SPORTS
T ake
The Natural
Continued from preceding page
kids
to court.
.
Franklin's Junior Tennis Pro ram
is open to members and non-members alike. Geare to those
4k between the ages of 5 and 18, instruction is provided on an
individual basis at all levels. Sessions fill up rapidly, so call and
register today or stop by at 29350 Northwestern, just west of
Franklin Road in Southfield.
Summer Tennis and
Swim Camps
Now In Session
4
To register, or for more information, call:
Ext. 38.
352-8000
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46
FRIDAY, JULY 20, 1990
stuff back then," Maskin says.
"There were eight teams. I
think the entire league had a
PR staff of five people."
He contrasts those days
with this year's Pistons-
Portland finals — "they must
have had 25 PR guys here he
marvels.
Maskin was hired by then-
Pistons owner Fred Zollner,
with the team only three
years out of Fort Wayne, Ind.,
and badly in need of an iden-
tity. However, the Pistons had
a tough time gaining respec-
tability in Gordie Howe's
hockey-mad town, Maskin
remembers.
The basketball team played
at Olympia Stadium — when
the hockey Red Wings would
accommodate them — and at
the University of Detroit
before moving into the then-
newly-completed Cobo Arena
in the early 1960s. One year,
Maskin recalls, the franchise
made the NBA playoffs but,
due to scheduling conflicts,
had to play its home games
at what is now the Grosse
Pointe South High School
gymnasium.
"Can you imagine?" he
says. "Here we were on na-
tional television, playing in a
high school gym."
In other years, the team
traded off or sold some of its
home games to other cities
where gate receipts were
larger, Maskin says.
And, in an arrangement
that modern sports jour-
nalists might find incredible,
team-employee Maskin
"covered" Pistons road games
for the Free Press, filing his
stories by telephone from
New York, Boston, St. Louis
or wherever the team was
playing.
"The papers never sent
anybody. It was the only way
we could get the games
reported;' he says.
Maskin retired when the
team was sold to current
owner William Davidson. On-
ly a few of his fellow longtime
employees are still around, he
notes.
He's still a Pistons fan,
though. He attends most
home games at the Palace of
Auburn Hills and even
managed to see a couple of
games in Chicago during the
Eastern Conference Finals
this year.
The difference between the
old also-ran Pistons and to-
day's two-time NBA cham-
pions, he says, is depth and
consistent coaching.
"The Pistons always had a
lot of good players — Dave
DeBuscherre, Dave Bing,
Bailey Howell, George
Yardley," Maskin says. "But
they never had the depth.
"They had three or four
good players at a given time,
while teams like the Celtics
had seven or eight.
"Also, they changed coaches
frequently. It's hard to get
something going, play with a
certain philosophy and then
have it change dramatically
the next year. Or even during
the middle of the season,"
Maskin says.
Now that Maskin is retired,
he and wife Elaine have more
time for travel. The couple
has been to Israel twice in re-
cent years, as well as the Far
East — Japan, Hong Kong
and Manila — plus places in
the United States. They have
three grown children and
eight grandchildren and are
longtime members of Thmple
Beth-El.
One son, Douglas, is a Lit-
tle League coach. But don't
look for Maskin umpiring any
of Douglas' games: there's
the ethical problem and the
umpire's i.nwritten code.
And there's also Maskin's
disdain for Little League.
"The kids are the least-
skilled, but the parents stress
winning over everything
else," he observes. ❑
Franklin Teams
Share Golf Prize
The Larry Kraft and Jerry
Bigelman golf teams totalled
52.5 points July 4 to share
the championship of the
Franklin Hills Country
Club's Dubs Derby.
The two teems shared the
$900 first prize in the five-
person scramble held each
year on Independence Day.
The tournament is believed
to be the oldest at the club,
excluding the club cham-
pionship.
All prizes are listed as
credit in the club pro shop.
Joining Kraft were Harvey
Willen, Larry Weisberg,
Herb Sillman and Estelle
Brown. Rounding out the
Bigelman squad were David
Fishman, Les Colburn, Ber-
nie Hirsch and Irene Cole.
Finishing third through
fifth, with their points and
team prize-winnings, were:
Third place — Morris Brown,
David Sherman, Erwin Ziegelman,
Jim Deutchman, Gloria Ham-
burger, 54 points, $350;
Fourth place — Dick Ham-
burger, Chuck Stone, Milt
Zussman, Francis Eisenberg,
Maurine Stillman, 54.5 points,
$300;
Fifth place — Tie between the
team of Fred Yaffe, Coleman
Mopper, Norm Pappas, Fair
Radom, Barb Smith, and the team
of Steve Radom, Harvey Golds-
tein, Carl Rosman, Carol Roberts,
Elly Hartman, 55 points, $210 per
team.