Portland observer., August 25, 1982, Page 7, Image 7

Portland Observer, August 25, 1982 Page 7
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Sport Talk
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R e m e m b e r H o w a rd D a v is Jr.?
R e m e m b e r (h e yo un g lig h tw e ig h t
th a t was ra te d the m ost s u p e rio r
boxer on that great 1976 U S. O ly m ­
pic b o x in g team ? R e m e m b e r that
the S p in k s b ro th e rs l.e o n and
M ichael were members o f that team.
A ls o S ug ar R a y L e o n a rd was the
c a p ta in an d L e o R a n d o lp h was
there and that Davis was considered
the best o i the lo t. Rem em ber that
h is to ry has sh ow n us th a t a ll the
a b o v e fig h te rs e v e n tu a lly won
ch am p io n ship s except one. A n d if
you h a v e n ’ t a lre a d y guessed th at
lone exception was none other than
H o w a rd Davis Jr.
B e tw e e n I9 7 J an d 1976 D a v is
reached such su perio rity and excel­
lence in the am ateur ranks that some
considered him the finest ever to lace
on a pair o f Everlasts.
H e w on a W o rld C h a m p io n s h ip
in C u b a . H e w o n th e p re s tig io u s
N ew Y o rk G o ld e n G loves to u rn ey
fo u r consecutive years. In the 1976
O ly m p ic s he fo u g h t 20 ro u n d s
against (he w o rld 's finest am ateurs
and never lost a single round on any
o ffic ia l’ s score card, w hile w inning
the g o ld . D a v is had speed. A p le ­
th o ra o f it . H a n d speed he h ad .
Foot speed a-plenty.
H e was b o th th u n d e r an d lig h t­
ning w ith boxing gloves on.
D u r in g th e O ly m p ic s he was a
b lu r. H e w o u ld fla s h those q u ic k
lefts and rights and the next second
he was gone. H e was a classic fighter
and seemingly had his head on right.
D avis cap tu red the hearts o f most
A m e ric a n s w h en he show ed the
world just how great he was. D uring
the O lym p ics his m o th e r, w hom he
loved d e a rly , passed aw ay. Instead
o f q uittin g right there he decided to
go on because he knew th a t an
O lym pic title is what his mom w an t­
ed most o f all fo r him to achieve.
W hen Resta climbed through the
ring to box D avis he brought w ith
him more than 70 losses, 28 o f them
in a row. H ow Resta could receive a
license is s till a m y s te ry to m ost.
Resta was only put in against Davis
KIM ROAORUCK
Professional boxing would be the
next m ile s to n e fo r the yo un g m an
fro m Long Islan d. T h e lightw eight
d iv is io n was s lo w ly d e te rio r a tin g
w ith names such as Ray L a m p k in ,
L e o n ic io O r t iz , E steb an D c Jesus
and V ilo m a r F e rn a n d e z a ll on the
decline. Some new blood was need­
ed to challenge the p ow erfu l c h am ­
pion Roberto D u ra n , and Davis was
thought Io be the man.
Davis became an instant celebrity
in his h o m e . A f t e r a ll, he was
th o u g h t to be a sure th in , a c a n 't
miss and was soon to wear the light-
weight crown.
A fte r signing a professional con­
tra c t w ith real estate m an D e n n is
Rappoport for around 50,000 Davis
set out to fu lfill his dream.
H e was signed to fig h t his firs t
pro bout on January 15, 1977, in a
six-round bout, televised by CBS.
D a v is ' ship was sailing the same
course as Sugar Ray Leonard's.
Davis was put in with Jose Resto,
a fig h te r m ost c o n s id e re d as the
worst fighter in any professional d i­
vision. H e was merely a setup.
to ensure that he (D avis) got o f f on
a winning note.
Rick Crancy was Davis* next op­
ponent— another set up. Craney fell
in round three. T he Davis train was
rolling.
H ow ard stood 5-10 and almost a l­
ways had a height advantage against
the s m a lle r lig h tw e ig h ts . H is c a t-
quick jab s kept his o pp o n ents o f f
balance.
Davis was fighting six- and eight-
round fig h ts , but against in fe r io r
o pponents his fig h ts seldom went
more than three or four.
D avis next went against fo rm e r
lightweight contender T u ri Pineda,
a man w ith experience and w ho at
one tim e fo u g h t the W B C lig h t­
weight cham pion Ishim atsu Suzuki
to a standstill before losing a tough
15-round decision.
The Pineda fight was perhaps the
finest fo r the 20 year old Davis.
H o w a rd was sim ply awesom e is
thus his first fight against an experi­
enced boxer. H e rained punches so
fast and furious upon Pineda’ s head
th at he had the Los A ngeles fans
dazzled. Punches flew in bunches.
Pineda was later to say that " I ’ ve
never faced anyone w ith th at kind
o f speed.” Davis finished Pineda in
fo u r ro u n d s . T h re e m o n th s la te r
Davis signed to fight Larry Stanton.
This was to be his first 10-rounder.
