Randy Passes A Test In His New Home

"Wait until they tee it up," said Jack Faulkner of the Los Angeles Rams. "He'll show you something."

Anderson did exactly that. He scored one touchdown, on a flat pass from his roommate, ran as tough as Paul Hornung, the veteran Packer whom he may well beat out of a job, punted beautifully (once dead on the East one-yard line) and regaled the press with statements like, "I date every night I can," and " Hornung and I both like light-colored suits—no greens or browns."

Johnson had some other help, especially from his equally high-priced defense. Texas' Tommy Nobis personally stopped three East drives, was everywhere, once halting an East drive down close and another time stopping an East gamble for a first down, thus setting up the first West score.

East was leading 7-0, it was fourth and an inch on the East's own 34 when Coach Duffy Daugherty of Michigan State—who also lost to Prothro in the Rose Bowl—ordered the gamble. The ball was given to $300,000 Jim Grabowski, but he met $600,000 Nobis at the hole. The reason for the difference in money was obvious. Nobis crunched Grabowski backward two yards. When Nobis and a couple of his best defensive helpers, Minnesota's Gale Gillingham and USC's Jeff Smith, were done for the evening, the East had a minus-32 yards rushing.

The Coaches' game was a financial success even before the Falcon's top draft choices, Johnson and Nobis, took the field. Atlanta is a college-football city, and the advance sale guaranteed nearly 40,000. During its five years in Buffalo, a pro city, the game had floundered, never attracting more than 25,000 people, most of whom had to ask where Georgia Tech was. So the coaches moved the game and increased their usual $20,000 profit to $100,000.

"The game's a religion down here," said an eastern coach, observing the crowd. "Here it is July and almost 90�, and look at those people."

In the stands the Falcon brass was beaming about Randy Johnson.

"For throwing the ball," said Atlanta End Coach Tom Fears, "Randy is better than any rookie Eve ever seen. And that includes Norm Van Brocklin."

"He's the best rookie prospect Eve seen," said Bud Erickson, the Falcons' general manager.

" Johnson and Nobis," smiled Falcon Owner Rankin Smith. "I certainly am pleased."