Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 17

f- IMI DECATUR HERALD Decatur, Illinois, Thursday, June 19, 1980 's time to remember the original Sugar Ray Opinion By DAVE ANDERSON New York Times News Service He's 59 years old now, a little heavier, a little slower. But his nickname is still in lights. He lives in Los Angeles where he is the chairman of the Sugar Ray Youth Foundation and as the Leonard-Duran welterweight championship fight approaches, perhaps it's time to remember the original Sugar Ray, the one his manager, George Gainford, always called "There are no small fights for Robi'son," Gainford once proclaimed. "Only big ones." As the world welterweight, middleweight and almost light-heavyweight champion, Sugar Ray Robinson inspired the phrase that is now as much a part of boxing as the ring. The phrase is "pound for pound, the best In recent years that phrase has been used to describe Roberto Duran and after Friday night's extravaganza in Montreal it will be used to describe the win- Ray in his room at Caesars Palace.

"He asked me," the original Sugar Ray recalled, "if I minded him using my name and I told him, 'No, go ahead. Maybe the original Sugar Ray does not mind. But those who remember him considered Leonard's appropriation of the nickname to be a violation of an invisible copyright. In baseball, there has been only one Babe, only one Stan the Man, only one Mr. October; in football, there has been only one Broadway Joe, only one Juice, only one Zonk; in basketball, there has been only one Dr.

only one Magic; in golf, there has been only one Golden Bear. But in boxing now, anybody named Ray is automatically Sugar Ray not only Sugar Ray Leonard but also Sugar Ray Seales. But at least Leonard had the class to ask for the original Sugar Ray's approval. "The time I talked to him, he seemed like a nice kid," the original Sugar Ray said. "And from what I've seen, he seems to be a pretty good little boxer but he don't seem to be much of a puncher." At least not by the original Sugar Ray's standards.

Undefeated in 27 fights as a pro, Leonard has 18 knockouts, three in the first round. As a young welterweight, the original Sugar Ray was undefeated in his first 40 fights with 29 knockouts, 10 in the first, round. After losing a 10-round decision to Jake LaMotta in Detroit in 1943, he was undefeated in his next 90 fights (two draws and one no-decision), including 55 more knockouts, eight in the first round. Then in 1951 he lost the middleweight championship to Randy Turpin in London but he regained it two months later in the Polo Grounds with a 10th round knockout. "Of all my fights," the original Sugar Ray recalled, "that one had the most hoopla, like the Leonard-Duran fight now." "At your best," he was asked, "how are amateurs, not pros.

Walker Smith Jr. did not have a card but Gainford always carried all his fighters' cards. Dozens of them. The real Ray Robinson was another of Gainford's amateurs but he had not made the trip. That night Walker Smith as Ray Robinson, was awarded a three-round decision in his first amateur fight.

Because his mother did not want him to be a boxer, he kept the name. Not long after that Ray Robinson was coming down the steps from the ring after a knockout in Watertown, N.Y., up near the Canadian border, when the local sports editor, Jack Case, looked up at Gainford. "That's a sweet fighter you've got," Case said. "As sweet as sugar," a lady at ringside added. In his paper the next day Jack Case wrote about Sugar Ray Robinson and ever since, it's as if that were his baptismal name.

do you think you would have done against either Leonard or Duran at their best." "Well," he said, then he paused a moment and added, "I like to believe that I could handle anybody around." But the original Sugar Ray can't complain about Leonard appropriating his nickname. The original Sugar Ray borrowed another boxer's real name. The original Sugar Ray's actual name is Walker Smith Jr. But as a skinny teenager known as Smitty he boxed in Gain-ford's gym in Harlem and occasionally went along for the amateur bouts upstate. One night he was in Kingston, N.Y.

when the promoter suddenly needed a flyweight. Smitty nudged Gainford. "Here's my flyweight," Gainford said. "Where's his card?" the promoter asked. Amateur boxers need an Amateur Athletic Union card to certify that they ner.

But over the telephone from his Los Angeles home, the original Sugar Ray would not pick a winner. "I'm so busy with all these kids in my program," he said, "I haven't seen enough of either fighter to make a pick." Strange. Just about all of Sugar Ray Leonard's fights and many of Duran's fights have been on home television. "I know," the original Sugar Ray said, "but I haven't seen many only a few of Leonard's, none of Duran's." He's only seen Leonard once from ringside. He was in Las Vegas on Nov.

