- Publish date:
19TH HOLE: THE READERS TAKE OVER
THE MANLY ART
Sirs:
Every year at this time you single out the one man who has contributed the most to the world of sports in the past year. On Monday, November 22, two men fought for the heavyweight championship of the world. Muhammad Ali won the fight, but Floyd Patterson showed the world what he is made of: courage. So for Sportsman of 1965 I nominate Floyd Patterson.
MICHAEL COHEN
Great Neck, N.Y.
Sirs:
The fight between Muhammad Ali (who deserves to be addressed by his chosen name) and Floyd Patterson should finally end the public discussion as to the champion's merit. Ali had won on points by the time the referee interceded, and he won against the worthiest opponent available.
I think that he has taken a great step forward in restoring quality to an ancient sport.
JOSEPH PAUL MORRIS JR.
Ambler, Pa.
Sirs:
To those of us who remember moments of gallantry and gentlemanly conduct in the ring, the behavior of the undeniably talented Cassius (Muhammad Ali) Clay was revolting. Obviously, the man's talents include a meanness and viciousness rarely seen in prizefighting.
"Champion as long as he wants," you say? Each day Clay will get a little older, each day the fancy footwork will slow down and the artful combinations will get a little slower. With the patience of Mohammed, those of us who were revolted by this fight can wait. The day will come—and we can only hope that when it does Clay will meet the counterpart of himself as he was on this night of November 22.
CHARLES L. LYLE
Birmingham, Mich.
LAMBERT LEAGUE
Sirs:
I can't believe it. The so-called football experts have awarded the Lambert Trophy to mighty Dartmouth (9-0), ranked powerful Princeton (8-1) second and weak Syracuse (7-3) third. That makes as much sense as awarding the world football championship to Michigan State (10-0) and ranking the Baltimore Colts second and the Cleveland Browns third.
Let's face it. At its very best, Ivy League football can't touch the caliber of Syracuse, Penn State, Pitt, Army and Navy—even when these teams are having a losing season.
PAUL F. SCHONEWOLF
Erie, Pa.
Sirs:
As long as the Lambert Trophy is now being awarded without regard to the strength of the opposition the winner meets, would it not have been fair to award the trophy on a three-way basis between Dartmouth, Springfield College and Ithaca College? The latter two were also unbeaten and their opposition was about as major as Dartmouth's was.
EARL R. JESSEN
Schenectady
Sirs:
Ben Schwartzwalder's petulant prating over the supposed inferiority of Ivy League football and its unworthiness in regard to the Lambert Trophy (SCORECARD, NOV. 29) proves conclusively that the grapes of Syracuse are sour, as usual. As a central New York resident, an Ivy Leaguer and an active follower of college football, I have the distinct impression that no major college coach in the East annually recruits more raw football talent and does less with it than Ben Schwartzwalder.
GILBERT S. OSBORN
Clinton, N.Y.
Sirs:
The fact is that this year's unbeaten Dartmouth team and Princeton's fine elevens of the past two seasons stand out in comparison both with the other Ivy teams and with the major eastern powers. Princeton was slighted last year when the Lambert Trophy was awarded to a mediocre Penn State team, and there is no question in anyone's mind except Schwartzwalder's that Dartmouth deserves it this season.
JOHN MURPHY
GEORGE WAIT
Hanover, N.H.
Sirs:
The contention of the vocational football "experts" that Ivy League football is not up to non-Ivy League standards is understandable. Quite naturally, those who make a living at football resent the fact that those with exceptional brains, i.e., Ivy League students, can learn football in a few weeks rather than having to work at it throughout the spring, summer and fall as required by the intellectually slower teams in the East.
ALEXANDER HALL
East Orange, N.J.
