Kicking off his first year at the paper, Murray chose to hand out his Linkletter Awards.
Enjoy!
December 31, 1961, SPORTS
Copyright 1961/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY
JIM MURRAY
Time for Awards
It's that time of the year again. Good-bye 1961 and your Castros and Cubas and Khrushchevs. Go and drop dead some place. Take those other guys with you and don't slam the door on the way out. Never darken our lives again.
But before it goes, before we put on our paper hat and tin horn, reach for the bourbon and do the Twist, it is also time for our inaugural Linkletter Awards, trophies the comedian and I have
collaborated on to reward, not necessarily on the basis of whether they won or lost or how-they-played-the-game, but on how much money we won on them.First of all, let's observe a moment of silence for those who are no longer with us. I refer to the vendor who tripped and fell in Aisle 19 and lost all his hot dogs. The dog who ate them also, because he had never eaten ballpark wieners before. And never will again. The guy who said all sharks were cowards then dove down and met one who resented his attitude. The bratwurst-maker who went broke because he couldn't cut the mustard at the World Series. The Cincinnati Reds who couldn't either.
Our first Linkletter Award which is a series of linked letters which when stretched out spells trouble goes to the winner of the PGA tournament JERRY BARBER, for being a winning golfer so small that when he gets on the green to putt for the hole, he has to be careful not to fall in.
And when he goes in the woods after a slice, he is harder to find than the ball. They have a two-stroke penalty for lost golfer put in just for him. He also has to be roped to his caddy when he goes down to the sandtrap.
Our next award goes to the ITALIAN DAVIS CUP TEAM, not for getting into the Challenge Round against Australia, but for being the first team where no one knew they were there because the only balls they returned were in cans after the tournament.
Their trip was pointless in more ways than one and our award will salute them as the team of Brotherly Love. They were supposed to give the game of tennis a shot in the arm but they missed and hit it in the head. You know tennis, of course; consolation polo for kids who are afraid of horses.
STEVE CLARK gets an award not so much for setting a new American freestyle record but for doing it as a Yale boy. If you think it's easy to swim in a buttoned-down bathing suit with a knit tie, and not get a hernia, try it. There are several stylized swim strokes — breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly. Free style is the one you use when a shark is after you. The shark uses it, too.
SANDY KOUFAX gets a Linkletter for setting a new league record for 3-and-2 counts. Sandy also threw two straight strikes once and the ballpark was so shocked the shout woke up Walt Alston in the dugout. They not only threw the ball out, they threw the umpire out.
RYNE DUREN draws an award not only for striking out guys he can't see but for being the first guy to use the Braille system in baseball. When the batter calls for a look at the ball, Ryne calls for a look at the batter, and runs his hand over his strike zone.
ROGER MARIS rates not only because he got the most valuable player award but because he has finally realized to stick in the big leagues he has to bunt and hit to left-field. We also salute the minor league manager who urged him to stop swinging for the fences, just meet the ball and choke up on the bat. This manager has been sent to the State Dept.
L.A.'s own CAROLYN HOUSE splashes in because she won three gold medals at the age of 16 in the AAU swim nationals. Carolyn has been on or under water so much of her life she gets the bends if she gets in street clothes too fast.
She has popularized a new hair color; natural chlorine. I won't say she astonished the swim world but they served notice the first time she grows scales she has to give the medals back.
A. J. FOYT qualifies because he won the Indianapolis 500 at an average speed of 139.13 m.p.h. Foyt also won $117,000 which means he and his partners only took a small loss getting the car ready. Only 12 cars finished, but one of them was a Buick that made a wrong turn at Terre Haute and just thought it was the freeway rush hour. He was ineligible for prize money — it just happened to be his turn in the car pool that day — so they gave him green stamps and someone to lick them for him.
ELGIN BAYLOR makes it because he got drafted by the Army presumably to dribble people through the Berlin Wall without drawing a foul.
JIM BROWN crashes in as football's version of the Hollywood Freeway. Four ambulance-chasers follow him to every game but any guy who tries to tackle him single-handed gets his insurance canceled on the spot. The spot, by the way, is all that's left of the guy.
