Sports Snapshots: February 18, 1963

The college basketball world is still reeling from the series of Saturday stunners. When the cager carnage was complete, six of the top ten teams—including both prior unbeaten top two—went down in defeat. Among those victimized: ninth-ranked Georgia Tech, seventh-ranked Mississippi State, sixth-ranked Colorado, and fourth-ranked Illinois (despite 53 points from Dave Downey).

The biggest surprises belonged to the spotless top dogs, though. Second-ranked Loyola, 21-0 going in, fell to Bowling Green, 92-75, as the Falcons’ full-court press, 32 points from Howie Komives and 24 from Nate Thurmond proved too much. Top-ranked and defending national champ Cincinnati, riding a massive 37 game-win streak, stumbled to Wichita, 65-64, as Dave Stallworth (pictured) poured in most of the points (46) for the Shockers, including two clutch free throws at the end.
Despite the first defeat, the Bearcats maintained their stranglehold atop the polls. In light of the size of Loyola’s loss, though, it couldn’t keep pace, falling to third behind Duke. The Blue Devils have reeled off 13 straight wins and are 19-2 overall.

In the NBA, the Cincinnati Royals used a 16-3 streak in the fourth quarter to defeat the Knicks in New York, putting the losers within a game of being knocked out of the playoffs. The Royals, led by Jack Twyman’s 27 points, have almost clinched the third and last spot in the Eastern Division. The relentless Boston Celtics—nine games ahead in the East—fought off a challenge from the Chicago Zephyrs to prevail, 110-107, behind Sam Jones’ 28 points. Walt Bellamy, with 32, kept Chicago competitive all game.
Wilt Chamberlain, relatively “stagnating” without busting any more records, still leads in scoring with an astounding 45.8 average per game, well ahead of Elgin Baylor (34.1). The Big Dipper also holds a slight edge over rebounding machine Bill Russell in boards grabbed. Rookie Terry Dischinger of Chicago is threatening the all-time field goal percentage record with a .527 mark.

Don January blazed to a record-breaking 11-stroke victory in the Tuscon Open, shooting in the 60’s all four days. The 33-year old tall Texan finished 22-under par. Gene Littler and Phil Rodgers, last year’s winner, tied for the distant runnerup position.

Diamond troublemaker Bo Belinsky, playboy pitcher (pictured) for the Los Angeles Angels, got into difficulties again while being late to spring practice for the second day in less than a week. When asked by manager Bill Rigney what his excuse was, Bo told him he was stopped by a policeman for speeding—because he was trying to get to the ballpark on time.

Comedian Jerry Lewis showed his baseball playing should be taken seriously. Appearing for the Los Angeles Dodger all-stars in a benefit game against a group of major league all-stars, he slapped a single in the fourth inning. Though first baseman Lewis and Los Angeles lost, his hit was the first for the squad. It’s doubtful, though, he’ll be a threat to current Dodger first sackers Bill Skowron and Ron Fairly.
Speaking of Dodgers, in light of ‘62’s late season cliff dive, Walt Alston will feel some heat from his seat this year. The dean of managers, nine years with the same club, has dealt with plenty of pressure in the past, though, and often seems to come out a winner.

Bullet Bob Hayes, track superstar from Florida A&M, shattered the indoor world record in the 70-yard dash with a 6.9 time. Running on boards for his first time, he repeated the feat later in the evening.