n
'' !:. -.'.:'.)
' 1L. If !,l'.- ' I N
1 rc- r '!?::!
f- W: " v. ?i v m ..U.
... . c t i nrirM n inm Tir fin it rtitf imi-m i--ir-inr tt-i h v "mb mm . i9
SATURDAY, JULY 18, 1S22-TKE CZZZUtlA
Professional Sports Ownership
Opportunity Knocking
By Donate R. Tuck
Sports AimHfoM
I Black athletes . com-'
prise SO per cent or more
or the participants of the
National : Football
fessor in the Howard
University ' School of
Law, wfio teaches enter-
r tainment and sports law.
: Boyer poihts out that
. professional sports have
expanded tremendously,
League.,, Black players . "All of the leagues that
dominate the . Nationalise :ilourishinghavea
Basketball Association national television con-
and are numerous in ma
jor league baseball. .
- But, when it comes tc
ownership in profes
sional sports, blacks
have yet to scrape the
surface.
In recent weeks, both
the . NBA's Houston
Rockets and Denver
Nuggets franchises were 1
'sold for roughly $11
million. each. The Denver
sale was completed after
the team had -been on the I
market for almost a
year.
This past May, the .
United States Football
League (USFL) was
born. It is a new 12-team
, professional football
. association which plans
to begin play in March
1983.
The league already has
a two-year television
contract with ABC
worth S20 million and
has a national cable con
tract. Its principal
criterion for ownership is
the ability to invest $6
million In the team for
two years.
"If there were a group
of blacks with the
economic wherewithal,
now seems like the ideal !
time (to gain ownership) ;
since they're peddling
franchises," observes
Spencer Boyer, a pro-.
tract. Hockey is struggl
ing because it. doesn't
have one. '
He adds, "Blacks
should , be interested in
the new league. I don't
think the USFL would,
deny black ownership."
' David Dixon, founder '
of the USFL, was even t
more positive about, the ':.
league s receptiveness to
. black ownership. 'C
I think it is an ex
cellent opportunity , for
three problems which
have hindered black ac
cess :; to - ownership,"
1 Boyer note), who teaches
ontfof the few courses in
entertainment and sports
; law in the country, "One
;is the ole boy network
and the li qu est km - of
whether they will allow
certain persons to come
' in. .V.-v;y; . '
"Another is getting a
line of credit together. It
takes an awful lot to
money to run a pro fran
chise. ; Most sports
organizations will take a
loss for the first couph
of years
., Still another pro ;
, ; blmem is that sports t: '
really ' show business.
: Blacks have been in
terested in the eritertain-
blacks who are looking--f ment part and not tht
for ownership of a pro
fessional sports . fran- j
chise,.lf you only knew
how frusfratingly I
bounced my head off the !
wall trying to get black
ownership in
Washington and in
Houston."
With professional ;
sports making new ;
millionaires of black :
players every year, it
would seem that they ;
would be financially able '.
and intereseted in
becoming owners. Fur
thermore, with 100 black
business having gross 1
sales of more than $6
billion in 1981, accop
ding to Black Enterprise
magazine, why hasn't a
group of blacks sought
to purchase a pro fran
chise? Basically, there are
business part of it."
According to Dr. Gat
tis Nowell, a professor in ;
the Howard School of
Business', the 'reason
blacks "have been ap
prehensive about pur
chasing pro sports fran-
'chises is that it is an ex
tremely high-risk pro
position, "It is purely an -economic
decision.'
There are blacks with
money, but not the kind
of money that they can
af ford fa lose millions Of
dollars by investing in a'
franchise."' ; !
" Boyer says a way of
minimizing one's losses
is by forming a syn
dicate. For instance, the
owner of the USFL's
Wahington franchise has
said he expects to have
20-23 general and limited
partners to help provide
financing for his team. '
Help Wanted
Ladies needed te
show toys and gifts.
Home party plan. No
collection, delivering or
investment. Call
682-4956 for details.
Medical Secretaries
Secretary (IV)
SALARY RANGE: 10,524 -15,612
Experienced medical secretaries with thorough
knowledge of medical terminology, strong typing, dic
taphone, schedulng, public contact and good
organizational skids. Experience in a hospital or
medical office preferred.
Completion of high school coursework and two years
of related experience essential.
For an application please contact the Employment
Division, 111 Pettlgrew Han, UNC, Chapel Hill, NC
27514. 962-2991. EQUAL OPPORTUNITYAFFIR
MATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER.
NEW YORK Los Angeles Lakers' Magic Johnson holds trophy on Park Avenue as he waves from his
new car, given him bv Sporl Magazine. He received the awards for being judged Most Valuable Player in
NBA playoff series. ' UPl Phoio
Triangle Trophies Is Terror In Durham
v(Cpninued From Page 5)
him -with an arch that
would have the ball
dropping about wajse
high near the heart of the
plate. His broad com
pact shoulders whipped
the metal bat in a quick,
vicious swing. SWACK! !
