19th Hole: The Readers Take Over

ROOM TO RECREATE
Sirs:
The Forest Service appreciates your excellent article, High Road to a Wild Paradise (Aug. 5). Author Robert Cantwell and Photographer Jack Fields have done a fine job of capturing the spirit of the Pacific Crest Trail, truly a "recreational treasure."

The Forest Service recognizes outdoor recreation of all kinds to be one of the five major forest resources; the others being wood, water, forage and wildlife. The 154 National Forests and 19 National Grasslands are administered—as directed by Congress—to provide sustained yields of these resources in the combination that will best meet the needs of a growing nation. This means that you and all Americans can be assured that there will always be room to "get away from it all" in the National Forests.
EDWARD P. CLIFF
Chief, Forest Service,
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Washington

BLOOD, BRONZE AND BARRYMORE
Sirs:
Hats off to Gerald Holland for his masterfully written article, Is That You Up There, Johnny Blood? (Sept. 2). Nothing pleases me more than reading about such men when the dark clouds of scandal are gathering to tarnish the fine name of football.

Incidentally, I was amazed to see, in the photograph accompanying this fine article, that the 1933 Packer line was so small. By today's hefty standards these ballplayers would be put right into the backfield without being given a second thought as linemen. If this is what occurred from 1933 to 1963, just imagine the size of NFL linemen in 1993. Wow!
ALAN BARCUS
Philadelphia

Sirs:
This fine piece of writing is an insight into the days when a good football player had to have a creative mind as well as a retentive one. I can't imagine a pro team today trying to make up plays in a huddle. And win yet!
LOU HARRISON
North Bergen, N.J.

Sirs:
You say that Johnny denied the Shakespearean bout with John Barrymore, but some of us here in Pittsburgh can attest that such a battle really took place. It happened in the Benjamin Harrison Literary Society—a Pittsburgh watering hole that has since dried up. And, to the best of our recollection, Johnny Blood came out on top.
CHESTER (Swede) JOHNSTON
Pittsburgh

Sirs:
Johnny Blood is such a distinguished-looking member of professional football's new Hall of Fame, I can't help wondering what he looks like "sculptured and cast in bronze."
M. V. BLAKE
Kansas City, Mo.

?See below.—ED.

IN THE RAVINE
Sirs:
That was a fine article in your Sept. 2 issue ( Dodgers in a Dogfight). I'll go along with you when you say Walter Alston is a strong leader, but I think the Dodgers aren't trying hard enough: they are too sure of themselves. The Dodgers depend on pitching and speed to win their games, but they don't have to with hitters like Fairly, the Davis boys, Howard, Wills and Roseboro.
TERRY TILTON
Anamosa, Iowa

Sirs:
"Inconsistent" Frank Howard hit .296 with 31 home runs and 119 RBIs last season, and he batted .296 the season before. The only reason for Slugger Howard's inconsistency is his lack of faith in himself, generated by Manager Alston's panic platooning whenever he falls into a slump (which all ballplayers do occasionally).