5, 1977, when Leonard, in his fifth pro bout after winning an Olympic gold medal in Montreal, demolished Augustine Estrada with a left hook to the liver in the sixth round. The day before that fight, Leonard visited the original Sugar artin grand slam propels Cubs 7-0 walked none and yielded seven hits before yielding to Bruce Sutter in the sixth. Sutter went the rest of the way for a 14th save. CINCINNATI CHICAGO ab bi ab bi Collins cf 4 0 0 0 DeJesus ss 3 0 3 2 JKendy 2b 4 0 10 Randle 3b 5 12 0 Cncpcn ss 4 0 10 Bucknr lb 4 10 0 Foster If 4 0 10 Vail rf 3 0 11 Driessn lb 4 0 0 0 Thpsn rf 0 10 0 Knight 3b 3 0 0 0 Martin cf 4 114 Geronm cf 4 0 3 0 Hndrsn If 3 0 10 Nolan 4 0 2 0 Foote 3 12 0 Leibrndt 2 0 0 0 Tyson 2b 2 10 0 Spilmn ph 1 0 0 0 Sutter '10 0 0 Soto 0 0 0 0 Lamp 2 0 0 0 Bair 0 0 0 0 Kellehr 2b 110 0 Total 34 0 8 0 Total 31 7 10 7 Total 34 0 8 0 Total 31 7 10 7 Cincinnati 000 000 000 0 Chicago 020 000 50x 7 DP Cincinnati 2, Chicago 1. LOB Cincinnati 8, Chicago 8.

2B Geronimo. HR Martin (12). SB DeJesus 2, Foote, Tyson. Randle. DeJesus.

IP ER BB SO Cincinnati Leibrandt 4 6 7 2 2 3 2 Soto 0 1 3 1 4 4 2 0 Bair 1 2 3 2 1 1 1 1 Chicago Lamp 6 6 2 3 7 0 0 0 3 Sutter S.14 2 1 3 1 0 0 1 1 HBP by Soto (Vail). WP Bair. 2:31. A 19,196. CHICAGO (AP) It was a classic duel of strength vs.

strength, fastball vs. fastball-hitter, and Wednesday Jer ry Martin was stronger. "I hit the ball pretty good. I was thinking that I wanted to drive in at least one," said Martin after his seventh-inning grand slam homer capped a five-run burst in the Chicago Cubs' 7-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. "I got a lot more of the ball than even I was thinking about." Forewarned may be forearmed, but reliever Doug Bair, who served up the fastball, said he would make the same pitch in the same situation.

"They told me beforehand that Martin was hot. And I had to throw a strike," said Bair. "But it was a mistake throwing it where I was plenty behind it he could have hit anything, a grounder, a pop up, anything." Ivan DeJesus banged out three hits, including a two-run single, and had two of five stolen bases for Chicago. Dennis Lamp struck out sit -v immtfMfVrmimnitiiiMiyoiiTfiiTnfi'i'ii wv it Ski? ivf Fonseca thinks slump is near end Staff photo by Herb Slodounik Taylorville's Dan Barry bats against ADM's Frank Taylor. ADM manhandles Taylorville boys Mark 'It Tupper Sporti Writer Staff photo by Herb Slodounik Danny Binkley surveys situation.

game to Springfield, 3-2 in 12 innings. Taylorville had defeated Springfield 10-2 earlier. It was the exact same team that faced ADM Wednesday night. Niekro muffles Cards 3-0 HOUSTON (AP) Joe Niekro pitched a six-hitter to lead the Houston Astros to a 3-0 decision over the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday night.

The Astros took a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a run-scoring single by Enos Cabell. Terry Puhl reached base on a fielder's choice and advanced to second on Jose Cruz' single before scoring on Cabell's hit. In the third and fourth innings Rafael Landestoy and Morgan scored to make it 3-0. Landestoy scored on Cedeno's groundout and Morgan scored on a double-play grounder by Niekro. ST.

LOUIS HOUSTON ab bi ab bi Tmpltn ss 4 0 0 0 Lndstoy ss 3 110 Durham rf 4 0 10 Puhl rf 4 110 Seaman 0 0 0 0 JCruz If 4 0 10 KHrndz lb 4 0 10 Cedeno cf 3 0 0 1 Simmons 3 0 0 0 Cabell 3b 3 0 11 TKnndy If 4 0 10 Morgan 2b 3 110 Reitz 3b 4 0 10 Reynlds ss 0 0 0 0 TScott cf 3 0 10 AHowe lb 4 0 10 Herr 2b 2 0 0 0 Pujols 2 0 10 Phillips 2b 10 10 JNiekro 2 0 0 0 lorg rf 10 0 0 Kaat 2 0 0 0 Total 32 0 6 0 Total 28 3 7 2 St. Louis 000 000 000 0 Houston 10) 100 OOx 3 DP St. Louis 2, Houston 1. LOB St. Louis 6, Houston 7.

2B Durham. SB Cedeno. JNiekro. IP ER BB SO St. Louis Kaat L.l-4 7 7 3 3 2 1 Seaman 1 0 0 0 3.0 Houston JNiekro 5 9 6 0 0 1 5 2:08.

A 24,459. Gura wins No. 9 KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Jamie Quirk drove in three runs and Amos Otis two to power the Kansas City Royals to a 10-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians Wednesday night. Larry Gura won a ninth game in 11 decisions, tying Tommy John of the New York Yankees for the league high in victories.

Gura scattered seven hits. The victory, coupled with Toronto's doubleheader sweep of Chicago, made Kansas City the only team in the American League West with a record above .500. The Royals have an 8'2-game lead over the second-place White Sox. CLEVELAND KANSAS CITY ab bi ab bi Dilone If 3 12 0 Wilson If 5 2 3 0 Orta rf 4 0 10 White 2b 4 2 0 0 Hargrv lb 4 0 0 1 Porter dh 3 12 1 Charbn dh 3 0 10 Aikens lb 3 12 0 Harrah 3b 1110 Barrnc pr 0 10 0 Dybzki 3b 2 0 0 0 LaCock lb 0 0 0 0 Alxndr ph 1 0 0 0 Otis cf 4 112 Rosello 3b 0 0 0 0 Hurdle rf 4 12 1 ABnstr 2b 3 0 0 0 Wathan 3 0 11 Mannng cf 4 0 0 0 Quirk 3b 5 0 2 3 Diaz 4 0 10 Wshgtn ss 3 110 Veryzer ss 4 0 1 0 Total 33 2 7 1 Total 34 10 14 8 Cleveland 011 000 000 2 Kansas City 004 100 05x 10 Quirk, White, Bannister, Rosello. DP Cleveland 3.

LOB Cleveland 7, Kansas City 11. 2B Dilone 2, Quirk, Wilson. 3B Washing ton. SB Dilone 2, Harrah. Bannister, White.

SF Otis. IP ER BB SO Cleveland Denny L.7-5 3 7 4330 Owchinko 4 4 3 3 4 0 Monge 1 3 3 10 Kansas City Gura 2 9 7 2 2 2-4 Owchinko pitched to two batters in 8th. HBP by Owchinko (Aikens). 2:55. A 23.736.

Illinois State expected to join Missouri Valley NORMAL (AP) Illinois State University was expected to reveal today its intention to join the Missouri Valley Conference. A news conference was tentatively scheduled today, according to a source who confirmed it will be to reveal the school's decision to accept the invitation to join the conference. Illinois State was given a public invitation to membership in the conference in May, with a July 1 deadline set for its response. Other members of the conference include Southern Illinois, Indiana State, Drake, Creighton, Tulsa, West Texas State and New Mexico State. Illinois State's basketball schedule next season is expected to include basketball games with Bradley, Southern Illinois and Indiana State.

FIRST GAME ab 3 TAYLORVILLE Barry ss i rbi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 White cf 1 Lancaster If 1 Binkley 3 Stringer 3 Bell 3b 3 Large 2b 2 Newberry 2b 0 Tarrant lb 2 Younger lb 0 Ladson rf 2 Logue rf 0 Emerling If, cf 2 Totals 22 ADM ab Radloff If 4 By MARY FOWLER Herald and Review Staff Writer The Taylorville Sassatelli Blues, second in last year's senior boys division Amateur Softball Association national tournament, were given a rude welcome to the world of men's Softball Wednesday night at Hayes Field. Decatur ADM swept a doublehea-der, trouncing Taylorville 12-1 in six innings and 13-2 in five innings. It was somewhat expected. Taylorville is a young team. Young in both age and experience.

The group of 16 through 18-year-olds have played 15 games this seasonthat's 20 less than ADM. And this is just Taylorville's second season. "We began last year from scratch," said Taylorville Manager Larry Ginger. Ginger and Assistant Manager Larry Fowler began the team with two pitchers Ginger's son, Bob, and Danny Binkley, son of Lingafel-ter pitcher Ken Binkley. "I caught for Ken when we played in Taylorville about 17 years ago," said Larry Ginger.

"Bob and Danny used to come to the games. "Ken and I decided that they would play for us when they got old enough. But we thought, 'why should we We started a youth team." ball after 23 years- to begin the Taylorville team. No tryouts were held in the beginning. Membership was by "invitation." "We would tell Bob that we needed a player for a position and he would find someone he had heard about.

