19TH HOLE: THE READERS TAKE OVER
PROPERLY BAGGY
Sir:
Yes, it's tacky to wear a baseball cap with plus fours, as Billy Casper did at the Masters (LEADING OFF, April 23), but it's also a no-no to have a crease in them. They should be baggy baggy.
JOSEPH MALIK
Berwyn, Ill.
PS. Enclosed is a photo of me (far left). I've been wearing plus fours since 1974. I had them made specially—at $75 per and no crease.
WRINKLED CREASE
Sir:
Your coverage of the plus-four group at the Masters was exemplary. However, the slacks in the long-trouser group shown in the pictures accompanying the Masters article are all tailored too long. There should be no break in the trouser line.
If I were their shoe supplier I'd raise hell.
JOHN KOPPEN
Phoenix
THE STRIPER AND ACID RAIN
Sir:
Congratulations on an extraordinary special report on the striped bass (A Rain of Death on the Striper? April 23). I'm an 18-year-old sportsman who reads many sports and fishing magazines, and I'm sorry to say they haven't shown as much concern about the fish as SI has. Someone has finally taken the initiative to confront the problem.
I am intrigued by stripers, especially after having caught them in the Cape Cod Canal and from Cape Cod beaches. Originally, I thought the decline in numbers of the fish could be blamed on states like Rhode Island, which, before the moratorium, permitted both gill and trap netting of the striper. Your news concerning the tributaries of Chesapeake Bay is grim. This is a very important issue that must be addressed by the federal government, as opposed to state governments. I hope you'll continue your research and keep us posted on further developments.
DAVE FLANNERY
Cheshire, Conn.
Sir:
As an avid fisherman, I read Robert H. Boyle's article on the plight of the Chesapeake Bay striped bass with great interest. The thought of one day losing these beautiful fish is extremely disturbing. What is even more disturbing is the way our government officials turn their backs when it comes to acid rain. I hope this article will make them face the problem and do something about it before it's too late. The striper is worth saving.
GREG NOEL
Washington, D.C.
Sir:
Robert H. Boyle has used many words and figures to say very little. I am 100% against acid rain, but 100% for everything that causes it. Oh, what to do? Now an article addressed to that question would have been interesting.
BILL WILSON
Bogota, N.J.
CRENSHAW'S DAY
Sir:
Congratulations to Dan Jenkins for a superb article on Ben Crenshaw's Masters victory (A Breakthrough for the Heartbreak Kid, April 23). Crenshaw should serve as a role model for anyone following a vocation in life: If you're blessed with a particular talent, then all you need to succeed is a little persistence and a great deal of patience.
DAVID W. WILLIAMS
Saugus, Mass.
Sir:
How could you? The most popular Masters champion since a swashbuckling kid from Latrobe, Pa. won his first green jacket, along with the hearts of golfing America, and who graces your cover? Darryl Strawberry, a talented ballplayer but not yet a superstar deserving of SI cover status.
Dan Jenkins' coverage was excellent, as usual, but surely the accomplishment of Gentle Ben, who so loves and reveres this great game, should have earned him cover recognition over a baseball player who doesn't even know of Ted Williams.
MAC JONES
Lake Junaluska, N.C.
Sir:
Your April 23 cover was 100% Crenshaw. The billing across the top told us that Ben Crenshaw had won the Masters. If that wasn't enough, the cover subject was Darryl Strawberry, of Crenshaw (Los Angeles) High School. SI could have gone 3 for 3, had Marques Johnson, another Crenshaw grad, appeared anywhere in the issue. What's more, on the day of this writing (April 23), John Williams, the most coveted high school basketball player in the land, announced the college of his choice (LSU). Williams' high school? You guessed it—Crenshaw!
JASON DOWNEY
Studio City, Calif.
STRAWBERRY'S WRISTBAND
Sir:
Your cover photograph (April 23) of Mets outfielder Darryl Strawberry reveals yet another assault on the elegance of baseball. Darryl's wristbands are adorned with the Golden Arches of a fast-food chain, McDonald's.
Given the length of Strawberry's limbs and the potential duration of his career, the opportunities for further anatomical billboarding are nearly endless. Surely when we refer to a ballplayer as "the franchise," we aren't suggesting that he cover his uniform with corporate logos. Where are the wrinkled flannels of yesteryear?
JAMES FRIEDMAN
Falmouth, Maine
•According to National and American League officials, who have since banned the use of the wristbands, the concept behind the display was honorable. Strawberry and 28 other "all-stars," representing all 26 major league teams, have been wearing the bands in support of Ronald McDonald Houses, a charitable program jointly sponsored by McDonald's and local community groups that provides temporary housing for the families of young children being treated for serious illnesses in hospitals far from their homes. But the wristbands were never submitted for final approval, league spokesmen say, and the design violates the rule against commercialization of the uniform, Steve Garvey, however, disagrees. Garvey is the originator of the idea and its coordinator through his marketing company, in cooperation with McDonald's, and he says it was his understanding that the project was approved. What's more, he claims that, like shoes, bats and gloves, wristbands are not part of the uniform, and it's a player's right to choose those he wants to wear. Garvey says that the size of the McDonald's Golden Arch patch is being reduced and that he's trying to get league officials to accept the bands. As Garvey sees it, pro sports need this type of exposure to show that there are "a lot of players at the top who care about others." He views the planned promotional and fundraising appearances of his Ronald McDonald House All-Stars (players receive "nominal remuneration" for the use of their likenesses and names) as a "forerunner program." Says Garvey, "I'm going to wear my wristband, and I'm sure other players are going to wear theirs." Over to you, Bowie Kuhn.—ED.
ANGEL CORDEBO
Sir:
Thanks to Frank Deford for a gripping article on Angel Cordero Jr. ("Riding Horses Is the Pleasure of His Life," April 23). Along with many other New York and New Jersey racegoers who've seen Cordero ride year after year, I know who the best in the saddle is. God bless you, Angel.
GREGORY STOUT
South River, N.J.
Sir:
I noticed the caption describing the close-up of Cordero on page 70: "Did Cordero, leading on Codex, hit Genuine Risk...on the nose with his whip in the '80 Preakness? Angel looked angelic in the winner's circle." If that picture discloses the face of an angel, it can only be that of an apostate. Milton might well have used your picture as a model for his portrayal of Beelzebub in Paradise Lost.
HOWARD BUTLER
Virginia City, Mont.
TWO PHOTOS
Malik and Larry Nelson: matters of style.
TWO PHOTOS
The wristband: a matter of commercialism.
Letters should include the name, address and home telephone number of the writer and be addressed to The Editor, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York, N.Y. 10020.