Friday, September 17, 1971 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Nine Fridy, epteber17, 971THE ICHGAN AIL the dec By JIM KEVRA "Denny McLain, Denny McLain, there's never been any like Denny McLain" -Year of the Tiger by Ernie Harwell, Detroit Tiger broadcaster. TRUER WORDS than the above have seldom been spoken. The civilized world, to say nothing of Major League base- ball, has never seen anything like Dennis Dale McLain. McLain has trodden the paths of baseball fortune from the heights of fame and stardom to the depths of utter fail- ure. In 1968, Denny was the hottest thing in the world of sports. By virtue of his 31 wins, he found himself on the cover of Time, Newsweek, and Sports Illustrated. Currently, he is trying desperately to hang onto a starting job with the lowly Washington Senators. Last Wednesday night, The Maestro, as he was once called by his enraptured fans, sank another step into his quagmire of defeat. Denny became- the first pitcher in modern times to lose twenty games in a single season after being a 30 game winner, yet another record for The Little Red Book of Baseball. McLain's tenure in baseball has fit almost exactly into the tragic (sometimes tragi-comic) mold. If ever an English scholar wants to write a modern version of The American Tragedy, he would do well to examine the life of McLain. The Maestro came to the Tigers from the Chicago White Sox farm system, a true unknown in every sense of the Word. After a few innocuous years with Detroit, Denny began his meteoric rise to fame. In 1965, he won 16 games, then followed that by notching 20 and 17 victories his next two seasons. And then, pow, Denny McLain became a household word as he led millions of pant- ing followers to a 31 victory season, a pennant for Detroit, a Cy Young Award (given to the best pitcher in each league), and a Most Valuable Player Award. He followed that up with 25 more wins and another Cy Young Award in 1969. But, like all good tragic heroes, McLain had his tragic flaw. In Denny's case, it was his unbridled egotism and, of course, his greed. His downfall, the discovery that he had been in- volved with gamblers and his subsequent suspension from base- ball, came as surely as Burnham Woods travelling to Dunsinane. The beginning of the end came for McLain in February, 1970, when Sports Illustrated published an article linking Mc- Lain with gamblers during the 1967 baseball season. The article alleged that McLain was part of. a bookmaking operation and the injury he incurred that year - which caused him to miss most of the last month of the season and almost surely cost the Tigers the pennant,-was possibly inflicted when he failed to pay a gambling debt. Denny made few comments to the press about the in- cident; mostly he just apologized for what he had done. But a lot of the media suspected that Denny's greed over- came his sense of judgement- that the lure of the dollar proved too great. In any event, his tragic denouement had arrived. Bowie Kuhn's six-month suspension was only a slap on the wrist compared to other possible punishments he might have meted out., Then came the strange part of the whole affair. When McLain returned to active duty, he expected simply to slip back into the same role that he played before. In other words, Mc- Lain seemed to expect that he would still be the center of at- tention, that he would still not be subject to the rules and regulations of his teammates, and that life would go on as it had before. That might have been the case except for one thing; McLain failed to produce as he had in previous years. The behemoth who had terrorized the American League for so long had become just another pitcher. When Denny found out that his curve Awas hanging and his deadly fastball was starting to find its way into Section 38, his whole world seemed to collapse. He turned into a clown and finally ended up his Detroit career by dousing a couple of Detroit sportswriters with buckets of water who had the nerve the write that McLain might have fallen from the ranks of the World's Greatest Pitchers. Anyway, The Maestro served the Tigers far better in going than he could have by staying. Not only did Detroit acquire a left side of an infield, they also go Joe Coleman, who already has 18 victories this year, twice as many as Denny. Bob Short, the Washington owner, has often been criticized for grabbing Denny, particularly when the price was so high. But Short really took a calculated gamble. He figured that the addition of McLain surely would help the attendance (and it has slightly) and that if Denny ever got back into form, he could be a real asset. Unfortunately for Short, a pitcher's arm is a very delicate mechanism and Denny's seems to be nowhere near as effective as it once was. In his recent starts, McLain