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BUTTERMILK _ _ . biscuits 2 a 49* swiss cheese ... ~ 79* sr. cream dip ^ 59* FOOOLANO - SOLIDS _ , ? n margarine 2 ' 79* cherry pies -~79* MINUTE MAID UNSWEETENED M A ^ GRAPEFRUIT JUICE3%' MNIrr (?md ImnlM April II. IV7R ? As? tot 'AINI >A McN hi 1 SJ1W4 Locklear*?? 1 (Continued from page I) dun and there are thine* about hit identity that disturb fatip It would be easy to place superficial tap of "moody" or "brooding" on Gone Locfclear. But thoae Labels are mislead ing. They may describe a part of his per sonality. but not its sum total. The best way to talk about Gene Loch Lear is to divide his Ufe into its two dis tinct parts. Baseball Player There wasn't much recreation except baseball when Locklear was growing up in Pembroke. He do things so much easier than oth er youngsters that he knew he had a tal ent for the game. He had an outstanding career at Pembroke High, which went unnoticed. He was not even offered a scholarship to Pembroke State University, which galls him. "If your home town school won't offer you a scholarship, who will?" he said "We've had a lot of players from around here in the last few years that have gone to other schools "Why wasn't I good enough to go to Pembroke? I don't know They saw me play. You tell me." ? * ? LOCKLEAR ATTENDED a Pitts burgh Pirates try out camp in I960. He said he was the fastest player there, had a good arm and hit three pitches out of the park in five swings. Yet the Pirates told him he wasn't a prospect But a Cincinnati scout had seen him and arranged for a tryout. The Reds liked what they saw and signed him. "I got no bonus money, just a plane ticket to Tampa, Fla.," Locklear said "To me. that was all I needed I was young and I just wanted a chance to play baseball "Maybe if I had had the right backing, the right people behind me, I could have gotten a big bonus. But you can't go through life saying 'could have.' " Two years after Locklear signed, be led the AA Eastern League in hitting with a 323 mark In 1972 he was Player of the Year in the American Association with a .325 average, 15 homers and 65 RBIs The Reds brought him up in 1973, but he figured his days were numbered be cause of some of the other young players they had, like Ken Griffey and Dan Driessen. He was traded to San Diego, which looked like a good opportunity. ? ? ? IT WASN'T. The Padres used Locklear sparingly the rest of 1973 and he hit just .233 in a mere 180 at bats. He began 1974 at Hawaii and was hit ting .341 with 14 homers and 52 RBIs in just 77 games when he was promoted. But the Padres wasted him on the bench and he got only 70 at bats. It looked like 1975 would finally be Locklear'j year. He got off to a torrid start and was hitting over .400 in the ear ly going when he was abruptly shipped to the minors. "What happened was that I demanded to play," Locklear said. "I was making $20,000 and hitting .400 and still playmg behind Bobby Tolan, who was making $100,000 and hitting .220. I didn't think that was fair. So, instead of playing me. they sent me down to teach me a lesson or something " Locklear was in Hawaii only 18 games and then recalled, but he ended the sea son with just 237 at bats. He hit .321, best average on the club. In 1976, he again played sparingly with San Diego and was finally sold to the Yankees, for whom he played in just 13 games ? ? ? LOOKING OVER the Yankee roster in spring training last year. Locklear kn*/. there was no way he'd stick. " itiey had too many guys making too much money to keep me," he said. "So I decided to play out my option." He spent the year at Syracuse, where the highlight of his season was hitting four homers in one game, which hadn't been done in the minors since 19S6 The Yankees apparently were not im pressed by Locklear's feats. Instead of calling him up for the pennant race, they purchased players like Cliff Johnson and Dave Kingman, So Locklear's major league career hasn't progressed as he had hoped. He may have picked up a bad reputation, however unjustly, because of the inci dent in San Diego when he was sent down while hitting .400. Now 28, his tpeed isn't what it used to be, but his sat is as good as ever. ? * ? ? LOCKLEAR BECAME a free agent after last year and talked with several teams, but nothing ever developed. Fi nally, he recently signed to play in Japan with the Nippon Ham Fighters of Tokyo. It could be an excellent opportunity. "I signed a two-year contract with them for more than $100,000 a year," be said. "I know they'll play me because they'll want to protect their investment. "It will be difficult, with the cultural and language differences, but if you're making ammgh money, you can put up with anything. They'll have interpreters there and quite a fern people speak En glish "It's not the big leagues, but the com petition is about equal to AAA. I'd like - io play well there, then sign another ^onfrartjos^several more years for even season, which Ms unUl Oct 1. It may not be the Mg league*, but It's certainly better than (est hanging aroand for a couple of years puttie la tome lime toward Me paarianAudit wtl he more money than he's aver made by far Tke Artfct a ? Whflfi dan# I nrhUdf m Malafl m uL'aJu ? Thar* start aa item 1M1 lag tar ?ai yjudaf^lUhsebe, ta LM of ?t?* I if Ml. ott pArtug. mrtws, commercial art and 10 oa I lisrasf ait." Locklaar wafted with aijnaaariM' ter colon In hi* youth and soidMsftrrt paintings tn the seventh grade. The wall with the Bibhcal acene, da pictinc the birth and death of Chrtat, Wu done with houae enamel paint "I did that in about a weeh-and a half.'' he said "I always work fart be cause I get going on something and haap at it until it's done. "I wanted to do a subject on a wall and I thought the rdWious scene wonid . keep my mind in touch with God and re mind me to be thankful for the things that had happened to me.'* 0 ? ? LOCKLEAR PAINTS all kinds of (ob jects, always with the idea that aomnone might buy them. Pete Rose baa aboot B of Locklear's pieces in his restaurant and Johnny Bench has some in his. In addition, Locklear has donated paintings to the governor and Bautmnt governor and had one to hang in the White House When Gerald Ford was prsrtdmL I had the opportunity to tour the White House with Dr. Theodore C. Marrs (special assistant to the president for Special Affairs). "It was something I really enjoyed and to show my appreciation to Dr. Mam, I painted a country scene and do nated it to him. It hung in the White House until Ford left and Dr. Mam has it at one of his homes now." Playing in Japan will open some other doors for his work, both as a source to draw from and as a market to sefl in. He has already talked to some people about doing prints of Japanese players, such as Sadaharu Oh, the all-time house ran king. WWW JUST AS Locklear's life would have been different without baseball, so would it have taken a different turn without painting. "Painting is my way of knowing that I've accomplished something," he ex plained "People waste a lot of time in their lives. If I was married and had kids, it might be different. But a single person has to try and get the most be can out of his life When you get bond, * you tum to drugs or alcohol." Locklear doesn't really consider him self a professional artist, although be has sold about 109 pieces for as much as $1,500 But be wants to be able to make a living as an artist when he finishes Ms baseball career. "I've given a lot erf paintings away to non-profit organizations and things," be said. "I figure the man wart I get oat, the better-known 111 became." Locklear has a studio In hi* bone, v which he shares with his rootton. ftrdnt, it she's the reason he doesn't spent the off season in New York or California or somewhere else he could have a stndto and have his work widely seen. "My mother sacrificed her time to do the best she could for me," be said. "So why can't I sacrifice some of my time to keep her happy? She fives for my coming home in the winter. I want to show her respect while she's still living. When she s gone, there's nothing I can do for her." ? ? ? THERE IS ONE more side to Gene Locklear? his Lumber Indian heritage. This troubles him "I don't like my heritage became I don't know what it is," he said. "It's all mixed up, so how can I depict it in a painting? "Our people always tried to get out of their heritage and raise themselves like the white man. So all we know is what we've learned from whites. "I'd love to know if I'm fuB-biooded or not. And I'd love to know what things were like for our people 200 years ago. Maybe it trould help explain my makeup to me. But that's Just not the way It to "I guess it's really not that important I deal with now and tomorrow, not with the past." Locklear maintains a certain identity with Jim Thorpe, the marvelous Indian athlete in the early part of this century. Thorpe, who became an alcoholic before he died, was not appreciated by his peo ple despite his accomplishments. "I've been down part of that road my self." Locklear said "I had a dream to . do something with my life and I've done it, despite people who tried to teD me there was no way an Indian could do It "I just did what God gme me the abil ity to do. It took hard work, dedication and self respect. I don't have the ability that Jim Thorpe had. but at least I can say that I tried ." And Judging from his wort on canvas, and to a lesser extent on the bee shell field. Gene Locklear has succeeded. i TV firnadnn Daffy News i