The ball took off as if
shot from a cannon. The
center fielder started
running toward the
, fence. The base runners
started trotting
homeward. They knew.
Allen trotted toward first
base. He knew.
Triangle's fans screamed
lustily. They knew. The
center fielder stopped
.running. He knew. The
pitcher grirnmaced. He
had seen it coming.
The ball? It disap
peared across the fence,
about 300 feet from
home plate, and rolled
out of sight down the
hill.
That was the first of
seven home runs that
Triangle players hit that
inning. .Allen got one
more. When finally the
opposing team turned
the third out, the score
was 22-2. It ended that
wav...4-, ..." - '
Triangle Trophies v is
one of 112 adult teams
that play in the chy's
recreation softball
leagues. They play slow
pitch softball, one of two
styles of play in city
leagues, and Triangle is a
Class "A" team, one of
three team classes. Class ,
"A" is the top team
ranking. ;; I
Other classes are "B"
and "C" and the other
style of play is modified,
which means the ball is
pitched faster and each
pitch doesn't have an arc
as in slow pitch. Players
can also bunt and steal
bases in modified play,
while in slow pitch where
the ball must be pitched
slowly with in arc of
three to 12 feet, no bun
ting or base stealing is
allowed.
The city operates 16
softball leagues, divided
into four categories:
men, -women, church
and co-rec: What all this
translates to is more than
2000 men and women in
Durham who play soft
ball regularly. And
another 100 or so fans at
various evening - games
around the city, and it's
easy to see that softball is .
BIG in Durham.
Ms. - Angela Joines, !
athletic director of the
Durham Parks and :
Recreation Department,
says the city department
provides a number of
services for local softball
0 TO GET OVER 30 MPG
TO COST LESS THAN $135 PER MO.
TO BE AN AMERICAN CAR V
AND I WANT IT TO BE SAFE!
We've got all 4 in one car!
i . i . i ......... t . ... . .. . , .,
Over 30
ChcvfttM
tochooMfroin
It'oTimYct! DoarjfttYctif
CIID-WCI-IET7ETTE -
MB. MAIN Sf.
OOWWTOWN i ft 1
saumohrsi
tAIMHM
teams. ,
For example, her
department provides
lighted fields, because
softball games begin at '
6:30 in the afternoon and
run until about 10 p.m. 1
Each game is limited to
just . a little over one ;
hour, and lasts seven in-
ning. Ms. Joines' depart-;
ment also furnishes a :
scorekeeper, while urn- ;
pi res are handled
through contracts, and
each team furnishes two
new balls.
Durham's teams play
well. They always show
well in regional and na- :
tional tournaments, and
Ms. Joines believes that
the work of her depart
ment contributes to that,
success.
"We serve Durham as "
best we can," she said.
"Some cities have larger
populations and thus
might have larger teams. ;
But our teams play very
well."
And if Durham's soft
ball teams play well,
players must get
something out of it.
Various .payoffs are
; discussed among players.
Some say softball is a
way of socializing, keep
ing in top physical shape,
and having something to
do in the evenings.
One player summed it
up this way: "I love ball.
I will play ball until I
can't walk," he said.
"And if I couldn't walk.
LI would sit in my
wheelchair and keep
score." "
But Durham's men
don't have a corner on
the softball market. A '
lot of women ' play
around here as well.
Most male teams have
their female counter
parts, and sometimes
there is as much competi
tion between the men
and women who play for
the same sponsor, as
there is between different
teams.
But whether it's men
or women, the same
team or different com
petitors, softball is big in
Durham, and almost
.every evening, there's a
crowd of players and
fans waiting patiently at
a number of Durham
parks for that familier
cry: PLAY BALL!
m WILL CI
CLOSED
MONDAY
OrLNAS
USUAL'
TUKDAY
!,:.'
11
PUR RETREAt&WE YOU
A GREAT JUTJ FOR YOUR MOM
Small Sizes
Thru D-14
AS LOW
AS
to
mil
uu
PLUS RECAPABLE
CASING...
Regulars Air
SHOCKS
BY
MONROE
HERCULES
Batteries
by Prestolite
BRAKE
SERVICE
FOR ALL CARS
FREE
SAFETY
CHECK
zu&j&u The Tiro Professionals
DOWNTOWN WESTOMHIHAM DRAQTOWH BETNESDA HILLSSOnoJHT
317 W.Pettigrew 2720 HiBsboroOgh Rd. 2839 Roxborb Rd. 1 61 4 S. Miami Blvd. 3J?,SqU .
I 6884383 J 286-4444 477-0453 596-9387 Sj