Spovii
■ "' ' ' . —i— bb Baaii m — mumi a
San Francisco offers Cherry new contract
By Janean Chun
Of Mm Emerald
Thousands of kids, and their
parents, have stopped him for
his autograph. "It doesn’t affect
me," he says. "It’s flatter
ing. . .but no big deal."
Who is this? A rock singer? A
television star? An MTV veejay?
No, it’s University senior
Tony Cherry, former Duck foot
ball standout. Cherry was
drafted last spring by the San
Francisco 49ers, who recently
were eliminated from the Na
tional Football league playoffs
by the New York Giants.
The 49ers were victims of
their own inability to run the
football, registering only 29
yards on the yard compared to
the Giants’ 216.
San Francisco receiver
Dwight Clark was even quoted
after the playoff loss as saying,
"Our running game — we
couldn’t get back to the line of
scrimmage.”
Cherry, a successful
tailback at Oregon, was released
by the 49ers in October after
playing just five games, but San
Francisco asked him back for
the 1987 season and offered him
a new contract with a $10,000
increase next year.
He is currently in Kugene to
finish his degree in telecom
munications at the University.
In 1985, his last season at
Oregon, Cherry became the
third rusher in the history of the
Ducks to pass the 1,000-yard
mark. His 1,006-yard senior
season is second only to Bobby
Moore’s (Ahmad Kashad) 1,575
yards in 1971.
Cherry had five 100-yard
games and 10 touchdowns dur
ing the 1985 season and earned
first-team all-Pac-10 honors as a
running back. He also received
the Clark Trophy, which is
awarded to the team’s most im
proved player.
Cherry was an obvious can
didate for the NFI. and expected
to be drafted between the fifth
and 10th rounds. When he
heard he was drafted by San
Francisco in the ninth round, he
was, "happy, relieved. It got
kind of hairy there. It was
almost the 10th round.”
In the 1986 pre-season game
against the Los Angeles
Raiders, Cherry made his first
NFL touchdown. "It happens
like it usually happens. It was
Mon. • Fri.
8:30 • 8:00pm
519 E. 13th
485-1940
just regular. It didn't sink in un
til after the game, when I sat
down and thought about it. It
was nice.” he says.
And in the final pre-season
game against the Los Angeles
Rams, he made another
touchdown. This time he spik
ed the ball. "That was fun.” he
says, laughing. "I always
wanted to do that."
Yet Cherry remains level
headed in a profession where it
is easy to get carried away by
fame.
"I don’t know, it’s pretty
much just football to me — just
another step. And I felt I deserv
ed it because I did well in
college.
“I was never in awe of
anybody, but I did stop a couple
of times and say, Tin here.’ I
saw it as the highest point a
man can go. You know, it’s pro
fessional. But it seemed the
same, just another team.
"Whenever I get on the field,
it doesn’t matter what level it is.
the job’s got to be done. The op
ponent is the enemy; l have to
elude him. I have the ball — I
have to score."
Cherry also spent some time
off the field with the famous
49er players. During a break
from summer camp, he attend
ed a barbeque at Ronnie Lott's
uncle's house with Ixitt and
Roger Craig.
"Everyone thinks they’re
head cases just because they're
professional athletes." Cherry
says. "It doesn't make much
sense to me. I mean, they were
good enough to get there.
They're just human beings and
they play football. It’s that
simple."
Cherry made the final 45-man
cut for the 49ers because two
other running backs. Hill Ring
and Wendall Tyler were on in
jured reserve.
Then Wendall Tyler came off
injured reserve ancl went on the
required NFL waiver wire.
The waiver wire runs
24-hours throughout the entire
NFL. A scout for any team can
read the players' names by com
puter and can pick any player
up.
Tyler, who has a no-cut con
tract. was not picked up, so
Cherry was released.
Photo by Michael Wilhelm
Former Oregon football standout Tony Cherry may be hitting
the books right now to complete his degree in telecommunica
tions, but a new 1987 contract offer from the San Francisco
49ers will most likely put him back on the gridiron soon.
—UO Bookstore—
LOW Photo PRICES
Him &
Photo IVotTssin
QWDP i
a
Guaranteed Lowest Prices
Wa’II match of beat tha prtca ol any
local photo coupon.
One Day Service
In by 4 p.m. back by NOON tha naxt
day (C-41).
r Enlargements, Reprints
and Slides
Qood sarvlca and groat prtcaa In our
lull sarvlca Photo Oapt.
't our lull sct\ iir Photo Dipt.
We carry KODAK. OLYMPUS, and
PENT AX cameras A supplies.
13th & Kincaid
M f 7.30-5-30
SAT 10 00 4 00
M6 4331
'‘I just got caught up in a
numbers game. They didn't
want to lose me. but no one
picked Wendall up because of
his knee (Tyler went through
knee surgery last year), his age
— he’s 31-years old. and his
salary — $500,000 a year. It's a
business. They like to get rid of
/
BMBM I
PWiLrffl
CHINESE
RESTAURANT
Oriental Buffet Lunch
Downstairs
& Try Our Dinner
Upstairs
Hours: Downstairs
M Th 1! 00 7 00; F Sa II 00 4 3C
Closed Sundays
Hours: Upstairs
Su Th 4 30 10 00
F Sa 5 00 10 30
1275 Alder Street • 683-8886
that kind of thing, especially
with his being that old.
"They (San Francisco) said,
‘What can we do? We can’t pay
both of them. We have to pay
Wendall.’
Turn to Cherry, Page 12
^German
AUTO SERVICE
VW’S MERCEDES BMW'S
DATSUN TOYOTA
reliable service for
your foreign car
‘Since 1963"
2025 Franklin Bvd
Eugene. Ore 97403
Bus PTi 342-2912
Center for
Academic Learning
Services
(Formerly Learning Resources Center)
108 Library • 080-3220
WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
-G.R.E.
(test is Feb 7) $fjO
Tues/Thurs 6pm-9pm
January 23-February 5
(4 sessions. 3 hours each)
^STARTING MATH-,
AGAIN
Mon/Wed 6pm-7 30pm
February 2-March 4
(preparation for Math 100)
_BASIC MATH_
REVIEW
$50
Tues /Thurs 3 30pm-5 30pm
January 20-February 5
(6 sessions. 2 hours each)
-G.M.A.T.
(test is Jan 24, March 21) $50
Saturday, Jan 10. 9am-12 noon
Tuesday, Jan 13, 6pm-9pm
Saturday, Jan 1 7. 9am-12 noon
Tuesday, Jan 20. 6pm-9pm
(4 sessions, 3 hours each)
-L.S.A.T.-1
(test is F ebruary 21) $50
Tues/Thurs 3pm-5pm
January 27-February 12
(6 sessions, 2 hours each)
r-SPEED READING~|
$50
Thurs evenings 6pm-8pm
January 22-February 26
(6 sessions. 2 hours each)
— GRAMMAR_
REVIEW
$30
Wed 3 30pm-5pm
January 21-February 25
(6 sessions, 1 5 hours each)
-C-BEST
(test is Feb 7) $30
Tues . Wed . Thurs
Jan 13. 14. 15
3 30pm-5 30pm
(3 sessions, 2 hours each)
r
M.C.A.T.
1
(test is April 25) $170
Saturdays. 9am-12 noon.
1pm-4pm
February 14. 21. 28, March 7.
April 4. 11. 18
(break during Spring
vacation)
7 sessions. 6 hours each