CONTENTS

28 The Baseball Playoffs
And now the crash of two Big Red Machines and a duel of base-burning newcomers
by Ron Fimrite and Larry Keith

34 Meaner than Junkyard Dogs
Bama looked like a jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces missing after meeting Georgia
by John Underwood

36 Not the Greatest
After a lackluster performance against Ken Norton, Ali maintained he had fought his last
by Mark Kram

44 Struggle to Stay in Control
Leo Loudenslager's plane seems out of place in aerobatic contests—until the points are tallied
by Budd Davisson

52 Flat Feet with Garlic Breath
Despite his imperfections, the composite worst football specimen is a Hall of Fame candidate
by George Plimpton and Bill Curry

126 Nobody Loves 'Em
Whether umps or refs, those who make the decisions in sports remain the bad guys
by Frank Deford

The Departments

23 Scorecard
101 TV/Radio
102 College Football
110 Horse Racing
118 Pro Football
149 Baseball
150 For the Record
152 19th Hole

Credits on page 150

Cover photograph by Walter Iooss Jr.

PHOTO

28

PHOTO

34

PHOTO

36

PHOTO

44

ILLUSTRATION

52

ILLUSTRATION

126

Next Week

Bobby Orr and the hockey season intrude on the Cincinnati-Philadelphia and Kansas City-New York baseball playoffs as well as the college and pro football schedules. Peter Gammons trails On as the former Boston star begins anew career as a $600,000-a-year defenseman for the Chicago Black Hawks, while the preview package describes hockey's foreign invasion—particularly by Swedes such as Toronto's Borje Salming and Winnipeg's Anders Hedberg—and offers scouting analyses of the 30 major league teams.