A roundup of the sports information of the week
BOXING—CASSIUS CLAY barely worked up a sweat as he defended his world heavyweight title by knocking out plodding Englishman Brian London in the third round in London (page 16).
Vicente Saldivar of Mexico survived a fourth-round knockdown to retain his world featherweight championship with a unanimous 15-round decision over Mitsunori Seki of Japan in Mexico City.
COMMONWEALTH GAMES—Australian swimmers set two world records, tied one, and a Canadian women's relay team set another as the 10-day British Empire and Commonwealth Games began in Kingston, Jamaica. IAN O'BRIEN of Australia was timed in a record 2:28 for the 220-yard breast-stroke. AUSTRALIA's 880-yard freestyle relay team tied the mark of 8:07.3, while MICHAEL WENDEN's 1:57.4 clocking for the 220, which he swam as the opening leg of the relay, was still another record. The fourth mark was set by the CANADIAN women's 440-yard freestyle relay team, which churned through the pool in 4:10.8. In track competition Australia's Ron Clarke, who holds seven world records, was upset in the six-mile run by unknown NAFTALI TEMU, 22, of Kenya. "I can't believe it. I don't believe it. I've got to take a cold shower to make me believe it," said Clarke, who lost by 140 yards and 25 seconds as Temu ran a 27:14.6. Canada's HARRY JEROME won the 100-yard dash as expected, in 9.4.
FOOTBALL—The GREEN BAY PACKERS, remembering how they were humiliated by the college boys three years earlier, trounced the All-Stars 38-0 in Chicago's Soldier Field (page 20).
GOLF—DICK SIKES, 26, of Springdale, Ark., who is sponsored on the tour by Cleveland Browns' owner Arthur Modell, won the $100,000 Cleveland Open when he shot four straight subpar rounds for a 72-hole total of 268, finishing three strokes ahead of runner-up Bob Goalby. Sikes had won only one previous tournament during his three years on the tour. U.S. Open Champion Billy Casper started the final round in sixth place, eight under par, but he quit after shooting a 40 for the first nine holes on the last day, saying: "The heavy air here is bad for my allergies."
Kathy Whitworth shot a final-round 70 to beat Carol Mann by one stroke as she won the $15,000 Lady Carling Open with a 54-hole total of 217. Miss Whitworth's first-place check for $2,250 increased her official earnings to $29,002, tops on the tour.
HARNESS RACING—POLARIS ($3), driven by George Sholty, nipped Carlisle by three-quarters of a length to win the $25,000 Yonkers Futurity Prep in 2:03.1.
Bret Hanover ($2.40), the 1-to-5 favorite, paced the mile in less than two minutes for the 23rd time when he defeated Timely Knight by a length in 1:59.8 in the General Mad Anthony race at Brandywine. It was Bret's 55th victory in 59 starts. Cardigan Bay, competing for the first time since he injured himself two months earlier, finished third, another length back.
HORSE RACING—BUCKPASSER ($3.20), with Braulio Baeza up, virtually clinched 3-year-old Horse of the Year honors as he set a track record of 1:47 for the mile and one-eighth in winning the $129,100 American Derby at Arlington Park. Carrying the heaviest weight (128 pounds) ever assigned him, Buckpasser defeated Jolly Jet by a neck for his eighth straight win and his 17th in 20 career starts. The victory boosted Buckpasser's earnings to $984,657. He conceivably could become the first 3-year-old to reach $1 million if he wins the Travers at Saratoga next weekend.
Meanwhile, two sons of Bold Ruler also won races last week. STAUNCHNESS ($38.80), going off under Apprentice Ernie Cardone at 18 to 1, outlasted Prolijo by a length to win the $55,600 Whitney Handicap at Saratoga. GREAT POWER ($3.40), with Willie Shoemaker up, beat In Reality by a nose and stablemate Disciplinarian, a third son of Bold Ruler, by a little more than six and a half lengths to take the $104,485 Sapling Stakes at Monmouth Park.
MOTOR SPORTS—JACK BRABHAM, 40, of Australia virtually clinched his third world driving championship when he drove his Repco-powered Brabham Special an average of 86.1 mph to win the German Grand Prix at Adenau, Germany. Brabham, who had won the British, French and Dutch Grands Prix, completed the 212.7-mile course in 2:27.3 and now has 39 points toward the championship—22 more than second-place Graham Hill of England.
SKIING—French skiers won the first two major races of the world Alpine championships in Portillo, Chile as JEAN-CLAUDE KILLY took the men's downhill, edging countryman Leo Lacroix, and ANNIE FAMOSE won the ladies' slalom, beating teammate Marielle Goitschel (page 12).
SWIMMING—In addition to the world records set at the Commonwealth Games, there were four more new marks established last week by U.S., Russian and German swimmers. SEMEN BELITS-GEIMAN, 21, a student at the Transport Engineering Institute in Moscow, lowered Australian Murray Rose's 1962 record in the 800-meter freestyle by 4.1 seconds with an 8:47.4 clocking; East Germany's EGON HENNINGER broke the 110-yard breast-stroke mark with a 1:08.4; LEE DAVIS of Brandywine, Del. set a new women's 1,500-meter freestyle record with an 18:21.7 (two seconds lower than Patty Caretto's 1965 mark); and MARTHA RANDALL of Wayne, Pa. swam the women's 200-meter freestyle in 2:11.4, breaking Australian Dawn Fraser's 1960 mark by .2 second. Both Miss Davis and Miss Randall set their records at the Eastern championships in Philadelphia.
MILEPOSTS—ABANDONED: By Rick Mount (SI, Feb. 14), the Lebanon, Ind. high school All-America basketball player, his earlier decision to play ball at sunny University of Miami (Fla.). Mount now has decided to matriculate at home-state Purdue.
REVERSED: By the AAU, the decision of a sympathetic official to allow DENISE PASCHAL to make up two events after she arrived late at the Women's National Pentathlon championships (SI, Aug. 8). Miss Paschal went on to win the title, defeating five-time winner Mrs. PAT WINSLOW of the Millbrae (Calif.) Lions by 178 points. Mrs. Winslow's team protested, and last week the AAU ruled that Miss Paschal should not have been allowed to catch up to the field. Mrs. Winslow, the defending champion and the mother of a 4-month-old son, was belatedly awarded the title.
DIED: HARRY (Hank) GOWDY, 76, catcher for Boston's 1914 Miracle Braves and the first major league player to volunteer for service in World War I; in Columbus, Ohio. Gowdy was the hero of the 1914 World Series, when he hit .545 to lead the Braves, who had been last in the National League on July 4, past the Philadelphia Athletics in four straight games. Ten years later and then with the Giants, he became the Series goat when, with two outs in the 12th inning of the seventh game, his feet became entangled with his mask, and he could not hold onto a foul ball, giving Batter Muddy Ruel another chance. Ruel hit a double and later scored the run that won the Series for the Senators. After Gowdy finished his 18-year major league playing career (.270 BA) with a four-for-five day in 1930, he coached with three major league teams for 20 years.
DIED: ED (Strangler) LEWIS (his real name was Robert H. Friedrich), 76, five times the world heavyweight wrestling champion who, by his own records, won 6,200 matches and lost only 33; in Muskogee, Okla. With a 21-inch neck and a 270-pound frame, Lewis practically paralyzed his opponents with the vicious headlock that was his favorite hold. His professional career lasted 34 years, from 1904 through 1937.
