19TH HOLE: THE READERS TAKE OVER
KIWIS AND UNISULKIES
Sirs:
Pat Ryan's article, New Zealand's Equine Gold Mine (Feb. 26), is the best—by 10 lengths—that has been done on the interesting subject of the New Zealanders' production of fine horses and their unique position in the world of racing. As one who has been to beautiful Kiwiland and visited with many horsemen and seen their breeding farms and race tracks, I can attest not only to the accuracy of Pat's fine reporting but also to the excellence of the background material she furnished on those pleasant southwestern Pacific isles. New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world where an American is sure of genuine friendliness and warm hospitality. The article certainly made my wife and me want to hurry back to see more of the place and spend more time with our friends there.
AL WESSON
Hollywood Turf Club
Inglewood, Calif.
Sirs:
Pat Ryan's article about harness racing in New Zealand was tremendously educational. Harness racing was once my favorite sport. But later the runners won me over. My conversion to runners was mainly due to their more formful performances. Ten runners can get around the first turn in less space than three wide-wheeled sulkies.
When some inventive mind comes up with a one-wheel sulky, then I might be reconverted to the pacers and trotters. This invention should not be difficult; in fact, it seems quite feasible. All that is needed is the correct harness to hold the shafts steady, thus giving the wheel proper balance. By this means the trotters and pacers would require no more space on the track than do the runners. This new invention could be called the Uniseat, or the Unisulky. How long do we have to wait until someone brings forth such an innovation? Even the kids of today are learning to ride unicycles.
EARL B. COYLE
Washington
JUDGMENT DAY
Sirs:
You have produced the only clear and clean description of the great ski-racing affairs at the Grenoble Olympics I have discovered after reading Austrian, Swiss and French newspaper accounts. Your report (Jean-Claude Wins the Battle and the War, Feb. 26) leaves no doubt that Killy, the greatest skier of all time, won his three gold medals on merit and performance only. Could you produce for your readers the names of the five jurymen, especially that of the Briton, who split on disqualifying Schranz?
HAROLD KING
Chief Representative in France
The (Toronto) Telegram
Paris
•The jurors were: Robert Esnault and Georges Crétin of France; Karl Molitor of Switzerland; Kjell Borge Andersen of Norway; and Colonel Robert Readhead of Great Britain.—ED.
NO LOVE LOST
Sirs:
For many years of my short life I have read and defended your magazine with equal enthusiasm. I have always found the majority of your articles well written, informative and extremely interesting. However, Mark Mulvoy's recent article on the Minnesota expansion hockey team ("If You Love Me, Tell Me So," Feb. 26), although admittedly interesting, was downright offensive. In describing the typical Minnesota, Toronto or Montreal hockey fan, Mr. Mulvoy goes to no end in praising him, calling him "interested, educated...one who knows an offside from icing...applauding a good defensive play, persistent and efficient fore-checking and accurate passing."
This may be so, but his scathing remarks about American crowds, particularly in Chicago and New York, set Mr. Mulvoy up as either a shut-in who writes from inside the North Star publicity office or an anti-Ranger "fan." I am a devout Ranger fan, typical of the Madison Square Garden crowd and, contrary to Mr. Mulvoy's writings, I do know "that a puck hitting the post is not a goal."
I must believe that if Mr. Mulvoy is writing for your magazine he must know his hockey and he must have traveled out of Minnesota. Therefore, I must assume that this was not one of his better articles.
MARK GREEN
Bronx, N.Y.
Sirs:
You have done the great hockey fans of Chicago a grave injustice. Black Hawk fans do not live merely to see a fight. Rather, they live to see good hockey—which the Black Hawks most generously supply. Chicago fans don't stop at hockey, either. They are truly the most enthusiastic fans of any city for any sporting contest.
JOE ORCHOWSKI
Macomb, Ill.
Sirs:
Thank you very much for the long-awaited article concerning the Minnesota North Stars. However, I greatly disliked the image given of the citizen from Thief River Falls. Having been a resident of this small community for six years, I fail to see the humor in this description. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed your article. Now, why not more like it?
DANNY DOKKEN
Bemidji, Minn.
ONE MORE FOR VALHALLA
Sirs:
I was appalled by Pete Axthelm's total and unfounded disregard for the only other man in the NHL, beside Gordie Howe, Maurice Richard and Bobby Hull, to reach the magic 400-goal plateau—Jean Beliveau (One Skate in Valhalla, Feb. 12). He has scored more goals than your Golden Hawk Hull, and his other records are just as outstanding.
EARLE McMICHAEL
Shubenacadie, N.S.
WILLIE THROWER
Sirs:
I keep quite busy picking up the antifact that gets written periodically by pro football experts all over the country. The latest example is your They Said It item (SCORECARD, Feb. 12) quoting Oakland's Al Davis on Eldridge Dickey, "the Tennessee A&I player who hopes to become the first Negro quarterback in either pro league." The first Negro quarterback in modern pro football was Willie Thrower of Michigan State, who played with the 1953 Chicago Bears. He threw eight passes, completed three for 27 yards, had one intercepted. He didn't last long but he played, and he was official. So let's stop ignoring Willie.