A t this point in his career, he went
from great to m ediocre. F o r a ll his
ab ilities he could not ever become
champion because he was only a 3-6
round figh ter. Davis disdained go­
ing into the gym. A nd that led to his
demise.
The $330 million handshake
Players to the NFL: "This is our game. ”
by D a v id Meggyesy,
Pacific News Service
A p ro fo un d and significant event
re c e n tly o c c u rre d am o n g th e 28
team s in th e N a tio n a l F o o tb a ll
League. P rio r to the start o f the first
pre-season games, the football play­
ers on each opposing team w alked
to the center o f the stad iu m field s
and shook hands. This simple act o f
recognition and respect broke forever
a 62-year-old N F L rule that p ro hib ­
ite d . u n d e r p e n a lly o f a $ 1 0 0
m in im u m fin e , fra te rn iz a tio n w ith
the "e n e m y ” before an N F L game.
Reaction from the N F L was swift
and desperate: " W e 'll fine them if
they shake hands, w e’ ll fine them if
they fig h t, this is o u r g a m e ," said
Jack D o n la n , N F L m a n a g e m e n t
councils executive director. "T hese
are Black P anther ta c tic s ," fum ed
F o rre s t G re g , head coach o f the
C incinnati Bengals.
W h o s e g am e is th is , a n y w a y ?
T h a t ’ s the q u e s tio n p la y e rs have
been a s k in g th em selves and each
other fo r the past year. In no uncer­
ta in term s, the handshake shouted
the answer: This is O U R game.
gross and were the lowest paid— and
highest-risk— o f the four m ajor prb
sports: fo o tb a ll, b aseball, b a s k e t­
ball and hockey.
W h a t do these 28 N F L o w n e r /
p ro m o te rs do? T h e y o rg a n iz e the
events, rent the sta d iu m and p rin t
the tickets. The press and other m e­
dia p ro m o te the event fo r n othin g.
These 28 middlemen take absolutely
no ris k , w hile players risk th e ir c a ­
reer every time they step on the fo o t­
ball Held.
In c o n tra s t, o th e r e n te rta in e rs ,
w ho are as p o p u la r as professional
fo o tb a ll p la y e rs , lik e ro ck m usic
g ro up s, receive betw een 80 and 90
per cent o f the gross, while the pro­
moter gets 10 to 20 per cent.
This m u lti-m illio n d o llar N F L fi-
an average o f $14 m illion pier year in
T V revenues for the next five years;
the players w ant th eir fa ir share o f
that fin a n c ia l b on an za. I f they do
not p la y , things w ill back up very
fast fo r the n etw orks, which stand
to lose $25 m illio n per week in ad
revenues.
H is to r ic a lly , the key fa c to r in
m aintaining the N F L superstructure
has been the league’s a b ility to de­
liv e r a ll the p layers on tim e , fo r
every gam e, every w eekend. T here
have been no w ork slow-downs, no
" b lu e f l u . ” In fa c t, the in c re d ib ly
interdependent relatio n sh ip w ith in
the league and with the T V networks
demands every game must be played
as scheduled, on tim e, with no flexi­
bility or change. U n til this year, the
N F L p ro m o te r/o w n e rs had u n lim ­
ited confidence in being able to de­
liver.
T h e o w n ers’ view o f the players
has been one o f mindless chattel, re­
p la c e a b le p a rts ; a n y o n e w h o got
uppity was driven fro m the league;
an yon e w h o got dam aged was re­
placed by a new p la y e r-p a rt. T hey
k n e w , an d the p layers k n e w , the
N F L was the only game in town. I f a
player d id n 't like how much he was
paid or how he was treated his only
choice was to quit football.
Because the 28 team s shared
equally 97 per cent o f the league rev­
enues, each team " o w n e d ” 1 /2 8 th
o f every player in the league so there
was a b s o lu te ly no leverage on the
players* p art to bid his services to
o th er p ro m o te r/o w n e rs even i f he
could "gel free” from the team that
d ra fte d him ; no o th er team w ould
bid for his services.
Significantly, all has changed d ur­
ing the past y e a r. T h e pre-season
handshake was the first clear mes­
sage to N F L m anagem ent that the
tra d itio n a l and expected blind obe­
dience to league orders is history.
W h a t th e p layers w a n t is a fa ir
share o f the revenues they produce.
T hey w a n , a m in im u m 55 per cent
o f the gross which, given the N F L ’s
p ro jected $600 m illio n in revenues
next y ear, w ill equal $33 0 m illio n .
T h is w ill be placed in an in d e p e n ­
dent fu n d an d d is trib u te d by a
fo rm u la devised by (he players at
the N F L Players Association C o n ­
W h a t has o c c u rre d th ro u g h o u t
the league is a fundam ental re-deft-
nition by the players o f who they are
in re la tio n to the N F L . C a ll it co n ­
scio u sn ess-raisin g o r a q u a n tu m
leap in p o litic a l and econom ic self-
awareness— ft has happened.
