Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 14, 1976)
Photo by Phrf Football officially got underway Tuesday and Oregon wasted no time working on its kicking game. Jordan, Kellev stifle Pilots PORTLAND — Mike Jordan and Vic Kelley turned in Oregon’s first solid pitching performance in the last five games Tuesday as the Ducks whipped the University of Portland 5-2. Coach Mel Krause decided be fore the game to split the mound duties between the two. And both came through. Jordan threw five hitless innings and didn’t allow an earned run while Kelley came in in the sixth and gave up three hits without yielding a run. Ray Smith’s error at shortstop put Portland ahead 2-1 in the bot tom of the fifth but Smith quickly made amends, cracking the first pitch of the next inning out of the park to knot the score at 2-2. The Ducks pushed across the winning run in the seventh. Mike Connolly reached first on a fielder's choice, stole second and came home on Dave Ulrich’s single to deep right field. Bob Niehaus carried the big bat for Oregon, going three-for-four with a double. Their non-league pre-season now over, the Ducks travel to Pullman Friday to open up North ern Division play. Oregon 000 101 201—5 13 1 Portland 000 020 000—2 03 2 Jordan, Kelley (6) and Hollins; Wiege, Brown (8) and Robertson, Romanaggi (8). W — Kelley (2-0). L — Wiehe (0-2) HR — Oregon, Smith 2b — Oregon, Niehaus Sporlfolio UO in All-American Classic Oregon’s golf team, which has already estab lished itself as the class of the Northwest, will find out how it measures up to national competition when the All-American Golf Classic unfolds today in Houston. The four-day tourney, one of the nation's most prestigious collegiate events, annually draws the best talent in the land. The Ducks placed eighth in the tournament last year. This year, they look even better as Oregon’s top four golfers are averaging between 72.7 and 73.4 strokes per round. Peter Jacobsen leads with 72.7, followed by Jeff Sanders, 73.1; Scott Tuttle, 73.3 and Steve Prugh, 73.4. Lacrosse team nets 18-5 win The Oregon club sports lacrosse team downed the Portland Lacrosse Club 18-5 Saturday as attack-man Dan Eber led the Ducks with four goals and an assist. John Meyer contributed three goals and four assists while Brent Summers had three goals and two assists. Baxter leads Ducks to 8-3 win MONMOUTH — Shawna Baxter threw a three-hitter and got three hits as Oregon opened its regular women's softball season with a 8-3 win over Oregon College of Education Tuesday. Baxter struck out six and didn't give up a walk in going the full seven innings. Debi Segura aided the Ducks at the plate with three hits. Clark: Money isn’t all there is to life By JOHN HENDERSON Of the Emerald The pro football player hasn't gained much sympathy in recent years from the aver age man in the streets Work ing six months a year and often earning a six figure contract has placed him on a high rung on the American occupation ladder. But to Oregon cornerback Mario Clark, who was selected Thursday as the Buffalo Bills' first round draft pick, becoming wealthy while playing the game he loves isn't his only goal. "One of my mam goals is to achieve financial stability, but I'm not satisfied with that." said Clark. “People come up and ask me, Wien are you leaving?' How much are you going to ask for?' That's not all there is to life. It's important to have financial stability, but I want academic success as well." Financially speaking, he's already found an agent, and has done research on his own in the field of contracts. When his rookie season with the Bills ends, however, don't expect to find Clark planning a chateau in the Catskills or showing off a fleet of new cars to his hometown friends in Pasadena. He'll be back in Eugene finishing his degree in interior architecture, a five-year pro gram. Clark has been fighting hard against the firm hand that rushes many athletes through school. A career in pro football hasn't changed that struggle. "When an athlete is in high school, he's always in the spot light," said Clark "An athlete that's not interested in academics is pushed through without getting an education actively. When he comes to college he's pushed through again. Lots of professors here just pass athletes who don't deserve it. That’s why a lot of athletes are in the position they're in. "From the start, I wasn’t pre pared for college. But I learned to motivate myself. I'm not as far as I should be, but it takes time. I've had to make some adjustments. "Now I have the time." And he'll have the connec tions when he graduates. "When you play pro football, you get a lot of national expo sure," said Clark. "You meet a lot of people. My interests will vary depending on who I meet." Exposure is one thing Clark won’t be lacking as he could step into Buffalo's injury plagued defensive backfield and make a valuable contribu tion. The Bills were dead last in the Conference in pass de fense this year, and have backs Robert James and Tony Greene who are recovering from injuries. "Mario's a super athlete and a fine defensive comer," said Harvey Johnson, Buffalo's Player Personnel Director. "He's quick and he's good in man-to-man coverage. We thought he's just what we needed. "There’s a very good chance he'll see a lot of playing time. Robert James was injured and his training camp recovery hasn't been as good as we'd like" Clark won t be in the dark when rookie camp begins in July. Oregon defensive back field coach Steve Sogge used five to seven defensive align ments and Clark was always assigned the toughest re ceiver. “I have a pretty good idea of what to expect from pro receiv ers," said Clark, who has 13 career interceptions, “because I’ve played against people like Ahmad Rashad and Bob New land in the Alumni game. Phys ically, I won't have to adjust bu psychologically and mentally will. But I have confidence ir myself which is the main thing.” Clark was one of five Cregor athletes to be picked by pro teams. The others were tackle Ron Hunt (Cincinnati in eighth round), kicker Stan Woodfill (Dallas in twelfth), safety Chuck Wills (signed by Win nipeg) and hoop star Ron Lee (San Diego in twelfth). Not bad for a team that has gone 2-9 the last three years. Teams like Oregon aren’t swamped with publicity and it was during the Senior Bowl that Clark jumped into the spot light. He was named Most Val uable Defensive Player, which couldn't have come at a better time. “I knew if I had to make an impression, that was the time,” said Clark. “The perimeter of the field was lined with scouts. They all had clipboards and stopwatches, but you just have to tune them out and do your job. But every move was criti cal." With the pressure of Ail-Star games and the draft now over, Clark can relax and soak up the feeling of being a number one draft choice. “I’m in the spotlight now, but one of these days I won’t be,” he said. “I just want to enjoy the feeling. The prestige of a pro football player will be exciting and I want to live that type of life.” Chances are, however, it won't be the only life he’ll lead. Oregon’s Mario Clark, chosen in the first round of last week’s NFL draft, wants to make it in pro football. But he also wants to earn his degree in interior architecture. The pressure of the draft over, Clark says, “I just want to enjoy the feeling.”
