A roundup of the sports information of the week
BASKETBALL—Former Purdue basketball star and pro player PAUL HOFFMAN. 38, signed a one-year contract for a reported $12,000 as general manager of the NBA's new Baltimore Bullets, once Chicago Zephyrs. Hoffman replaces Frank Lane, who declined to be wafted out of the Windy City along with the Zephyrs at the end of last season.
BOXING—Before 8,000 fans and some presumably nearsighted officials EMILE GRIFFITH became the first welterweight to capture the world title for the third time when he got a 15-round split decision over Luis Rodriguez in Madison Square Garden (see page 24). Griffith lost the crown to Rodriguez last March 21 on a unanimous but unpopular decision, but this time his victory was greeted with cries of "robbery."
GOLF—In the first all-English final since 1933, 28-year-old textile executive MICHAEL LUNT defeated John Blackwell, a 48-year-old schoolteacher and marmalade heir who sips vodka and orange juice between holes, 2 and I over 36 holes to win the 68th British Amateur in St. Andrews, Scotland. It was the first time since 1923 that Americans had failed to take the title when in England for the Walker Cup. British Walker Cup member Lunt played his part in the upset by eliminating four of the 39 Americans entered (including titleholder Richard Davies of Pasadena, Calif.), while runner-up Blackwell, a 1,000-to-1 shot who uses specially built antislice clubs, liquidated two more.
Phlegmatic but fast JULIUS BOROS, 43, smashed the Michigan Warwick Hills course record by eight strokes to win the $52,000 Buick Open with a 72-hole total of 274 to join Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer as the only multiple winners on the tour this year. Dow Finsterwald, who had just won his first tournament in three years—the $55,000 Festival Open at Indianapolis—finished second, five strokes back, with George Bayer third at 280.
HARNESS RACING—"I guess I just lost my road map," said pint-size (108 pounds) Driver George Sholty when asked why he had seen fit to drive ROYAL RICK ($8.90) past the leaders three times on his way to winning the $25,000 Adios Butler Cup at Roosevelt. Favorite Irvin Paul ended up second in the seesawing battle, with Stephan Smith third.
With the opening of their $12.5 million Liberty Bell Park, Philadelphians had a chance to gamble legally for the first time. Only 10.226 took advantage of the situation, wagering a mere $476,618 as OVER-TRICK ($3.20), driven by John Patterson, and MAX HANOVER ($8.80), with Billy Haughton in the sulky, captured the feature divisions of the $39,100 Liberty Bell Pace. Said Track President Michael O'Neill of the paltry handle: "Opening night has always been a shakedown."
Harness Racing's biggest money winner, SU MAC LAD ($4.80), boosted his total earnings to $606,299 as he clippity-clopped home ahead of Duke Rodney to win the $25,000 Rodney Trot at Roosevelt and collect $12,500.
HOCKEY—At the NHL three-day summer meeting in Montreal the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadians swapped goalies in a major trade involving seven players. The Rangers got six-time Vezina Trophy winner Jacques Plante, Forward Don Marshall and Center Phil Goyette and, in return, sent roly-poly Goalie Gump Worsley, Left-wingers Dave Balon and Len Ronson, and their most promising rookie, Leon Rochefort, back to Montreal. In other transactions the Rangers lost aging Andy Hebenton to the Bruins for the standard $20,000 draft price, let Ted Hampson go to Detroit and picked up Red Wing Forward Val Fonteyne. Most surprising feature of the meeting was that Doug Harvey, the New York Ranger defense star and former coach, was left unprotected by his employers during the whole draft, but no club claimed him, probably because of his age, 38, and his high salary, reputedly close to $35,000.
In a move that could hardly have been a surprise to anybody, BILLY REAY, who coached the Buffalo Bisons to the American Hockey League title this year, was named to succeed the Chicago Black Hawks' recently disposed-of coach, Rudy Pilous. Reay's first big problem will be figuring out how to handle temperamental, tempestuous Howie Young, the flame-haired, fulminant defenseman who proved too much for the management of the Detroit Red Wings by racking up the largest season penalty record in history and deserting the team twice. With a sigh of relief at the league meeting, the Red Wings gave Howie to the Hawks in exchange for a reliable defenseman and a substitute goalie.