F ro m a general perspective, N F L
games are for the players a paid fo r­
um which allows expression o f their
c o n s id e ra b le a th le tic a rtis try and
skill. F o r the fans, N F L games are
a th le tic e n te rta in m e n t events. T h e
pro gam e, and the b ig -lim e college
gam e, u ltim a te ly and p rim a rily in ­
volves a relatio n sh ip between these
tw o g ro u p s , a th le te s and fa n s —
those w ho play and earn money and
mose w ho watch and pay money. In
essence, th e g am e belongs to th e
players and the fans.
In the N F L in 1982, this p la y e r/
fa n re la tio n s h ip w ill generate o ver
$600 m illio n , $21 m illio n per clu b .
B ut s ta n d in g b etw een th e 1 ,3 0 0
players and the millions o f pro fo o t­
ball fans are the 28 N F L monopolist
o w n e r/p ro m o te rs , who in 1982 w ill
pocket most o f the revenues g ener­
ated by this p la y e r/fa n relationship.
L ast y e a r th e 1 ,5 0 0 p ro fo o tb a ll
p la y e rs received 30 per cent o f the
nancial super-structure rests firm ly
on the shoulders o f the 1,500 N F L
fo o tb a ll p la y e rs — th e p e o p le the
spectators come to see. These p lay­
ers, this year, have come to u nd er­
stand th a t together they can abso­
lu te ly c o n tro l th e ir eco no m ic des­
tiny. In the words o f songwriter Joe
G la z e r, " W ith o u t the players there
a in ’ t no g am e."
In 1982 that prospect is ab ou t to
become re a lity . W ith h o ld in g th eir
services is precisely w hat the N F L
players are prepared to do i f they do
not get an a c c e p ta b le per cent o f
gross revenue.
N F L C om m issioner Pete Rozelle
recently signed a $2.1 b illio n tele­
vision deal with the three m ajo r net­
works guaranteeing each N F L team
I t ’a n o t supposed to be frien d ly
vention in Albuquerque last M arch.
T h e fo rm u la is based on years o f
service in the league and individual
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Located inside the
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The Real Truth Evangelistic Crusade
5209 N.E. 22nd Avenue
(corner o f 22nd & S u m n er)
Grand opening week of subjects:
W ednesday, A ug. 26
THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT THE
RETURN OF JESUSI
Will it be secret rapture, public, or
devastating? How near is the event??
Thursday, A ug. 26
THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT LIFE
AFTER DEATHI
What happens three minutes after a
person dies?
S aturday, A ug. 28
THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT GOD S
LAW I
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S unday, A ug. 29
THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT THE
LORD'S DAYI
Is it Friday, Saturday, or Sunday?
W ednesday, Sept. 1
THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT
FORBIDDEN FOODSI
What IS safe to eat and drink?
Also M r. Jesse M a rtin ,
Free Bible movies each night starting at 7:30 sharp!
Bible quizzee, awards, good music, illustrated sermons
and team perform ance.
W h ile in A lb u q u e rq u e , the 536
p layers present also u n a n im o u s ly
en do rsed a p ro p o s a l to r o ll back
tic k e t prices to 1980 levels. In the
face o f the new $2 b illio n T V co n ­
tract, 12 N F L teams are raising tick­
et prices this year.
The players also realize the N F L
is no, the only group o f prom oters
capable o f presenting professional
fo o tb a ll, nor are the big three net­
works the only broadcasters capable
o f n ationally televising pro fo o tb all
games. In d e p e n d e n t p a y -T V p ro ­
m o ters are h u n g ry fo r p ro g r a m ­
m in g , an d the p layers k n o w it
doesn’t matter who promotes or tel­
evises (he gam es— as long as high
q u a lity games are p layed w ith the
best ta le n t and the gam es get the
widest possible audience.
T h e N F L m ay o w n th e ir f r a n ­
chises but they d o n ’ t own the p lay­
ers. T h e o n ly hope N F L m a n a g e ­
ment has to keep the league intact is
to get people to the bargaining table
w h o have a u th o rity to m ake d eci­
sions, namely some p ro m o te r/o w n ­
ers and Rozelle, and negotiate a fair
c o n tra c t. I f n o t, they co uld lose it
all.
As Players’ Association president
G en e U p s h a w said , 55 per cent o f
the gross is not the m ain issue. “ W e
see it as a fight for dignity. W orkers
sh o u ld have a say in th e ir wages,
hours and working conditions.”
T he 1980s are a tim e o f u n p a ra l­
leled change in all areas o f our na­
tio n a l life . P rofessional fo o tb a ll is
no exception. In 1982, fo r the 1,500
men who play pro fo o tb all, this pro­
found process o f change means col­
lectively re-claim ing their game and
athletic craft.
It is w ithin the nature o f sport to
reflect the highest and best p o te n ­
tials o f our hum an enterprise. The
players in the N F L are an exam ple
for all o f us, for in claim ing what is
tru ly th e irs , they lay c la im to the
best w ithin themselves.
© PACIFIC NEWS SERVICE. 1982