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A roundup of the sports information of the week
BOXING—World Middleweight Champion NINO BENVENUTI of Italy scored a second-round knockout over Japan's Yoshiaki Akasaka in a nontitle fight in Rome.
Sho Saijyo of Tokyo upset WBA Featherweight Champion Raul Rojas of San Pedro, Calif. in a nontitle bout, gaining a split decision in their 10-rounder in Los Angeles.
GOLF—Englishman MICHAEL BONALLACK won the British Amateur in Troon, Scotland for the third time with a 7 and 6 win in the 36-hole final against Irishman Joe Carr, also a three-time winner. Last of the 39 Americans to be eliminated was Airman First Class Warren Vanderbush of Closter, N.J., who advanced to the round of 16 before losing to Carr 3 and 2.
Billy Casper of Peacock Gap, Calif. won his fourth tournament of the year, the $100,000 '500' Festival Open in Indianapolis, finishing one stroke ahead of Mike Hill and Frank Beard.
HORSE RACING—Manuel Ycaza rode DARK MIRAGE ($2.40) to her sixth straight victory, a 10-length romp over Guest Room in the 1‚⅛-mile $85,650 Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont.
Tapalque, ridden by Yves Saint-Martin, came in three-quarters of a length in front of Timmy My Boy and earned $206,600 of the $344,180 purse at the Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) at Chantilly, France.
LACROSSE—The LONG ISLAND ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION was named U.S. club champion after finishing the season in a tie with Mount Washington of Baltimore, whose only loss was to the Long Island team.
MOTOR SPORTS—The Grand Prix of Belgium turned out to be a gasser, what with leader Jackie Stewart of Scotland running out of gas with one lap to go and New Zealand's BRUCE McLAREN then going on to win. McLaren, driving a McLaren Ford, averaged a record 147.138 mph for the 245.28-mile race in Spa Francorchamps, Belgium. Twelve seconds behind him came Pedro Rodriguez of Mexico in a BRM.
ROWING—In a final tuneup for the defense of its Intercollegiate Rowing Association championship this week, PENNSYLVANIA won the Stewards Cup by three-quarters of a length over Princeton on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia.
A pair of Soviet eights—SHALGIRIS of Vilna and the Moscow Army Club—finished one-two in the Gillette Cup international regatta in Ratzeburg, Germany. Vesper, the only American crew in the competition, came in sixth.
SOCCER—NASL: CLEVELAND and CHICAGO went after the lead in the Lakes Division of the Eastern Conference like a couple of teams caught in a revolving door. It was Chicago that took the first turn at giving the door a push, the Mustangs jostling Cleveland out of the lead when they gained a 2-2 tie with Los Angeles on a goal in the final 50 seconds by Werner Glanz. After losing its opening game, Cleveland regained the lead by beating Oakland 3-2 on Enrique Mateos' free kick. Chicago kept the door swinging as it extended its unbeaten streak to 10 games with a 3-2 win against Dallas, thanks to a pair of goals by John Kowalik. The Mustangs' one-day stay in first place was ended when Cleveland defeated Detroit 3-1 and moved back on top by five points. TORONTO split two games and DETROIT lost one. Standings in the Atlantic Division remained almost unchanged. ATLANTA was the only team to play, beating Toronto 1-0 and increasing its lead to 11 points. NEW YORK, BALTIMORE and BOSTON all were idle. So was WASHINGTON, although Eastern Conference President Dick Walsh ruled that the Whips' 3-2 win against Vancouver on May 25 would have to be replayed because the field on which the game was held was not rectangular. SAN DIEGO built up a 14-point bulge in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference with two wins, while second-place OAKLAND lost twice. LOS ANGELES had two ties, VANCOUVER two losses and a tie. KANSAS CITY beat Vancouver 2-1 and led the Gulf Division by three points over ST. LOUIS, which had a win and two ties. Both HOUSTON, which started the week in first place, and last-place DALLAS lost their only games.
TENNIS—In the first indoor Davis Cup matches ever held in this country, the U.S. won the American Zone finals by beating Ecuador 5-0 at the Charlotte (N.C.) Coliseum. Opening singles matches were won by LIEUT. ARTHUR ASHE against Pancho Guzman 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 and by CLARK GRAEBNER against Miguel Olvera 6-2, 6-1, 6-2. Graebner and BOB LUTZ then clinched the victory by winning the doubles from Guzman and Olvera 6-3, 6-2, 7-5.
