Newspaper Page Text
t Sports World
An AP Sports Analysis
By WILL GRIMSLEY
AP Special Correspondent
Bird is back
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (AP) — “The Bird” is back -
flighty and flaky as ever but totally unspoiled.
“My head must have left my body,” said Mark “the
Bird” Fidrych, trying to explain an uncharacteristic lapse
into absent-mindedness in his 1977 pitching debut for the
Detroit Tigers.
The 22-year-old rookie of the year, whose strong right
arm and bizarre histrionics on the mound made him a
national folk hero last season, pitched three scoreless
innings, allowing three hits, as the Tigers beat the Boston
Red Sox 5-4 Wednesday in baseball’s spring opener.
He forgot and left his cap in the dugout at the start of the
second inning. At the end of the inning he ran off the field
after the second out, thinking the side was retired. He
grabbed the wrong cap when he went to the mound in the
third inning, and a bat boy rushed out to make the ex
change.
“I heard somebody yell, ‘Get your head screwed on,
dummy,’” Fidrych said. “I don’t know what happened to
me. I guess I was too involved. I was thinking too much
about the game. I was pumping too hard.”
“The Bird” is always pumping — that’s his trademark.
More than 4,000 fans had assembled at the Red Sox
Chain O’Lakes Park when Fidrych and his teammates
arrived by bus from nearby Lakeland an hour before
game time. Traffic was jammed up for miles, delaying
the arrival of American League President Lee MacPhail.
Phail.
Hand-made signs dotted the stands: “Welcome to the
Bird,” “The Bird is back,” “We love the Bird.”
In the lockerroom, the 6-foot-2 stringbean with the shock
of blond corkscrews for hair was greeted by a battery of
newsmen from all around the training circuit.
“No pictures, no interviews before the game,” the
young pitcher said. “I’ve got to think.”
Once outside, however, he could not turn his back on his
adoring army, ranging from kids to grandpas, pleading
for autographs.
“I’ve never seen anything like it — this kid is the
greatest draw in baseball,” said Hal Middlesworth,
Detroit director of public relations. “He started 29 games
for us last year, drew 901,239 — an average of 31,077 —a
regular magnet.”
The free-spirited native of Worcester, Mass., has
brought a breath of fresh air to a game bogged down with
labor strife and lawsuits, putting on the best show in town
last year while compiling a 19-9 record and leading the
major league with an earned run average of 2.34.
His father is Polish, his mother Danish and he is the lone
son among three sisters. He drove a pickup truck to the
ball park until a Detroit motor company gave him a new
sports car and the Tigers raised his salary from $16,500 at
the start of last year to a three-year graduating scale of
$50,000-$75,-000-1100,000.
Somebody asked him if he feared, because of his wide
publicity, he might start getting hammy and cocky.
“Me? Not a chance. I’ve been this way all my life. I
can’t change.”
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Flames lose
ATLANTA (AP) — “We lost
another game; I’m not going to
cut my wrists,” said Atlanta
Coach Fred Creighton after his
stumbling Flames dropped a 6-2
National Hockey League con
test to the New York Islanders.
Creighton says he’ll go back
to work “and hope to win over
the weekend” when the Flames
meet the New York Rangers in
two crucial games, the first
Friday night in Atlanta.
The Rangers defeated Min
nesota 6-4 Wednesday night to
move to within two points of the
Flames in the battle for the final
playoff spot in the Patrick
Division.
J. P. Parise bounced a shot in
off Atlanta goalie Phil Myre’s
pads in the second period for the
go-ahead goal and the Islanders
added three more scores in the
rout.
The Flames had taken a 2-1
Portia Vaughn
scores 26
CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) -
Portia Vaughn scored 26 points
to lead North Georgia College
over Troy State, Ala., 78-56 and
into tonight’s Southeast Region
al Tournament of the Associ
ation for Intercollegiate Athlet
ics for Women.
