADES
OF OLIVE, BROWN, BLUE, GRAY, MUTED PLAIDS AND CONSERVATIVE I
FANCIES.
WERE SB.OO Now $5.88
WERE $9.00 Now $6.88
WERE $ll.OO Now SB.BB
WERE $12.00 Now $9.88
WERE $13.00 Now SIO.BB
WERE $15.95 Now $12.88
I SELECTION EXCELLENT SIZE 28 THRU 42 IN PLEAT & PLAIN FRONT I
I All Sole Merchandise From Our Regular S"3 I
■ First Quaiity Stock. E fl 1 I
I "CLOTHING OF CHARACTER" BMIQ I
ON THE SQUARE 227-6161 Downtown Griffin <tlbe I
8
Thursday, July 24, 1969
The kid’s father was a big guy, well over 6 feet, with
wavy, dark blond hair, a white smile and large, brambly
hands.
Johnny Unitas remembers his father’s hands, covered
with coal dust, and the wet cake of Lava soap on the bath
room sink. Driving a coal truck in Pittsburgh and shoveling
coal down a chute into somebody’s basement was a black
business. He left liquid streaks of coal on the soap.
There was a time when Francis Joseph Unitas was a le
gitimate major league baseball prospect, but one day a
crate fell on his foot while he was unloading a milk truck
and that prospect was squashed. He remained, however, a
sports enthusiast.
The kid remembers seeing his dad sprawl on the living
room floor of their home on Fortuna Avenue, listening to
the Pirates game on radio.
“I was five years oid when he brought it home from work
with him,” recalls John Unitas. “My first football. It’s very
vivid to me. He rolled it to me, wobbling. It was too big for
me to grip, so I sort of held it with both hands and pushed
it back at him—my first pass.
“Then my two older brothers took it away from me and
I up nine hits.
■- Griffin got six hits off two Col- 1
t umbus pitchers.
Kenneth Short doubled and Gl-
- ynn Gossett. Darrell Jones, Bus
ter Huckaby. Greg Crawford
t and Kenny Hattaway singled.
Griffin will play again tomor
t
Royce McGuffey
Archery Champ
I
I
1
Royce McGuffey successfully t
( defended his title as “Georgia
' Champion Freestyle Archer” re- i
1 cently in a two-day contest at Ft. r
Benning, Ga. t
( Mrs. Sandy Elott won first
place In the women's freestyle <
division and Mrs. Bruce Weaver 1
s took first place honors In the 1
' women's amateur. 1
Floyd Williams of Griffin took '
b third place in the men’s ama-
row night at 8 p.m. in the dou
ble-elimination tournament.
Griffin’s 13-year-old Babe Ruth
All-Stars were scheduled to play
Briarcliff this afternoon at 5:30
in the State Tournament.
Rusty Stonlca was expected to
pitch for Griffin.
teur.
The Griffin Archery Club was
represented by 14 members.
Those who competed in the state
tournament are:
Royce McGuffey, Arnold Reev
es, Jack Moore, Lonnie Spang
ler, Tommy Lawson. Bruce
Weaver, June Weaver, Eddie
Partain, Floyd Williams, San
dy Elott, “Colonel” Elott, and
Jessie Dunn.
gg I
I
Johnny Unitas
.J*
MBflE
(Griffin Daily News Staff Photo)
Jerry Anderson (1). and Dave Robertson (c) are shown with Jack Ryan of RBM
Motors, before leaving for the State Tennis Tournament at Statesbore, Ga. An
derson and Robertson are the district doubles champions. They are being sponsor
ed to the state playoff by RBM Motors.
ran outside into the street. I watched out a window and
they started kicking it back and forth to each other. The
thing burst and I cried like a little baby . . . which I was.
“My father died right after that. My mother tried to keep
the coal business going, but I know I was 10 or 11 before I
got another one. We played football with everything from
tennis balls to rolled-up magazines. One time we had an
old ball with no bladder, but we stuffed it with newspapers
and used it, anyway.
“Our house was half brick and half wood and had a front
porch with a swing on it. I d climb up in it and swing for
hours. We had a big back yard where we played and kept
1 our rabbits. We always had a lot of white rabbits. I think
we must have had rabbit for dinner every Sunday.
“You hold them up by their ears and crack them behind
the neck with the side of your hand. A rabbit punch. Then
you take the skin and salt it down which starts a tanning
process.
“I must have been the only kid in town with a white bi
cycle seat.”
I (Newspaper Inter prise Assn.)
Anderson, Robertson
In State Tournament
Jerry Anderson and Dave Ro
bertson, Griffin Recreation Dis
trict doubles champions, left to
day for Statesboro, Ga. where
they will compete in the State
Recreation Tennis Tournament.
In addition to playing in t h e
doubles, Anderson will represent
the district in the singles.
Anderson and Robertson won
John Godwin
Wins Georgia
Jr. Golf Title
TIFTON, Ga. (UPD — John
Godwin of Columbus today is
the new Georgia Junior Invita
tional Golf champion after he
defeated Jeff Jerrel of Marietta
on the first playoff hole.
Godwin won a SI,OOO college
scholarship; Jerrell gets a SSOO
college grant.
Both boys shot one-over-par
73s Wednesday on the Spring
Hill Country Club course. The
match, scheduled for 36 holes,
was cut short after 18 by rain.
SENOIA
RACEWAY
Highway 16 — Senoia, Ga.
FRIDAY NIGHT, JULY 25
8:00 P. M.
Mid Season Championship
TOO lap sportsman race. $2,335 total
prize money. Largest and highest purse
this season, plus hobby feature.
FREE Bicycle to be given away to
lucky child under 12.
Adults $3.00 — Children under 12 Free
the district championship recent
ly in a tournament in DeK a 1 b
County. They defeated some of
the finest players in the DeKalb-
Fulton area.
The Griffin doubles team is ra
ted among the best around.
K.. »
SACK-RACING is the bag
of Mary Harris, 12, of
Greensboro, N.C. In city
recreation race, she was
among top finishers — but
almost lost her sack.
***********★★★★★★★
SPORTS
Browns Drop
Jiggy Smaha
By MARTIN LADER
UPI Sports Writer
Somewhere in this land of
ours, there may very well be a
hospital that can put together
the best football team in the
country.
Injuries have claimed an
inordinate number of victims
this early in a training season,
and old wounds were responsi
ble Wednesday for the depar
ture of three more big names.
Ernie Ladd, one of the great
defensive tackles in American
Football League history, will
miss the entire 1969 season with
Kansas City because of an
injured left knee, and tackle
Charlie Bradshaw of the Detroit
Lions and cornerback Leroy
Mitchell of the Houston Ollers
have retired from football
because of injuries.
Oiler Coach Wally Lemm said
he planned to replace Mitchell
with Zeke Moore, a three-year
veteran from Lincoln Universi
ty.
Guard Sonny Bishop also left
the Oilers to enter business and
rookie tight end Joe Pryor of
Boston College walked out of
camp without giving reason.
Veteran cornerback Erich
Barnes reported three days late
Newton, Aihlitmhi.
Stiles Win Matches
In Men’s Singles
Dan Stiles, Jerry Anderson and
Wayne Newton picked up wins
yesterday in the Middle Georgia
Tennis Tournament.
Stiles beat Dave Robertson 6-0
and 6-4, Anderson stopped Mor
gan Harvill, Jr. 6-0 and 6-1 and
Newton won over Morgan Har
vill, Sr.
Three matches were played in
the men's doubles.
Jerry Anderson and Dave Ro-
Anderson, who is employed at
the First National Bank, is a
former number two player at
Auburn.
Robertson, who is employed by
the Griffin Recreation Depart
ment, is Troy State's number
one player.
The state tournament will be
played on the campus of Geor
gia Southern. About 8 players
are expected to participate.
Anderson and Robertson are
being sponsored to the tourna
ment by RBM Motors.
The tournament will be played
Friday and Saturday.
IT WON’T BE . . .
EATING TIME
at SPRUCE’S
BARBECUE
FOR 2 LONG W EEKS
WE’RE ALL TAKING OUR
VACATION
AND WILL BE CLOSED
JULY 28th to AUGUST 12th
SPRUCE’S BARBECUE
“Where The World’s Best Barbecue
Is Cooked and Served”
to Cleveland s camp at Hiram,
Ohio, and said he had used the
time to move his business to a
new location. Barnes is subject
to a S3OO fine.
The Browns dropped three
rookies, running back Tommy
Boutwell of Southern Mississip
pi, kicker Bill McWilliams of
Rowdoln and linebacker Jigßv
Smaha of Georgia.
Tlie St. Louis Cardinals
acquired defensive cornerback
Curtiss Gentry from the
Chicago Bears for receiver
Bobby Lee and an undisclosed
draft choice... flanker Claudls
James, returned from Los
Angeles to Green Bay after a
trade, was scheduled to under
go surgery today for removal of
a cartilage...veteran guard
Mark Nordquist and tight end
Fred Hill signed with the
Philadelphia Eagles.
The New York Giants re
leased rookies Alonzo Bullie,
Sam Shivers and Lou Galiar
di...center John Schmitt and
reserve fullback Billy Joe came
to terms with the New York
Jets...the San Francisco Forty
Niners signed lineman Earl
Edwards, who played for
Edmonton the last two years.
bertson beat John Neimeyer 6-4
and 6-1, Wayne Newton and Ha
rold Tonkin won over Al Robert
son ond Tom Leaning by default
and Bill Simons and Frank Jol
ly defeated Fred Smith and Eu
gene Ray 6-2 and 6-3.
Cindy Peterson beat Julie Mar
tinson 6-1 and 6-0 in the 18 and
under girls' singles, and Butch
and Dru Dixon beat Dave Ro
bertson and Martha Dawn in
the mixed doubles.
ACQUIRES gentry
S’i. LOUIS (UPD—The St.
Louis Cardinals announced the
acquisition Wednesday of defen
sive back Curtis Gentry from
the Chicago Bears for receiver
Bobby Lee and an undisclosed
draft choice. Gentry was
injured all of last season while
Lee spent most of last year on
the Cardinals’ taxi squad.
SIGN WITH CBS
NEW YORK (UPD—The CBS
Television Network signed Jer
ry Kramer, a former All-Pro
defensive guard with the Green
Bay Packers, and end Frank
Clarke, an 11-year veteran of
the NFL Wednesday as com
mentators for the 1969 pro
football season. Kramer played
11 years with the Packers and
earned All-Pro honors five
times. Clarke played for the
Dallas Cowboys in his last eight
seasons, retiring in 1967.