UNLEASHED
Sirs:
Re your article on dognapping (The Pets That Stray to the Labs, Nov. 29), I do not agree that "the domestic dog is part of the human heart." This is pure sentimental malarkey. The first dogs were work dogs, earning their keep. If you said some dogs—you might be right. I grew up with a collie, bloodhound, English bull and a mongrel in the Pennsylvania hills. But I was taught that the master is responsible for the dog's actions. My ears were boxed, not the dog's, for any misbehavior. Today when I get off the bus and walk three blocks I am accosted by pipsqueaking Pekingeses up to large German shepherds, uncontrolled and aggressive. When walking in the neighborhood one usually needs a large staff to ward off the spoiled curs. It is fine to produce a code of ethics and laws for dog sellers and owners, but you must realize that the irresponsible dog owner is just as much of a problem as the dognapper.
BORIS YOVANOFF
Rochester, N.Y.
Sirs:
You say science "has a genuine need for laboratory animals, but its way of getting them is often dark and devious." As a scientist I was startled to hear of our "dark and devious" way, and I could scarcely wait to find the sports side of the story.
Is stealing pet dogs a bad sport, to be condemned like professional boxing, or is it an off beat one like fishing with unusual lures? Is SPORTS ILLUSTRATED opposed to stealing sporting dogs (an old custom in country communities long before experimental laboratories were founded)? Or is SPORTS ILLUSTRATED allowing itself to be used, unwittingly, I hope, as a forum for antivivisectionists?
ROY N. BARNETT, M.D.
Westport, Conn.
Sirs:
Your article was a great shock to me. As a lover of animals, especially dogs, it is hard for me to believe that anyone would be heartless enough to steal a family pet and sell it for experimental purposes. I have written a letter to my senator in the hopes that there is something that a citizen can do to help this bill requiring dog dealers to be licensed by the Federal Government become law.
ROBERT A. ATCHICK
Philadelphia
HUE AND CRY
Sirs:
Concerning Robert R. Rinehart's suggestion that football officials use two flags of different colors to signify the offending team (19th HOLE, NOV. 22), I have in my files a clipping showing that such an experiment was carried out here in Kansas, using red and yellow flags, in 1959. It was the idea of Orville Gregory, athletic director of Arkansas City (Kans.) Junior College.
The two-flag system was used in a number of games with apparent success, and I cannot understand why it was not retained. Perhaps an official might throw the wrong flag on occasion, but anything to make the game better for the spectator, I say, is good.
BOB GREER
Garden City, Kans.
Sirs:
After reading Mr. Rinehart's colorful proposal, I shuddered at the thought of another hanky in my pocket. There's pass interference. Let's see now. Red flag for defense, blue flag for offense. Left pocket blue, right pocket red—decisions, decisions, decisions.
RICHARD EBNER
Springfield, Ohio
SMALL STARS
Sirs:
I share wholeheartedly Mr. Covey's desire to read more about the stars of small-college football (19TH HOLE, NOV. 22). For example, Bill Johnson, 210-pound fullback-tailback for The University of the South (Sewanee, Tenn.), rushed for more than 1,000 yards and passed and returned kicks for hundreds of yards more this year. He is assured of following his predecessor, Martin Agnew, onto the Little All-America team, and several professional teams have let it be known that they will try to sign him. In spite of this, few people outside of eastern Tennessee have ever heard of him.
STEPHEN WAIMEY
Sewanee, Tenn.
Sirs:
In reference to the letter from Michael Covey, it is true that Hobart "crushed" Union, but Union has some good players, too. Union gridders Marc Hurlbut, George LaPorte and Tom Hitchcock have come close to setting several national small-college records. As a matter of fact, LaPorte did set the national mark for passes caught in one game—19, against Hamilton College.
DAVID S. JOHNSON
Oneonta, N.Y.
Sirs:
Since small-college teams like Amherst, Williams and Maine have been covered, I am prompted to suggest that Springfield College, undefeated in nine games in the New England area, should also be mentioned.
Amherst lost only one game this year, and that was to Springfield. Williams lost only two games, to Springfield and Amherst. A check on Springfield's record and its quarterback, Dave Bennett, would reveal some outstanding statistics. Springfield remains the only undefeated small-college team in the New England area. Such a fine record cannot be ignored.
FRANK WOLYNEC
Westport, Conn.
