PAT ON THE BACK

Herewith a salute from the editors to men and women of all ages who have fairly earned the good opinion of the world of sport, regardless of whether they have yet earned its tallest headlines

Lee Sawyer, 43, St. Louis electrical contractor, tried unsuccessfully in 1952 and 1953 to break the speedboat record between New Orleans and his home town. Breakdowns halted him each time. This year in a craft called Huckleberry Finn, he made it. His time of 56 hours 56 minutes for the long trek beat the old mark by four hours 26 minutes.

Mary Jane Hagan (above) and Howie Wieland give the Raybestos brake-lining plant at Stratford, Conn. one of the country's best industrial softball pitching combinations. Both the Raybestos Brakettes and Cardinals won New England softball titles this year. Eighteen-year-old Mary Jane pitched 10 shutouts for the Brakettes, including three no-hit games. Howie, 23, has already pitched 11 no-hitters, nine of them in a row, and eight one-hitters, with the Cardinals' season not quite over.

Shelley Mann at 16 has broken more records than most star swimmers hold in a lifetime. Blonde, brown-eyed Shelley has smashed three world and five American marks in backstroke, butterfly and medley events. A senior at Washington and Lee High School, Arlington, Va., she does her record breaking for Washington's Walter Reed Swim Club, is almost certain to be chosen on the 1956 Olympic team.

FOUR PHOTOS