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Tiger Fan · 11-21-2024, 03:04 PM

MARCH 12, 1962

PRATT WINS HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE OVER PARKS USING INVISIBLE PUNCHES

Denny Arena, Boston, Mass. – Bert Parks (29-8-2, 14 KO) vs. Harry Pratt (28-4-0, 13 KO) – Referee: Vic Green
NOTE: It is our pleasure to return to our individual title fight coverage on Title Talk, since we are back to our weekly simulation schedule in Figment. Our last individual fight recap was in February 1952 when Joey Tierney advanced for the right to fight for the vacant Heavyweight Championship after Hector Sawyer’s retirement. The ensuring 10 years saw champions come and go, none at the level of Sawyer, but we pick it back up with the heavyweight division.

Bert Parks was an unlikely champion. A journeyman fighter, his eight losses were an eyesore on the heavyweight title card in December when Parks won the title against George Gallashaw. Parks started slow in that bout, but came on strong to stun the boxing world with a knockout in the seventh round.

This was his first title defense and finding a pundit who questioned Parks’s place as a champion was an easy job. Parks was young, but the 25-year-old was battle-tested. The question was the quality of competition and the eight losses on his ledger.

In the challenger’s corner for this bout was “Houston” Henry Pratt, who was hardly an up-and-coming fighter. Pratt had four losses of his own, but he was running an eight-bout win streak and defeated former champion Dave Courtney among those eight scalps he collected. In a division devoid of a dominant fighter or the next great heavyweight, Pratt was the man standing before Parks.

Just as in Parks’s crowning match in December, he started slow. It seemed to be more than a two-time occurrence; it looked like a planned strategy. Pratt could not take advantage early, despite one good punch to the body that sent Parks back. However, the first two rounds offered only that one memorable moment and a lot of circling, swinging and missing.

After the second round concluded, the fans let both fighters know they needed to pick up the pace. While ticket sales were not as brisk as the Hector Sawyer days, it was still a sold-out Denny Arena in Boston, where the fight fans were knowledgeable and opinionated.
One boxer seemed to get the message, and it was not the champion. Pratt came out firing to open the third round, operating with a hook that stunned Parks. An uppercut and a couple of crosses late in the round started to get the crowd on the challenger’s side. By the end of the round, there was the first visible proof that Pratt was off to a better start, as a mouse was starting to develop under the right eye of Parks.

Pratt was much more active throughout the match, missing wildly quite often, but he still landed more punches than Parks offered. This was no more evident than in the third and fourth rounds, where Parks barely registered anything of note while Pratt was making the best of it.

Pratt took on some incoming fire from Parks, catching him by surprise with a left hook, but he proceeded to pick Parks apart, bit by bit, with big punches. Parks was starting to get desperate, while Pratt’s confidence rose with each offering. As the round ended, Pratt showed Parks his back as he swaggered back to his corner.

The desperation on Parks’s side bubbled over in between rounds, as the swelling under the right eye of Parks become more pronounced. His trainer was barking at him to be more aggressive, and some cross words were heard in the front rows between fighter and trainer. The kick in the trunks seemed to electrify Parks before the fifth round, as he had his best round in the fight. Parks was on the offensive, connecting on a well-executed uppercut and his route to Pratt after the opening bell was such that Pratt could not sidestep the punch. While Pratt offered a stinging response with a hook to Parks’s midsection, Parks was not done.

Parks connected on almost two-thirds of his punches, so connecting was not the problem. It was the lack of volume that was the problem, but not in the fifth round. There was renewed optimism that Parks was just warming up, especially seeing as how he lit up in the sixth round before his seventh-round knockout of Gallashaw in his crowning fight.

However, that was not to be on this night. The sixth round went about as wrong as it could for the champion. The swelling continued to worsen for Parks and it may have played a role on whether he saw Pratt’s punches coming. Pratt unleashed a beating on Parks in the sixth round and if there was any encore that Parks was planning, it could not be executed because Pratt kept feeding Parks with a barrage of punishment.

There were two right crosses from Pratt that signaled the end of the evening and the end of Parks’s short reign as Heavyweight Champion. Both of them were not seen by Parks until the very last second, after any kind of defense was possible. The lack of peripheral vision out of that right eye became his undoing. The first cross staggered Parks, and Pratt followed the effective punch with an uppercut coming from inside, and the second cross ended in a thud, which was the sound of Parks hitting the canvas.

Parks seemed to be in another world as he was not able to fully come to his feet after getting up to one knee early in referee Vic Green’s count. Green counted out Parks and his three-month tour as champion was over. Houston Harry Pratt (29-4-0) continued his hot streak and will have to back this up with challengers of a higher pedigree. Pratt did what he had to do on this night.

After the fight, Parks admitted to those crosses, which sandwiched the uppercut, were not even seen by Parks. Those “invisible” punches, as he put it, rocked him.

The heavyweight division continues to be wide open, so this loss, while dropping Parks’s record to 29-9-2, it hardly disqualifies him for getting another chance. He is only 25 years old, so he can route back to the top, but he will have to prove he deserves another chance against better opponents.

BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS
Round 1: Pratt, 1-0 (1:10 right/midsection)
Round 2: None
Round 3: Pratt, 4-1 (PARKS: 1:12 hook; PRATT: 0:13 hook, 1:27 uppercut/head, 2:15 cross, 2:58 cross)
Round 4: Pratt, 3-1 (PARKS: 0:43 left hook/body; PRATT: 1:02 hook/ribs, 1:26 right/body, 1:59 uppercut)
Round 5: Parks, 3-2 (PARKS: 0:11 uppercut, 1:15 combo, 2:05 hook; PRATT: 0:25 hook/midsection, 2:37 hook)
Round 6: Pratt, 5-0 (PRATT: 0:13 combo/midsection, 0:35 uppercut, 1:30 right/ribs, 2:08 cross, 2:26 cross/knockout)
TOTAL: Pratt 15, Parks 5

RECENT KEY RESULTS

Feb 27: veteran middleweight Oscar Woodings, who fought former champ George Quisenberry to a draw in a title bout before losing the rematch ran his record to 50-3-2 with a 7th round TKO win over Shane Baker in Blackpool, England.
Feb 28: Undefeated Scottish middleweight Billy Findlay ran his record to 23-0-1 with a first round TKO win over Eddie Willey in New York.
March 8: Heavyweight contender Norm Robinson knocked out Ed Drake in the 8th round of their 10 rounder in Portland, Or. Robinson, who had an unsuccessful title shot against George Gallashaw 18 months ago, is 27-2. He hails from the Los Angeles area and is a month away from his 27th birthday. Robinson was ranked 6th among heavyweights in the 1961 end of year rankings.
March 11: Welterweight prospect Matt Leach (29-6-2) knocked out Steve Richardson (34-13-3) in the 10th and final round of their bout in Brooklyn.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

Apr 12 in Las Vegas: Longtime welterweight champion Lonnie Griffin defends his crown against Dan McMullan. The 30-year-old Griffn (40-5-1) has held the title on four different occasions and his bout against McMullan will be his third defense this time around. McMullan (22-1) is a 23-year-old rising star from South Carolina and is getting his first shot at the welterweight title.

