Saturday, July 15, 1972

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Page Eleven,

Sports of The Daily KC halts Ben als

I

The announcer as culture .. .
, ..H OLYW CW!
By DAN BORUS
A QUICK GLANCE at the standings of the American League
West has a unique contender. The White Sox, strangers
to the dizzying heights of contention since the Go-Go Sox of
1959, are making a run at the Oakland Athletics.
On the strength of three pitchers and Dick Allen's bat the
Chisox, once the laughing stock of the American League, have
put some happiness in their mayor, saddened by his exclusion
from the proceedings at Miami Beach. What's more is that
the fans of the South Side have tramped out to the slum-rid-
den decaying park in record numbers,
Much of this enthusiasm can be attributed to the silver
sweet tones of one man, announcer Harry Caray. Although
some players wish that the frank Caray would commit the act
his name suggests, fans by the thousands have thrilled to his an-
nouncements
All of this is more remarkable when one takes time to con-
sider that Caray can only be heard in the Windy City on
small suburban FM stations. After the Sox decline two years
ago when they hit rock bottom, all major stations refused to
carry White Sox games. Today Harry outdraws all the top
stations in town with his colorful and emotional broadcasts.
Every now and then one hears that baseball is dead, that
the fans are more attuned in this television age to the fast
paced movement of football and the power of big league hoc-
key. Baseball, the argument goes, is dull and boring.
Unfortunately television has hurt baseball, slowing it -
down to an oppressive pace. But radio, a much more per-
sonal medium, has given to the fans the personal drama
of the action. Gathered around a radio, straining to hear
how one's heroes are doing has been the basis of the con-
tinuing strength of the game. With the demise of radio
culture, the sport has certainly suffered.
Harry's greatness is that for him each play is personal,
each movement is necessary to the overall good. Harry, when he
was the voice of the Cardinals, A's or Sox saw the game as a
type of moral struggle. To fail to move the runner into scoring
position was to Harry tantamount to violating all laws of
decency.
He used to ride some players who failed to have the same
loyalty to the Red Birds that he possessed. Ken Boyer, pres-
ently a Cardinal coach, would receive the kind of treatment
that Harry could so eagerly dish out.
A typical Caray broadcast:
"Runners on first and second, Redbirds down by one. Two
outs. If Boyer can poke one through, the Cards can put this
game into extra innings. Here's the wind-up the pitch on the
way. Here it is , . there go the runners . . . And we'll be back
with the recap in just a minute,"
Harry is entertaining, In the day when announcers simply
call balls and strikes, Harry is telling anecdotes, pushing his
beer, and most of all boosting the fans.
Every Wednesday, Harry does the play by play from
the bleachers, mixing it up with the lower classes of base-
ball. lIe will ask someone their home town and when the
reply comes Green Elbow, Nebraska, Carry will inevitably
yell, "Green Elbow, Nebraska, one of my favorite towns."
A bit corny perhaps. Yet down home too. One can't feel
alienated from that sort of broadcasting. When a spade will
be called a spade, when broadcasters exist for more than the
hawk the owner's product, be it baseball, beer, or bath oils,
fans will respond,
Bill Veek the man who once batted a midget for the St.
Louis Browns in his Hustler's Handbook, points out that base-
ball should stop worrying about molding character and be
more concerned with developing characters. While we have
possibly lost the ability to rejoice in the eccentricities of our
athletes, doesn't Billy Martin's decision concerning mustaches
seem a bit silly and outdated.
What makes Harry part of a sadly missing breed in
baseball is that he will not sit still. He will not tell the
polite lie. Harry Caray loves the game and lets you know of
his love for it. His attachment to the Cardinals, which I
can understand, or any club he works for is rare in this
day of baseball as business.
Of course some do not like Harry's outspoken ways. In-
cluding some players who receive the brunt of his sometimes
catching attacks. And in way you can see what they mean.
Harry, despite his 25 years in St. Louis, has a few enemies in
that city as well as in Chicago.
Growing up in St. Louis, I can remember waiting for
Harry to tell me exactly what Gino Cimoli or Lou Brock did.
There was a thrill to hearing Caray describe the footsteps of
my heroes. Sure he was over-emotional. Everybody really knew
that Lindy McDaniel's walk to Billy Bruton wasn't as important
or as bad as Harry said it was. And he used to scream all
the time.
Every Cardinal Home run was followed by that stinking
"Holy Cow." But if you ever saw a Curt Flood Catch of a ball
in the Chicago ivy, maybe Harry wasn't too far off base after
all.

