- Publish date:
19TH HOLE: THE READERS TAKE OVER
PICK STICKERS
Sirs:
Now that the baseball season has come to a close, I thought it would be interesting to note the outcome of the predictions made by your capable writers at the beginning of the season (LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER, April 18). I used a system of subtracting one point for each missed place. For instance, Herm Weiskopf picked Detroit to finish first in the American League and, since the Tigers finished third, he would be minus 2 for that prediction.
Congratulations to Tom Brody, who selected the first-and second-place teams in both leagues. He was only minus 8 in the National League, while Les Woodcock was on top in the junior circuit with minus 10.
NEAL B. HARRELL
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Sirs:
I assigned five points for hitting any team's finishing position on the nose; four for being one place off, up or down; three for two off; two for three off; one for four off; and none for five or more off, since that's a guess, not a prediction. A perfect score would be five points for 20 places, or 100 total. Your best man, Brody, hit 76, against an average of 67.5 for all eight.
In addition to Brody, Bob Creamer and Les Woodcock each picked Baltimore to win. Adding the total points of your eight men for each individual team, I find that Los Angeles and Cincinnati were the biggest National League foolers. But the biggest margin of error fell on the Yankees. Not one of your staff had the foresight—or heart—to pick them last.
GEORGE J. GRIESHABER
Wyoming, Ohio
Sirs:
I wish to congratulate Tom Brody for placing first in the baseball picks I also want to let Publisher Garry Valk know that someone did notice that his longshot pick of the Yankees failed.
MICHAEL LEVINE
Lawrence, N.Y.
CALL OF THE WILD
Sirs:
As a charter member of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, I am fully aware of the many fine articles you have printed throughout the years. Harold Peterson's account of Sylvan Hart (The Last of the Mountain Men, Oct. 3) is one of your finest.
ALBERT F. JOYCE
Havertown, Pa.
Sirs:
I select Sylvan Hart as the man I most want to be with when The Bomb falls. Who else could make it?
THE REV. LARRY E. KETTLEHAKE
Bay Village, Ohio
SCRIMMAGE
Sirs:
Your cover photo of the "puzzling" L.A. Rams on the October 3 issue is an obvious fake. How could this play take place between the near inbounds line and the nearside hash mark? All plays must begin with the ball on or between the two hash marks, depicting the center zone of the field. All the players shown couldn't have moved that far toward the near inbounds line.
ROBERT R. ROTH
Massapequa Park, N.Y.
•As we stated in the accompanying text, the Rams "train in a baseball park, where this week's cover photograph was taken of an intrasquad scrimmage."—ED.
COTTON PICKIN'
Sirs:
Your predictions for the 1966 college football season (Sept. 19) could not have been any better. The Crimson Tide will get another national championship and become the third team in history to get three in a row.
GARY FOSTER
Mobile, Ala.
Sirs:
Dan Jenkins must have forgotten to look at Alabama's schedule when he picked it as national champion. The Tide plays only three teams of any caliber (LSU, Mississippi and Tennessee), while Notre Dame plays four of your 41 "best." Arkansas, UCLA, Michigan State and Texas each play five. Baylor meets six best teams, and USC faces seven.
We must begin to look at who a team beats, as well as its wins. Surely a close victory over Notre Dame requires more football ability than does a romp against Louisiana Tech or Southern Mississippi.
PAUL A. FENTON
Arlington, Va.
Sirs:
If my memory is correct, Alabama beat Tulane, which in turn beat Miami, which in turn held mighty Notre Dame to a tie. Alabama then had the misfortune of being tied by Tennessee. But Tennessee beat UCLA, which beat Southern Cal and Michigan State. Moreover, Alabama beat LSU, which beat Arkansas. I think that accounts for all the teams, except Nebraska, which was soundly beaten in the Orange Bowl, and Missouri, which was taken care of by Nebraska. What more does it take to convince people that Alabama has a good team?
PAT VANCE
St. Benedict, La.
DAM SILLY
Sirs:
I just wanted to express my wholehearted agreement with the position taken in SCORECARD (Sept. 12) on the Gerard proposal to dam Long Island Sound. I personally do not find the proposal to dam the Sound as offensive as the proposals to put dams in the Grand Canyon or the attempt to lumber off the last of the redwoods, but it is offensive nonetheless. It is one more example of man's persistent inability (or refusal) to come into some sort of equilibrium with his environment. Until our species fully recognizes, and really accepts, the fact that it lives in a finite world, until we have clearly defined progress in terms of improvement in the quality of individual lives (rather than in terms of Gross National Product, etc.), our hopes for a world of some natural beauty and peacefulness, with clean air to breathe and clean water to drink, will continue to dwindle at an ever more terrifying rate.
I thank SPORTS ILLUSTRATED for its vision.
JOHN R. PRINGLE
Cambridge, Mass.
CORRECTION
Sirs:
For years I have enjoyed reading SPORTS ILLUSTRATED and considered it fair and factual in reporting, but I was shocked by one inaccuracy in the article Frank's Way with a Filly (Sept. 12). Pete Axthelm reported that Thomas Eaton had died. My son is very much alive, and it was Melvin C. Eaton, my husband, who died on August 1.
On the matter of Kerry Way, it might interest you to know that Eaton Ridge Farm (owned by my husband and son) purchased the dam of Kerry Way from Mr. John Gaines when she was in foal to Star's Pride. The filly was foaled at Eaton Ridge and was named Capricious. As a yearling she was purchased by Mr. Clarence Gaines and her name changed to Kerry Way.
ETHEL J. EATON
Norwich, N.Y.
DREGS
Sirs:
In an otherwise fair and delightful article on the nationals at Forest Hills (A Forgotten Aussie Stirs the Memory, Sept. 19), Frank Deford made one big mistake. The estrangement he describes between Aussie Davis Cup Captain Harry Hopman and Fred Stolle is very much a thing of the past.
In the 1964 Challenge Round at Cleveland, Stolle produced a victory over America's Denny Ralston that virtually regained the cup for Australia, because it was certain that Emerson could defeat McKinley (as indeed he did) in the fifth match. Harry Hopman was instrumental in steadying Stolle during that match, as those of us who saw the match on television can attest.
GAYE FRUSCIONE
Briarwood, N.Y.
HI AGAIN
Sirs:
I believe your readers may be interested to hear further of Hi Joe, the greyhound that was stolen from my kennels at the beginning of 1965 (SI, Jan. 25, 1965). After his recovery more than a year later (SI, Feb. 28), Hi Joe was put back into training, and we had hopes that he would yet win the English Greyhound Derby. However, in his first Derby Trial Stakes he faltered, and we discovered his off fore wrist was injured. This injury must have occurred while Hi Joe was missing. One theory is that his paw was carelessly caught in the door of the vehicle in which he was carried hurriedly away after this theft.
Upon this discovery we decided to give up trying to race him again, so Hi Joe is now at stud in the kennels. So far he has fathered eight fine litters, one consisting of 10 puppies from Julie's Surprise, the Bitch of the Year here in 1965.
It is a pity that the British quarantine laws make it difficult for American greyhounds to be bred to him. I believe that the tremendous stamina present in American greyhounds could combine well with the pace of British greyhounds to produce extremely successful results.
NOREEN COLLIN
Epping, England
PHOTO
HI JOE AND TRAINER NOREEN COLLIN
