P»Q« 12 Portland Observer, January 12,1983
Coliseum show features sport celebrities
Than try th e Union A venue . . .
M IL W A U K E E — Dick Butku* is
perennial A ll-Pro linebacker during
his seven-year N atio n al Football
League career with the Chicago
sary Team.
Bears.
A Chicago native, Butkus played
collegiately at the University o f Il
linois as a center and linebacker He
enjoyed the distinction o f earning
Sporting News' All-America honors
as a center in J 963 and as a lineback
er in 1964. As a senior, he was
named “ College Player o f the
Year” by that publication
W ith the Bears, Butkus earned
A ll-P ro status in each o f his seven
professional seasons. During that
time, he intercepted 19 passes and
returned them for a total o f 147
yards.
Since retiring from pro football.
Butkus has been among the busiest
speakers on the sports dinner circuit
and has worked as a fo o tb all an
nouncer for the New Orleans Saints
and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
M IL W A U K EE — Bob Cousy was
a perennial NBA All-Star during his
13 years with the Boston Celtics.
A native o f New York C ity ,
Cousy played collegiately at Holy
Cross where he achieved All-Ameri
can honors four consecutive years.
W A N N A S T A R T S O M E T H IN ?
Celebrities end former sports greets Dick Butkue end Bob Cousy
w ill be In Portlsnd to p artlclp ete In the 1M3 Sports Connection
which Is co sponaored by U te Beer from the M iller Brewing Com
pany. Butkua (left! will be at the show on Saturday. January 22nd,
and Couay (right) will be there on 8undey. January 23rd. The show
will feature the latest In sporte equipm ent aa w ell aa many other
eporta personalities The show will be at the Memorial Coliseum.
Cousy led the Celtics to six cham
pionships during his 13 years with
Boston. In 1971, Cousy was elected
to the Basketball Hall of Fame and
was chosen by an AP poll in 1974,
as one o f the top five basketball
players of all time.
In 197), Cousy was selected by
the National Association of Basket
ball Coaches for its Silver Anniver
Following his pro career, Couay
turned to coaching. He racked up aa
impressive 117-34 record in six sea
sons at Boston College. He
s ka*
the Cincinnati Royal* o f the NBA
briefly, before leaving in 1974 to Sa
turn to private business endeavors la
Worcester, Mass.
Later that year he was asked to
coach the U .S . A ll-S tars in a six
game scries again* the Russian Na
tional Team that had defeated the
United States in the 1972 Munich
Olympics. In the em o tion -filled
scries, the U.S. captured four of the
six games during the cross-country
tour.
" M r. Basketball,” as Cousy is a f
fectionately known, has been active
for many years both on the local
and national scenes of Big Brothers
o f Am erica. In 1965. Cousy was
named "Big Brother o f the Y ear,"
the award presented to him by then-
President Lyndon B Johnson at the
White House. He has traveled to all
parts of the world for the U.S. State
Department and private industry on
lecture and goodwill tours.
G o lf, tennis and racquetball are
now his major forms of physical re
creation. He has a six handicap in
golf and holds an " A " ranking in
tennis.
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African student joins
Howard ball team
by Shaun Powell
Ouamano-Ba of Senegal, who palme basketballs aa If they were
cantaloupee. la the flret International student to play basketball for
Howard University's Bison. He Is only one of a few African athletes
playing NCAA Division 1 basketball In this country.
When Howard University basket
ball coach A.B. Williamson fielded
his basketball team for the 1982-83
season, he found 11 new faces on
the squad. Standing out among the
first-year transfer and freshman
players was a big six-eight, 230-
pound athlete from the African na
tion of Senegal.
Center Ousmane-Ba (pronounced
OOSE-mahn H A A ) is H ow ard's
first international player on its
men's basketball team. He is also
only one of a few African athletes
playing N C A A Division I basket
ball in this country.
Born in Ethiopia and educated
under the French educational sys
tem in Dakar, Senegal, the walk-on
freshman joined the Howard Bison
with only 1 <A years of basketball ex
perience. Nonetheless, he palms
basketballs as if they were canta
loupes.
The electrical engineering major
compensates for his lack of basket
ball experience by being an excellent
student and an inspiration to the
team. Says Coach W illiam son,
" H e ’s a good example of an athlete
who is academically sound."
Ousmane-Ba, who speaks several
languages, did not play organized
basketball until his senioir year at
Lycee Van Vollenhoven High
School in D akar. Before that, his
ball-playing training came from
playground pick-up games.
"Basketball is popular in Senegal,
but there’s no professional team to
go to; it’s pure amateurism. It ’s not
on the same level as it is here,” says
Ousmane-Ba.
