A roundup of the sports information of the week

BASEBALL—DICK GROAT, 30-year-old shortstop for Pittsburgh who has been with the Pirates ever since he stepped off the campus at Duke University eight years ago, was named the Most. Valuable Player in the National League by the Baseball Writers Association. Groat hit .325 during the season and, though he had only two home runs and 50 RBIs, his leadership was a major factor in Pittsburgh's pennant victory. Runner-up was third baseman and fellow teammate Don Hoak, who received 162 points to Groat's 276. The AMERICAN LEAGUE awarded the new Washington, D.C. franchise to a 10-man syndicate headed by Lieut. General Elwood Quesada, present administrator of the Federal Aviation Agency. Quesada in turn disclosed the syndicate had named Mickey Vernon, Pittsburgh coach, as manager, and Edward S. Doherty, president of the American Association, as general manager of the new team. Vernon, a Washington hero, was the Senators' only two-time (1946 and 1953) American League batting champion. Quesada also announced the new club would retain the name of Senators.

Detroit, hunting for its eighth manager since 1952, hired former Cub manager Bob Scheffing, after its No. 1 choice, Casey Stengel, turned the job down.

BASKETBALL—PHILADELPHIA, after a fast start, dropped three straight last week, to Cincinnati, Detroit and Syracuse, not so much on their opponents' new-found strength as on Wilt Chamberlain's weakness at the free-throw line. In the game against Detroit, which the Warriors lost by only one point (119-118), Chamberlain missed eight out of 13 free throws; against Syracuse, also a one-point defeat (106-105), Chamberlain missed 18 out of 27, for a season total of 63 in 164 attempts. "Unbelievable," said Syracuse's Dolph Schayes, NBA alltime scorer, who the night before the Syracuse victory over Philadelphia made his 16,000th point. "Any high school kid could do better."

Elgin Baylor, pacing the Los Angeles Lakers to an easy 123-108 victory over New York, set an NBA individual single-game scoring record of 71 points (28 field goals, 15 free throws) to break his old record of 64 points set last year in game against Boston. PHILADELPHIA, leader in NBA Eastern Division standings; ST. LOUIS, leader in Western Division.

BOXING—EDER JOFRE of Brazil won the National Boxing Association version of the world bantamweight championship with a one-punch KO over Elroy Sanchez of Mexico, at Los Angeles. In the sixth round Jofre fired a right to the jaw that put the game Mexican away, thereby earned the right to meet France's Alphonse Halimi, Europe's world champion, in a bout to end the world title dispute.

Luis Manuel Rodriguez, undefeated contender for the welterweight title, slugged his way to his 34th victory with a 10-round decision over Yama Bahama of Bimini, in Miami Beach.

Kazuo Takayama of Japan retained his Japanese featherweight title with an 8-round KO over Katsuzo Nakamura, in Tokyo.

Gene Armstrong, trading freely with Henry Hank, won a 10-round decision in middleweight bout at Madison Square Garden.

Jose Gonzalez of Puerto Rico edged Isaac Logart for a 10-round split decision in welterweight fight in New York.

CROSS-COUNTRY—PENN STATE checked Michigan State's bid for its fifth consecutive IC4A championship when three of its runners finished among the first 10 in the hilly five-mile trot at Van Cortlandt Park in New York. Penn State had a low score of 70 points, while Army, second, had 119, and Michigan State, third, had 130. Individual winner was BOBBY LOWE of Brown, who took the lead from the 180 runners at the halfway point, finished 50 yards ahead of Larrie Sweet of Alfred. Lowe's time: 25:40.4.

University of Texas, with a low score of 39, took the Southwest Conference championship at Austin over Arkansas, seeking its fifth consecutive title. Tied for second with Arkansas was Texas A&M with 50 points Individual winner: JACK NELSON of Arkansas, running the three miles in 15:02.

North Carolina captured the Atlantic Coast championship, closing out Duke's two-year reign, when the Tar Heels' GROVER EVERETT and Gerald Stuver finished one-two. Everett ran the 3.8 miles in 17:53, at College Park, Md.