SPRING TRAINING ARRIVES

A New Chapter in Baseball's Timeless Tale

March has come again, and with it, the promise of baseball. Under the soft Florida sun a fresh season begins to stir. It’s the symphony of spring: the crack of the bat, the chatter of infielders, and the shouts of managers barking out instructions. For fans of the Continental and Federal Associations, the dawn of 1962 brings a particularly rich excitement. For the first time since the founding of Major League Baseball in 1894, each association boasts ten clubs, with expansion delivering the thrill of new beginnings across the land as the Dallas Wranglers, Los Angeles Suns, Minneapolis Millers and New York Imperials take their first steps.
*** Foresters Eye History ***

The Cleveland Foresters, rulers of the Continental Association for three consecutive years, arrive in camp with unfinished business. Adrian Czerwinski, whose precise arm continues to dazzle at 37, leads a pitching staff determined to carry Cleveland to the elusive World Championship Series crown, a bauble that eluded them each of the past three campaigns. And then there’s Deuce Barrell, the grand old man of the mound. At 44, Barrell pitches as if Father Time himself is an opposing batter, staring him down and losing.

Yet, questions linger. Can Cleveland shake the October ghosts that have haunted them, losing three straight World Series to Federal Association foes? This club’s core is seasoned and steady, but whispers of vulnerability have crept in. Meanwhile, out west, the San Francisco Sailors, last year’s closest challengers, look to unseat the champs.

With Carlos Jaramillo commanding the infield at shortstop, John Kingsbury patrolling the outfield, and Charlie Lawson throwing heat on the hill, the Sailors boast a youthful core. Jaramillo’s flair, Kingsbury’s power, and Lawson’s poise at just 23 are enough to make any club nervous. Manager Walt Zecher’s squad is hungry, and the Golden Gate faithful can’t help but dream of their first pennant since the team left Philadelphia behind.
*** A Wide-Open Federal Race ***

In the Federal Association, the Philadelphia Keystones sit atop the throne, fresh off a thrilling World Series victory. With outfield sluggers Buddy Miller and Harry Dellinger anchoring the lineup, they remain a formidable force. Yet the path to October glory is never smooth.

The St. Louis Pioneers, with the indomitable Billy Hasson leading their rotation, loom as the Keystones' greatest threat. Hasson, a three-time Allen Award winner, is as automatic as sunrise and just as brilliant. Pair his talents with a deep supporting cast, and you have the makings of a championship contender.

And what of the Boston Minutemen? Their 1959 and 1960 pennants feel like distant memories after last year’s dismal sixth-place showing. Spring, though, is a time for rebirth, and the Minutemen’s camp buzzes with talk of redemption. Can their bats and arms bounce back to reclaim Federal supremacy?
*** The Newcomers Step Up ***

Amidst the storylines of the old guard, excitement brews around the league’s newest entries. Expansion clubs in both the Continental and Federal Associations bring new fans, fresh rivalries, and the unknown. For every established star arriving at camp, there’s a rookie hoping to make his mark in history.

Spring training is a time for optimism, and baseball in 1962 brims with it. Can the Foresters break their October curse? Will the Sailors seize their moment? Is another Keystones-Pioneers battle brewing, or will Boston rise again? Questions abound, but one thing is certain: the stage is set, and the timeless game is ready to deliver another chapter in its endless story.

So grab your scorecard and dust off your glove, baseball fans. The season is here, and with it, all the promise of what might be.

FRENCH, SMITH, SIGN MAJOR DEALS ON EVE OF SPRING TRAINING

Free Agents are often forced to sign for pennies, so any time you see one, let alone two, players secured six figure contracts, it's going to be big news. Though to be fair, these two guys aren't the average free agent, as the Detroit Dynamos added a high upside pitcher who made his career with the independent Minneapolis Millers, while the Kansas City Kings brought in a 2-Time All-Star and 4-Time World Champion that they traded with Ralph Johnson and Bob Arman over a decade ago. So far this offseason, no other players have signed for more then $50,000, making Howie French and Dan Smith clear outliers.

16 FABL stars make more then $150,000, from Charlie Barrell (.315, 28, 88) to the $200,000 made by Jerry Smith (.289, 34, 103, 14), Adrian Czerwinski (18-9, 3.54, 163), and Dallas Berry (.282, 29, 94, 10). The 27-year-old French will take home exactly $150,000 in Detroit this season, with the matching amount in 1963. A former 5th Round Pick, French and the Saints couldn't work on an agreement, and instead of returning to St. Joseph's, he decided to sign with the now dissolved Minneapolis Millers. It took just under a week to sign the deal, and shortly after they inserted him in their rotation. He had enough time to get 15 starts in, going 8-4 with a 2.96 ERA (135 ERA+), 1.08 WHIP, 30 walks, and 51 strikeouts.

With impressive numbers like that, you might think he was facing low minors competition, but it came in the Century League, one of the three AAA leagues. Facing competition with far more experience, he met every expectation, but the doubters could have said it's just beginner's luck. French had a near identical 2.95 ERA (128 ERA+) in a full 234.2 inning sample at 22. French struck out 135 hitters, finishing 11-12 with a 1.19 WHIP and 3.3 WAR. His big break game in 1958, where he went 19-7 with a 2.50 ERA (142 ERA+), 1.04 WHIP, 78 walks, and 170 strikeouts. Worth an elite 6.3 WAR, FABL started to take notice of the young righty, but since he was contracted with the Millers, they couldn't purchase or trade for him. He got three more seasons with them, adding another 19-win season, two more sub 2.60 ERAs, a sub 1 WHIP year, and three 150 strikeout seasons. This finished up a six season career in Minneapolis, where he was 77-52 in 168 starts and a single relief outing, totaling 1,312.2 innings before what will be a highly anticipated FABL debut. The Chicagoan worked to a 2.74 ERA (137 ERA+) and 3.27 FIP (87 FIP-) with a 1.09 WHIP, 432 walks, and 826 strikeouts.

Detroit already boasts a strong rotation, led by resurgent veteran John Jackson (11-13, 3.15, 121) and 3-Time Allen winner Jim Norris (9-15, 4.08, 137). 5-Time All-Star Paul Anderson (18-7, 3.27, 113) is one of the best #3s in the league, leaving French to compete with former Forester Larry Beebe (3-13, 4.38, 79) for the 4th spot. Like Anderson, Beebe is 33, and early word is they prefer the incumbent veteran. As the known commodity, they know exactly what they're going to get, whereas French is a wild card. Well regarded for his stuff, he has a deep six pitch arsenal, led by a curveball that actually prepares minor league hitters for a FABL starter. His low mid-to-low 90s fastball isn't too shabby either, and other then his slider each of his pitches is a weapon. He's kept command of the zone, and he can throw deep into games while remaining effective. His progression will be under a microscope this season, but lucky for the Dynamos, they can still succeed without him living up to his expectations.

Ironically, the other player signed spent the past decade plus in Detroit, and he'll make exactly half as much ($75,000) as French. This comes after appearing in 1,250 games and hitting an almost exactly league average .252/.339/.385 (98 OPS+) with Detroit, logging 174 doubles and 118 home runs. He walked (553) more often then he struck out (527), scoring 515 times while driving 635 runs. Unfortunately for the 36-year-old, he was pushed out of playing time this season, and he was left unprotected in the expansion draft. The veteran catcher was selected by the Los Angeles Suns, but they ended up releasing him to save a little cash.

Kansas City will hope he can regain some of his early career magic, as when the Kings were in Brooklyn, he hit .254/.328/.392 (99 OPS+) with 50 doubles, 30 homers, and 165 RBIs in 320 games. This includes an All-Star season they year he was traded, as Smith hit a strong .265/.357/.437 (117 OPS+) with 9 homers and 44 RBIs in 61 games. It would be tough to expect much of t hat from him now, but he can still give the Kings good at bats and a veteran presence in the locker. He can compete with last year's backup Bob Burge (.290, 6, 32, 4) for everyday at bats, as the only two catchers on the Kings 40-man roster.

Naturally, some folks may wonder who will be the next guy to crack the $100,000 mark, but I wouldn't expect an offer like that to happen given FABL's current contract structure. Until we see another long-time independent team like the Minneapolis Millers, another contract of that value in a single season seems unlikely, but there has been a trend to teams cutting bait with veterans who other teams might still be interested in. Seven other players signed major league contracts since mid January, and the New York Imperials gave 26-year-old Canadian $80,000 for two years after the Wolves cut bait with their former 3rd Rounder. It's nice to see castoffs have an opportunity to catch on with the league's expansion, so while most won't see the big bucks that Smith and French saw, a release does not end careers the way it once used to.

DUKES CLOSING IN ON TOP SPOT

With two weeks remaining in the regular season the Toronto Dukes have pulled to within a point of the front-running Chicago Packers for top spot in the NAHC. Toronto has gone seven games without a loss and tasted defeat just once in their last 14 outings, posting a 10-1-3 mark over that time frame. Chicago did manage to retain the lead after the Packers held on for a 1-1 draw last night at the Lakeside Auditorium against the visiting Dukes. Each club has six games left to play including one final meeting between the pair, next Saturday at Toronto's Dominion Gardens.

Toronto's Quinton Pollack is riding an 11-game point scoring streak and with 24 points in that span seems assured of, at age 39, of winning his 8th career NAHC scoring title. A strong finish may even see Pollack threaten his own single season scoring record of 99 points. Pollack has 87 including 37 goals at the moment.

The Montreal Valiants have had a rough couple of weeks, losing six straight games and their playoff hopes seem all but extinguished. The Valiants are now 7 points back of the Boston Bees for the fourth and final playoff berth. Montreal does have some games in hand, as the Vals have seven contests remaining on their docket compared to four for the Bees, but it seems unlikely given their recent play that Montreal will catch Boston or third place Detroit, which is now ten points ahead of Montreal.

NAHC TALENT LEVEL ON THE RISE

A decade ago the NAHC's scouting service suggested there were three elite level players, or 5-star ratings, in the league. That number has not changed with the release of the 1961-62 OSA player rankings but the totals for players bubbling just under that superstar level have seen a dramatic rise.

Quinton Pollack, Toronto's 38-year-old star center was considered a 5-star player a decade ago and today nothing has changed. Pollack is still a five-star player but instead of joining now retired centers Tommy Burns and Wilbur Chandler as he did a decade ago, Pollack is the only 5-star pivot on today's list. He is joined by a pair of 20-year-olds who went first and second in the 1960 NAHC amateur draft. They would be Montreal defenseman Mark Moggy and Detroit winger Hobie Barrell.

Most had assumed since probably early 1958 that Barrell would be the number one pick in the 1960 draft but Moggy had a breakout draft year with the Sherbrooke Industrials and after the Vals selected him ahead of Barrell he went on to beat Barrell for the 1960-61 NAHC rookie of the year award while also being named to the second all-star team. This year Moggy has, by a wide margin, the highest average game rating of any defenseman in the league and trails just one player. That player is not Pollack, although he is very much in the mix, but rather young Barrell who has had a big season in Detroit and, despite missing 9 games due to injury, is challenging Pollack for the league goal scoring lead. Detroit was more than happy to have Barrell land in their lap and make it a homecoming of sorts as well as allowing Hobie to team with his 24-year-old brother Benny Barrell who had joined the squad two years before Hobie's arrival. The two boys, sons of former star catcher Fred Barrell, had honed their skills playing youth hockey in the Motor City while their father was the scouting director of the FABL Detroit Dynamos.

While the number of 5-star players is unchanged, the scouting service has suggested there is quite an increase in 3 and 4 star elite skaters. A decade ago the scouting service ranked 33 players at that secondary level but today that number has doubled to 66 and it is clear the quality of the game has improved with much of the credit going to the formation of the tier 1 junior Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in the fall of 1949. Virtually every active NAHC player under the age of 30 has spent time in the CAHA.

One other interesting note from the OSA list (see below) is the shortage of goalies. A decade ago their were seven goalies rated as at least 3-star performers but now, while every other position has witnessed a dramatic increase, the scouting service suggests only four goalies in the league warrant a 3-star or better rating. Those four also happen to be confined to just two different clubs as both Montreal and the New York Shamrocks have two of them. One of the Shamrocks pair is 35-year-old Alex Sorrell, who is the only active goaltender that was on the list of 3-star or better players a decade ago.