has been relying mostly on slow curves and off-speed pitches and, more often than not, has been getting belted. McLain's year off seems to have ruined his arm. Now, it's almost a sure bet that McLain won't be with Washington next year. Denny has been making with the "play- me-or-trade-me" talk and Ted Williams, manager of the Senators, doesn't seem willing to pitch Denny every fourth day. There's still a few more chapters to unfold in the Denny McLain story. Can Denny make a comeback or is he doomed to obscurity? One thing to remember before you try to decide is that there aren't too many sore-armed pitchers in the major leagues, particularly ones without big-league personalities. Virginia: Green By ELLIOT LEGOW Thomas Jefferson is famous for the immensely successful institu- tions he was instrumental in founding, among them the United States of America and the Demo- cratic party. But Jefferson's re- cord of successes is marred by one spectacular failure. The Uni- versity of Virginia which t h e Squire of Monticello was instru- mental in founding has been for the last 20 seasons, one of t h e nation's worst football teams. Despite Jefferson's association with the school, Virginia has man- * aged only one winning season since 1953 and has recorded two completely winless seasons in the last dozen. Last year the Cavaliers had one of their more successful campaigns winning 5 and losing > only six, and are now testing the Wolverines for the first time in 72 years. Back in 1899 Michigan shut out the Cavs 37-0 and Coach Do n Lawrence of Virginia hopes to avoid another such disaster. How- ever, his Cavaliers are lacking strong experienced performers on either offense or on defense and will be hard-pressed to keep even with the Wolverines. Last week in their 1971 sea- son opener at Charlottesville against the Navy, the Cavaliers were slipped by the unimposing Midshipmen 10-6 and failed to score a touchdown on their rain- rich soaked field. Against Michigan, ick Lawrence will be starting s e v e n Lnk sophomores, including three of the n- first blacks ever to be recruited, d's by Virginia. Leading the Virginia offense but aggressive daily sports NIGHT EDITOR: RANDY PHILLIPS will be one of their promising sophomores, Harrison Davis III, a 6-3 198 pounder who has good running ability but an uncertain arm. Lawrence was not planning on going with Davis as his start- er this season until returner play- caller Bill Troup decided to trans- fer to South Carolina this fall. Lawrence has said of Davis, "he spent most of the spring absorb- ing the offense, and will work on execution and technique this fall." However, with Troup's departure Davis has been thrust into the starting job. Michigan's Tirrell Burton w h o scouted the Cavaliers last week- end admitted that Davis, "made a lot of sophomore mistakes". The offense Burton saw Virginia use were the I and split b a c k- fields with two wide receivers. Burton said, "they are fairly quick and pretty well-balanced between the run and the pass with a little more running than passing." Wolverine coach Bo Schembech- ler who has only seen the Cavs on film feels their "offense has enough talent to move the ball" and terms their defense "agres- will be another sophomor'e Kent Merritt who raced for 552 yards in five freshman games, and com- piled a 6.7 yard rushing average. Lawrence says of his 6-0 170 pounder, "he takes the inside game with the look of a fullback and the outside game with t h e look of a gazelle." Providing the power in the Cav backfield will be senior G a b b y Helman. The Cavaliers term Hel- man a , "bull type power runner" and he lived up to that billing the last two seasons, gaining 1594 yards and averaging over f o u r yards per carry. The Cavalier running game may have problems moving against Michigan's tough defense espec- ially behind a very youthful Cay- alier blocking line. Only one start- er is returning, Stormy Costas, but he has shifted positions f r o m center to tackle. Three of the other linemen are sophomores but Lawrence is hop- ing they will give his t e a m big- ger size than in recent years. Cleveland's Paul Ryczek,n6-3, 217, will be at center and two more Clevelanders, Tom Kennedy, 5-11, 205, and Dale Dickerson, 6-4, 224 will fill out the right side of the line. Costas and another sophomore Steve Shawley cover the left side. One of the Cavaliers' offensive strengths is in their receiving corps, where three experienced veterans return. Split end Dave Sullivan grabbed 37 of Troup's passes last season for 523 yards and can be a dangerous man in his junior year if Davis can be- gin to pinpoint his tosses. Seniors Joe Smith and B i l l Davis complete the Cav p a s s catching combo, and each netted over 200 yards on receptions last season. The offense still appears to be Virginia's