FOOTBALL—EDMONTON, on a field goal by Tommy-Joe Coffey with 10 seconds left in the game, beat Winnipeg 4-2 and won the Western Interprovincial Football Union championship at Winnipeg. Edmonton will meet the Big Four winner at Vancouver in the Grey Cup game for the Canadian pro title.

GOLF—LIONEL HEBERT of Lafayette, La. won his home town's $15,000 Cajun Classic with 272 for 72 holes. Runner-up: Johnny Pott of Shreve-port with 274.

HARNESS RACING—U.S. Harness Writers Association named ADIOS BUTLER for the Head-liner Award as the outstanding horse of the year. Adios Butler set a world pacing record of 1:54[3/5] last month at Lexington, finished the season by taking the $75,000 Hollywood Park Pacing Classic at Inglewood.

HOCKEY—DETROIT, TORONTO and MONTREAL tied for first place with 24 points apiece. Each club now has 10 wins, four ties.

HORSE RACING—CORNELIUS VANDERBILT WHITNEY became the second owner (Calumet Farm was first) to earn more than $1 million in one season when his colt Counterate ($8.60) handily won the $25,000 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs. The $17,927 winner's share pushed Whitney's earnings to $1,015,666.

Garwol ($6) revealed a strong finishing drive to win the $110,260 Pimlico Futurity by 1½ lengths over Bal Musette. Under Ismael Valenzuela, Garwol, purchased earlier this year for $32,000 by owner Louis Wolfson, covered the 1[1/16] miles in 1:45[4/5]. The $68,256.50 winner's share put owner Wolfson, a relative newcomer to racing, right behind C. V. Whitney as money-winner of the season, and seemed to prove his claim that he could swiftly achieve racing prominence through massive investment.

Don Poggio ($4) coasted to an easy 7-length victory over Manassa Mauler in the $83,121 Gallant Fox Handicap at Aqueduct. Ridden by Sammy Boulmetis, the Argentine-bred colt covered the 1¾ miles in 2:55[4/5].

HORSE SHOW—UNITED STATES retained the Prix des Nations trophy in the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair Horse Show at Toronto. The U.S. team, composed of George Morris, Frank Chapot and Hugh Wiley, won with only four faults.

United States also won the international team championship with 41 points. Canada was second with 38, Ireland third with 17.

MOTOR SPORTS—STIRLING MOSS won the U.S. Grand Prix at Riverside, Calif. and clinched third place in world standings (see page 20). In this last Formula I race of the year Moss averaged nearly 100 mph in his Rob Walker Lotus, finished 38 seconds ahead of Scotland's Innes Ireland.

TENNIS—NEALE FRASER, recovering from food poisoning, nevertheless stopped an eager Barry MacKay 10-8, 6-4, 7-5 for the New South Wales championship at Sydney. In an all-Australian doubles final FRASER and ROY EMERSON defeated Rod Laver and Bob Mark 6-2, 14-12, 6-4.

MILEPOSTS—ELECTED: LOU STRONG, 47, of Oak Hill CC in Rochester, N.Y., as president of the Professional Golfers Association, at Scottsdale, Ariz. A professional golfer for 30 years, Strong was PGA secretary.

ELECTED: EDISON MANTLEBERT PEATROSS, Virginia manufacturer and former outboard champion, as president of the American Power Boat Association.

RETIRED: RUSTY RUSSELL, Victoria Junior College of Texas football coach. In 32 years of coaching, from high school level to Southern Methodist University, Russell won 239 games, lost 85 and tied 18, taught such stars as Doak Walker, Dick Hightower and Bobby Layne.

RETIRED TO STUD: BALD EAGLE, 5-year-old owned by Captain Harry F. Guggenheim, and winner of the Washington D.C. International this month.

DIED: THOMAS J. GIBBONS, 69, who went 15 rounds in title fight with Jack Dempsey at Shelby, Mont, in 1923, in his sleep, at St. Paul. Competing as a heavy, light, heavy and middleweight. Gibbons lost only four times in 106 bouts, was kayoed only by Gene Tunney in 1925 fight.

DIED: STANLEY F. JOHNSON, 42, former National AAU hammer throw champion, from a self-inflicted shotgun wound, at Bailey Island, Maine. Johnson won the championship in 1940 with a toss of 182 feet 6[7/16] inches.