Page 12 Portland Observer November 1. 1979
Sports Talk
by Ron Sykes
Sports Editor
It turned out Willie Mays got him­
self all worked up for nothing. The
Baseball Hall o f Fame had his San
I raneiseo Giants uniform all along
and he didn't even know it.
Now Mays is all worked up again
because Commissioner Bowie Kuhn
has ordered W illie to disassociate
himself from baseball due to Mays’
signing o f a long term contract with
Bally M anufacturing Co., a gam­
bling firm located on the East Coast.
Mays, a $50,000 a year public
relations man for the Mets, yesterday
signed for $100,000 with Bally.
In the speech inducting the one­
tim e m ajor league great into
baseball’s Hall o f Fame, Mays said,
“ The G ia n ts/ fo r whom I played
some 20 years, didn’t see fit to send
tne a uniform so I could present it to
Hall o f Fame officials.”
However, after checking, it was
found that the Giant organization
did indeed send one over, but failed
to notify W illie.
T he G iant organization would
have been te rrib ly remiss not to
honor Willie after so many glorious
years he gave to the organization.
And it is sorry to see “ M r.
Baseball” leaving the game, but as
he publicly stated, he has to look out
for Ins family. Enough said.
Speaking further on the Hall o f
Fame. Until 1971, no players from
the old Negro Leagues had been
voted into the Cooperstown, N.Y.
shrine. Any Blacks who had made
the Hall did so strictly on their merits
in the major leagues.
As we all know by now, Blacks
were barred from participating in the
majors until Jackie Robinson ap­
peared in a Dodger uniform in 1947.
Dick Young, New York baseball
writer, talked to some Black stars in­
cluding Roy Campenella and decided
to form a committee to induct deser­
ving Black players from the Negro
League. Through the work o f his
committee, nine players were induc­
ted: Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson,
Buck Leonard, Monte Irvin, Cool
Papa Bell, Judy Johnson, Oscar
Charleston, Martin Dihigo and Pop
Lloyd. Then Commissioner Ford
F rick, who founded the H all,
thought those players should not be
admitted because no reliable records
were kept.
That committee was disbanded in
1977 and the sad part is that there
were probably many, many more
qualified players that will never get
their just dues.
After watching the contributions
made by Blacks on this years’ World
Cham pion P ittsburgh Pirates it
would be hard to imagine baseball
without Black players. The Negro
stars o f old used to tour with major
league clubs and they never lost a
series. That should very well indicate
the kind o f talent that was there. I
hate to hear that nine players were
good enough, and that was it. There
were great players in that era and it’s
a shame that they arc gone un­
noticed.
Imagine if there was no NFL or
N BA open to Black athletes and
everyone was focusing on baseball.
W ith today’ s athletes the talent in
baseball would be awesome. And
remember that’s exactly how it was
before Jackie Robinson.
Suns shine on hot Blazers
(Phoenix 89 Portland 88)
What goes up must come down.
Davis’ shot went up and down and
with it came the Blazers’ nine game
winning streak. So the streak ended
with a 20 foot desperation shot by
Phoenix forward Walter Davis with
no time left on the clock. Sure, Port­
land had 18 turnovers, which no
doubt led to their demise. But got to
believ that in this one Dr. Jack was
out coached by John M cLeod.
Whenever the ball went into the
corners the Phoenix guards would
im m ediately trap. This led to
numerous Blazer turnovers.
One quick time out should have
solved this problem. Secondly, the
Blazer guards were not into the of
fense during the entire first half. The
usually reliable Ron Brewer and the
steady T.R. Dunn had zero poin
between them. Then Maurice Luca
Blazer power forward, playing in h
second game o f the season, wt
called on for 30 tough minutes,
should be noted that Lucas playe
well, but was too tired at the en<
And as all players know, when yoi r
wind is gone then so too is everything
else. Down the stretch Maurice was
totally ineffective which was Ram­
sey’s fault for not pulling him. When
a player is walking up and down the
court as Luke did in the final four
minutes, then that should serve as a
pretty good indicator that something
is wrong. Oh, well . . . teams and
players have bad days, so coaches
shouldn’ t be exempt.
WALTER DAVIS SHOOTS OVER T.R. Dunn.
MAURICE LUCAS goes up strong despite Phoenix
defender.
Kermit Washington again led the
Blazers in rebounding, collecting 14
boards. Kermit is a force, and plays
with so much enthusiasm. He surely
is a delight ot watch. Few players
rebound as does Kermit. He doesn’t
just bond; he rips.
And I would certainly be remiss if
I didn’ t mention that “ encounter o f
somekind” that never should have,
but did, take place in South Africa.
