- Publish date:
19TH HOLE: THE READERS TAKE OVER
CRY FOR HELP
Sir:
I have followed Aaron Pryor's career for quite some time now, and the article (KO'd By His Demons, Sept. 9) by Pat Putnam made the tears roll down my cheeks. Today I was released from Talbot Hall, St. Anthony Hospital, in Columbus, Ohio following treatment for chemical (cocaine and alcohol) abuse. I can relate very well to Pryor's anger, confusion and paranoia. We still love Aaron in Ohio, and wish he would come home so we can help him. There is no way anyone can KO a problem like this alone. Don't hesitate to use my name. I'm not ashamed, just scared.
MICHAEL R. MAYES
Lancaster, Ohio
Sir:
Lane Stewart's photographs were enough to tell this sad story.
RONALD G. DZWAKOWSKI
Novi, Mich.
PAM FAN
Sir:
I'm not a tennis buff by any stretch of the imagination, but I drove the mailman crazy while waiting for Part II of Pam Shriver's diary, written with Frank Deford (I'll Tell You About Tennis, Sept. 2 and To Wimbledon And Beyond, Sept. 9). This sexy, witty, 6-foot, 34B lady is a jewel—an outstanding young woman in a tough racket. Her observations are candid, charming, sincere and definitely human. It's hard to believe that she is only 23.
BILL TRELEASE
Boulder City, Nev.
MILLION DOLLAR BILL
Sir:
SI, I love you! I just got my Sept. 9 issue, and who's on the cover but Bill Elliott, the one and only Awesome Bill from Dawsonville. I'm surprised and ecstatic. In his excellent article (Check Him Out—Bill's No. 1) Sam Moses has perfectly captured the best driver in NASCAR today.
MIKE DECONINCK
Sunnymead, Calif.
Sir:
Put out the cat! Turn out the lights! Bill Elliott has to be your Sportsman of the Year.
DAVID PARKER
Ringgold, Ga.
ONE FOR VERPLANK
Sir:
One quality that sets certain athletes apart is the ability to do the seemingly impossible, and for more than 30 years it appeared impossible for an amateur to win a professional golf tournament. Scott Verplank beat the odds—and the pros—by winning the Western Open (SCORECARD, Aug. 12). If I could cast a vote for Sportsman of the Year, Verplank would get it.
PAUL KELLSTEDT
Wheaton, III.
PAEAN FOR PAYTON
Sir:
I would like Walter Payton (SCORECARD, Sept. 9) to know that this is one football fan who respects him more than any other active running back. His slashing style, his durability, his dependability and his class set him apart from—and above—newer stars. They seem to make more headlines with off-the-field problems than with on-the-field accomplishments. Payton ranks with the greatest.
GERALD FULLER
Henderson, N.C.
LITTLE BIG SCHOOL
Sir:
I want to compliment Jim Kaplan for the SPOTLIGHT (Sept. 2) on the football program at Division Ill's Augustana. It's nice to know that there are coaches at places like Augustana who consider the learning experience as important as donning the pads. It's also good to read about coaches who realize that you don't have to go coast-to-coast to find football players. Sometimes the grass is greener in your own backyard.
MITCH LACOSSE
Des Plaines, Ill.
BUS TICKET
Sir:
I enjoyed greatly this year's College & Pro Football Spectacular (Sept. 4), especially the "Seat On The Team Plane" item in INSIDE SLANT by Rick Reilly. Surely Reilly did not intentionally omit the name of Lawrence Wien when he listed those generous alumni deserving of a seat on the team plane or, in the case of the Ivy League, the team bus. Wien, a Columbia alumnus and Manhattan real-estate man who holds the lease on the Empire State Building, has given $5 million in the past few years to help rebuild Columbia's ancient football stadium, now named in his honor, and $1 million to build a new soccer stadium. Given the recent record of Columbia's gridiron squads, perhaps Wien deserves the whole bus, but his generosity raises the hopes of all Lion alumni.
DONALD JENSEN
Falls Church, Va.
THE GALLOPING GHOST (CONT.)
Sir:
Although this is not in the category of an irate letter, I question John Underwood's statement in the College & Pro Football Spectacular concerning Red Grange's making two inferior movies for Joseph P. Kennedy (Was He The Greatest Of All Time?). The first film Grange made was One Minute To Play. It was rated as the best football film of the silent era. There were no staged plays in the final game, which Grange played against college players from Occidental and Pomona. The players were paid $50 for every tackle they made on Grange.
Certainly, if made today. One Minute To Play would not stand up as a good sports film, but for the time it was made, it was good. Sam Wood was the director—later he directed Gone With The Wind with Victor Fleming, and many other fine films. My father, Byron Morgan Sr., wrote the script and worked with Grange and C.C. Pyle during production.
BYRON MORGAN
Venice, Calif.
Sir:
That was a marvelous piece on Red Grange. One slight disagreement: Even in his reincarnation as a not-so-glib radio announcer. Red had his admirers. My mother, who was a very knowledgeable sports fan, always said, "I learned football from Red Grange."
JACK ROBERTS
Hosston, La.
Sir:
In his article on Red Grange, John Underwood talks about the Golden Age of the '20s, the decade of great athletes. I am a 14-year-old sports fan, and I feel that I am living in a golden age. I also feel that 70 years from now people will be talking about Jack Nicklaus and Pete Rose as the greatest athletes ever. Or people will be saying. "Walter Payton was the greatest runner of all time." I think we should cherish the athletes we have now.
SAM WEINBRENNER
Mineral Point, Wis.
METS' MOMENTS
Sir:
Great cover shot by Ronald C. Modra and great story by Craig Neff (Doctor K: Awesome And Then Some, Sept. 2) on a truly great pitcher, Dwight Gooden. He's got my vote for Sportsman of the Year.
Being an avid Mets fan, I was wondering if you would reprint all the SI covers that have featured Mets.
SHAWN BUTLER
Rutherford, N.J.
•Gladly.—ED.
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MARCH 5, 1962
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MARCH 2, 1964
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MAY 6, 1968
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OCT. 20, 1969
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APRIL 13, 1970
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MAY 22, 1972
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JULY 21, 1975
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APRIL 18, 1983
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APRIL 23, 1984
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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.
