Newspaper Page Text
|4aron doesn’t expect
Ito set record in ’73
By ED SAINSBURY
UPI Sports Writer
11 CHICAGO (UPI) - Hank
I Aaron, battling the jinx of No.
IP, doesn’t expect to shatter
Ipabe Ruth’s career home run
llfecord of 714 this year.
H But the Atlanta Braves
KWugger, nearing the age of 40,
Bfvon’t rule out the chance that
r'e’ll beat the jinx and whack
HNo. 715 some time next season,
H Aaron hammered career No.
14(02 Thursday with teammates
mike Lum and Darrell Evans
n>n base to cap a nine-run
■eighth inning for the Braves
[hind help propel them to a 10-2
■victory over the Chicago Cubs,
I [extending the Cubs’ losing
Witreak to 11 games.
b Then he confessed, “I don’t
Ireally think it’s possible that
E’U reach the record this year.
WThere aren’t that many games
Left. I would like to hit five or
I six more this season and then
I [go for the record next year. I
I Won’t think I’ve got a good
llhance to hit 13.”
|| Aaron’s homer, his 29th this
IShiila to start
QB Bob Griese
MIAMI (UPI) - Miami
Dolphins Coach Don Shula
Announced Thursday he will
start first-string quarterback
Bob Griese against the Chicago
Bears in Saturday night’s
jxhibition game.
The Dolphins will be going
after their 22nd straight win
and Shula said Earl Morrall
will serve as the backup
quarterback.
Third-stringer Jim Del Gaizo
aas been receiving most of the
work in exhibition play thus
Ear.
Other starters will be Jim
Shiner to start
at OB for Falcons
U ATLANTA (UPI) - The
Atlanta Falcons, bristling after
Making a come-from-behind ex-
Bibition opener victory last
Maturday, face the winless New
■England Patriots Saturday
Might —and nobody’s forgetting
Mast year.
I The two teams have only met
Mwice before in pre-season play
Mnd the Falcons took them
Mjoth. But in the second game of
Mhe 1972 season, the Patriots
Mpset Atlanta 21-20 when Bill
Mlell missed a 10-yard field goal
Mn the closing seconds.
H Now, Bell is with New
■England and Coach Norm Van
Mkocklin's crew hopes to
Mvenge that setback.
3 Dick Shiner, 31-year-old pro
Mvho has spent a decade in the
■National Football League, will
Kuhn decides
Inot to use power
IAUKEE, Wis.(UPI)-
iowers vested in him as
commissioner, Bowie
jcided not to exercise
all, thereby delighting
anal League, dismaying
erican, and killing off
sible chance of inter
day next year.
did all this by simply
? to vote yes or no
y, when the American
pressed him to do so in
llock with the National
over whether regular
iter-league play should
luced next season.
not vote it down. I did
it up,” Kuhn said after
inute closing session of
’ s summer meetin gs.
ad, I have created a
steering committee of
nbers, two club owners
ach league and the
doner, to have the
f to consider any and
ects of professional
, including the subject
-league play, and to
back to the annual
> in Houston with
r recommendations
ht make.”
eague play was doomed
, when the National
season, came on a high fast
ball thrown by Cubs hurler
Jack Aker and Aaron said it
made him “glad to get off No.
13. I’ve been sitting there for a
long long time, and I was
beginning to think it was
unlucky.”
The 13 referred to the
number of homers he needs to
tie and then break Ruth’s
record. Thursday’s drive left
him 12 short of the 714 Ruth
hung up and 13 short of the new
mark.
“I’m sure the pitch wasn’t
where Aker wanted it,” he said.
“I think he was trying to waste
one, and he got it too close, in
the strike zone. He’s usually a
good sinker ball pitcher, keeps
the ball low, and he’d made two
real good pitches to me.”
Aker agreed he didn’t get the
pitch where he wanted it. “I
wasn’t trying to waste it,” he
said. “I was trying for a strike,
but I got it about 18 inches too
high and that was it.”
The homer came on the 2-2
pitch, and it helped convince
Kiick and Charlie Leigh at
running back and Howard
Twilley, Paul Warfield as wide
receivers. Marv Fleming will
be at tight end, Wayne Moore
at left tackle, guards Bob
Kuchenberg and Larry Little.
As for injuries, Norm Evans
will probably miss the game
and Doug Crusan or Howard
Kindig were slated for the right
tackle slot
Shula said the Bears would
face the Dolphins’ first string
at every position except right
tackle and running back where
ailing Larry Csonka would be
open at quarterback for the
Falcons —his first appearance
since the exhibition season a
year ago. Shiner started three
games during the 1971 season
while Bob Berry was injured
and won them all. But he saw
no regular season action in
1972.
Pat Sullivan, the 1971 Heis
man Trophy winner, played all
the way at quarterback last
week when the Falcons, thanks
to a strong defensive outburst
in the closing minutes, whipped
the Baltimore Colts 34-20.
Sullivan was only so-so,
completing 11 of 22 passes with
three intercepted. He tossed a
six-yard TD pass to Art Malone
for the go-ahead points after
Claude Humphrey recovered a
Colt fumble.
League met and unanimously
rejected the concept. The
league reaffirmed its stand
Wednesday and relayed its
feelings to the joint session
Thursday.
Kuhn said he did not vote, not
only because of the question of
whether he had the power to do
so, but because “at this point I
thought there were too many
Football
sign-ups
under way
Sign-ups for the 1973 Griffin
Recreation Youth Football
program are now being ac
cepted.
The deadline for registering
to participate in the program is
Saturday, Aug. 25.
The Recreation Department
will operate three leagues.
The Pee Wee League is for
boys eight, nine and 10-years
old.
The Junior League is for boys
11 and 12-years-old and the
Senior League is for boys 13
through 15-years-old.
Aaron he was ready to make a
stretch drive for the record.
“I’ve been concentrating on
getting my timing back,” he
said. “I haven’t been hitting the
ball good, and I haven’t been
swinging good until the last
couple of games.
Part of his problem, he
conceded, might be due to the
pressure and excitement gene
rated by his drive toward the
home run record. “I get out for
batting practice,” he said, “and
I have to talk to 15 or 16
reporters and radio men. I
can’t concentrate. I’ve got to sit
down and get myself straight
ened out.
“I didn’t take batting prac
tice before the game (Thurs
day) because it was no use. I
had to make this radio
interview, talk to this reporter,
make this picture and that
picture.”
But he was affable after the
400 plus foot drive out of the
park. A 15 year old boy, he
said, brought the ball to a
policeman who brought it to
replaced by Leigh.
On defense Vern Den Herder,
Manny Fernandez, Doug Swift,
Nick Buoniconti and most of
the Super Bowl-winning defen
sive squad will see action.
Regular right linebacker
Mike Kolen hasn’t played since
the final intrasquad scrimmage
but will be in action Saturday
night, as will safety Jake Scott.
The Dolphins announced that
rookie running back Joe Wash
ington who was placed on
waivers had been claimed by
Atlanta.
Shiner was tabbed over Bob
Lee, the five-year vet who
came to Atlanta in a trade that
sent Berry to Minnesota. Lee is
still restricted by an injury.
The Patriots, who have lost to
the New York Giants 13-7 and
the San Francisco 49ers 26-7
and tied Oakland 17-17 in pre
season action, will open as
usual with Jim Plunkett at
quarterback, as yet unable to
generate a consistent attack.
Van Brocklin praised his
Falcons’ kicking game and
especially the defense after the
win over Baltimore.
“To be champions, your great
players have to make the big
plays,” he said. “And our guys
did.”
problems with respect to the
proposal for favorable action to
be taken at this time. I have
left the question open as to
whether I would take a
different view at a different
time.”
The three-day meetings were
moved here from San Diego,
Calif., where a court suit is
pending over the move of the
Padres to Washington, D.C.
National League officials, citing
a court order against them,
said they had not discussed the
Padres situation in their
meetings.
Culver
PHILADELPHIA (UPI) -
Veteran righthander George
Culver, who on July 29, 1968,
while with the Cincinnati Reds,
hurled a no-hitter against the
Philadelphia Phillies, has been
obtained by the Phillies from
the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Culver, 29, pitched in 28
games for the Dodgers this
season, all in relief, compiling
a 4-4 record and a 3.00 earned
run average. To make room for
Culver, the Phils optioned
pitcher Dave Wallace to their
Reading farm club in the
Eastern League.
Aaron. He signed the ball and
returned it to the boy.
“I guess he thought there was
some money involved or
something,” Aaron said.
In Atlanta, there would have
been. The Braves pay a silver
dollar for each of his home
runs thus far when he hits one
in their home park. Thus had
Thursday’s drive been at home,
the boy would have received
702 silver dollars. In Chicago’s
Wrigley Field, where Aaron
now has hit 39 homers, more
than in any other foreign park,
it was worth zero. He has hit 84
homers against Cubs pitching .
The Cubs’ losing streak put
manager Whitey Lockman on
the verge of a personal record
too. In 1951, the New York
Giants, for whom he was
playing, lost 11 straight games.
“That’s the longest I’ve ever
had,” he said. Today the Cubs
must try to break it against the
Western Division leading Los
Angeles Dodgers, who have
won six of nine previous games
with Chicago.
Kuhn
plays
it safe
By MILTON RICHMAN
UPI Sports Editor
MILWAUKEE (UPI) -
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
keeps growing wiser and wiser
as the years go on.
It doesn’t seem to matter that
he has been dead better than 25
years now, he keeps getting
smarter all the time.
The old Judge.
Crusty, craggy-faced and
with those long, bony arms of
his folded across the top of the
railing so he could support his
chin in them while he watched
the ball game, the man who
was baseball’s first commis
sioner presumably never made
a mistake in his entire
stewardship.
If you buy that then you
obviously also are ready to
believe that all 16 clubowners
of his day were so enraptured
with the shaggy-haired old
judge that they continuously
went around congratulating
themselves for having the good
sense to hire him.
The truth is they didn’t feel
that way at all.
As a matter of fact they
criticized him as often and as
loud, maybe even louder, than
some of today’s owners do
Bowie Kuhn.
To illustrate the type in
dividual Landis was, the story
often is told how he once fined
the Standard Oil Company a
million dollars while he still
was sitting on the federal
bench.
That is a fact.
But the fine was overturned
on appeal in another court and
the oil company never paid a
nickel.
That also is a fact, but
somehow becomes lost in the
re-telling.
Even with his substantial
legal background, Landis knew
enough to seek advice from
counsel before rendering any
major decision while he was
baseball commissioner.
It is well known how much
store he put in the particular
phrase which he felt defined his
powers. That phrase is the one
in baseball’s constitution which
says the commissioner shall
have the power to make any
decision he considers to be “in
the best interest of baseball.”
Landis once asked one of his
attorneys what he thought that
meant specifically.
“Anything you can get away
with,” replied the lawyer.
The Judge always remem
bered that.
Bowie Kuhn may be well
advised to remember the same
thing.
The point comes up now
because of the posture he took
Thursday here in the deadlock
between the American and
National Leagues over whether
inter-league play should be
inaugurated next season.
The American League said
yes.
The National League said no.
Now it was up to the
commissioner. The National
League insisted he really had
no power in the matter. The
American League was equally
insistent he had, and put him
on the spot by calling for him
to vote one way or the other.
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CHlCAGO—Atlanta’s premier home-run hitter, Hank
Aaron, (44), crosses home plate after hitting number 702
into the Wrigley Field bleachers in the eighth inning of
game yesterday. Waiting at the plate are Darrell Evans,
(11), and Mike Lum (28), who were on base when Aaron
BASEBALL
By United Press International
National League
East
w. I. pct. g.b.
St. Louis 62 59 .512 —
Pittsburgh 57 60 .487 x 3
Montreal 57 62 .479 4
Chicago 56 64 . 467 5%
Philadelphia 55 65 .458 6%
New York 53 65 449 7 1-2
West
w. 1. pct. g.b.
Los Angeles 76 45 .628 —
Cincinnati 74 48 .607 2%
San Francisco 66 53 .555 9
Houston 64 59 .520 13
Atlanta 59 65 .476 18%
San Diego 43 77 .364 32%
Thursday’s Results
Atlanta 10 Chicago 2
San Fran 2 Philadelphia 1
(Only games scheduled)
Today’s Probable Pitchers
(All times EDT)
Los Angeles (Messersmith 11-
7) at Chicago (Bonham 4-4),
2:30 p.m.
Cincinnati (Gullett 14-8) at
New York (Stone 7-3), night,
8:05 p.m.
Atlanta (Schueler 7-7) at
Montreal (Renko 11-7), 8:05
p.m.
San Francisco (Bryant 17-8)
at Pittsburgh (Moose 7-10), 8:05
p.m.
Philadelphia (Carlton 10-14)
at Houston (Wilson 9-12), 8:30
p.m.
San Diego (Kirby 7-13) at
St. Louis (Cleveland 12-6), 9
p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Cincinnati at New York
Los Angeles at Chicago
Atlanta at Montreal, night
San Fran at Pittsburgh, night
Philadelphia at Houston, night
San Diego at St. Louis, night
American League
East
w. 1. pct. g.b.
Baltimore 65 52 .556 —
Detroit 66 54 .550 %
New York 66 57 .537 2
Boston 62 57 .521 4
Milwaukee 59 59 .500 6%
Cleveland 48 73 .397 19
West
w. 1. pct. g.b.
Oakland 69 51 .575 —
Kansas City 70 52 .574 —
Minnesota 58 60 .492 10
Chicago 58 63 .479 11%
California 54 63 .462 13%
Texas 42 76 .356 26
Thursday’s Results
Oakland 6 Boston 3
Cleveland 10 Kan City 4
(Only games scheduled)
Today’s Probable Pitchers
(All times EDT)
Kansas City (Drago 12-11) at
Boston (Moret 6-0), 7:30 p.m.
