19TH HOLE: THE READERS TAKE OVER
BRANDED
Sirs:
Regular readers of SI have resigned them-selves to the fact that no professional football season can begin without a prediction by Tex Maule that the Dallas Cowboys will be world champions, or end sans his annual apology as to why they failed to live up to his expectations. The 1970 season is off to a flying start (Big Ifs in Big D, Aug. 31). Tex not only concedes the Cowboys their division title but even forecasts their success in the playoffs, since they cannot meet the Cleveland Browns before the Super Bowl. Don't you think it behooves you to assign someone else to games involving the Cowboys?
ROBERT I. PACK
San Francisco
Sirs:
You made a slight error on the Aug. 31 cover. It should have read SHOWDOWN YEAR FOR TEX MAULE, who should be fired if the Cowboys don't win this year.
ERIC FACER
Urbana, Ill.
Sirs:
My compliments to Tex Maule. He has told it like it is—and like it was. He has revealed that there are many things which have not changed in Dallas or with the Cowboys since they became the first expansion team in 1960. Regarding housing for the blacks, Nate Borden, one of pro football's finest defensive ends and then the Cowboys' defensive captain, nearly left the team in 1961 because he couldn't rent a decent apartment for his family. Concerning security in those days few vets felt they had it made unless they had a "no-cut" contract as Eddie LeBaron and Don Meredith did.
As for Tom Landry, he was and is highly respected for his knowledge of the science of football. He is dedicated to the perfection of the smallest detail of the game and has been called "the undertaker" because of his impersonal attitude toward many of his players. He is also the author of the most sophisticated offense and defense in pro football, and because of this the Cowboys can beat themselves with mistakes. I know, because I made my share of mistakes as a center and guard with the Cowboys during their first three years.
JOHN HOUSER
Valencia, Calif.
Sirs:
It was a fine article. However, you left out the biggest Cowboy plus of all, Calvin Hill, the great second-year running back. Hill was the NFL's leading rusher going into the end of last season, but then he injured his toe. Hill might be just the man the Cowboys need to gain the championship they deserve.
STUART SILBERG
Bayside, N.Y.
Sirs:
It's very comforting for us Ram fans to know of a team like Dallas that chokes in more playoff games than our own team does.
JEFF MAYER
Studio City, Calif.
REPLAY
Sirs:
I would like to thank Dan Jenkins for writing such a different story about the 52nd PGA Championship (The One That Got Away Again, Aug. 24). I looked very hard for some kind words for either Bob Murphy's second-place finish or Raymond Floyd's great third-round 65 and overall fine play as defending champion. I was under the impression that a few other guys competed besides Arnold Palmer and myself.
I was also sure that I had played 72 holes to win the PGA. However, Mr. Jenkins' 13-hole version was exciting. I had to smile when I read that my kind of golf "wouldn't win much money in a municipal gangsome" and that my "whimpering" finish ended a "close to panic-stricken performance." Next time I'll have to work for a better finish. I hope Mr. Jenkins does, too.
DAVE STOCKTON
Westlake Village, Calif.
FOOTWORK
Sirs:
My humble thanks to SI for taking the right step in publishing Robert F. Capon's creed for a physical rebirth (Steps in the Right Direction, Aug. 31). Indeed, one has only to observe the physiques of shoppers on a Saturday afternoon to see that there is growth in the wrong direction and that we have put away "childish" things (bicycling, jumping, skipping, etc.) for the sake of maintaining our dignity and poise.
But while the author's prescriptions for preventing cardiovascular bankruptcy and flabbiness are commendable, it seems to me that he has taken an unnecessary poke at my sanity. In no way do I find jogging to be a "slum of boredom," nor do I believe I should be "certified and committed" simply because, during the winter when not jogging outside, I can be found on an indoor track taking 20 laps in a "silly suit."
I urge the Rev. Mr. Capon to take one additional step, that being in the form of an apology to us joggers. After all, the goal we share is a common one.
DAVID J. LESKO
Quakertown, Pa.
Sirs:
Although I enjoyed reading about the spiritual elation experienced by Robert Capon, I think the metaphysical symbolism he attaches to cutting wood is just a little out of the realm of the SI reader who sits with a can of beer in front of his TV on Sundays watching the ball game. And that includes those of us who are more physically inclined and do our 11-minutes-a-day Canadian Air Force exercises at halftime.
LOUIS L. OLLIVIER
Albuquerque
MAD ABOUT JOE (CONT.)
Sirs:
After noting the mass indignation (19TH HOLE, Aug. 31) that greeted your Aug. 17 cover portrait of Joe Namath, I can only feel that the cover summed up Joe perfectly. He is doing what he wants, the way he wants, in the face of criticism.
RICHARD B. HELDENFELS
Newport News, Va.
Sirs:
The players may be fed up with him and so may the fans, but Joe Willie Namath is still the best, whether they like it or not.
DANA LAURENZI
Whitinsville, Mass.
Sirs:
I would defend Joe Namath with my life.
LISA MUNSON
Branford, Conn.
Sirs:
I hope the public can stop worrying about Joe's private life and start hoping that his knees gain strength, because the Jets won't be too exciting without him.
JOHN FOULDS
Darien, Conn.
HORSE MARKET
Sirs:
For Pete's sake, are you steering the hapless and bleeding bulls of the stock market into the maze of the thoroughbred horse business (Playing the Horse Market, Aug. 24)? And why use as an example Charles Engelhard, who probably has more money and/or guts than anybody else in the business? Throw out Nijinsky and your roseate picture of Engelhard's profit and loss statement will read differently—a Nijinsky comes along every 100 years or so, maybe! And what are the figures that would fall under the heading of EXPENSES? I'm sure Charles Engelhard is much too smart to kid himself in this manner.
PAT HUMPHRIES
Ram Tap Stables
Fresno, Calif.
•Horsemen who are in a position to know estimate that it costs Engelhard an average of $10,000 per horse per year to maintain and race his thoroughbreds in the U.S. and about half that amount abroad. Since he now has 41 horses in training here and 48 more in England and Ireland, Engelhard's expenses for 1970 will, on this basis, total at least $650,000.—ED.
EYE ON HAWAII
Sirs:
Mahalo to Robert F. Jones for his enjoyable article on the Hawaii Islanders (Hula, Moolah and No Blahs, Aug. 24). But auwe, isn't that a picture of Third Baseman John Werhas? Please treat us Islander fans to a photograph of Hawaii's major league manager, Chuck Tanner.
MICHAEL E. BATES
Baraboo, Wis.
•See above—ED.
Sirs:
Poor Chuck—always getting slighted. He should have been in the majors long ago.
GEORGE MASTRANGELO
New Castle, Pa.
PHOTO
THE REAL CHUCK TANNER
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