LETTERS

SPORTSMAN
When big-time college sports programs win without bending rules, everyone wins (Not An Ordinary Joe, Dec. 22-29). Thank you, Joe Paterno. Wonderful choice, SI.
DAVID HOBURG
Allison Park, Pa.

Congratulations on your selection of Penn State's Joe Paterno. His fine record, achieved by working within the rules, deserves recognition.
TOM McELHONE
Glenshaw, Pa.

Fathers, tell your sons. College presidents, tell your alumni associations. Somebody, anybody, please reassure the NCAA. You can pursue athletic excellence and academic excellence at the same time!
BOB CATINA
Effort, Pa.

I think Oklahoma's Barry Switzer hit the nail on the head: Joe Pa is different from the rest of the college football coaches. It seems that the "grand experiment" he began in 1966 has been validated time and again over the last 21 football seasons. Has it been worth it? Most emphatically yes.
ROBERT B. PORT
Huntington, Pa.

Paterno's record over the past 21 years speaks for itself. But Sportsman of the Year for 1986? How could that honor not have gone to Greg Norman or Roger Clemens?
LYNN SWINGLE
Zanesville, Ohio

Walter Payton has 10 1,000-yard rushing seasons to his credit, he has just been selected to his ninth Pro Bowl and last season he earned a Super Bowl ring with the champion Chicago Bears. What more can a man do?
ROBERT RUBIN
Wilmette, Ill.

INDY'S IRSAY
Many thanks to E.M. Swift for his no-holds-barred account of Robert Irsay's annihilation of what was once one of the proudest and most successful franchises in NFL history, the Baltimore Colts (Now You See Him, Now You Don't, Dec. 15). The Colts we knew and loved were pronounced dead on the night of March 28, 1984, when Irsay moved the team to Indianapolis. Our light at the end of a long, dark tunnel will, I hope, appear in the form of a new NFL franchise for Baltimore, one we can love and nurture so it can beat the stuffing out of the "Indianapolis Irsays."
DAVE MUMMERT
Linthicum, Md.

My sympathy and best wishes to the good people of Indianapolis. They wanted professional football in the worst way, and they got it.
ROBERT ELIASON
Baltimore

Robert Irsay gained national attention not because he bought the Colts, not because he did or did not fabricate stories about his college days or about how he made his fortune, and not because of his impending divorce. The thing that made him famous is that he moved the struggling Colts out of Baltimore's decaying Memorial Stadium and into the city of Indianapolis, where they are one of the most profitable teams in the NFL—and a lot of people outside Indy can't stand it.

If Pete Rozelle and the other owners had given Indianapolis a franchise based on the statistics presented to the league in 1982, the Colts might still be in Baltimore and Indy would have its own tradition. Water over the dam. We got the Colts. You were right when you said we would rather be on the bottom looking up than on the outside looking in—like, say, Baltimore.
RANDY JONES
Lapel, Ind.

O.J. ON HERSCHEL
In a recent article (Walker & Dorsett, Nov. 17) you referred to me as one of Herschel Walker's critics. Being a fan of all running backs, I would like to set the record straight.

Over the years, when I have been asked to name the premier runners of the game, I have always included Herschel as one of the backs who had the ability to go over the 2,000-yard mark, assuming he were on a contending NFL team. Because of his competitiveness, strength and approach to the game, I have admired and respected Herschel for many years.

There is a certain style of runner that I prefer to watch. My favorites have been the more elusive, spontaneous, breakaway runners like Gale Sayers, Curt Warner, Eric Dickerson, Marcus Allen, et al. However, style has nothing to do with effectiveness. Herschel's effectiveness speaks for itself. If I were an NFL coach, I would love to have 11 Herschel Walkers on my team.
O.J. SIMPSON
Los Angeles

GAULT GALLED
Bruce Newman missed the boat in his reporting of an interview with me and my wife, Dainnese (Gault Is Divided Into Many Parts, Nov. 24). For example, he neglected to report on the most emphasized and important aspect of my wife's and my life—God. Instead, he has painted a picture of a man who is quite the opposite of the man that I am.
WILLIE GAULT
Wilmette, Ill.

PHOTO

RONALD C. MODRA

Paterno has his Lions hit the books.

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.