19th Hole: The Readers Take Over

ON THE RUN
Sir:
Your article A Dash into History—for Now (Nov. 24) certainly rang true. Our college teams are so packed with running backs there is hardly room for anybody else. But there is one back you left out. He is Robin Earl, a 6'5", 250-pound fullback for the Washington Huskies. Robin, a converted tight end, averaged only 69.8 yards a game but he got them mostly on power because he played behind a young line. He is only a junior and has led the Huskies to victories over both UCLA and USC. Earl and Washington will be in the limelight next year.
PAUL PLEWNARZ
Buckley, Wash.

Sir:
I read with interest Larry Keith's article on running backs but I feel that he left out an important one, Michigan's Gordon Bell. While only 5'9", 178 pounds, he is very quick and is able to cut exceptionally well. He also has a 121.4-yard-per-game average, with a high of 210.
FRED REZLER
Bay City, Mich.

Sir:
How could Larry Keith fail to include West Virginia University's Artie (King Arthur) Owens in his otherwise fine article on college running backs? Owens is WVU's all-time leading career rusher and he gained 959 yards this season (he missed most of two games because of a shoulder injury). His average of 6.9 yards per carry is outstanding. A tailback, Owens has helped to lead the Mountaineers to the Peach Bowl and will surely be drafted high by an NFL team.
JIM POTTER
Charleston, W. Va.

Sir:
It's ironic that when talking about Pitt's Tony Dorsett, one of the country's top running backs, you include a picture of him in action against Oklahoma. Dorsett, who before the Penn State game was averaging 141.9 yards a game and 7.1 per carry, could muster only 17 on 12 carries against the Sooner defense. I suspect Tony would rather have seen himself in action against Notre Dame.
BILL SHANKS JR.
Owasso, Okla.

Sir:
You forgot to mention that the alltime rushing record against a Notre Dame team that Tony Dorsett broke with 303 yards was also held by Dorsett (209 yards in a 1973 loss to the Irish).
GARY KOTESKI
Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa.

HUDSON'S TIGERS
Sir:
Re Wave the Flag for Hudson High (Nov. 24), my hat is off to Douglas Looney for skillfully portraying the football mania of small-town America, to SPORTS ILLUSTRATED for reminding its readers that not all of the glamour and excitement of sport is found in the professional and college arenas and to Hudson, Mich. for a truly remarkable accomplishment.
RICHARD L. BALDWIN
Lubbock, Texas

Sir:
Hudson High's Jack Armstrong image proved no match for the SI jinx. The nation's longest high school winning streak was shattered at 72 when Ishpeming defeated the Tigers 38-22 in the Michigan Class C state championship final.
BOB SCHMIDT
Westminster, Calif.

Sir:
As a former resident of Hudson, Mich., I share the pride that Coach Tom Saylor and his Tigers have given the town. The values he has taught his teams are priceless. Who cares if none of these boys make it in college football? High school athletics should be for everyone to enjoy, regardless of the win-loss record. Coach Saylor just happens to combine maximum participation with winning. More power to him.
CLAUDIA CHAMPION
Kalamazoo, Mich.

Sir:
Hang in there, Hudson High. If Bear Bryant loses one more bowl game, you may be his next choice as an opponent.
TERRY WOLTER
Denver

Sir:
Had he spent a little more time on it, Douglas Looney might have extended his two-foot queue of town notables to include Poet Will Carleton {Over the Hill to the Poor House, Gone with a Handsomer Man, etc.), whose plaque-marked home is a scant mile east out Main Street.