The players would know of other players and that's how we got started," Larry Ginger said. Since there were not enough teams in the area to start a league, Taylorville found itself playing mostly men's Class A teams. "I think we were about .500 against Class A teams," Larry Ginger said. Included in its victories were a few men's tournaments and a 10-0 rout of Jacksonville, a Class AA team. But Taylorville's most impressive victories came, in the state and national tournaments.

It won five games in a row to clinch the state championship and a trip to Billings, for the nationals. Bob Ginger made a spectacular showing in the first game of the national tournament. He set a record, striking out 21 batters as Taylorville whipped Brooklyn, N.Y. 8-0. He gave up one hit, a single.

Taylorville went on to place second in the double-elimination tour- rbi 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 1 0 0 5 1 0 0 12 Moffett 3b Meister 2b Sagle rf Williams lb Chumbley dh Lambert ss Bateman Johnson cf Taylor Totals 26 Taylorville AOM DP Taylorville, ADM. ville 4, ADM 3. HR Moffett, CHICAGO Lew Fonseca wears maroon and gold plaid pants, a dark blue blazer and white shoes. There is a white, puffy cap that sits cocked on his head and if it weren't for the Wrigley Field backdrop, you'd swear he was waiting off the edge of the first tee at SL Andrews in Scotland. Hitting the little white ball has always been Fonseca's love but it's the baseballnot the golf ball that has provided him with a life-long source of intrigue.

Now 81, Fonseca had uncommon success at hitting a baseball in the 20's and 30's and the Chicago Cubs hoped that some of it would rub off on their players of the 70's and 80's. Fonseca won the American League batting championship when he hit .369 with Cleveland in 1929 and his .316 career average was all the convincing the Cubs needed when they hired him as a batting instructor a few years back. Fonseca worked with the players individually and some of his favorite cases Dave Kingman, for instance-stand as proof that he succeeded. But Fonseca took on a new role this season, that of a "special assignments" man who helps General Manager Bob Kennedy. Billy Williams is the new batting instructor and during a recent" swirl that has dropped the Cubs to fifth place, Williams can be found hopping nervously around the batting cage.

The reason: the Cubs' run production is off sharply. They have been shut out nine times and even when they get hits they often come up short in the runs column. In June, the Cubs have won six games, lost 11. Nine times they have scored two runs or less. That's why Williams is too busy to talk these days and why Fonseca stares in thoughtful study at the Cubs' batters.

He still is a regular visitor to the ballpark and he'll probably never be able to look the other way once a batter takes his stance. So Fonseca remains qualified to analyze this collection of part-time batters. "There have been some injuries but we should be scoring more than we have," Fonseca said. "Too many men left on the bases. Some people have been pushing a little bit.

"We hit a lot of home runs early and once we got into a little slump too many players started swinging for the home, run. "It's like this Houston team here," Fonseca said as the Astros swatted line drives Tuesday. "They'll go six or seven games without a home run and keep on winning. They've got speed and pitching and if they string a few singles together they can make it stnd up. "Like the other day when they beat us 2-1.

Houston gets three hits and wins." The energy crisis in the Chicago bats has affected nearly every player but Fonseca says he's seeing some im- 12 000 100- 1 043 203-12 LOB-Taylor-. Sagle, Meis- 3B Radloff, Bateman, Lambert. ter. 2B- Bell, Moffett. SB Meister.

provement. He points out Bill Buckner. Buckner was among the league leaders in hitting early in the season before running into a swoon that dropped his average 100 points. "He was starting to sweep at the ball," Fonseca explained. 'He tried to pull everything.

When he was hitting good he moved the ball all around. One to left, one to right, one to center. He's a very good hitter. In my opinion, Buckner will have a very good season. He's back to normal now." Another who appears headed for a good season is Lenny Randle, the cas-toff the Cubs picked up and have made into an infield regular.

"Randle has surprised me," Fonseca said. "I didn't know that much about him but he's done a very good job. He's hustling and running the bases good. And he hits well from both sides of the plate. Plus he can play more than one position which gives you some flexibility." Wednesday it was Jerry Martin who provided some needed punch with a grand slam homer that helped the Cubs sack Cincinnati 7-0.

Martin is another hitter Fonseca has studied and worked with. "Martin goes hot and cold," Fonseca said, pointing out that the outfielder strings home runs and runs-batted-in in bunches. "But he has a lot of power, power some people don't realize he has. He is a very dangerous hitter." Fonseca also praised Larry Biittner's consistency at the plate. "It's amazing the job he does, keeping his average above .300." Pitching has also been on Fonseca's mind lately.

Kennedy sent him on a scouting trip to Wichita to view the Cubs AAA farmhands. He was sent to scout a pair of pitchers and returned with one encouraging story, one sad one. "I saw a right-handed relief pitcher who's doing a real good job," Fonseca said of Lee Smith. "I think he has a chance to make it. We'll see him up here in September if not before." That's the good news.

The bad news deals with Randy Martz, a 6 foot 4 right-handed starter from the- University of South Carolina. Martz has been throwing well but broke his ankle sliding into a base the day before Fonseca arrived. "He'll be out about six weeks or so," he said. By that time the Cubs either will have improved their hitting or replaced St. Louis in the National League cellar.

ip er bb so Taylorville Binkley (L, 4 3) 5 12 12 12 4 4 -HSo4jariie-etiredri-6ffe atnentHosmg-4-the-ehaTOpkffl omers pace Jays sweep SECOND GAME CHICAGO TORONTO ab bi ab bi Squires lb 3 0 10 Griffin ss 4 12 0 AMoore lb 10 10 Bosetti cf 3 0 0 0 Molinar If 3 0 0 0 Howell 3b 3 10 0 Pryor 3b 1 0 0 0 Maybry lb 4 0 11 Lemon cf 4 0 10 Velez dh 3 0 2 1 Nrdhgn dh 4 0 0 0 Moseby rf 3 0 .0 0 Baines rf 4 12 0 DGarci 2b 3 0 0 0 Morrisn 2b 4 0 0 0 Cannon If 3 0 0 0 Foley 4 0 0 1 Whitt 3 111 TCruz ss 4 0 3 0 KBell 3b 10 0 0 Bosley ph 0 0 0 0 Pruitt 3b 10 0 0 Total 34 1 8 1 Total 29 3 6 3 Chicago 000 000 100 1 Toronto 210 000 OOx 3 TORONTO (AP) Ernie Whitt hit a solo home run to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a 3-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox and a sweep of Wednesday's twi-night doubleheader. Rick Bosetti's two-run homer in the seventh inning gave the Blue Jays a 5-4 victory in the opener. In the opener, Chicago erased a 3-0 deficit in the third inning by scoring Jour runs on Mike Squires' run-scoring single, a triple by Cruz, Nordhagen's sacrifice fly and a run-scoring single by Thad Bosley: Toronto's Bob Davis led off the seventh with a single. He was sacrificed to second and Bosetti followed with the game-winning homer. Toronto got two runs in the first inning off second game loser Rich Dotson on run-scoring singles by John May-berry and Otto Velez.

The hit by May- berry gave him a 17-game hitting streak, breaking the previous club record of 16 set by Dave McKay in 1978. FIRST GAME CHICAGO TORONTO ab bi ab bi Squires lb 4 111 Griffin ss 3 0 0 0 TCruz ss 4 111 Bosetti cf 4 2 2 2 Molinar If 2 10 0 Ault lb 4 12 0 Nrdhgn dh 3 0 11 Velez dh 3 12 1 Baines rf 4 0 10 Bonnell rf 3 0 2 1 Morrisn 2b 4 0 10 DGarci 2b 4 0 11 Bosley cf 4 0 11 lorg 3b 4 0 10 Pryor 3b 3 0 0 0 Woods If 4 0 0 0 Foley ph 1 0 0 0 BDavis 3 0 10 Kimm 4 12 0 Cannon pr 0 10 0 Witt 10 0 0 Total 33 4 8 4 Total 33 5 11 5 Chicago 004 000 000 4 Toronto 300 000 20x 5 Kimm. LOB Chicago 5, Toronto 7. 2B DGarcia. Kimm 2, lorg.

3B TCruz. HR Bosetti (3). Griffin. SF Bonnell, Nordhagen. IP ER BB SO Chicago Trout L.2-7 6 2-3 11 5 4 1 2 Proly 1 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 Toronto 9 8 4 4 1 3 HBP by Stieb (Molinaro).

2:05. LOB Chicago 7, Toronto 4. 2B Baines. HR Whitt (1). Bosetti.

ER BB SO 6 3 3 1 9 IP 8 Chicago Dotson 3 Toronto Kucek W.1-0 6 2 3 5 1 1 1 2 Garvin 1 2 0 0 0 1 JMcLghln 1 1-3 1 0 0 0 3 WP Dotson 3. A 21,443..