Those, then, are our awardees. But, the moment you have been waiting for, the announcement of our ATHLETE-0F-THE-YEAR is at hand.
Gentlemen, we give you — and please take him — the man who faced insurmountable odds and so didn't bother to surmount them — our own PETE RADEMACHER! Let's hear it out there for old Pete, our athlete of the year.
(Note: Thomas Peter ‘Pete’ Rademacher (born Nov. 20, 1928) is a former boxer who made boxing history by being the only man to fight for the world heavyweight championship in his first professional fight.”
*Reprinted with permission by the Los Angeles Times.
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D Nikolai Ladygin (Medicine Hat, Tri-City, 2001-02) has signed for the rest of this season with the Hull Stingrays (England, UK Elite). He started this season with the Generals Kiev (Ukraine, PHL); no statistics are available. Last season, he had six points, two of them goals, in 35 games with Yuzhny Ural Orsk (Russia, Vysshaya Liga).
In Prince Albert, F Bryson Gore broke a 2-2 tie with two third-period goals to lead the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 4-3 victory over the Raiders. . . . F Reid Gardiner pulled the Raiders into a 2-2 tie at 3:14 of the third period. . . . Gore than struck for his fourth and fifth goals of the season, at 12:06 and 18:28, the latter into an empty net. . . . Raiders D Dylan Busenius got his side to within one at 19:21 of the third. . . . The Warriors, who have won two in a row, had three defencemen — Travis Brown, Jesse Forsberg and Reid Zalitach — each get two assists. . . . The Raiders have lost seven in a row and now are tied with the Red Deer Rebels for the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . 
In Swift Current, the Broncos overcame an early 2-0 deficit with five straight goals and went on to dump the Kamloops Blazers, 6-3. . . . Kamloops got PP goals from F Cole Ully and F Aspen Sterzer at 11:10 and 11:51 of the first. . . . Ully has 15 goals; Sterzer has 14. . . . The Blazers were without F Chase Souto who suffered a suspected brain injury in a fight with F Bryson Gore of the host Moose Jaw Warriors on Sunday. . . . F Colby Cave got the Broncos even with his 19th and 20th goals, at 3:35 and 10:47 of the second. The latter came via the PP. . . . Cave also had an assist, while F Graham Black had three helpers. . . . F Collin Shirley had two assists for Kamloops. . . . The Blazers finished 3-3-0 on their East Division swing, but lost the last two. . . . The Broncos had lost four in a row. . . . 
In Saskatoon, the Kelowna Rockets finished running the East Division table as they dropped the Blades, 7-1. . . . Kelowna, which has won 12 in a row, went 6-0 on its East Division trek. . . . The Rockets set a franchise record with their 13th straight road victory. . . . Kelowna (28-3-2) leads the overall standings by eight points over the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Blades have lost 11 straight. . . . The Rockets scored the game’s last six goals. . . . F Carter Rigby scored twice for Kelowna, while D Mitchell Wheaton had a goal and three assists and F Rourke Chartier, who is from Saskatoon, had a goal and two helpers. . . . Kelowna held a 51-28 edge in shots. . . . Rockets G Jackson Whistle stopped 27 shots. . . . Kelowna F Myles Bell had a goal and an assist. He totalled seven goals and three assists on the six-game jaunt. Prior to the trip, he had one goal in eight games. . . . The Blades were without F Logan Harland, F Brett Stovin, F Collin Valcourt and F Nick Zajac, all of whom are injured. As well, D Nelson Nogier suffered an undisclosed injury Sunday in Edmonton and, according to the Blades, “is expected to miss several weeks.” . . . Thus, the Blades had three prospects arrive in time for this game. D Turner Ottenbreit, a 16-year-old from Yorkton, Sask., was a 12th-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. F Parker Smyth, 15, was a second-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft, while F Cody Prevost, 16, is a list player. Smyth, from Red Deer, is a nephew to Edmonton Oilers F Ryan Smyth. . . .
