PAT ON THE BACK
Joanne Bruni, 14, of Laredo, Texas, won six area women's golf titles a year ago to confound golf experts. This summer, pretty, petite Joanne has been consistently up near the top in tougher state-wide competition. A high school sophomore, she dotes on chocolate sundaes, Rock Hudson, Joni James and her white Buick convertible.
David Schabacker of Erie, Pa. is only 12 but colleges are already bidding for his swimming services. Dave has been winning swimming medals for four years, has broken the listed National AAU freestyle and backstroke records for his age group, and has never had a formal lesson. His biggest disappointment is that he isn't allowed to eat mashed potatoes while in training. His ambition is to be a swimming coach.
Stanley Matthews, a veteran of 22 years in English professional football at 39, is a national sports hero at an age when most soccer players have retired to easy chairs. He has been picked to play for England in international matches 69 times, more than any other man, and set up both goals in a recent 2-0 victory over Ireland.
John Hunter, 28, of Clearwater, Fla., considers the 1954 softball season only a fair one for him. All he did was pitch the Clearwater Bombers to the world softball title, compiling a 27-1 won-lost record and allowing only one earned run while striking out 448 batters in 214 innings over the regular season. Johnny, a salesman, says his best season was 1950, when he won 43, lost three.
Don Meyer, right, with runner-up Roy Norton at Long Beach, Calif., is the national fly-casting champion at 17. He took up competitive casting only 18 months ago. Entering his first adult event this summer, the Burbank, Calif. high school senior became the first caster in tournament history to register a perfect score of 100 in both the wet-and dry-fly events.
FIVE PHOTOS