Australian KEN ROSEWALL beat countryman Rod Laver 6-3, 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 in the all-professional men's final at the French Open in Paris. It was the second time that Rosewall won the championship, his first triumph having come in 1953 when he was 18 years old. Professionals had a much harder time in the women's competition, which was won by NANCY RICHEY of San Angelo, Texas, who beat the two leading pros in the last two rounds. First she disposed of Mrs. Billie Jean King of Long Beach, Calif. 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 and then, in the finals, she upset Mrs. Ann Haydon Jones of Great Britain 5-7, 6-4, 6-1. In the all-Australian men's doubles, ROSEWALL and FRED STOLLE got past Laver and Roy Emerson 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. FRANÇOISE DURR of France and MRS. JONES took the women's doubles by a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 margin against Mrs. King and Rosemary Casals of San Francisco.
TRACK & FIELD—TOMMIE SMITH won the 200-meter dash in 20.4 and anchored the SANTA CLARA YOUTH VILLAGE to an upset victory in the 440-yard relay at the Coliseum-Compton invitational meet in Los Angeles (page 62). RON CLARKE of Australia, running in his final race in this country, was first in the 5,000-meter run in 13:32.2. Most impressive of the winners in the field events were RANDY MATSON (69'1" in the shot-put), HAL CONNOLLY (221' in the hammer throw) and FRANK COVELLI (260'3" in the javelin). The swiftest 880 of the year was turned in by RON KUTCHINSKI of Michigan, who covered the distance in 1:47.1 at the U.S. Track and Field Federation championships in Houston. A Kentucky freshman, JIM GREEN, won the 100-yard sprint in 9.3 and the 220 in 20.9. The team title was won by the JAYHAWK TRACK CLUB, which is made up of members of the track team from Kansas University.
WEIGHT LIFTING—Winners at the Senior National AAU championships in York, Pa. (page 60) were: Bantamweight FERNANDO BAEZ of Puerto Rico, who hoisted 740 pounds in three lifts; Featherweight WALTER IMAHARA of the New Orleans AC (795 pounds); Lightweight STEVE MANSOUR of the Astro Weight-lifting Club in Detroit (820 pounds); Middleweight RUSSELL KNIPP of Chicago (955 pounds); Light Heavyweight JOE PULEO of the York Barbell Club (1,025 pounds); Middle Heavyweight PHIL GRIPPALDI of Belleville, N.J. (1,055 pounds); 242-pound class, JOE MURRY of Lafayette, La. (1,035 pounds) and Heavyweight BOB BEDNARSKI of York (1,280).
MILEPOSTS—NAMED: As coach of the New York Rangers, BERNIE (BOOM BOOM) GEOFFRION, 37, who recently terminated his playing career after undergoing ulcer surgery. During his 16 years as a rightwinger—14 with the Canadiens and the past two with the Rangers—Geoffrion had 393 goals, the fifth highest total in NHL history. He was the league's Most Valuable Player in 1960-61, when he became the second player ever to score 50 goals in a season. Emile Francis, 41, who had coached the Rangers for two and a half years, will retain his job as general manager.
NAMED: As acting executive director of the U.S. Olympic Committee, EVERETT (EPPIE) BARNES, 67, who played four games for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1923-24). was athletic director at Colgate (1955-67) and was president of the NCAA (1965-67). Barnes will be the leading official for the U.S. Olympic team in Mexico City, replacing Arthur Lentz, who is on a six-month leave of absence since suffering a mild coronary in April.
DIED: Two race-car drivers, RONNIE DUMAN, 36, of Speedway, Ind. and LUDOVICO SCARFIOTTI, 34, of Italy. Duman was fatally injured in a three-car crackup during the Rex Mays Classic in West Allis, Wis. Also involved in the fiery crash were Norm Brown of Grand Rapids, Mich., who was badly burned, and Bay Darnell of Deerfield, Ill., who suffered minor injuries. Scarfiotti was killed when his Porsche 910 careened off the track and into an embankment of trees in the German Alps as he took part in trials for the uphill mountain race in Berchtesgaden, Germany. Among Scarfiotti's prominent victories were the Sebring 12-Hour Endurance Race with John Surtees in 1963, the 24-Hours of Le Mans with the late Lorenzo Bandini in 1963, the 1,000 kilometers of Nurburgring in 1964 and 1965 and the European mountain-driving championship in 1962 and 1965.
