MEMO FROM THE PUBLISHER

Each week brings its welcome share of visitors to the offices of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. One recent week, for instance, included calls by Decathlon Champion Bob Mathias, en route to Melbourne as President Eisenhower's official representative at the Olympic Games; Harold S. Vanderbilt, shaking his head over the new attention from his four-part piece in this magazine; Ruth Gissy, our Aug. 27 cover girl (still in riding costume) with her mother and doctor father straight from the Madison Square Garden Horse Show; and Chuck Conerly, the New York Giants' quarterback on our cover last week.

But perhaps the most pleasant surprise of all was Mrs. Tom Leach of Tulsa, Okla. and Bismarck, N.D.

Like many of us these days, Mrs. Leach, a real breath of fresh air with just the proper Southern drawl and the assurance of the wide open spaces, had been shopping. She had come to New York to celebrate a small windfall from what she called her oilman husband's "hobby." It seems that some of his Dakota cattle lately went to market for a cool $85,000 that was just extra. Anyway, here was Mrs. Leach in New York and she decided to go down to the famous Macy's to get some sheets for the ranch. After buying $75 worth, for which the floorwalker okayed her check, she gave mind to the weather outside. "It's raining cats and dogs and I can't go back to the hotel just to get a little money to finish my shopping. You've got to cash another check for me."

The floorwalker couldn't have been more understanding. But this was against Macy's policy. "Do you have a D.A.?" he inquired.

"Back in Tulsa we've got the finest district attorney in the whole country," said Mrs. Leach.

"I don't mean that," he said. "I mean a Macy's deposit account."

This was clearly leading nowhere, and he finally asked Mrs. Leach what identification she had. She showed him many cards. Then she came up with the Nov. 12 issue of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED.

"I read that magazine all the time," he said.

She turned to page 32, which has the picture you see here of Mrs. Leach as hostess at a hunting dinner on their North Dakota ranch, "where a man can see three days ahead." Mrs. Leach went on to explain some details about the dinner.

Macy's cashed the check.

"Imagine that," Mrs. Leach exclaimed. "The best identification I could have in New York is little old SPORTS ILLUSTRATED."

PHOTO

MRS. TOM LEACH