When he left the Cardinals, reportedly because of some
extra-marital fiddling with the boss' wife, one instinctively
knew that the Cards just wouldn't do it again. In the same
way that they will never 'have a centerfielder like Curt Flood,
they will never have an announcer like Harry. They don't make
em like that anymore.

From Wire service Reports
DETROIT - While the Roll-
ing Stones were kicking out the
jams in Cobo Arena, the Tigers
were kicking themselves for
their lack of hitting. Three
Royal pitchers combined to stop
the Tigers, 1-0, keeping the
Tigers magic number at 77.
Joe Coleman gave up but one
run, coming on a two-out single
by former Detroiter John May-
berry in the fourth inning.
The Tigers threatened in the
eighth when they put together
three singles, but the Royal
bullpen doused any flame that
the Tigers had possibly kindled.
Coleman pitched a fine game,
allowing only three hits in sev-
en innings before giving way to
Chuck Seelbach in, that frame.
The loss left the Tigers with a
half game lead over the Orioles,
who may have found the lost
batting strength.
Bucs bust
PITTSBURGH - 'The Pitts-
burgh Pirates. whose Murderer's
Row-was humbled t h r e e
straight games by the rampag-
ing Cincinnati Reds, turned on
the power last night and trash-
ed the Houston Astros by a
5-2 score.
With Nellie Briles hurling a
four hitter and Gene Alley
pounding Astro pitching for a
double and a triple the Pirates
were never in trouble.
After four innings, the most
powerful batting team in base-
ball had romped to a 4-0 lead
over Astro ace Larry Dierker.
Singles by Willie Stargell in the
first and Briles in the second
produced the first two Pirate
tallies. The fourth saw two more
Pirates violate home plate on a
sacrifice fly by Milt May and
the double of Alley's.
Briles, chalking up his eighth
victory, was hurt only by Lee
May's 19 home run of the sea-
son in the sixth inning.
Orioles orbit ,
BALTIMORE - The Balti-
more Orioles, playing like the
champions of old, continued
their virtual ownership of the
Chicago White Sox with a dou-
ble victory by the scores of 7-4
and 3-0. The Orioles got fine
pitching from Dave McNally in
the first contest and Doyle
Alexander in the second.
Alexander, in fact, allowed
only two hits, one in the fourth
and one in the eighth. Neither
proved damaging,
Alexander was helped by the
power of Bobby Grich, whose
homer off Dave Lemonds in the
third gave the Orioles a two run
lead.
In the opener; the Orioles
scored twice in the second of
loser Tom Bradley with a home
run by Boog Powell and a single
by Grich and a double by the
game's hitting star Dave John-
son.
The Sox knocked McNally
from the box in the sixth when

BOBBY FISCHER, sulking because he discovered a fly in his
soup, takes to practice for his match with Boris Spassky. When
he asked the waiter what the fly was doing, the waiter was said
to have replied "The breast stroke."

mighty Dick Allen blasted a two
run homer along with a double
from Reichardt. With the score
at 5-4, Manager Earl Weaver
went to his flawless bullpen
and Dave Leonhard and Roric
Harrison responded with score-
less pitching from there on in.
Reds riot
ST. LOUIS - The Cincinnati
Reds continue their domination
of Rick Wise and the National
League in general last night
with a 6-3 pasting of the new
improved St. Louis Cardinals.
Pete Rose's two run single in
the second inning proved to be
the margin of difference in the
contest.
The Reds struck for one in
the first and three in the sec-
as Rose, Johnny Bench and
Darrel Chaney provided the
fuel which burned the Redbirds.
The Red's Ross Grimsley was
mastering the Cards with a nif-
ty one hitter until the fifth
when retreds Donn Clendenon
and Ed Crosby each singled,
Pinch hitter Brant Alyea knock-
ed in Clendenon and the Cards
were charging at the Reds.
The Cards made a game of it
as Matty Alou tripled in the
next inning and came home on
Joe Torre's sacrifice. However
Torre could not overcome the
Red jinx and with Alou and
Brock on base, the MVP of last
year rapped into a double play.