In Calgary, the Hitmen scored the game’s first six goals and went on to a 6-3 victory over the Regina Pats. . . . The Hitmen have points in their last 10 games (9-0-1) and now lead the Eastern Conference by two points over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Calgary F Greg Chase scored twice, giving him 19 goals, while F Radel Fazleev had three assists. . . . The Hitmen were 2-for-4 on the PP and also had two shorthanded goals. . . . Earlier Tuesday, the NHL’s Calgary Flames announced they had signed Regina F Morgan Klimchuk to a three-year entry-level contract. Klimchuk, a Calgarian who is out with a hip injury suffered in the Subway Super Series, was the 28th overall pick in the 2013 NHL raft. He has 29 points, including 12 goals, in 26 games. His contract is worth US$832,500. A $92,500 signing bonus is payable each season. The AHL salary is $70,000. . . . 
In Edmonton, the Victoria Royals fell behind early but roared back for a 5-3 victory over the Oil Kings, who had won their previous nine games. . . . Victoria G Patrik Polivka stopped 37 shots. . . . Royals F Brandon Magee had a goal, his 12th, and two helpers. The goal was an EN. . . . F Mitch Moroz gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead, with his 21st goal, at 4:30 of the first. . . . F Matt Dykstra, a 16-year-old from Edmonton, pulled Victoria even with his first WHL goal in his third goal this season at 11:37 and F Axel Blomqvist gave the Royals the lead, with his 11th, at 16:36. . . . Victoria scored four straight goals before Edmonton cut the lead to 4-3. . . . The Royals took the game’s first five minor penalties, all in the second period, but surrendered only one PP goal. . . . Victoria went 3-1-1 on a road swing that featured stops in Vancouver, Swift Current, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and Edmonton. . . . The Royals are tied for third with the Everett Silvertips in the Western Conference, just two points behind the Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Oil Kings trail the Eastsern Conference-leading Calgary Hitmen by two points. . . . 
In Red Deer, F Lukas Sutter scored twice and F Conner Bleackley had a goal and two assists as the Rebels beat the Medicine Hat Tigers, 5-2. . . . F Curtis Valk opened the scoring for the Tigers, getting his 15th goal, on the PP, at 1:33 of the second. . . . The Rebels scored the next four goals, with Sutter getting his sixth and seventh, and Bleackley adding his 17th. . . . Red Deer G Patrik Bartosak kicked out 46 shots. . . . Red Deer was without four of its top six scorers — F Matt Bellerive, F Rhyse Dieno and F Brooks Maxwell are injured, while F Dominik Volek is in the Czech Republic national junior team’s selection camp. . . . Greg Meachem, the sports editor of the Red Deer Advocate, also reports that Red Deer F Vukie Mpofu left after the warmup. Mpofu a 17-year-old freshman, was injured during a Monday practice and apparently aggravated the injury during the warmup. . . . F Brayden Burke, a 16-year-old from Edmonton, made his WHL debut with the Rebels. He was a seventh-round pick in the 2012 bantam draft. . . . The Rebels have won three straight and now are tied with the Prince Albert Raiders for the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . 
In Kent, Wash., F Branden Troock scored twice and set up another as the host Seattle Thunderbirds defeated the Tri-City Americans, 5-2. . . . Troock, who was plus-4, has 7 goals. . . . F Alexander Delnov helped Seattle with a goal, his 16th, and three assists. He was plus-4. . . . Seattle F Ryan Gropp, the third member of that line, had one goal, his fifth, and also was plus-4. . . . Seattle is 9-1-0 in its last 10 and is just four points behind the U.S. Division-leading Portland Winterhawks. . . . The Thunderbirds dressed 16 skaters. Among the scratches was F Keegan Kolesar, who took a headshot from Portland F Brendan Leipsic on Saturday. Leipsic drew a seven-game suspension. . . . The Americans have lost four in a row. . . . 
In Portland, F Josh Winquist scored twice as the Everett Silvertips halted a four-game losing skid with a 4-2 victory over the Winterhawks. . . . The Silvertips had lost six of seven. They also had dropped 16 straight regular-season decisions in Portland. . . . Winquist, whose second goal was into an empty net, has 26 goals. . . . According to the WHL website, Everett G Austin Lotz made 14 saves in the game’s first 26:37, then was replaced by Daniel Cotton, who stopped seven of nine shots. . . . According to the Everett Herald, Lotz was injured “after taking a knee to head from Portland’s Shane McColgan.” The Herald has the injury occurring late in the first period, with Lotz not returning for the second. Lotz, according to the newspaper, stopped all seven shots he saw, with Cotton coming in to stop 13 of 15. . . . Earlier in the day, Portland F Brendan Leipsic was suspended for seven games for a headshot on Seattle F Keegan Kolesar. Leipsic, who has 43 points, 20 of them goals, in 29 games, will be eligible to return on Jan. 8 against the host Silvertips. . . . Leipsic served a three-game suspension earlier this season
F Ned Lukacevic (Spokane, Swift Current, 2001-06) has signed with the Fife Flyers (England, UK Elite). This season, he has played with three teams — he had seven points, including two goals, in 10 games with the Tohoku Free Blades Hachinohe (Japan, Asia HL); he was pointless in one game with the Bakersfield Condors; and he had two goals in nine games with the Reading Royals (ECHL).
In Edmonton, G Tristan Jarry turned aside 27 shots as the Oil Kings dropped the Saskatoon Blades, 4-0. . . . Jarry has four shutouts this season and 10 in his career. . . . The Oil Kings held a 21-2 edge in shots in the first period. . . . Edmonton F Luke Bertolucci opened the scoring with his first goal of the season at 2:11 of the first period. It came in his 30th game this season. . . . Bertolucci also had an assist. . . . D Chance Patterson, 16, and F Davis Koch, 15, both made their WHL debut with the Oil Kings. Patterson was taken in the fifth round of the 2012 bantam draft; Koch was a second-round selection in 2013. . . . The Oil Kings have won nine in a row and are atop the Eastern Conference, tied with the Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Blades have lost 10 straight. . . . 
In Everett, G Eric Williams kicked out 29 shots to spark the Spokane Chiefs to a 2-0 victory over the Silvertips. . . . He’s got two shutouts this season and eight in his career. . . . Spokane D Tyler King got the game’s opening goal, his first in 35 games this season, at 9:22 of the first period. . . . This was Everett’s fourth straight loss. . . . Spokane has won three straight and is tied with the Seattle Thunderbirds for fifth in the Western Conference, just two points behind Everett and Victoria. . . . 
In Medicine Hat, D Tommy Vannelli scored the only goal of the shootout as the Tigers beat the Regina Pats, 4-3. . . . Regina held 2-0 and 3-2 leads in this one. . . . F Trevor Cox forced OT with his 10th goal at 1:30 of the third. . . . Regina got its first two goals from F Austin Wagner and F Dane Schioler, both of whom scored their first WHL goals. . . . Wagner, a 16-year-old from Calgary, was playing in his 21st game this season; Schioler, a 17-year-old from Winnipeg, was playing in his second game. . . . Regina G Nick Schneider stopped 39 shots through OT, 13 more than Medicine Hat’s Daniel Wapple. . . . The Tigers have won their last two to stay within two points of Edmonton and Calgary. . . . Regina has points in six straight (3-0-3) and is fifth in the Eastern Conference, five points behind the Tigers. . . . Prior to the game, Dave Dawson of Shaw TV Sports tweeted: “Defenceman Spenser Jensen has reportedly left the @tigershockey to pursue schooling. #whl” . . . Jensen, an 18-year-old from Airdrie, Alta., had three assists in 28 games. He was in his third season with the Tigers.. . . 
In Vancouver, G Ty Edmonds turned aside 41 shots to lead the Prince George Cougars to a 3-1 victory over the Giants. . . . F Carter Popoff opened the scoring for Vancouver, getting his 10th goal at 7:02 of the first. . . . F Jordan Tkatch pulled the Cougars even, with his ninth goal, at 3:38 of the second. F Zach Pochiro, with his 11th, gave the visitors the lead just 25 seconds later. . . . Vancouver lost D Dalton Thrower to a headshot major and game misconduct 48 seconds into the third. . . . F Tyler Benson, the first pick in the 2013 bantam draft, played his second game of the season with the Giants. . . . The Cougars closed to within four points of the Tri-City Americans, who hold down the Western Conference’s last playoff spot. 
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