- Publish date:
19TH HOLE: THE READERS TAKE OVER
LISTS
Sir:
A List of Lists (April 30) by Phil Pepe and Zander Hollander was a total delight. I had thought, before reading it, that I was the only one in the world left who still remembered who Bill Rohr was! However, Messrs. Pepe and Hollander missed one event which would have qualified for two categories: Roberto de Vicenzo's failure to check his scorecard in the 1968 Masters, before signing an incorrect one, cost him a tie for the lead after 72 holes and the chance of a playoff with Bob Goalby, the winner. This certainly was one of the most famous sports boners ever. Furthermore, de Vicenzo uttered one of the most famous sports quotes ever upon learning of his error: "What a stupid I am!"
ELLIOTT THAU
New York City
Sir:
I particularly liked the All-Star baseball teams and offer my own for J. Paul Getty:
Dan Bankhead
Wes Stock
Bobby Bonds
Dave Cash
Don Money
Ernie Banks
Dick Green
Ken Singleton
Buck Martinez
Singing the national anthem is Johnny Paycheck.
LEE KRAVITZ
Baltimore
Sir:
Your article was especially welcomed by this Viking fan because someone has finally forgotten Jim Marshall's boner of running a fumble recovery the wrong way. This oversight made the whole article worthwhile.
SCOTT BUSH
Mazomanie, Wis.
Sir:
Your List of Lists had two very notable omissions. You must include Billy Cannon, Heisman Trophy winner and D.D.S., among your Athletic Doctors, and the Athletes Who Became Actors list is incomplete without Johnny Weissmuller.
BOB HOLTER
Cincinnati
Sir:
Your list omitted a great cowboy actor—Johnny Mack Brown, an All-America halfback at the University of Alabama.
TERRY H. BROWN
Atlanta
Sir:
When we read Ronald Reagan's and Rex Reed's lists of the six and 10 best sports movies, respectively, we couldn't believe that Rocky was not among them.
TOM CHRUSNIAK
BILL GERWIG
College Park, Md.
Sir:
The only way Rusty Staub could steal a base would be if he were to sneak into a baseball park at 2 a.m.
STEVE CHRISTIAN
Grosse Pointe, Mich.
Sir:
Why any man would change his name to Graziano from Barbella is beyond my comprehension.
PETER M. BARBELLA
Madison, Wis.
Sir:
The best Ozark-ism was omitted: "We're not out of it yet"—after the Phillies lost to the Pirates to fall six and a half games behind with six left to play in 1975.
BILL PILONG JR.
Haddon Heights, N.J.
Sir:
You name one of the "15 Perfect Baseball Batteries" as Hand and Foote. If I am not mistaken, the pitcher you were thinking of is Bill Hands, who played with the Giants, Cubs, Twins and Rangers. This would make the pairing inconsistent, unless Barry Foote changed his name to Barry Feete.
MIKE PERRICONE
West Babylon, N.Y.
•Try Rich Hand, who pitched for the Indians, Rangers and Angels in the early '70s.—ED.
Sir:
Being an alumnus of the only high school to appear twice on your list of "10 High School Quarterbacks It Must Have Been Fun To Have on Your Team," I must correct you: Sonny Jurgensen and Roman Gabriel attended New Hanover High in Wilmington, N.C., not Wilmington High. There is, in fact, no such institution as Wilmington High.
EDDIE MCNEAL
NHHS, Class of '52
Marietta, Ga.
Sir:
I think Pepe and Hollander have overlooked one of the best Yogiisms of them all. Former Red Sox Pitcher Joe Dobson told mc that one day, after a game in which Berra had four hits, he approached a writer for a New York paper whose box score had credited him with just three. "Hey, how come your paper only had me for three hits?" asked Berra. The writer replied, "It must have been a typographical error." "Typographical error, like hell," replied an irate Yogi. "It was a clean single."