"W e had maybe two gymnasiums
in the whole state. Fortunately, the
largest gymnasium, with a seating
capacity of about 2,000, wasn't too
Letter
To the sports editor:
Eddie Robinson, the legendary fo o tb all coach of G ram bling
State University. is ahown sending one of hie 'Tigers’' Into play.
Grambling coach makes history
Eddie Robinson recently became
the fourth coach and the first black
in the history of college football to
win 300 games.
During his 4 1-year-career at
Grambling State University, Robin
son has sent more players (203) into
Ray Robinson, who won
fame at ona of h u to ry 'i
•raatatt box art.
got hit
nickname
"Sugar
Ray"
whan a tpo rtiw ritar da
teribnd him at the "tweet
•tt fighter...tweet at tugar."
Ihe National Football League than
any other college coach. Under
Robin's leadership, one of the many
championships the Grambling Tig
ers have won is the five-time victory
o f the Southwestern Athletic C on
ference Title.
Coach Robinson goes out o f his
way to make sure his players de
velop into well-rounded students
that will succeed in society. His de
dication has been recognized with a
multitude of awards. When asked if
he would coach for the NFL, Robin
son says, " I understand the politics
o f coaching in the pros, and I just
think I can make a bigger contribu
tion right here at Grambling.”
When w ill you adm it that Jim
Paxson carries his weight on the
court? Last year, you accused the
Blazers of racism for starting Pax
son instead of Bates. It did look that
way at the time, but the season indi
cated otherwise. You claimed all
Paxson can do is shoot— a 20-plus
ppg average in Jack Ramsay’s team
offense speaks for itself. But he’s
also proven himself to be a smart,
consistently intense competitor who
knows how to win. As a white play
er in a racist town in a racist league,
he sometimes receives a dispropor
tionate share o f media attention
(though far less than some white
"stars” ), but he still deserves credit
from you as a white player who can
really play. As long as you rely on
racially-m otivated cheap shots
rather than impartial observation, it
is difficult for knowledgeable b-ball
fans to take your column seriously.
Richard Ruby
LYNN KIRBY COLISEUM FORD
far from me.”
Ousmane-Ba had no real inten
lion of playing basketball, but when
you are six-foot-eight, 17 years old
and one of the tallest individuals in
the country, coaches there couldn’t
see his N O T playing the sport.
" I was watching my high school
team play, and a friend with me said
I should play because I was taller
than anyone on the court. A t this
point, I wasn't hooked on playing
ball, but the coaches kept pressuring
me to play.
"M o s t o f the people around my
height d id n ’t hve any coordina
tio n ,” he says. *‘ A lot o f coaches
wanted me to play because I could
run and was better coordinated for
my size.”
After high school, Ousmane-Ba
played center on the Converse sec-
tionl team from the Ivory Coast.
There, he says, he developed various
individual basketball skills.
Ousmane-Ba had intentions of at
tending college. He chose Howard,
he says, "because of a sound engin
eering department. I also knew tht
many prominent black people had
gone through Howard. It's also one
o f the few schools that really
reaches out for overseas students.”
Ousmane-Ba has seen only lim
ited action on the court for H o w
ard's Bison. But he’ s not bitter
about it.
" I think that it’s better if I don’t
play this soon. I feel I have to learn
the game better and cut down on my
mistakes. Playing American ball
takes time to get adjusted to ."
56 NE B ro ad w ay 288-5211
Josephine Baker, the famous singer, was known for
walking her pet leopards down the Champs Elysees in
Paris.
e
The earliest known members of the modern cat fam
ily first appeared about 13 million years ago.
e
New York City's massive Pennsylvania Railroad Sta
tion was originally modeled after the ancient Roman
baths of Caracalla.
a
In old Japan It was believed that eating ginseng root
would help ensure long life.
We donotdo business with South Africa
American State
H
a n k
AN INO EPENO ENT BANK
2737 N. E. Union
Portland, Oregon 97212
Says Williamson, "H e never com
plains about not playing. He's also
willing to learn and has good poten
tia l." The coach anticipates that his
promise will pay o ff in one to two
years.
DR. BRADY’S
E C O N O M IC R EC O VER Y
FOR SA V IN G TE E TH
Ron Skyea replies: O.K., If It s
crow you want ms to eat. I'll eat.
Paxson does carry his weight as
an off guard. The NBA needs the
Jim Paxsons; u n fo rtu n ately
there are many Billy Ray Bateses
around. Therefore. Jimmy Is still
playing and Billy’s gone. And I
just have to believe thet ability
was not the deciding factor. No
ona ever said Billy couldn't play.
Problems, yes.
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Boxing p rom oter Don King
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King served one year in prieon In
1971
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