ROGER TREAT
Editor, The Official
Encyclopedia of Football
Newtown, Conn.
PAVING THE WAY
Sirs:
Kim Chapin's article, Curtis Lives! (Feb. 26), rates an A+! The color and excitement, the typical Turner humor and the "down home" flavor were conveyed to perfection. Anything else I might say regarding the article would be superfluous.
There is one other comment I might make in reference to a statement made by Bunk Moore about Ned Jarrett. The implication was that Jarrett paved the track at Hickory, N.C. because he could not handle a car on dirt. Mr. Jarrett's decision to pave the track was part of an attempt to improve the track and to update the facilities.
SCOTT MAKEPEACE
Lansing, Mich.
BETTER WORLD
Sirs:
William Johnson's article on Bob Presley (Collision on the New Underground Railroad, Feb. 12) brought to light many interesting thoughts, both by the author and by those he quoted. But I question the presumption that Presley does not have the "intelligence" or the "basic qualifications" to meet the "academic requirements." This judgment cannot be made without prior experience and training in the area of what constitutes academic competency or potential academic competency, or without consideration of the young man in question. Presley is not a prototype of anything more than himself. He does not represent any group. He simply represents himself.
I do not believe there is any subversion of academic ethics in attempts to recognize basic intelligence capabilities and making allowances for environmental handicaps that may have prevented young men from fully realizing their true academic potential. The University of California does not view this concept for admission as a subversion of ethics. Other universities that practice it should be congratulated for their pathfinding efforts in this area—which is not restricted solely or even mainly to athletes—rather than criticized from a purist's point of view. The people of the United States must support Will Robinson's feelings that "we [must] save as many boys as we can" and that "the only way out of this mess is through education."
If the author is going to criticize the colleges for "exploitation motivated by white men's opportunism" then he must criticize the whole U.S. The black athletes are trying to say just this through their boycotts of the NYAC meet and of the Olympic Games: that we accept them as athletes on the field, but not as people away from the athletic field; they can run in our meet but they cannot live equally in our house.
If William Johnson presumes that Presley does not have the intelligence to be a college student, he is wrong. Sure, Presley was sought after because of his athletic ability, but he was allowed to enroll because of his academic potential. We should extend our efforts to get all such young men out of the ghetto and into college whether they are athletes or not. But just getting the black man to college is not enough. Once he is there the environment must be such that he can realize that a better world is possible—if, indeed, a better world is possible.
BOB STEINER
University of California
Berkeley, Calif.
SOCKLESS SOCK
Sirs:
Jim Ryun's relatively slow 4:03.4 mile in East Lansing following his 3:57.5 in New York (Jim Ryan's Big Experiment, Feb. 19) may be due, as you reported, to an emotional Garden crowd. We feel, however, that Ryun's comedown was caused by the white socks he wore on the second night. As proponents of NSFAA (No Socks for American Athletes) we feel that Ryun's socks were a detriment to his second sub-four-minute-mile try. Ryun has accomplished more without socks than with. Among Ryun's bare-ankled feats are his 3:51.1 world record, his old 3:51.3 record, his world 1,500-meter mark, his unrecognized 1:44.9 in the 880, the Kansas team's record relay at the Drake Relays, which Ryun anchored, his early defeat of Peter Snell and, most recently, his 3:57.5 indoors at Madison Square Garden. Ryun has proved that his best races have been without socks. We hope that Jim's "long, smooth and effortless" strides will always be sockless.
NED PELLMANN
J. M. GARTLAND
PHILIP D. BOUCHÉ
La Crosse, Wis.
NEW MEXICAN WARFARE
Sirs:
In his article, The B-Blast Rocks New Mexico (Feb. 12), Gary Ronberg captures the true spirit of the rivalries between Las Cruces and Albuquerque and between New Mexico State and the University of New Mexico. It is a job well done, and for your magazine's continued interest in our school and area many thanks!
However, for your information, the Trinity Site is not located south of Albuquerque; it is north of Las Cruces. And my wife says, by actual count, there are 27 more words on the University of New Mexico than on New Mexico State. I didn't bother to argue, but simply pointed out that we got two pictures to one for UNM.
ABE J. PERILMAN
Sports Editor, Las Cruces Sun-News
Las Cruces, N. Mex.
Sirs:
I would like to point out that your article omitted the outstanding efforts of Eastern New Mexico University, which now has 18 wins and two losses and is highly ranked in the small-college ratings. So, basketball has claimed not only the major universities of New Mexico, but also the small ones.
ODIS ECHOLS JR.
State Senator
Santa Fe, N. Mex.
Sirs:
I don't see how you could write about New Mexico basketball and omit ENMU.
TERRY P. FLEMING
Sergeant, USAF
Cannon AFB, N. Mex.