Sports briefs
Basketball
NEW YORK - Bob Gaillard,
the 36-year old coach of the
University of San Francisco,
which had a 29-1 record, was
named The Associated Press
College Coach of the Year.
Tennis
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH Af
rica — Top-seeded Bjorn Borg
of Sweden whipped South Afri-
Rebels
win
The Rebels outshot the
Warriorettes 29-28 yesterday in
the Junior Basketball Tourna
ment.
Diane Wynn scored 13 points
for the Rebels and Mary Hall
made 6.
Janice Gilstrap scored 12 for
the Warriorettes and Darlene
Milner made 9.
Norma Head
bowls 212
Norma Head rolled a 212
game and a 532 series yesterday
in the Holt’s Reloading and
Equipment league.
Other leading bowlers were:
Evelyn Williams 181, Jean
Glebus 178, Shirley Travis 177,
Lila Williams 174, Pat Gore 174,
Mary Reed 171, Barbara Moon
170, Toni Moss 169, Marlyn
Shackelford 169, Martha
Johnson 160 and Sandra
Kimbell 160.
The Bullets beat the Saturday
Night Specials 4-0, the
Sharpshooters downed the
Sureshots 3-1, the Daisy BBs
and the Thirty-Ought Sixes tied,
the Four Muskets beat the
Buckshots 4-0, the Pistol
Packing Mamas and the
Peashooters tied, the Pistols
and Gatlin Guns tied.
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lead in the second period as Bill
Clement scored after Rey
Comeau and New York’s Clarke
Gillies had exchanged first
period goals.
Bill Harris then tied it for the
Islanders and Parise, Denis
Potvin, Bob Nystrom and Jude
Drouin added the others.
It was Atlanta’s fifth loss in
six games.
“There are still enough
games and anything can hap
pen,” said Gerry Hart of the
Islanders. “I still think Atlanta
is a better team than the
Rangers. But right now they
(Atlanta) seem to be a bunch of
lost individuals.
“Tonight we got a couple of
quick goals, and from there on
out they seemed to have too
many individual efforts," Hart
added. “The same thing hap
pens to us when things are going
badly.”
The playoff contest Wednes
day night was held after a
Florida school dropped out of
the regional tournament.
North Georgia will meet Tus
kegee Institute tonight in one of
four opening round games.
cian Johnny Muller 6-1, 6-0 in
the second round of a $150,000
international open tennis tour
nament.
DALLAS — Second-seeded
Sue Barker of England rallied
to defeat Linky Boshoff of South
Africa 5-7, 6-0, 6-3 and advance
to the quarter-finals of a
SIOO,OOO women’s pro tennis
tournament.
HAMPTON, Va. - Top-seed
ed Stan Smith was a 6-4, 7-5
winner over Allan Stone of Aus
tralia in the first round of the
Grand Prix of Tennis.
Bowling
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - Hall
of Famer Dick Weber took a
slim lead over Dick Ritger after
two rounds of a SIOO,OOO
Professional Bowlers Associ
ation tournament.
Prep
scores
Ga. H.S. Bkb Tourneys
Wednesday’s Results
Class AA Boys
Brown 61, Swainsboro 50
Stephens Co. 61, Cass 31
Dalton 66, Decatur 53
Gainesville 69, Americus 62
Class AA Girls
Brooks Co. 56, Calhoun 46
Perry 41, Fayette Co. 38
Waycross 62, Ringgold 52
Franklin Co. 44, Cass 39
Class B Boys
Clay Co. 100, Lanier Co. 81
Louisville 78, Palmetto 75
Hogansville 101, Long Co. 61
GAC 81, Dacula 61
Class B Girls
Pelham 89, Atkinson Co. 64
Warren Co. 43, Montgomery Co.
41
Miller Co. 49, Temple 40
Monticello 58, ECI 46
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We also honor: • BankAmericard • Master Charge S 2 80 to S 3 1 2 FE T per tir^^r[_ ()a()
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P, VAN and
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Phone
Page 15
— Griffin Daily News Thursday, March 10,1977