Toronto has gone 12-3-5 for 29 points in their last twenty games to put a stranglehold on home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Dukes start March 2-0-3 managing a tie on Sunday at Lakeside Aud when Charles Brochu scored his 13th on the power play to tie the game at 1 with 39 ticks left on the clock. Toronto remains a point behind the Packers with 6 games left. They will host Chicago next Saturday for the team's final meeting of the regular season.

Dukes have picked up their goal scoring over their twenty game run. Now have scored 180 goals tied for second with Detroit 19 fewer than Chicago. Keeping the puck out of the net has been the key for the Dukes who have the fewest losses in the NAHC, 19. The red light has only gone on 154 times behind a Duke's keeper, 15 fewer than the next best Motors.

Quinton Pollack, who is having his first injury free season in over a decade, is running away with the scoring race with 37 goals 50 assists 87 points for an 18 point lead over Hobie Barrell.

Boston is on a six-game winning streak and the timing is important, as the rest of the contenders in the division continue to win. The lead for the Centurions is five games and a big part of their club has come back into the fold with the return of Steve Barrell from injury. Barrell’s first game back was a two-point win in Philadelphia just over two weeks ago. Starting with that game, Boston has won seven of eight and Barrell has been very good, averaging 13.5 points and over two steals a game, while surpassing 10 rebounds four times. His partner in the backcourt, point guard T.J. Grimm averaged 12.5 points and 8.6 assists in those eight games, to provide great guard play to key Boston’s rise.
Philadelphia is running out of chances to directly affect Boston’s designs on a division title. Another lost opportunity was in store for the Phantoms on March 4th at Keystone Arena in front of 6,075 fans. Philadelphia had another fourth quarter letdown, as the game was up for grabs, and it was Boston getting the key baskets when it mattered. Top scorer Bert LaBrecque scored 19 points and Barrell earned a triple-double with 15 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds in the 77-76 win.
St. Louis has won four in a row to improve their middling home record to 20-11 and their season record to 30-30. While there is no hope to win the Western Division, as the Rockets are 14-1/2 games out with 20 games to play. The win streak has allowed them to stay ahead of Detroit and the lead has doubled over the last two weeks, from 1-1/2 to three games. Three wins during this streak were home games at the St. Louis Event Center. The Rockets last game, an important 80-66 win in Detroit, is the first of nine road games in the next twelve contests. St. Louis is only 10-19 on the road, so if the Rockets struggle on the road, that would open the door for Detroit to capture second place. More to the point, the win over the Mustangs was only their first meeting of five in those dozen games, with three at Thompson Palladium and two at home. In the 80-66 victory on Saturday night in Detroit, Bill Melton led a second-half charge that erased a 39-33 halftime deficit to storm back with a 19-8 third quarter and had the game put away in the fourth. Melton scored 30 points on 13-for-27 shooting and the team excelled from the floor, making 45% of their shots.

TOURNAMENT FIELD UNVEILED

Noble Jones College, Charleston Tech, Maryland State and Lane State -ranked 1 thru 4 in the final college cage poll- each have claimed number seeds for the annual AIAA college basketball tournament, which tips off over the weekend. The Noble Jones Colonels, at 28-2 including an impressive 15-1 mark in Deep South section play will be the top seed in a South Region that also includes Great Lakes Alliance champion Indiana A&M and a pair of traditional powers in North Carolina Tech and Redwood University.

Turning to the East Region, the Charleston Tech Admirals -winners of their third straight South Atlantic Conference title- are the headliner. The Admirals reached the AIAA title game two years ago but have never won the national tournament. Wisconsin State, Academia Alliance winner Brunswick and independent power Liberty College are among the Admirals foes in the region.

The Midwest Region top two seeds go to schools outside the area as Maryland State, tournament champion two years ago, gets the nod as the number one seed while five time champion Rainier College, which lost in last year's championship game to Mississippi A&M claims the number two seed. There is some local flavor highlighted by third seed Western Iowa.

Out west the top seed will be Lane State after the Emeralds shared the West Coast Athletic Association crown with Redwood. The region is loaded with long time elite schools Whitney College, Carolina Poly and Coastal California in the group of 8 teams along with defending national champion Mississippi A&M, which earned the third seed.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 3/11/1962

President Kennedy has decided to resume nuclear tests in the atmosphere during April unless Russia agrees to an inspected test ban before then. No reply from the Soviets on that front but Premier Khrushchev did renew calls for an 18-nation summit meeting on disarmament and said that the world's four nuclear powers could easily have special talks within the framework of the larger meeting.
Later in the week Russia charged that Kennedy was trying to force "a completely unacceptable system of espionage inspection" on the Soviet Union as the price for holding up United States nuclear tests. American allies in Western Europe agreed the tests must resume unless the Russians accept ironclad controls on nuclear testing but the Prime Minister of Japan said nuclear tests will destroy the human race and the Japanese "are totally opposed to the decision."
As the week came to a close Russia reluctantly accepted a US-British proposal to open the 18-nation disarmament conference in Geneva with a foreign minister's meeting.
President Kennedy has instructed US Secretary of State Dean Rusk to "make every effort toward disarmament" as Rusk arrived in Geneva yesterday. Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko also arrived in Geneva and he stressed the need for disarmament as well.
The CIA fully exonerated U-2 Pilot Francis Gary Powers, stating he did not yield to his Russian captors and lived up to the terms of his employment and "his obligations as an American." Powers returned to the US last month in a prisoner exchange after being captured in May, 1960 when his plane was downed over the Soviet Union.
The United States and 24 other nations have agreed to chop about 20% from tariffs on a wide range of items -from automobiles to Scotch whisky." US officials say American came out ahead on the deal with President Kennedy terming the agreement "highly advantageous to the United States."
Algerian rebels have proposed to open "the ultimate phase" of peace negotiations, one which a rebel spokesman says should end in a ceasefire in Algeria and bring a close to a seven and a half year rebellion. Talks did not happen and by weeks end a new wave of violence including well over 100 plastic bomb explosions resulted in dozens of deaths as part of a show of strength by the European Secret Army Organization.
95 are dead following a crash of a Los Angeles bound American Airlines jet shortly after takeoff from New York City. Engine failure is being cited as the cause. It was the nation's largest disaster involving a single civilian plane. A few days later a British airliner crashed in Cameroon, killing all 111 persons on board.
A devastating storm from Florida to New York, particularly in the Middle Atlantic resort area, caused damage estimated at well in excess of $200 million.