Fischer
fouls out
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (A)-
Bobby Fischer charged yester-
day that tournament organizers
seemed to "upset and provoke
me" deliberately, but an appeals
committee rejected his request
to replay the chess game he for-
feited to Boris Spassky.
The world champion from the
Soviet Union was awarded
Thursday's second game in the
championship m a t c h w h e n
Fischer refused to appear, stay-
ing in his hotel suite, because
he objected to three moving
picture cameras in the hall.
Thus Spassky, who won the
first game, was 2-0 in the 24-
game series. He needs 10 more
points to retain the title. A vic-
tory counts one point and a
draw half a point.
Fischer agreed to go ahead
with the match if the cameras
were removed, although the
movie and television rights al-
lowed the Icelandic Chess Fed-
eration to offer a record $125,-
000 purse for the two players.
G u d m u n d e r Thorarinsson,
president of the Icelandic fed-
eration, said that if the match
was stopped by Fischer's dis-
qualification the organizers
would not pay the loser's share.
This meant that Fischer could
iiot only lose his chances at the
title but a great some of money
As the loser he would be en-
titled to $46,875 from the chess
federation, $45,000 from a purse
of about $120,000 offered by
British financier James Slater,
and $27,500 from television and
movie rights.
In a seven-page letter to
Lothar Schmid, the chief ref-
eree, the American said he was
told the cameras would be
silent and invisible but "nothing
could have been farther from
the facts."
He previously had told
Schmid that although he could
not see or hear the cameras, the
knowledge that he could not see
or hear the cameras, the knowl-
edge that they were there made
him nervous.

Professional League Standings

Americaasleague
W L Pct. GB
Detroit 44 35 .557 -
Baltimore 43 36 .544 1
Boston 37 38 .493 5
cNe Yii 3739.407
Milwaukee 31 45 .408 11 f
West a
Oakland 50 30 .625
Chicago 45 36 56i12
Minnesota 41 37 .526 8
Kansas city 41 39 .513 9
California 36 45 .444 14
Texas 34 47 420 1
NeseasysResuIts
0,a0and 9, ewYrk3,1ts
Oakland I, New York 0, 2nd
Baltimore 7, Chicago 4, 1st
I atimore 3, Chicago 0, 2nd
Silwaker 7, California 3
Vlinne'sota 7, oston6 5
Cleveland 2, Texas 0, 14 innings
K5ansas City 1, Detroit0
Today's Games
taklad (HolsaIt-7) at New
Yoask (Petersona8-110
Chicago (Bahnsen 11-9) at faltimore
(Cuellar 7-7)
Califorsia (Wight 9-4) at Milwaukee
(stephenson 2-2)
Bostoa (Mclosthn 2-1) at Minne-
sota(Woodsna5-)
Cleveland (Tidrow 5-9) at Texas
Kansas City Drago 7-8) at Detroit
(Timmerman 6-7),

National League

Pittsbur1h
New York
S. Louis
?Montreal
Philadelphia
Cincinnati
fouston
Los Angeles
Atlanta
San Francisco
San Diego

W L Pet. (,a3
49 30 .620 -
45 33 .577 3'/
42 37 .537
43 39 .524 71/2
34 44 .436 14'."
28 52 .350 211
49 31 .613 -
48 35 .578 21
42 38 .525 7
37 45 .451 13
36 49 .424 151/
30 50 .375 19

"esterday's test lt'
Chicago 9, Atlanta 8
Pittsburgh 5, Houston 2
Cincinnati 6, St. Louis 3
New York at San Die
tontreal at Los Angeles
Phiadelphia at San Francisco
Today's Games
Atlanta (ielro 8-8) at Chicago
(Blads7-6)
ffoston (Forsch 5-3) at Pittsburgh
Ellisa7-4)
icinnati (McGlothlin 3-5) at St.
Louis (Santorini 4-6)
New York( Gentry 3-6) at San Diego
tKirby 6-0)
Montreal (torrez 9-5) at Los Angeles
(Downning 5-5)
Phloaelpna (Carlton 12-6) at San
Francisco (Stone 4-6)