19TH HOLE: THE READERS TAKE OVER

COURT ORDER
Sirs:
I don't know anything about the USLTA, but I do know this guy Dennis Ralston is a spoiled brat (SCORECARD, Sept. 11). I've seen him on many occasions pull some baby act that made him top candidate for a punch in the nose.

If the Davis Cup depends on this type of individual, then leave it with the Aussies.
J. NICOLINI
San Francisco

Sirs:
Your editorial made no mention that Ralston was already under probation for misconduct in 1960 during the Irish championships in Dublin, the junior championships at Kalamazoo and the Australian championships. We of the USLTA are endeavoring to operate a democratic organization, not an autocratic one where hasty decisions are made. Ralston was suspended as promptly as possible after the Amateur Rules Committee was furnished with detailed charges from the official referee at Cleveland. As president, I could not have acted without this committee's approval. Moreover, the committee and I felt that it would be unfair to Ralston's doubles partner, Chuck McKinley, to remove him from the doubles, since his own suspension had been lifted only a few months before.

As you presented it, the 1,600 people who booed Ralston and the many thousands of your readers will think that your publication condones bad behavior in sports.
GEORGE E. BARNES
President, USLTA
New York City

Sirs:
What you say about the ineptitude of the USLTA is true, and many of us tennis players are aware of the situation.

Until they oust the small-thinking old-timers from positions of influence, the organization, along with all of U.S. tennis, will remain at a standstill.
DAVE BROOM
Spokane

NET PROPHET
Sirs:
The article on the Forest Hills amateur tennis championships (Strategy, Strokes and Style, Sept. 4) was the best thing that's ever been in SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. It is fantastic that Bill Talbert could go that deep into the stars for a real story, not just the typical run-of-the-mill article.
MICHAEL KNIGHT
Porterville, Calif.

NADIR WITH TRAEH
Sirs:
I have heard it said that Nadir could have been the greatest horse of all time if he only had heart. Well, Ridan is Nadir all over again, with heart.
MIKE LEVITAS
Evanston, Ill

Sirs:
Whitney Tower did not give Ridan nearly the billing he deserved (Fine Young Thoroughbreds, Sept. 4). We of the Chicago area are sure that he is already the fastest horse in history, besides being the strongest and most beautiful! How about a picture?
BRIAN BOLDT
Evanston, Ill.

QUEEN, JACK
Sirs:
Congratulations on the funniest article that I have ever read (The Week They Try to Catch the Babe, Sept. 11). Jack Olsen shows that his ability to tickle the funny bone is matched only by the hitting talent of Norm Cash.
ERIC SIMONSEN
Eggertsville, N.Y.

Sirs:
You quoted American League Pitcher Barber as saying, "I wouldn't feel too bad if either [M or M] hit No. 60 off me, unless it cost me a ball game." You also added, "This is true, and Barber is the Queen of Rumania."

Well, I feel the way Barber does, so maybe I am the Queen of Rumania.
DAVE PISCITELLI
West Reading, Pa.

CURE FOR TV
Sirs:
John Hay did a bang-up job describing Cape Cod in A Walk on the Great Beach (Sept. 11). More stories like this will keep the TV turned off.
JIMMY NOWLIN
Oklahoma City

UGH!
Sirs:
After noting the wild words of Harry Wismer in SCORECARD (Sept. 11), I still have to challenge your entire view on the NFL vs. AFL.

We here in Los Angeles feel the wrong team left town when the Chargers went to San Diego and the Rams stayed here.

With the likes of Jack Kemp, Paul Lowe, Bo Roberson, Don Norton and others, plus a rock-ribbed defense led by Dick Harris, Earl Faison and company, the Chargers would lick many of the NFL clubs, such as the Cowboys, Vikings, Redskins and, to be sure, the Rams. Ugh!!
HARRY SANFORD
Hollywood

Sirs:
I am second to no one in Wismer-baiting, but why roll up the IBM machines to dignify a publicity gimmick?
DAVID LUCAS
Elmhurst, N.Y.

Sirs:
I think that the New York Giants are afraid to play the Titans.
LYLE BOLHM
Maywood, Ill

TRAPPIST
Sirs:
It was very gratifying to read your article on shotgun shooting ("Keep that Damned Kid Away from Me!" Aug. 14), a very popular sport which, incidentally, is given far too little publicity. However, I would be interested to know when Carola Mandel ever shot in a registered trap tournament. To my knowledge she has never even attended, much less won, the Grand American Trap-shooting tournaments, which are held every year in Vandalia, Ohio.
MRS. FRANK HOWARD JR.
Woodstock, Ill

•Carola Mandel has not taken part in U.S. trap tournaments mainly because of conflicting skeet schedules. She has, however, competed on numerous occasions in Olympic trap in Europe, winning, among other titles, the 1957 St. Vincent's Men's Championships in Italy, an unprecedented trap victory for a woman.—ED.

GUNNING FOOLS
Sirs:
Being somewhat of a duck hunter (or "gunner," as they say on the Eastern Shore of Maryland), I must say that I am not shocked at the new limit restrictions (Good for Deer, Bad for Ducks, Sept. 11). However, I doubt if Secretary of the Interior Udall (SCORECARD, Aug. 28) has ever enjoyed the thrill when wild ducks wheel and start to swing over the decoys. If he had, he would know only too well that it takes a special breed of happy fool to enjoy the sport.

It is my feeling that this special breed would much prefer a closed season to allow the duck population a full year of vacation. I also feel that he (the foolish duck hunter) would be willing to buy his Federal Duck Stamp even if he can't use it, because he knows that the money is spent to try and give him better hunting.
H. A. KARR JR.
Chevy Chase, Md.

PROPHET WITH HONOR
Sirs:
Remember my telling you that Army Lieutenant Jay Silvester might become the first man to throw the discus over 200 feet (19TH HOLE, Aug. 7)? Well, he's done it, reaching a tremendous 210 feet 2 inches in Los Angeles on September 9.

After reaching 190 feet for the first time only a year ago, Silvester broke the 60-meter barrier on August 11 in Frankfurt by setting a world record of 60.56 meters (198 feet 8¼ inches). He increased that record a short time later and now has made the big breakthrough by throwing 10 feet over the 200 mark.
STEPHEN GOULD
Cheverly, Md.

•SPORTS ILLUSTRATED salutes a well-called shot.—ED.

ALEX TO ZAMP
Sirs:
Your PAT ON THE BACK (Aug. 28) for Lou Zamperini and his notable success with introducing delinquent boys to Mammoth Mountain sports and the outdoors brings to mind the silent part played in his program by the much-maligned squire of Squaw Valley, Alex Cushing. Lou recently confided to me that for several summers the oft-damned Olympic mover has turned his luxurious lodge and its facilities over to him and his young charges.

Cushing personally sees to it that they are treated as the guests they are, with mammoth meals, swimming, ice skating, horseback riding and the use of the chair lifts. All on the q.t., with no thought of thanks from anyone save Zamp and his boys.

For this, Alex Cushing gets our personal pat on the back.
ELMAR BAXTER
Los Angeles

Sirs:
Lou Zamperini has made a career of battling the odds and winning. He was a top-notch miler for the University of Southern California in the late '30s and came from behind to win many a race.

As a bombardier during World War II, he was shot down during a mission, drifted for 47 days on the open sea and was finally captured and imprisoned for 28 torturous months by the Japanese.
RICHARD D. GROO
Newark, Del.

PHOTO

RIDAN AND RIDER JOHNNY SELLERS