11-21-2024, 03:04 PM	#1027
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,752	March 12, 1962 MARCH 12, 1962 PRATT WINS HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE OVER PARKS USING INVISIBLE PUNCHES Denny Arena, Boston, Mass. – Bert Parks (29-8-2, 14 KO) vs. Harry Pratt (28-4-0, 13 KO) – Referee: Vic Green NOTE: It is our pleasure to return to our individual title fight coverage on Title Talk, since we are back to our weekly simulation schedule in Figment. Our last individual fight recap was in February 1952 when Joey Tierney advanced for the right to fight for the vacant Heavyweight Championship after Hector Sawyer’s retirement. The ensuring 10 years saw champions come and go, none at the level of Sawyer, but we pick it back up with the heavyweight division. Bert Parks was an unlikely champion. A journeyman fighter, his eight losses were an eyesore on the heavyweight title card in December when Parks won the title against George Gallashaw. Parks started slow in that bout, but came on strong to stun the boxing world with a knockout in the seventh round. This was his first title defense and finding a pundit who questioned Parks’s place as a champion was an easy job. Parks was young, but the 25-year-old was battle-tested. The question was the quality of competition and the eight losses on his ledger. In the challenger’s corner for this bout was “Houston” Henry Pratt, who was hardly an up-and-coming fighter. Pratt had four losses of his own, but he was running an eight-bout win streak and defeated former champion Dave Courtney among those eight scalps he collected. In a division devoid of a dominant fighter or the next great heavyweight, Pratt was the man standing before Parks. Just as in Parks’s crowning match in December, he started slow. It seemed to be more than a two-time occurrence; it looked like a planned strategy. Pratt could not take advantage early, despite one good punch to the body that sent Parks back. However, the first two rounds offered only that one memorable moment and a lot of circling, swinging and missing. After the second round concluded, the fans let both fighters know they needed to pick up the pace. While ticket sales were not as brisk as the Hector Sawyer days, it was still a sold-out Denny Arena in Boston, where the fight fans were knowledgeable and opinionated. One boxer seemed to get the message, and it was not the champion. Pratt came out firing to open the third round, operating with a hook that stunned Parks. An uppercut and a couple of crosses late in the round started to get the crowd on the challenger’s side. By the end of the round, there was the first visible proof that Pratt was off to a better start, as a mouse was starting to develop under the right eye of Parks. Pratt was much more active throughout the match, missing wildly quite often, but he still landed more punches than Parks offered. This was no more evident than in the third and fourth rounds, where Parks barely registered anything of note while Pratt was making the best of it. Pratt took on some incoming fire from Parks, catching him by surprise with a left hook, but he proceeded to pick Parks apart, bit by bit, with big punches. Parks was starting to get desperate, while Pratt’s confidence rose with each offering. As the round ended, Pratt showed Parks his back as he swaggered back to his corner. The desperation on Parks’s side bubbled over in between rounds, as the swelling under the right eye of Parks become more pronounced. His trainer was barking at him to be more aggressive, and some cross words were heard in the front rows between fighter and trainer. The kick in the trunks seemed to electrify Parks before the fifth round, as he had his best round in the fight. Parks was on the offensive, connecting on a well-executed uppercut and his route to Pratt after the opening bell was such that Pratt could not sidestep the punch. While Pratt offered a stinging response with a hook to Parks’s midsection, Parks was not done. Parks connected on almost two-thirds of his punches, so connecting was not the problem. It was the lack of volume that was the problem, but not in the fifth round. There was renewed optimism that Parks was just warming up, especially seeing as how he lit up in the sixth round before his seventh-round knockout of Gallashaw in his crowning fight. However, that was not to be on this night. The sixth round went about as wrong as it could for the champion. The swelling continued to worsen for Parks and it may have played a role on whether he saw Pratt’s punches coming. Pratt unleashed a beating on Parks in the sixth round and if there was any encore that Parks was planning, it could not be executed because Pratt kept feeding Parks with a barrage of punishment. There were two right crosses from Pratt that signaled the end of the evening and the end of Parks’s short reign as Heavyweight Champion. Both of them were not seen by Parks until the very last second, after any kind of defense was possible. The lack of peripheral vision out of that right eye became his undoing. The first cross staggered Parks, and Pratt followed the effective punch with an uppercut coming from inside, and the second cross ended in a thud, which was the sound of Parks hitting the canvas. Parks seemed to be in another world as he was not able to fully come to his feet after getting up to one knee early in referee Vic Green’s count. Green counted out Parks and his three-month tour as champion was over. Houston Harry Pratt (29-4-0) continued his hot streak and will have to back this up with challengers of a higher pedigree. Pratt did what he had to do on this night. After the fight, Parks admitted to those crosses, which sandwiched the uppercut, were not even seen by Parks. Those “invisible” punches, as he put it, rocked him. The heavyweight division continues to be wide open, so this loss, while dropping Parks’s record to 29-9-2, it hardly disqualifies him for getting another chance. He is only 25 years old, so he can route back to the top, but he will have to prove he deserves another chance against better opponents. BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS Round 1: Pratt, 1-0 (1:10 right/midsection) Round 2: None Round 3: Pratt, 4-1 (PARKS: 1:12 hook; PRATT: 0:13 hook, 1:27 uppercut/head, 2:15 cross, 2:58 cross) Round 4: Pratt, 3-1 (PARKS: 0:43 left hook/body; PRATT: 1:02 hook/ribs, 1:26 right/body, 1:59 uppercut) Round 5: Parks, 3-2 (PARKS: 0:11 uppercut, 1:15 combo, 2:05 hook; PRATT: 0:25 hook/midsection, 2:37 hook) Round 6: Pratt, 5-0 (PRATT: 0:13 combo/midsection, 0:35 uppercut, 1:30 right/ribs, 2:08 cross, 2:26 cross/knockout) TOTAL: Pratt 15, Parks 5 RECENT KEY RESULTS Feb 27: veteran middleweight Oscar Woodings, who fought former champ George Quisenberry to a draw in a title bout before losing the rematch ran his record to 50-3-2 with a 7th round TKO win over Shane Baker in Blackpool, England. Feb 28: Undefeated Scottish middleweight Billy Findlay ran his record to 23-0-1 with a first round TKO win over Eddie Willey in New York. March 8: Heavyweight contender Norm Robinson knocked out Ed Drake in the 8th round of their 10 rounder in Portland, Or. Robinson, who had an unsuccessful title shot against George Gallashaw 18 months ago, is 27-2. He hails from the Los Angeles area and is a month away from his 27th birthday. Robinson was ranked 6th among heavyweights in the 1961 end of year rankings. March 11: Welterweight prospect Matt Leach (29-6-2) knocked out Steve Richardson (34-13-3) in the 10th and final round of their bout in Brooklyn. