The Question: Do the rules permit the calling of too many fouls in basketball?

Mrs. FRANK BLAIR, Irvington, N.Y.
housewife
"Certainly. Basketball on radio seems a I succession of whistles. I counted seven in one minute. When a player is shooting, why should it be a foul for an opponent to deflect his aim? Seldom have I seen action continue for a full minute. Three of my five sons play basketball. They agree."

JOHN WOODEN, Los Angles, Calif.
UCLA Coach
"An ordinary foul should be a one-shot foul. I don't believe in bonus gifts. The double foul should be for roughness and fouling a man who is shooting. In the last three minutes, every foul is a two-shot foul. No wonder an occasional game is won with more points scored on fouls than baskets."

ROME SCHWAGEL, Keedysville, Md.
sales manager
"Fouls could be cut down if high school and college coaches taught proper defense. They don't. They concentrate on offense. There's as much art to shooting fouls as baskets. That's the reason for the bonus rule. It puts a premium on accuracy. The player has to sink the first try to get a bonus shot."

NED IRISH, executive vice pres.
Madison Square
Garden, N.Y.
"Yes, in college basketball. They should limit the fouls a team can make in one half. Each foul over the allotted number would give the other team an extra foul shot. The boys would be more careful about fouling. Forcing a team to take a shot at the basket every 30 seconds would also lessen fouls."

RALPH J. BUNCHE, Kew Gardens, N.Y.
Under Secretary
United Nations
"Calling too many fouls does slow up a game. And you occasionally wonder why a foul is called. It's 20 years since I played with UCLA. Officials were not so quick to call contact fouls. Roughing, yes, but not technical fouls. I liked the game we played better than today's game."

TOM GOLA, Philadelphia, Pa.
La Salle captain
"No. I like the game as it is. There's no way to cut down on fouls. The rules are not at fault. It's up to the players. They can play any kind of game they please. I don't think that rules can be made to reduce the number of fouls. So it gets down to proper coaching and proper playing."

GUSTAV B. MARGRAF, Rye, N.Y.
vice pres. National Broadcasting Co.
"Yes. To me, the real art in basketball is teamwork and shooting baskets. Frequent calling of fouls by overzealous officials fouls up teamwork and ruins the game for the spectators. At Madison Square Garden, UCLA scored more goals than La Salle but lost the game on fouls."

TOM BLACKBURN, Dayton, Ohio
Dayton University coach
"There are too many fouls in some games. But you'll see more action in our 40 minutes of play than in other contact sports. In boxing, if you eliminate the stalling and feinting, you may get three full rounds of fighting. The same applies to football and baseball. The fouls don't spoil the game."

EIGHT PHOTOS

ILLUSTRATION