CONTENTS

34 Baseball 1975
As another season hatches, Ron Fimrite foresees the game's continuing appeal while noting that the players and some estranged fans had better patch things up; photographer Tomas Sennett turns an imaginative lens on the Orioles; the SI staff scouts the major league teams and makes a few picks that may raise your eyebrows; and Roy Blount Jr. examines the phenomenon of Steve Garvey, the Dodger who says he was born to be one, and a man whose virtues are more 1955 than 1975.

18 Wooden's Last Hurrah
His decision to become the Wiz-That-Was added an extra filip to the NCAA finals
by Curry Kirkpatrick

22 Jack Shows He's No Master Past
Gary Player made his 1975 U.S. debut and found that Nicklaus is still king
by Dan Jenkins

24 Stirring Up the Derby Burgoo
Foolish Pleasure was beaten in Florida, making the Kentucky Derby wide open
by Tex Maule and Whitney Tower

26 The Class with a Lot of Class
Standout rookies in the NBA and ABA contributed to topsy-turvy standings
by Pat Putnam

78 That Old Gang of Mine
An alumnus remembers the wacky and wonderful 1934 Cardinals. First of a series
by Leo Durocher with Ed Linn

The departments

11 Scorecard
63 TV/Radio
66 Lacrosse
69 Swimming
75 Curling
99 For the Record
100 19th Hole

Credits on page 99

Cover photograph by Walter Iooss Jr.

ILLUSTRATION

Next Week

On rink and court the pro seasons end in a flurry of jostling for the playoffs. Mark Mulvoy looks ahead toward hockey's championships and Pat Putnam outlines the surprising makeup of NBA and ABA postseason play.

In belly and bicep, Vasili Alexeyev is clearly a well-rounded man, and after an unprecedented visit to the world's greatest weight lifter's home in the U.S.S.R., William Johnson reveals the mountainous range of his talents.