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS Apr 12 in Las Vegas: Longtime welterweight champion Lonnie Griffin defends his crown against Dan McMullan. The 30-year-old Griffn (40-5-1) has held the title on four different occasions and his bout against McMullan will be his third defense this time around. McMullan (22-1) is a 23-year-old rising star from South Carolina and is getting his first shot at the welterweight title. SPRING TRAINING ARRIVES A New Chapter in Baseball's Timeless Tale March has come again, and with it, the promise of baseball. Under the soft Florida sun a fresh season begins to stir. It’s the symphony of spring: the crack of the bat, the chatter of infielders, and the shouts of managers barking out instructions. For fans of the Continental and Federal Associations, the dawn of 1962 brings a particularly rich excitement. For the first time since the founding of Major League Baseball in 1894, each association boasts ten clubs, with expansion delivering the thrill of new beginnings across the land as the Dallas Wranglers, Los Angeles Suns, Minneapolis Millers and New York Imperials take their first steps. * Foresters Eye History * The Cleveland Foresters, rulers of the Continental Association for three consecutive years, arrive in camp with unfinished business. Adrian Czerwinski, whose precise arm continues to dazzle at 37, leads a pitching staff determined to carry Cleveland to the elusive World Championship Series crown, a bauble that eluded them each of the past three campaigns. And then there’s Deuce Barrell, the grand old man of the mound. At 44, Barrell pitches as if Father Time himself is an opposing batter, staring him down and losing. Yet, questions linger. Can Cleveland shake the October ghosts that have haunted them, losing three straight World Series to Federal Association foes? This club’s core is seasoned and steady, but whispers of vulnerability have crept in. Meanwhile, out west, the San Francisco Sailors, last year’s closest challengers, look to unseat the champs. With Carlos Jaramillo commanding the infield at shortstop, John Kingsbury patrolling the outfield, and Charlie Lawson throwing heat on the hill, the Sailors boast a youthful core. Jaramillo’s flair, Kingsbury’s power, and Lawson’s poise at just 23 are enough to make any club nervous. Manager Walt Zecher’s squad is hungry, and the Golden Gate faithful can’t help but dream of their first pennant since the team left Philadelphia behind. * A Wide-Open Federal Race * In the Federal Association, the Philadelphia Keystones sit atop the throne, fresh off a thrilling World Series victory. With outfield sluggers Buddy Miller and Harry Dellinger anchoring the lineup, they remain a formidable force. Yet the path to October glory is never smooth. The St. Louis Pioneers, with the indomitable Billy Hasson leading their rotation, loom as the Keystones' greatest threat. Hasson, a three-time Allen Award winner, is as automatic as sunrise and just as brilliant. Pair his talents with a deep supporting cast, and you have the makings of a championship contender. And what of the Boston Minutemen? Their 1959 and 1960 pennants feel like distant memories after last year’s dismal sixth-place showing. Spring, though, is a time for rebirth, and the Minutemen’s camp buzzes with talk of redemption. Can their bats and arms bounce back to reclaim Federal supremacy? * The Newcomers Step Up * Amidst the storylines of the old guard, excitement brews around the league’s newest entries. Expansion clubs in both the Continental and Federal Associations bring new fans, fresh rivalries, and the unknown. For every established star arriving at camp, there’s a rookie hoping to make his mark in history. Spring training is a time for optimism, and baseball in 1962 brims with it. Can the Foresters break their October curse? Will the Sailors seize their moment? Is another Keystones-Pioneers battle brewing, or will Boston rise again? Questions abound, but one thing is certain: the stage is set, and the timeless game is ready to deliver another chapter in its endless story. So grab your scorecard and dust off your glove, baseball fans. The season is here, and with it, all the promise of what might be. FRENCH, SMITH, SIGN MAJOR DEALS ON EVE OF SPRING TRAINING Free Agents are often forced to sign for pennies, so any time you see one, let alone two, players secured six figure contracts, it's going to be big news. Though to be fair, these two guys aren't the average free agent, as the Detroit Dynamos added a high upside pitcher who made his career with the independent Minneapolis Millers, while the Kansas City Kings brought in a 2-Time All-Star and 4-Time World Champion that they traded with Ralph Johnson and Bob Arman over a decade ago. So far this offseason, no other players have signed for more then $50,000, making Howie French and Dan Smith clear outliers. 16 FABL stars make more then $150,000, from Charlie Barrell (.315, 28, 88) to the $200,000 made by Jerry Smith (.289, 34, 103, 14), Adrian Czerwinski (18-9, 3.54, 163), and Dallas Berry (.282, 29, 94, 10). The 27-year-old French will take home exactly $150,000 in Detroit this season, with the matching amount in 1963. A former 5th Round Pick, French and the Saints couldn't work on an agreement, and instead of returning to St. Joseph's, he decided to sign with the now dissolved Minneapolis Millers. It took just under a week to sign the deal, and shortly after they inserted him in their rotation. He had enough time to get 15 starts in, going 8-4 with a 2.96 ERA (135 ERA+), 1.08 WHIP, 30 walks, and 51 strikeouts. With impressive numbers like that, you might think he was facing low minors competition, but it came in the Century League, one of the three AAA leagues. Facing competition with far more experience, he met every expectation, but the doubters could have said it's just beginner's luck. French had a near identical 2.95 ERA (128 ERA+) in a full 234.2 inning sample at 22. French struck out 135 hitters, finishing 11-12 with a 1.19 WHIP and 3.3 WAR. His big break game in 1958, where he went 19-7 with a 2.50 ERA (142 ERA+), 1.04 WHIP, 78 walks, and 170 strikeouts. Worth an elite 6.3 WAR, FABL started to take notice of the young righty, but since he was contracted with the Millers, they couldn't purchase or trade for him. He got three more seasons with them, adding another 19-win season, two more sub 2.60 ERAs, a sub 1 WHIP year, and three 150 strikeout seasons. This finished up a six season career in Minneapolis, where he was 77-52 in 168 starts and a single relief outing, totaling 1,312.2 innings before what will be a highly anticipated FABL debut. The Chicagoan worked to a 2.74 ERA (137 ERA+) and 3.27 FIP (87 FIP-) with a 1.09 WHIP, 432 walks, and 826 strikeouts. Detroit already boasts a strong rotation, led by resurgent veteran John Jackson (11-13, 3.15, 121) and 3-Time Allen winner Jim Norris (9-15, 4.08, 137). 