biggest weakness and they will need a much improved showing to score heavily against Michigan's rugged defense. However, the Cavalier defense is not one of the nation's best either. Only four veterans return on this unit and only one, tackle Andy Selfridge, is rated highly. The 6-5, 220 pounder from Cleve, land is being touted by the Cavs as a potential All-American. Lawrence says Selfridge is both "a leader and a fierce competi- tor." But the rest of the line is either young, small, or 'both. The whole linebacking c o r p s is green and so are two of the four defensive backs. Two more Clevelanders, Bobby McGrail and Bill Kettunen join Robbie Gustaf- son and 5-9 soph Gerard Mullins as the deep backs. -Daily-Sara Krulw SOPHOMORE KEVIN CASEY (12) rolls out on the quarterba option during Saturday's 21-6 victory over Northwestern in Eva ston. It's uncertain whether Casey will start in this weekeni home opener against Virginia. I C sive." Joining Davis in the backfield BO STILL UNCERTAIN: No.1 QB remains a problem - ----I 11 By BILL ALTERMAN Michigan's home opener is only a day away but Wolverine coach Bo Schembechler still has not de- cided 'on his starting quarterback. Yesterday both KevinuCasey and Tom Slade led the first string through their paces and Schem- bechler admitted after practice that "both Slade and Casey will run the first group" in tomorrow's encounter with Virginia. Casey quarterbacked the entire game last week against Northwest- ern, but in practice this week Slade and junior signal - caller Larry Cipa got in most of the work. Wednesday the two of them scrimmaged for an hour while Casey watched, and Schembechler BASEBALL SCORES Yesterday's Results AMERICAN LEAGUE Boston 10, Cleveland 7 Baltimore 6, New York 2 Detroit 3, Washington I California 2, Kansas City 1 Minnesota 7, Milwaukee 3 Other clubs not scheduled. NATIONAL LEAGUE Chicago 1, New York 0 Montreal 6, Philadelphia 2 Pittsburgh 6, St. Louis 1 Atlanta 4, Houston 3 Cincinnati 8, S. Francisco 1 San Diego 4, Los Angeles 1 - - - said yesterday he would like to play "all of them" against Vir-I ginia. The quarterbacking slot has been Michigan's problem ever since the first practice in spring and, although Schembechler has admitted he is "a one quarterback man," he is still undecided as to who will lead the team for the rest of the year. Aside from this problem, the Wolverines appear to be in good shape. The defense was superb last week against Northwestern and although Fred Grambau still is not ready to play, his replace- ment sophomore Dave Gallagher, filled in admirably last Saturday. The offense is also in tip-top shape, though tackle Jim Coode was slightly shaken in yesterday's scrimmage when he was kicked in the head. Three sophomore runners are all pretty much recovered from in- juries and could see action Satur- day. Tailback Harry Banks and fullback Bob Thornbladh looked impressive this week in practice and wingback Clint Maselrig will be used to back up wingback Glenn Doughty. Doughty had been both- ered by a groin injury earlier in the week but appears to be fully recovered. When asked about Virginia, Sch- embechler admitted "we'll prob- ably be favored by 30 points," but cautioned "it, (meaning a loss) could happen." "Virginia has a couple of good players," hessaid,and showed some concern about their aggres- sive defense, but added, "they made a number of (offensive) mistakes against Navy (losing 10- 6) and they'll have to eliminate them if they hope to beat us." p ROSH HASHANA DINNER SUNDAY SEPT. 19 5 P.M. at HILLEL, 1429 HILL RESERVATIONS BY FRIDAY at 5-663-4129 U " 0 Mn Mn I I VOLKSWAGEN OWNERS Complete Collision & Painting. V. W. body work our speciality. 12 years experience on V. W. We honor ll insurance claims and all work is guaranteed. Miller's V. W. Collision Inc. 1845 Whittaker Rd. h Ypsilanti, Mich. Ph.-483-2062 LET SELL YOU ANY THING, But, if you buy the idea of a vocation-a I fe of service & prayer for others- we may be able to help you. We are the Passionists. Following the inspiration of Paul of the Cross we pledge ourselves to become in a particular manner disciples of Jesus Crucified. By this discipleship we try to serve others. 9 § Classic crew-neck shetland from England § Always at home on campus . . . this authen- § tic crew-neck pullover from England. Tra- § ditional as the clock tower . . . new as this § season's colours, especially created for Van § § § Boven Clothes. Sizes 38 to 46 From $17.00 § § § J § § ~~ §4 §4 X§ § § § § § § (t§ m Z -1 INTERESTED IN CHANGE? Join THE PROJECT COMMUNITY (formerly U-M Tutorial Project) THOMAS A. MOOREHEAD, Director FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT THE PROJECT COMMUNITY Thomas A. Moorehead, Director 2210 Student Activities Bldg. 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