THE MICHIGAN DAILY Wednesday, February 1$, 1970 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Wednesday, February 18, 1970 Magazine implicates McLain with bookie SEES LESS RECRUITING I I Poor Denny McLain's troubles worsen day by day. In an article in yesterday's Detroit News, Pete Waldmeir, News Sports Column- ist, cited a story from the Febru- ary 23 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine that involved the star Tiger pitcher in a bookmaking operation in 1967. According to t h e article Sports Illustrated charges: *"That the Detroit Tigers' 31- game winner was a partner with 'a soft drink executive' in backing bets taken by a handbook operat- or identified as 'Jigs Gazell,' whose headquarters, t h e maga- zine alleges, was the Short Horn Steak House in Flint. *That Gazell's t r u e sponsors were members of a 'Syrian mob with Cosa Nostra connections.' *That McLain and the:execu- tive w e r e considered 'fish' and were not told when the bookmak- ing operation won, but were billed regularly when it lost. *That McLain and 'his execu- tive friend' had been under 'heavy pressure' in August and Septem- ber of 1967 to 'make good on a $46,000 loss suffered (by the Ga- zell book) when a Battle Creek plunger scored (won) heavily on SPEEDY Copy and Duplicating Center Typing-Printing Xerox Copies 100 COPIES-$1.95 601 E. William (next to Mark's) 761-3596 'R"£ ?:.' T. .^-;f :.z~ ?t".'.. . ..is,- ..,,?:5?4?-f's5.N :- an allowance race at the Detroit Race Course.' *That 'at least one big Detroit hoodlum' bet heavily on the Bos- ton Red Sox in a game against the Minnesota Twins on the final day of the 1967 baseball season - the same afternoon that Denny was knocked out early in the Ti- ger's season finale against t h e California Angels." The magazine article, written by staff writer Mort Sharnik, al- so made reference to a foot injury which McLain incurred in mid- September, 1967. Supposedly the injury was caused Wih e n "Mc- Lain's foot was stomped on by a Cosa Nostra enforcer who had be- come involved in ;collecting the $46,000 debt." Also quoted from the story were three different ver- sions of t h e injury by McLain himself - "stubbed toes injured after he had fallen asleep watch- ing television, toes injured while chasing racoons that were raiding his garbage can, and toes injured when he angrily kicked a locker after the Sept. 18 loss." Waldmeir noted in his article that last weekend the Genessee County prosecutor's office had in- formedca Detroit News reporter that McLain and George (Jigs) Gazelle were seen in each other's company in the summer of 1967. Pont puzzled By The Associated Press "As far AUSTIN, Tex. - Indiana football coach "there we John Pont, who weathered a boycott by grievances. black athletes last year, said yesterday some However coaches are asking "Why inherit a prob- subtle raci lem?" by recruiting Negroes. to it. Buti "If I thought I would be burned" by an- cause of b other boycott, "I wouldn't recruit any more ity, they c black athletes," Pont told the annual NCAA mean som seminar for newsmen. But Pont quickly added that he had "no ASKED negative feeling" about the black athletes problems i who quit the Indiana squad last year and "Coaches2 may have cost the team a share of the Big are great Ten championship. gram.' But Pont, 42, former college star at Miami, a negative Ohio, and coach at Yale, said he runs a bigger tha "centralized democracy" or "democratic He said dictatorship" at Indiana, "and it all rests ers lo o k with me. I have to find out how everybody mends the ticks and make the decisions." boycotted cision whe PONT WAS the discussion leader on the Asked i "Coach-Athlete Relationship," and a lot of tants wer the sports writers' questions were about the athletics,1 boycott, which may have knocked Indiana not a great out of a chance at a 6-1 conference record. The Hoosiers were 3-1 at the time of the PONT S boycott. to today's Pont said 14 Negroes walked off the team, volvement but four of the nine players with eligibility letic, acadE remaining soon returned and the other five He said have since rejoined the squad. eration's " as I'm concerned," Pont said, as absolutely nothing to their r, he said, "T h e y talked about ism. I said there wasn't anything in their mind there could be. Be- lack pride and a greater sensitiv- an take one word or one phrase to ething other than is intended." IF coaches were worrying about nvolving black athletes, Pont said, are starting to say, 'The problems and could destroy my whole pro- it I honestly hope it doesn't have effect. I believe the coaches are n this." that. when black high school play- around Indiana now he recom- at they talk to the athletes who the squad before making a de- ther to accept a scholarship. f he thought black power mili- re "undermining" intercollegiate Pont said, "To a degree, yes, but t one. AID there was a "new dimension" college athlete and that is "in- " in activities other than ath- emic or social. he did not like the younger gen- I don't give a damn attitude." Al- by black athletes so, he said, "they are too uptight and can't laugh at themselves." "A coach can't tell an athlete he can't get involved in outside activities," Pont said. "The primary reason they are in college is to get an education. and the second is to play football. And they can't get involved at the expense" of those purposes. "But how far do you let a person go? "If they want to grow their hair over their shoulders after the football season, I say let it go. I'm not going to talk to you, but let it go. "It's a sliding scale, but it's not a wishy- washy one. There are six months when they will be a football player like I think the5 should be, And for six months they can let it go as long as it doesn't affect their edu- cation. "But I'm not to the point in my coaching career where I'll let the athlete do exactly what he wants to do. I believe in tradition. We're going to treat them like adults, and we expect themto act like it. "I personally like - not a free thinker - but a person who stands on his own two feet." Pont maintained a coach has to have the final word. "If you give an- inch today, an inch be- comes a foot," he said. "They start chipping away, and you have nothing left. I'd rather say, 'do it.'" RADICAL DEFENSE: Established slam falls to fluke I! L By LEE KIRK through the hallowed halls at 420 1 Daily Bridge Editor Maynard as the decks did their I) *Try Daily Classifieds HARKEN CAMPUS LADIES THE LAW CLUB Requests Your Presence at "An Olde Fashioned Ice Cream Mixer" THURS.-FEB. 19 9-11:30 P.M. LAW CLUB LOUNGE Music by the Funky Turkey :r ".:,G;",;s.}Ca'g:;mo ni d S.,ro:;a.+.n:; n,.t;z: imv;t;:g..^ ." " ;:an;t,, iil iiiFf,. i: !i4i5; iiA :.'S >."::ii% } 2;:; : Ski:tii '3: