Babe and Faye told ’em Question from dark ages: Are women poor sporis? By LESTER RODNEY Are women poor sports? The question itself, of course, is insulting, part of the ured old arsenal of that old devil male you-know-what. But it was asked recently by the lg circulation sports weekly Sports Illustrated, and the answers are of interest. ___ The question as put to eight reasonably prominent men and three well known women quoted someone as saying ‘‘basic One William L. Wilson of Hunt-|— ngton, Long Island, an “advertis- ng executive,” replied as one might Suess in the affirmative, with some cheap fiction phrases “out women’s alleged “jealousy : other women” making them Door Sports.” This, he says, Permeates their thinking and “OWS in athletic contests. The Steen-eved monster may permit a ie Seemingly to congratulate an yPonent, but inwardly she usual- umes and seethes.” (Now why like Women sweet about defeat € Leo Durocher, Ed Stanky, Frank Lachy, et al?) * *, * Another advertising executive, ete Barton who gives his answer Yes, says that at the end of a ta men’s golf tourney, “I never Such grim and unsmiling the Big deal. Did you ever see ball ne 0n a big time college foot- an fam after it has been upset? ean the husky young men are the mad hysterical, the result of Winns.s© Set of values placed on mung these games by coaches, Dalla Presidents and stadium- ' boards of trustees. Another Such answer comes Navy ne Lieut. Red Grave of the ang ’,“20 tosses off the grand Womgr Pid Senerality. “Yes. A Dears, Dates to lose and is over- ™8 when she wins . . .” Cont? President of the Carlisle aro non Furber Marshall, kids honoreg tt the question in time en ?) manner, saying “Wo- Nt ce are great sports. I would- What 6 Say anything but that. ats you uin : my; Mage?” Want to do, ruin my leo: ban 'S refreshing to come to Merson, the actress and ‘sly personality, who sticks a few Observe wes where they belong, footbat® that “faking injury in Sport to Stop the clock isn’t ‘ abet and as reference to tear, “ctics of the Notre Dame aVoig ae frantically trying to ‘of efeat by lowa, an example Would SPortsmanship, women bea 8V8 to go a long way to Pay, Women Adds tellingly, “Sure some but the lose Poorly to each other, ey’ 4 Te tthe best losers to men. Centuries a keP it on. the chin for’ * x * bt’ ae ‘ating, the question was Ce Merica’s most magni- Milgrefoman athlete, the fabulous ae Babe) Didrickson, who “Ys fay tt a resounding no and Y, “I have never compet- rg 2 woman who showed Sd men .S™anship. I have watch- ty...” Sports for a long time. ; Women »° Not better sports than shouty oa She points out, she Peteq 5, NOW, since she has com- than an all kinds of sports longer Wing ,%, athlete, man or woman, 3 § today, Not 5 ally, women are poor sports,’’ and asked, “Are they?”’ BABE DIDRICKSON sportsmanship inherent in sports competition and says that while women are comparatively new in competitive sports “They've given us many athletes who are excellent exponents of true sportsmanship.” And if anyone cares and for what it’s worth, and even though Sports Illustrated didn’t ask me, the answer of this sports reporter of 20 years vintage is a loud “Non- sense.” If you must use the word “basically,” ask if this question isn’t basically an expression of whole rigaramole of stereotyped sneering at women, with -more than an overtone of the ideology of certain sports columnists who regularly whine that women’s place is not on the Olympic sports field but in the kitchen. Congratulations to Faye Emer- son, Babe Didrickson, Avery Brundage and the other three men for answering it as if de- served to be answered. All Canada salutes her 1 tion atiy Men, ; here are four “no’s” b Funda’ luding one by ate et al o President of the Inter- Ads the ‘lympic Committee, who Mdeals of moral fibre and Helen Stewart, pretty 16-year-old from the Vancouver Amateur Swimming Club, set three records at the Canadian swimming and i i i Miss Stewart, ivi mpionships held last week in Montreal. eee eee for Canada in the Pan-American Games, estab- lished records in the junior women’s 200’yard medley, the 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard breast stroke. Ticker-tape welcome More than 100,000 Toronto citizens turned out to welcome Marilyn Bell, Canadafs Sweetheart, on her return home