HORSE RACING—CHATEAUGAY ($11). Braulio Baeza up, proved that his Kentucky Derby win was no fluke when he beat favorite Candy Spots and Jockey Willie Shoemaker to the wire by a comfortable 2½ lengths in the $145,450 Belmont Stakes at Aqueduct (ice page 26). Johnny Rotz rode Choker to a third-place finish, while Tom Cat, with Johnny Sellers in the irons, edged retiring Trainer Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons' Insurrection by a neck, for fourth.
Mrs. Connie Ring had a very big day at Hollywood Park as her two 3-year-olds swept both sections of the Argonaut Stakes and collected $15,725 each. Favorite OLYMPIAD KING ($3.40) beat Missilery to the wire by two lengths, handing Candy Spots' owner. Rex Ellsworth, his second defeat of the day, while stablemate and long shot OPPO ($23) outlasted Solar Spectrum from the King Ranch.
Favorite CRIMSON SATAN ($6.20) ran straight and true for Jockey Herb Hinojosa and won the $59,300 Massachusetts Handicap by 2½ lengths over Admiral's Voyage.
George D. Widener's CREWMAN ($7), after suffering three defeats this season, returned to form and won the $29,100 Kent Stakes at Delaware Park. Favorite Sky Wonder ended up a distant second, five lengths back.
LACROSSE—Despite high scorer" Roger Matthews' four goals, the SOUTH vanquished the North 14-11 for its fourth straight victory in the 22nd intercollegiate lacrosse series, played this year in Lake Placid, N.Y.
MOTOR SPORTS—Indianapolis "500" runner-up JIMMY CLARK zoomed his Lotus-Ford into the lead at the start and held it to win the rain-drenched 278-mile Grand Prix of Belgium for a second year in a row. New Zealand's Bruce McLaren drove his Cooper-Climax to a second-place finish and took the lead in the world drivers' championship, with Clark, Graham Hill and Richie Ginther tied for second after two races.
ROWING—Helped by a favoring wind, MIT—the only college eight entered—skidded past the Vesper Boat Club in a 2,000-meter race to win the Steward's Cup in the American Henley Regatta, the first regatta to take place on New York's Lake Saratoga since 1911. Vesper picked up another second, a third, a fourth and four first places in the other events.
TRACK & FIELD—At the 24th Compton Invitational track meet in California. University of Washington sophomore BRIAN STERNBERG raised his world pole vault record to 16 feet 8 inches, beating one-time record holder John Pennel in the process. ULIS WILLIAMS of Arizona State University edged New Mexico's Adolph Plummer by a hair in the 440-yard dash, both being timed in 45.6. This broke the listed world record (45.7), but Plummer has a 44.9 mark pending. New Zealand's PETER SNELL completed his four-meet American tour without a defeat by winning in 3:55 the first mile race in history in which six contenders (Snell, Beatty, Burleson, Grelle, Weisiger and Seaman) all went the distance in under four minutes.
At the first U.S. Track and Field Federation meet in Houston, CHARLES MOSELEY was high-point man without winning an event, and the HOUSTON TRACK CLUB (the University of Houston and Lamar Tech) took the team title. The ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY mile relay team highlighted the program by winning its specialty in 3/10 second under the listed world record but 8/10 second over its own pending world mark of 3:04.5. The best high school performer was RANDY MAT-SON who tossed the shot 60 feet 6 inches to defeat a collegiate field that included Southwest Conference Champion Danny Roberts.
France's first world champion runner in over three decades, MICHEL JAZY, added a third world record to his collection (2,000 and 3,000 meters) when he clocked 8:29.6 over two miles to beat Jim Beatty's mark by 2/10 second.
MILEPOSTS—DIED: CENTURY A. MILSTEAD, 62, of a heart attack in Pleasantville, N.Y. An All-America tackle at Yale in 1923 and former president of the Touchdown Club of New York, Milstead, who received his unusual first name because he was born on Jan. 1, 1901, was once described by Sports columnist Grantland Rice as "a line in himself."
