THE QUESTION: Arthur Murray says that most athletes are poor dancers. How about your husband? (Asked of wives of well-known athletes)

DEIRDRE BUDGE (MRS. DON)
New York City
Don is a wonderful dancer. But there is nothing very unusual about that. Actually, tennis players all seem to be excellent dancers because tennis is such a graceful sport. Rather than Arthur Murray being correct, I'll match Don against Arthur dancing with me. I'm sure it would be a close contest.

NANCY FISS (MRS. GALEN)
Mission, Kans.
That's not true as far as I know. The only great athletes I know are my husband and the other players on the Cleveland Browns. They have to be light and agile to be great players. My husband is a wonderful dancer. So are Mike McCormack, Dante Lavelli and Don Colo, who weighs something around 250 pounds.

BARBARA MARCIANO (MRS. ROCKY)
Miami Shores, Fla.
Rocky has never liked dancing, but he's always been light on his feet. Like the time he stepped on a girl's foot while we were dancing and the girl said, "Ouch! Rocky, I'm glad you've got rubber heels." Maybe Rocky could be a good dancer, but I'm not sure, not with all the spaghetti he's been eating lately.

MAXINE GIFFORD (MRS. FRANK)
Bakersfield, Calif.
I'm not a good judge because I'm not a good dancer. Another woman might say that Frank is a very good dancer. If she did, I'd watch her closely. I do know that Frank has been so busy all his life on the football field and playing other sports that he hasn't had much of a chance to take dancing lessons.

MERLYN MANTLE (MRS. MICKEY)
Commerce, Okla.
Mickey doesn't dance at all, period. But that's not saying he isn't graceful. If he wanted to dance, I'm sure he'd be as good a dancer as he is a baseball player. I love to dance, and I've tried to get Mickey to take dancing lessons, but he just isn't interested. He'd rather play golf, or go hunting and fishing.

MARIE COUSY (MRS. BOB)
Worcester, Mass.
It might be so in wrestling and in football but, over-all, Arthur Murray must be wrong because footwork is so necessary in most sports. The trouble with Bob is that he can't adapt his basketball footwork to the dance floor. He goes at it as if he were about to dribble a basketball down the court.

EDNA STENGEL (MRS. CASEY)
Glendale, Calif.
Casey was the best dancer in baseball when I married him. Don't think I'd marry a man just because he's a baseball player! At that time, Casey wasn't rich either, but he was a wonderful dancer and he swept me off my feet. He's still a graceful dancer. Can't you tell by the way he waltzes up to an umpire?

OLGA CONNOLLY (MRS. HAROLD)
Boston
Although Harold has the biggest leg muscles I've ever seen, he's a good ballet dancer. He doesn't like exercises like walking or swimming, and the only place he will move his tremendous bulk is on the track. Out there he feels perfectly at home. But he is much too lazy a man for strenuous ballroom dancing.

LILLIAN MUSIAL (MRS. STAN)
St. Louis
That would be libelous if it were said about Stan. For anyone so well-coordinated physically and mentally, dancing comes easy. We get our share of compliments when we dance together. A big regret is that he doesn't have time to take me out dancing more often. He likes it and I think the relaxation does him good.

MOYRA BANNISTER (MRS. ROGER)
London, England
Roger isn't bad. I love his dancing because I find that he is so enthusiastic when he does get on the dance floor. He is so basically himself that his enthusiasm even makes the bandleader happy, the musicians happy, the other dancers happy, and it certainly makes me happy. It is fun to dance with Roger.

ELEVEN PHOTOS