M eaning,
of
course,
the
Heavyweight Cham pionship fight
(W BA version) between John Tate
and South African Coetzee. Tate was
the winner o f a very dull exhibition.
John Tate, in this writer's opinion,
could not defeat any o f today’ s top
contenders. Or yesterday’ s either.
And remember, as always, this is
only "one Black man's opinion."
(Photo: Bob DIEranco)
The Morns Marks House
1501 SW Hornson Street
Portland 97201
Telephone 227-2688
DES CONNALL
T.R. Dunn looks for busy season
Professional Corporation
LEGAL CLINIC
by Ullysses Tucker
Back in 1977, the P ortland
Trailblazers decided to keep
promising rookie, T. R. Dunn, over
veteran guard FJerm G illiam , who
was a key factor in the Blazers win­
ning the N.B.A. title.
Since then, the organization has
not regretted its selection although
there were times when they wondered
about him. The 6'4 guard from the
University o f Alabama was drafted
in the second round, and played in 80
games as a newcomer. He started 15
games behind Hollins, Johnnie D.,
and Twardzik.
In his first season, “ Theodore
Roosevelt" averaged 3.8. points per
game, grabbed 147 rebounds,
blocked 8 shots, dished out 45
assists, shot 417 from the field, .661
from the line, and tallied 768
minutes. The summer after the
season he was asked to go to l.os
Angeles with the rookies to work on
his skills. That he did.
Last season, Dunn scored 7.7 a
game, grabbed 344 rebounds; the
most by a guard in Blazer history,
dished out 103 assist, blocked 23
shots, raised his shooting percentage
to .448. and hit a sizzling .772 from
the free throw line. He also stole 86
passes, and played 1,828 minutes.
“ My game’ s more refined,” he
said. “ The rough edges are
smoother. I’ve been running the o f­
fence fluidly, and I ’ m more aware of
what everybody else on the court is
doing now.”
A
native
of
Birm ingham ,
Alabama, Dunn competed against
players in high school like Leon
Douglas (D e tro it), Reggie King
(Kansas City), Leonatd Williams (U.
o f Portland-France) and a host of
other fine ‘ Crimson Tide" athletes.
Dunn, an excellent defensive
player and a fine rebounder has
already snatched 25 offensive
rebounds. Against the Golden State
Warriors, the Blazers sixth victims.
Coach Al Attles said, " I think the
Portland guards (Brewer and Dunn)
must have played at lot o f forward
sometime in their life because they're
both very good inside.” Dunn has
played every position on the basket­
ball court.
Jack Ramsey, head coach o f the
CONCENTRATING IN THE FIELDS OF:
CRIMINAL LAW
INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS
DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE
OF INTOXICANTS
DOMESTIC RELATIONS
WORKERS' COMPENSATION
BANKRUPTCY
PERSONAL INJURY
WILLS - PROBATE
AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS
CONSUMER PROTECTION
If you have a problem that is not covered in this list, please call and ask
whether we can help. Chances are, we can. If not, we can recommend
someone else for you to call. One way or the other, we want to see you get
the kind of professional legal counsel you're entitled to.
The best time to call us, or any attorney, is before you are embroiled in a legal
problem. This is called preventative law and it makes a lot of sense.
T R DUNN
Blazers said, “ w ith Dunn and
Lionel, we might have two o f the
best defensive guards in the league.
Great hands, and great an­
ticipation.”
Last week Dunn scored a career
high o f 23 p oints, grabbed fo ur
rebounds, and had three steals, as
the Blazers slipped by the Chicago
Bulls 95-93 on a Ron Brewer jumper.
“ I was getting some good passes
underneath the basket,” he said af­
terwards “ I just so happen to put a
few in. I was open a lot in the basket
area.”
Currently, Dunn is playing about
30 minutes per contest and scoring a
shade under twelve points a game.
He has also com m itted only nine
turnovers this season. " I don't care
if you play five minutes, you don’t
want to make any m istakes,” he
said.
W’ith the injury to Dave Twardzik
and Lionel Hollins, T.R. will more
than lik e ly log a career high in
minutes played this season.
Dunn, married and the father o f a
son, should be called the “ Ice M an"
instead o f George Gervin o f San An­
tonio, he is the ideal role model for a
youngster to pattern himself after.
“ IceT. ? "
Regardless, when you call us we will arrange for an initial consultation at
your convenience. Cost. $20 We probably can't solve anything in this meeting,
but it is a chance for you to explain your particular problem and for us to give
you some idea of what it'll take to reach a solution If you want us to proceed,
we’ll give you an estimate of the fees you should plan on. In writing.