Chicago (Bahnsen 15-13) at
Baltimore (Palmer 16-6), 7:30
p.m.
Minnesota (Blyleven 14-12) at
Cleveland (Strom 2-10 8 p.m.
New York (Medich 9-6) at
Texas (Merritt 4-8), 9 p.m.
Detroit (J. Perry 11-10) at
California (Ryan 13-14), 11 p.m.
Milwaukee (Colbom 15-7) at
Oakland (Holtzman 17-10), 11
p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Kansas City at Boston
Milwaukee at Oakland
Minn at Cleve, twilight
Chicago at Baltimore, night
New York at Texas, night
Detroit at California, night
Bills recovering
from ‘snake bites 9
BUFFALO, N.Y. (UPI) -
Rebuilding is a word that also
means having a lot of patience.
Lou Saban is in his second
season at the helm of the
Buffalo Bills, rebuilding a
football team, trying to install a
winning attitude and taking a
lot of bumps and bruises along
the way.
Things started paying off a
bit for Saban last season when
the Bills improved from a 1-13
disaster the season before, to a
4-9-1 record and a strong finish,
including a win over the Super
Bowl-bound Washington Red
skins and a tie with the Detroit
Lions.
Many said the record would
have been better had it not
been for numerous injuries to
key offensive linemen and a
few members of the defensive
corps. Even with the long sick
list, running back O. J.
Simpson had his best season in
a Bills’ uniform, gaining 1,251
yards and winning the NFL
rushing title.
They Were Snake Bitten
As Saban says: “Every snake
in town bit us last year.”
The injuries are all healed
and the outlook has to be
brighter for the Bills in 1973.
The team even has a new
stadium to play in, an 80,000-
seat facility built especially for
football in suburban Orchard
Park.
The running backs are
strong, with Simpson, Jim
Braxton, Bo Cornell and Randy
Jackson. Dennis Shaw should
be the number one quarterback
again but strong-armed rookie
Joe Ferguson could press Shaw
into a real battle.
J. D. Hill and Bob Chandler
return as wide receivers, along
with speedy Dwight Harrison.
Bruce Jarvis, recovering from
an injury, will be back at his
familiar center spot.
Veteran Irv Goode, who
played only in pre-season
competition last year before
joining the hospital list, and
Reggie McKenzie, will man the
Mary Walker
bowls 179
The Nightmares beat the
Twinkle Toes 3-1, the Never
Together Three beat the Happy
Three 3-1, the Sleepyheads beat
the Gutters 3-1 and the Slow
Gals defeated the Misfits 3-1
yesterday in the Thursday
Bowling League.
Mary Walker had a 179 game,
Edie Lewis rolled a 175, Betty
Miller had a 172, Martha Bray a
161, Tesa Statham a 159, Bonnie
Pfrogner 156 and Betty Imes
156.
Sox acquire
Kaat
MILWAUKEE (UPI) — The
Chicago White Sox, in desper
ate need for a starting pitcher,
Wednesday acquired veteran
, southpaw Jim Kaat from the
Minnesota Twins on waivers.
Kaat, who has an 11-12 record
this season with a 4.40 ERA,
has lost eight of his last 11
decisions.
Page 7
Griffin Daily News Friday, August 17,1973
hit his round-tripper to bring him within 12 of Babe Ruth’s
record of 714. Next batter, Dusty Baker, (12) and umpire
William Williams wait along with the Braves’ batboy.
Braves beat the Cubs 10-2, to extend the Cubs’ losing
streak to eleven games. (UPI)
guard posts. Dave Foley and
Donnie Green will be at the
tackles. Rookies Paul Seymour
and Joe De Lamielleure are
also ready for action on the
line.
The defensive line and
linebackers are the big question
mark. Saban must find a
suitable fill-in for injured tackle
Don Croft. Jim Cheyunski,
obtained in a six-player deal
with New England, heads the
linebackers.
The Strongest Unit
The defensive backs, an
chored by all-pro Bob James,
appears to be the strongest
defensive unit.
Veteran Mike Clark, also
injured last season, and John
Leypoldt, will battle for the
place kicking job. Spike Jones
appears to have the punting
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assignment nailed down.
Saban’s biggest job is getting
the players to believe in
themselves and getting them in
the winning habit. He puts last
season aside as “a year of
learning for everyone invol
ved.”
“I think if we can stay
relatively healthy we will not
only have a decent season,”
Saban said, “But, perhaps we’ll
surprise some people.”
Saban is not a man who
makes predictions but the
talkative Simpson is.
“I feel we’re capable of
winning 10 games,” Simpson
says flatly. “I know it sounds
kind of far-fetched but it’s all a
matter of jelling.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who
we know are going to be here a
long time.”