DICK SCANLON
Winter Haven, Fla.
Sir:
One evening during his playing days, after finishing a comic book, Yogi turned to his roommate, a medical student who was reading Cray's Anatomy, and said, "Mine turned out O.K. How about yours?"
HARLAN SHERWIN
Boston
Sir:
During a Phillies pregame radio show with Richie Ashburn, when he was managing the Mets, Yogi was asked what was the problem with the Met hitters. He replied, "Well, Richie, we're not exactly hitting the ball off the cover."
CHUCK LIBRIZZI
Lindenwold, N.J.
Sir:
I have one more to add to the 10 best Yogi-isms. Explaining baseball, Yogi said, "Ninety percent of this game is half mental."
DAVID RING
Laguna Hills, Calif.
FOREVER MAGIC
Sir:
Douglas S. Looney's discussion of Earvin Johnson's dilemma (And for My Next Trick, I'll..., April 30) was simply magnificent. Regardless of what Earvin decides to do with his talent, he will be forever Magic in the eyes of MSU fans.
TIMOTHY BALDWIN
East Lansing, Mich.
Sir:
Without Greg (Special K) Kelser next year the Spartans are going to need a little magic to repeat some of their fine performances. A gold medal in Moscow could only happen once in his entire lifetime. With one more year at East Lansing, the money could only go up. In any case, Earvin Johnson has given the MSU campus two unforgettable years.
GREG LEMANSKI
Farmington, Mich.
Sir:
For God's sake, man, go pro! A degree from MSU and a quarter will get you a cup of coffee. Also, if you go pro, you can legally drink strawberry daiquiris in most of the states which have NBA franchises. Michigan's drinking age was moved up to 21 on Dec. 23, 1978. Shame on you, Earvin!
RANDY KELLY
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Sir:
Earvin Johnson has no dilemma. The dictionary defines that word as "a situation requiring a choice between equally undesirable alternatives." Would you call the choice of a couple of million dollars or a college degree and Olympic gold a dilemma? Magic has a pot of gold at either end of his rainbow, and whichever way he goes, we, the fans, will see him as the winner he is.
ROBERT GURMAN
Irvington, N.Y.
Sir:
There is only one reason why I would want Earvin Johnson to go pro, and that is so that next year about this time I will not be subjected to any more irrelevant articles on whether or not Earvin Johnson will go pro.
SAM TRAINA
Merrillville, Ind.
DEBUT
Sir:
BASEBALL'S WEEK (April 23) mentions Tommy John's American League "debut" against Milwaukee. Have you forgotten his years spent with Cleveland and Chicago? I know neither team has done much lately, but they are still in the American League. Well, sort of.
MARK C. PADGETT
Beaverton, Ore.
PROSIT!
Sir:
It's about time SPORTS ILLUSTRATED realized that this season the Brewers are seriously out to play major league baseball (Prosit! He's the Toast of the Town, April 30). I do, however, have one complaint about the story. Contrary to popular belief, or at least SPORTS ILLUSTRATED'S, Milwaukee is not just a bunch of beer drinkers. We do have a great deal more to offer than Schlitz, Pabst and Miller. Next time you do an article on Milwaukee, try to get through it without evoking a picture of potbellied slobs wearing undershirts, drinking cans of beer. Please drop this stereotype of our city.
AMY LAMBERT
Milwaukee
Sir:
We enjoyed the picture of George Bamberger on your cover. Unfortunately, he is not applauding a Brewer play but merely indicating how close they will come to winning the American League East title.
JIM RAMSEY
BRIGHAM OLSON
Watertown, Conn.
Sir:
I was delighted to see Bambi himself staring out at me from the mailbox. The Brewers are an exciting team to watch, and these days the atmosphere at the ball park really reflects the Bamberger philosophy. Go, Bambi Bombers!
R. V. BRASSIR
Madison, Wis.
Address editorial mail to SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York, New York, 10020.