after conquering the English Channel. Gert Whyte's SPORTLIGHT ACK in Toronto they must be green with envy when they read those attendance figures — 28,013 paid admissions for the opening game of the WIFU sea- son in Vancouver. Who was say- ing that this town couldn’t stage a Grey Cup final? : For local fans, the big news. is that in 1955 we have a team. May- be not a top team (we won’t know until Lions meet Edmonton and Regina) but definitely not a cel- lar-dweller, either. The yardsticks told the story. Lions were better on the ground and in the air, and Stampeders did well to hold the score to 14-8. * * x. Mike Downing, who covered the recent White City athletic meet between Hungary and Eng- land for the London Daily Work- er, writes: “Lazzlo Tabori is slim, with a face \tanned like the leather he works for a living. His eyes, slightly hooded, mak him look deceptively sleepy. “But this man, who snatched both the ‘glamor’ events from the fancied British runners in the match with Hungary — the mile and threé miles — is a running dynamo who can unleash the most. devastating and demoralis- ing finishing burst. “What a perfect exhibition of easy, economical running he gave in the three-mile! “With Derek Ibbottson doing the donkey work most of the way with the world record holder for the distance, Chris Chataway treading in his footprints, Tabori kept in close contact. “The four-minute miler, seem- ingly with all ease in the world, stayed an untroubled third. “From lap six to the start of the ninth, Chataway took a hand at setting the pace with which to drop the leech-like Hungarian; then he waved Ibbottson into the lead again. “Up to the last lap, the picture reeled off the same order, then round the first bend the excite- ment boiled over. Tabori took the lead — the first time he had since the first 220 yards of the race. “Chataway held him and then © as they neared the final curve with the pace ever quickening, - came that blood-tingling Chata- way. ‘kick.’ “But this time there was someone who could ‘kick’ even better and with White City on its feet, Tabori came again, drew level with the Briton and then outfought him by a yard in the home straight.” * x * One of the members of the Hungarian team was a former Canadian girl, 20-year-old Clara Wician, second - string discus thrower and shot putter. Clara, who was born in St. Catharines, visited Hungary three years ago (the homeland of her parents) and liked it so well she decided to stay. She is now study- ing to be a teacher. -“There was never much opport- unity for athletics at school in Canada,” she told a British re- porter, “although I played for the basketball team. “Why did we go to Hungary? My mother worked in a canning plant. She had a pretty tough time and she decided that she didn’t want me to go through the same sort of life. . “She went back to Budapest for a short visit in 1948. What she saw convinced her that we would have a better life there. “So we decided to go there in 1952. Now mother is working as a translator and I am studying. “How does life in the two countries compare? You just ton’t, compare it. In Hungary every- thing is for the youth. Many stu- dents receive all their books and food and accommodation free. You get special cheap tickets for opera and the theatre. There‘’s just nothing like it in Canada.” Clara started her athletic career in the summer of 1953. She can now put the shot more ‘than 42 feet and hurl the discus 136 feet. “I hope to. do mtch better soon,” she says. : * * . When Rocky Marciano and Ar- chie Moore step into the ring on the night of September 20, my money will be riding on Rocky to win by a knockout. I’m sure Al Weill feels the Same way about it, or he would ¢ never have given Moore a much- delayed shot at the title. But . Weill is a man who takes no chances. He wants to hold $100,- 000 of Moore’s purse (in case the challenger wins) until his Doy Marciano gets a return shot. Seems to me this is where the boxing commission should step in and slap Weill down, but hard. Moore never ducked a fight with anyone, but if he should upset the dope and beat Marciano, why should he have to put the title on the block again within 90 days? ‘Shouldn't he be entitled to pick up a bit of scratch, first, the same as Rocky -did? PACIFIC TRIBUNE — AUGUST 26, 1955 — PAGE 11