5-Time All-Star Paul Anderson (18-7, 3.27, 113) is one of the best #3s in the league, leaving French to compete with former Forester Larry Beebe (3-13, 4.38, 79) for the 4th spot. Like Anderson, Beebe is 33, and early word is they prefer the incumbent veteran. As the known commodity, they know exactly what they're going to get, whereas French is a wild card. Well regarded for his stuff, he has a deep six pitch arsenal, led by a curveball that actually prepares minor league hitters for a FABL starter. His low mid-to-low 90s fastball isn't too shabby either, and other then his slider each of his pitches is a weapon. He's kept command of the zone, and he can throw deep into games while remaining effective. His progression will be under a microscope this season, but lucky for the Dynamos, they can still succeed without him living up to his expectations. Ironically, the other player signed spent the past decade plus in Detroit, and he'll make exactly half as much ($75,000) as French. This comes after appearing in 1,250 games and hitting an almost exactly league average .252/.339/.385 (98 OPS+) with Detroit, logging 174 doubles and 118 home runs. He walked (553) more often then he struck out (527), scoring 515 times while driving 635 runs. Unfortunately for the 36-year-old, he was pushed out of playing time this season, and he was left unprotected in the expansion draft. The veteran catcher was selected by the Los Angeles Suns, but they ended up releasing him to save a little cash. Kansas City will hope he can regain some of his early career magic, as when the Kings were in Brooklyn, he hit .254/.328/.392 (99 OPS+) with 50 doubles, 30 homers, and 165 RBIs in 320 games. This includes an All-Star season they year he was traded, as Smith hit a strong .265/.357/.437 (117 OPS+) with 9 homers and 44 RBIs in 61 games. It would be tough to expect much of t hat from him now, but he can still give the Kings good at bats and a veteran presence in the locker. He can compete with last year's backup Bob Burge (.290, 6, 32, 4) for everyday at bats, as the only two catchers on the Kings 40-man roster. Naturally, some folks may wonder who will be the next guy to crack the $100,000 mark, but I wouldn't expect an offer like that to happen given FABL's current contract structure. Until we see another long-time independent team like the Minneapolis Millers, another contract of that value in a single season seems unlikely, but there has been a trend to teams cutting bait with veterans who other teams might still be interested in. Seven other players signed major league contracts since mid January, and the New York Imperials gave 26-year-old Canadian $80,000 for two years after the Wolves cut bait with their former 3rd Rounder. It's nice to see castoffs have an opportunity to catch on with the league's expansion, so while most won't see the big bucks that Smith and French saw, a release does not end careers the way it once used to. DUKES CLOSING IN ON TOP SPOT With two weeks remaining in the regular season the Toronto Dukes have pulled to within a point of the front-running Chicago Packers for top spot in the NAHC. Toronto has gone seven games without a loss and tasted defeat just once in their last 14 outings, posting a 10-1-3 mark over that time frame. Chicago did manage to retain the lead after the Packers held on for a 1-1 draw last night at the Lakeside Auditorium against the visiting Dukes. Each club has six games left to play including one final meeting between the pair, next Saturday at Toronto's Dominion Gardens. Toronto's Quinton Pollack is riding an 11-game point scoring streak and with 24 points in that span seems assured of, at age 39, of winning his 8th career NAHC scoring title. A strong finish may even see Pollack threaten his own single season scoring record of 99 points. Pollack has 87 including 37 goals at the moment. The Montreal Valiants have had a rough couple of weeks, losing six straight games and their playoff hopes seem all but extinguished. The Valiants are now 7 points back of the Boston Bees for the fourth and final playoff berth. Montreal does have some games in hand, as the Vals have seven contests remaining on their docket compared to four for the Bees, but it seems unlikely given their recent play that Montreal will catch Boston or third place Detroit, which is now ten points ahead of Montreal. NAHC TALENT LEVEL ON THE RISE A decade ago the NAHC's scouting service suggested there were three elite level players, or 5-star ratings, in the league. That number has not changed with the release of the 1961-62 OSA player rankings but the totals for players bubbling just under that superstar level have seen a dramatic rise. Quinton Pollack, Toronto's 38-year-old star center was considered a 5-star player a decade ago and today nothing has changed. Pollack is still a five-star player but instead of joining now retired centers Tommy Burns and Wilbur Chandler as he did a decade ago, Pollack is the only 5-star pivot on today's list. He is joined by a pair of 20-year-olds who went first and second in the 1960 NAHC amateur draft. They would be Montreal defenseman Mark Moggy and Detroit winger Hobie Barrell. Most had assumed since probably early 1958 that Barrell would be the number one pick in the 1960 draft but Moggy had a breakout draft year with the Sherbrooke Industrials and after the Vals selected him ahead of Barrell he went on to beat Barrell for the 1960-61 NAHC rookie of the year award while also being named to the second all-star team. This year Moggy has, by a wide margin, the highest average game rating of any defenseman in the league and trails just one player. That player is not Pollack, although he is very much in the mix, but rather young Barrell who has had a big season in Detroit and, despite missing 9 games due to injury, is challenging Pollack for the league goal scoring lead. Detroit was more than happy to have Barrell land in their lap and make it a homecoming of sorts as well as allowing Hobie to team with his 24-year-old brother Benny Barrell who had joined the squad two years before Hobie's arrival. The two boys, sons of former star catcher Fred Barrell, had honed their skills playing youth hockey in the Motor City while their father was the scouting director of the FABL Detroit Dynamos. While the number of 5-star players is unchanged, the scouting service has suggested there is quite an increase in 3 and 4 star elite skaters. A decade ago the scouting service ranked 33 players at that secondary level but today that number has doubled to 66 and it is clear the quality of the game has improved with much of the credit going to the formation of the tier 1 junior Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in the fall of 1949. Virtually every active NAHC player under the age of 30 has spent time in the CAHA. One other interesting note from the OSA list (see below) is the shortage of goalies. A decade ago their were seven goalies rated as at least 3-star performers but now, while every other position has witnessed a dramatic increase, the scouting service suggests only four goalies in the league warrant a 3-star or better rating. Those four also happen to be confined to just two different clubs as both Montreal and the New York Shamrocks have two of them. One of the Shamrocks pair is 35-year-old Alex Sorrell, who is the only active goaltender that was on the list of 3-star or better players a decade ago. Toronto has gone 12-3-5 for 29 points in their last twenty games to put a stranglehold on home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Dukes start March 2-0-3 managing a tie on Sunday at Lakeside Aud when Charles Brochu scored his 13th on the power play to tie the game at 1 with 39 ticks left on the clock. Toronto remains a point behind the Packers with 6 games left. They will host Chicago next Saturday for the team's final meeting of the regular season. Dukes have picked up their goal scoring over their twenty game run. Now have scored 180 goals tied for second with Detroit 19 fewer than Chicago. Keeping the puck out of the net has been the key for the Dukes who have the fewest losses in the NAHC, 19. The red light has only gone on 154 times behind a Duke's keeper, 15 fewer than the next best Motors. Quinton Pollack, who is having his first injury free season in over a decade, is running away with the scoring race with 37 goals 50 assists 87 points for an 18 point lead over Hobie Barrell. Boston is on a six-game winning streak and the timing is important, as the rest of the contenders in the division continue to win. The lead for the Centurions is five games and a big part of their club has come back into the fold with the return of Steve Barrell from injury. Barrell’s first game back was a two-point win in Philadelphia just over two weeks ago. Starting with that game, Boston has won seven of eight and Barrell has been very good, averaging 13.5 points and over two steals a game, while surpassing 10 rebounds four times. His partner in the backcourt, point guard T.J. Grimm averaged 12.5 points and 8.6 assists in those eight games, to provide great guard play to key Boston’s rise. Philadelphia is running out of chances to directly affect Boston’s designs on a division title. Another lost opportunity was in store for the Phantoms on March 4th at Keystone Arena in front of 6,075 fans. Philadelphia had another fourth quarter letdown, as the game was up for grabs, and it was Boston getting the key baskets when it mattered. Top scorer Bert LaBrecque scored 19 points and Barrell earned a triple-double with 15 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds in the 77-76 win. St. Louis has won four in a row to improve their middling home record to 20-11 and their season record to 30-30. While there is no hope to win the Western Division, as the Rockets are 14-1/2 games out with 20 games to play. The win streak has allowed them to stay ahead of Detroit and the lead has doubled over the last two weeks, from 1-1/2 to three games. Three wins during this streak were home games at the St. Louis Event Center. The Rockets last game, an important 80-66 win in Detroit, is the first of nine road games in the next twelve contests. St. Louis is only 10-19 on the road, so if the Rockets struggle on the road, that would open the door for Detroit to capture second place. More to the point, the win over the Mustangs was only their first meeting of five in those dozen games, with three at Thompson Palladium and two at home. In the 80-66 victory on Saturday night in Detroit, Bill Melton led a second-half charge that erased a 39-33 halftime deficit to storm back with a 19-8 third quarter and had the game put away in the fourth. Melton scored 30 points on 13-for-27 shooting and the team excelled from the floor, making 45% of their shots. TOURNAMENT FIELD UNVEILED Noble Jones College, Charleston Tech, Maryland State and Lane State -ranked 1 thru 4 in the final college cage poll- each have claimed number seeds for the annual AIAA college basketball tournament, which tips off over the weekend. The Noble Jones Colonels, at 28-2 including an impressive 15-1 mark in Deep South section play will be the top seed in a South Region that also includes Great Lakes Alliance champion Indiana A&M and a pair of traditional powers in North Carolina Tech and Redwood University. Turning to the East Region, the Charleston Tech Admirals -winners of their third straight South Atlantic Conference title- are the headliner. The Admirals reached the AIAA title game two years ago but have never won the national tournament. Wisconsin State, Academia Alliance winner Brunswick and independent power Liberty College are among the Admirals foes in the region. The Midwest Region top two seeds go to schools outside the area as Maryland State, tournament champion two years ago, gets the nod as the number one seed while five time champion Rainier College, which lost in last year's championship game to Mississippi A&M claims the number two seed. There is some local flavor highlighted by third seed Western Iowa. Out west the top seed will be Lane State after the Emeralds shared the West Coast Athletic Association crown with Redwood. The region is loaded with long time elite schools Whitney College, Carolina Poly and Coastal California in the group of 8 teams along with defending national champion Mississippi A&M, which earned the third seed. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 3/11/1962 President Kennedy has decided to resume nuclear tests in the atmosphere during April unless Russia agrees to an inspected test ban before then. No reply from the Soviets on that front but Premier Khrushchev did renew calls for an 18-nation summit meeting on disarmament and said that the world's four nuclear powers could easily have special talks within the framework of the larger meeting. Later in the week Russia charged that Kennedy was trying to force "a completely unacceptable system of espionage inspection" on the Soviet Union as the price for holding up United States nuclear tests. American allies in Western Europe agreed the tests must resume unless the Russians accept ironclad controls on nuclear testing but the Prime Minister of Japan said nuclear tests will destroy the human race and the Japanese "are totally opposed to the decision." As the week came to a close Russia reluctantly accepted a US-British proposal to open the 18-nation disarmament conference in Geneva with a foreign minister's meeting. President Kennedy has instructed US Secretary of State Dean Rusk to "make every effort toward disarmament" as Rusk arrived in Geneva yesterday. Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko also arrived in Geneva and he stressed the need for disarmament as well. The CIA fully exonerated U-2 Pilot Francis Gary Powers, stating he did not yield to his Russian captors and lived up to the terms of his employment and "his obligations as an American." Powers returned to the US last month in a prisoner exchange after being captured in May, 1960 when his plane was downed over the Soviet Union. The United States and 24 other nations have agreed to chop about 20% from tariffs on a wide range of items -from automobiles to Scotch whisky." US officials say American came out ahead on the deal with President Kennedy terming the agreement "highly advantageous to the United States." Algerian rebels have proposed to open "the ultimate phase" of peace negotiations, one which a rebel spokesman says should end in a ceasefire in Algeria and bring a close to a seven and a half year rebellion. Talks did not happen and by weeks end a new wave of violence including well over 100 plastic bomb explosions resulted in dozens of deaths as part of a show of strength by the European Secret Army Organization. 95 are dead following a crash of a Los Angeles bound American Airlines jet shortly after takeoff from New York City. Engine failure is being cited as the cause. It was the nation's largest disaster involving a single civilian plane. A few days later a British airliner crashed in Cameroon, killing all 111 persons on board. A devastating storm from Florida to New York, particularly in the Middle Atlantic resort area, caused damage estimated at well in excess of $200 million. __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles