=

“vowed

Directors won't fire Clem Crowe
but Lions” 1958 problem remains

B.C. Lions’ directors,’ after a marathon meeting» Monday this week, gave a
vote of confidence to coach-Clem Crowe and his staff, but decided to hire an addi-
tional coach as soon as possible to concentrate on developing the Canadian playets on
the team — something that has been sadly neglected up to the present time.

The Lions’ brasshats an-
nounced their ‘intention to
bring in more National Foot-

“ ball League players in an at-

tempt to strengthen the fal-

tering team for the remainder
of this season. Three NFL
cuts have already been added
to the toothless Lions.

No doubt about it, the big-
wigs who run the Lions are
worried by falling attendance
figures. Their actions are com-
ing too late, perhaps, to save
the day.

Aided by football writers on
the daily papers, the Lions’
management year after year

has sold a bill of goods to local
football fans. Second-rate im-
ports have been boomed to the
skies, and the money has pour-
ed into the box-office. Yet
year by year the team has fail-
ed to win, and the “Lions’
roar” has become a joke.

The paying spectators have
remained remarkably faithful
to a mediocre aggregation of
players. And as long as the
profits rolled in, management
seemed unconcerned with the
quality of football dished up
to the fans. Now that attend-
ance has dropped (you can’t
fool all the people all of the
time) the brass is beginning
to move.

The fact is, the present Lions
are completely outclassed by
at least three teams in the
WIFU — Eskimos, Rough-
riders and Bombers. Reason is
lack of reserves —- and that
means failure to develop Can-
adian talent.

It has been suggested that
the hapless Lions and the win-
less Toronto Argos should
meet in a “Bum Bowl” play-
off at Empire Stadium this
fall. This — tongue - in - cheek
proposal should serve as a

warning to Lions’ management .

that they’d better begin pro-
ducing — or face the prospect
of playing to empty stands
n@xt season.

National Foothall League union
demands protection for players

U.S. professional football players call their newly formed organization an
“association,’’. but insofar as the National Football League club owners are concerned
they might just as well have come out with it and called it a union. NFL commissioner
Bert Bell indicated as much when he advised the players recently to take their troubles

Since its formation the play-
ers’ association has been gain-
ing ground in a*rather spec-
tacular fashion. It scored a big
touchdown when. Bell an-
nounced his willingness to
recognize the association. This
was a switch from last Janu-
ary when the club owners dug
their cleats into the turf and
they'd ignore . any
banding togethereof players.

In addition, the players are
getting their message across
to the fans. ;

Their organization and their
demands have been well
covered in the press. And ‘at
least two of the myriad of
U .S. football magazines that
hit the stands each fall have
articles on the players’ organi-
Zation. ~ :

Norm Van Brocklin, veteran
quarterback of the Los An-

geles Rams, states the players’ \

position frankly:

“Our main proposal. was to
receive pay for the exhibition
games. We feel that since the
five or six exhibition games
which each club plays are
highly profitable to the club
owners, the players should re-
ceive additional pay besides
their regular season salary.

“When the average player
reports to camp, he leaves a
wife and child at home, and
during the eight or nine weeks
the clubs are in camp, a play-
er has no way of supporting
his wife and child. This 1s a
frequent problem because a
club generally brings twice as
many players to camp as ac-
tually will compose the team.
Although half of these players
are released, those released
still have contributed their
services to the club during
this time, thus helping the

to the National Labor Relations Board.

club to ‘make additional
money. It seems only fair that
they should receive something
in return. .

“The club owners have made
minor concessions such as
standardizing meal money on
the road and the amount of
money per day for clubs that
break camp prior to the start
of the season. They also
agreed to allow each player a
$50 draw per game for egch
exhibition game.

“The proposal we _ believe
second in importance, is that
a player’s contract should con
tain an injury clause to pro-
tect him financially. For in-

stance, if a player breaks his
leg early in the season, the
club is under no obligation to
continue paying his salary for
the remainder of the season.
We feel that our players
should receive some form of
salary protection, in view of
the fact that most jobs offer
remuneration for occupational
disabilities, and pro football is
a highly hazardous occupa”
tion.”

So don’t be surprised if you
read about football players
voting in an NLRB election to
designate their association as

their collective bargaining
agent.

Propose big changes
in British foothall

LONDON

Changes of a revolutionary character, and all designed to
better the lot of football in general and the player in particular,
are suggested by the Football League management committee.

Outstanding among the many sweeping suggestions put

forward by president Joe Richards are:

@® An increased maximum
weekly wage of 20 pounds
for players.

@ A two and one-half per-
cent. share for footballers in
“safeguarded” transfers and

an increase of the signing-on-

fee from 10 to 20 pounds.
These changes. are’ designed
to do away with all those
“under the counter” methods
admittedly used in football.
And, should these suggested
amendments be accepted, even
if only in part by the clubs,
when chairmen; of First and
Second Division clubs and
representatives of Third Divi-
sion clubs meet in London on

October 21, then a revolution-
ary step forward will have
been taken,

One of the main points em-
phasized was discipline, em-
bodied within the suggestions.
“It will be, necessary to have
a clearly defined code of
discipline /and conduct to
which all clubs and players
will be expected to adhere,”
said Richards. %

Cliff Lloyd, secretary of the
Players’ Union, has not yet
received the proposals. But on
hearing .some of the important
amendments he said they
were “a step in the right
direction.”

Bert Whyte's

Was ANCIENT Archie
Moore knocked “out young

Tony Anthony to retain his
lightheavyweight title last
week, quite a few pear-shaped
ex-athletes approaching the fat
fifties pranced blithely around
their bedrooms, shooting sharp
lefts and rights at the mirror,
inflating their lungs and snort-
ing through their nostrils, flex-

ARCHIE MOORE

ing soft muscles and assuring
themselves they were as good
as they ever were.

No doubt about it, old
Archie’s triumph was shared
by some million middle-aged
geezers going to pot. Many
who hesitated to run for a
BCE bus (“The ticker, you
know”) beganrestringing
tennis raequets, waxing skiis
and hunting in the depths oi

closets for discarded sets of

boxing gloves.

All-that was needed to turn
this dangerous trend into a
national disaster was another
victory of Age*over Youth at
Yankee Stadium on ‘Monday,
when Sugar Ray Robinson put
his middleweight crown on the
line against Carmen Basilio.

Had _ Robinson won, the
Hardened Artery set would
have gone berserk. Golf links,
tennis courts, boxing and
wrestling rings, baseball dia-
nionds and football fields clog-

ged with wheezing perspiring .

ancients, The shriek of ambu-
lance sirens carting casualties
to hospitals. Funeral parlors
working overtime. I can see it
all so clearly ...

Fortunately, Basilio won, and

“sanity has been restored. Ath-

letic equipment of a bygone
day will remain in mothballs.
Spavined fathers once again
are relaxing in deep armchairs
before their TV sets, content

to remain as spectators in the
sports picture.

But for a brief period, we
were hovering on the brink.

Verg 0. Sette te

The split decision which gave
Carmen Basilio the middle-

SPORTLIGHT

e
weight title is bound ' D
hotly disputed by boxing ee
for a long, long timé. es
judges though Carmge a
but the rehone ue

ition to render ays
gave the nod to Suset tra
nine rounds to “sik, side
sports writers at ring?
agreed with him. :

Robinson, after win eae
early rounds with his ae i
like left, took a be oa
the middle stanzas, then
pack in the 11th,
13th, He coasted the
rounds, perhaps becaks Ps
was arm-wealry, perhaps |.
cause he thought h
figh,, sewed up. When fe
dict was announced hes 4
a bitterly disappointe

Carmen’s_ strateg/

in from the S
threw punches co
took Boe ee Ray “evel
him in. return. He has q bis
been knocked out am peed
record shows he has only ia
floored once. Sugar, t his
hitter, wasn’t able to es pe
on the canvas, thous iam
staggered him several ti in
Pride may send Robinson on
the ring again for @ FF ndy
match. He knocked out fe: in
Turpin after losing to we one
a fifst encounter. He put ing
Fulmer to sleep after ee
a decision previously- ; of
he could reverse the table
Basilio. ;
Maybe. And maybe not. a
this corner, it looks like an
end of the trail for Robm
one of the great fighters of °
time. -

September 27, 1957 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 10