A roundup of the sports information of the week
BOXING—JOSE TORRES, 30, a Puerto Rican now living in Brooklyn, retained his world light-heavyweight title when he gained a unanimous decision over sentimental favorite, but 7-2 underdog, Eddie Cotton, 40, of Seattle, in their 15-round match in Las Vegas.
Former World Heavyweight Champion SONNY LISTON scored his second victory on his comeback mission when he knocked out Amos Johnson of Medina, Ohio with a right uppercut in 1:48 of the third round of a scheduled 10-round bout in Goteborg, Sweden.
Toronto's GEORGE CHUVALO, the Canadian heavyweight champion, knocked out Mel Turnbow of Paterson, N.J. in 2:55 of the seventh round of their scheduled 10-rounder in Montreal.
CHESS—Russia's BORIS SPASSKY took the Piatigorsky Cup in Santa Monica, Calif. by winning his final match over Jan Hein Donner of The Netherlands, as Bobby Fischer of Brooklyn was held to a draw in his match with the world champion, Tigran Petrosian of Russia. Spassky and Fischer, who had come into the last game of the 18-round tournament with identical scores of 10½ Points each, finished half a point apart.
FISHING—GREECE won the four-day international tuna tournament off" Yarmouth, Nova Scotia with a 559-pound catch, as the British Caribbean team placed second with a 555-pound tuna. The U.S. finished third with a 207½-pounder, while Canada and Mexico failed to score.
GOLF—ART WALL JR. of Honesdale, Pa., who called his play in recent tournaments "pathetic," totaled 266, 16 under par, to win the $100,000 Insurance City Open in Hartford, Conn. by two strokes over Wes Ellis.
Mickey Wright won the Women's Western Open in Mukwonago, Wis. by one stroke with a two-over-par 302.
HARNESS RACING—In preps for the upcoming Hambletonian, Frank Ervin drove KERRY WAY, last year's 2-year-old filly champion, to victory in both heats (2:00 1/5 and 2:00 4/5) to win the Review Futurity in Springfield, Ill., and Billy Haughton sent CARLISLE to the front in both heats (2:05 and 2:05 1/5) of a trot for 3-year-olds at the Carlisle (Pa.) Fair (page 62).
Bret Hanover, with Frank Ervin handling the reins as usual, defeated Waygone by 31½ lengths in 1:55 3/5 in a one-mile match pace at Vernon (N.Y.) Downs. But Bret missed the one-mile pacing record (1:55) because Waygone, who was supposed to set the pace for him, slowed up at the half pole and Bret brushed him. "I apologize," said Driver John Caton to a dejected Ervin after the race. "It wasn't your fault," replied Ervin. "It was that horse of yours." Ervin said he and Bret would return to Vernon Downs for another try at the record.
HORSE RACING—Ogden Phipps's BUCKPASSER ($2.60) became the first 3-year-old in Thoroughbred history to earn over $1 million as he easily took Saratoga's Travers Stakes by three-fourths of a length over Reginald Webster's Amberoid (page 57). The $53,690 purse increased Buckpasser's lifetime winnings to $1,038,369.
"I must admit I feel a little lonesome." said HIRSCH JACOBS, after he and partner Isidor Bieber reduced their racing stable by 53 Thoroughbreds (35 horses of racing age and 18 yearlings) at the Saratoga Sales. One of them, ADMIRING, a 4-year-old filly by Hail To Reason out of Searching, went for the highest price ever paid for an auctioned Thoroughbred—$310,000 to New Jersey metals millionaire Charles W. Engelhard.
SWIMMING—DON SCHOLLANDER set two world records in the national AAU championships in Lincoln, Neb. by swimming the 400-meter freestyle in 4:11.6 and the 200-meter freestyle in 1:56.2. Schollander had held the old 400-meter mark until the meet's preliminaries when John Nelson broke it with a 4:11.8. Fifteen-year-old POKEY WATSON took the women's 200-meter freestyle in 2:10.5, breaking the world record of 2:11.4 held by Martha Randall. Miss Watson then anchored the SANTA CLARA (Calif.) Swim Club's A Team, which set a new world mark of 8:55.4 in the 800-meter freestyle relay. Other world record breakers were KAREN MUIR, a 14-year-old South African who shattered her own world mark in the 200-meter backstroke with a 2:26.4; MIKE BURTON of Sacramento, Calif., who lowered the 1,500-meter freestyle record by 17 seconds (16:41.6); and 15-year-old PATTY CARETTO, who swam the ladies' 1,500-meter freestyle in 18:12.9.
TENNIS—DENNIS RALSTON of Bakersfield, Calif., the nation's lop-ranking player, defeated Dallas' Cliff Richey 14-12, 11-9, 8-6 to take the final at the National Lawn Tennis Hall of Fame Tournament at the Newport (R.I.) Casino.
TRACK & FIELD—"I wouldn't mind meeting Jim Ryun." said Kenya's 26-year-old KIPCHOGE KEINO after he ran the second fastest mile ever—a 3:53.4, still 2.1 seconds over Ryun's world record—at a meet in London's White City Stadium. "But." continued Keino, "I don't believe I'll be a really fast miler because I can't do the half-mile fast enough."
MILEPOSTS—INJURED: MARLIN McKEEVER, 26, end on the NFL's Los Angeles Rams, in an automobile accident near Costa Mesa, Calif. McKeever had the third finger on his right hand amputated, but doctors said he would probably play football before the end of the season. Teammate Roman Gabriel, who was driving the auto when it crashed into a parked car, was uninjured.
RESIGNED: JACK RAMSAY, 40, as head basketball coach at Philadelphia's St. Joseph's College to become general manager of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers. Ramsay, who compiled an impressive 234-72 record in his 11 years at St. Joseph's, signed a three-year contract with the 76ers and will begin his new duties on September 1.
RESIGNED: BIRDIE TEBBETTS, 54, manager of the Cleveland Indians for the past four seasons, saying, "I came in happy, and I'm leaving the same way." General Manager Gabe Paul said Tebbetts, who is returning to his home near Bradenton, Fla., "will be available for the remainder of the season for special assignments and will do some scouting." Tebbetts will be replaced for the rest of the year by Third Base Coach GEORGE STRICKLAND, an old Cleveland shortstop. Birdie came to Cleveland in 1963 after five years as manager at Cincinnati (1954-1958), three years (1959-1961) in a front-office job with Milwaukee and two seasons (1961-1962) as Braves manager. In April 1964 he suffered a heart attack, and Strickland served as interim manager until Birdie returned in July.
RETIRED: From Thoroughbred racing because of a cracked sesamoid in her right hind ankle, MOCCASIN, 3, A.B. (Bull) Hancock's unbeaten 2-year-old filly champion of 1965. Moccasin, a daughter of Nantallah, won all of her eight races last year but took only two of six starts this season and retired with $348,308 in career earnings. Hancock said she will be returned to Kentucky to await the 1967 breeding season.
RETIRED: From track and field competition, OLLAN CASSELL, 28, of Nutley, N.J., one of the country's top dash men for the past nine years and a member of the U.S. gold-medal-winning 1,600-meter relay team at the 1964 Olympics, to become director of track and field for the AAU.
DIED: Sports-car Driver KEN MILES, 47, of Hollywood, Calif., co-winner of the 24-hour endurance race at Daytona and the 12-hour at Sebring this year, when the new J-type Ford prototype racer he was testing at Riverside, Calif. went out of control, veered off the track and flipped end over end.
DIED: JACK HERNON JR., 48, baseball writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for 18 years, in Pittsburgh.
