Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, July 9, 1995                   TAG: 9507100071
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: E2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SPORTS MAILBAG

Sports editor:

Normally when I read an article or editorial in the Times that raises my hackles, I compose a letter of complaint in my head, feel relieved and go on about my business. But today, I could bear the frustration no longer. The insult was overbearing and aimed at a man who is a legend in his sport. Pancho Gonzalez died today and the tennis world is a little darker, a little less interesting and has much less charm.

Pancho by force of will and talent, and in spite of the prejudice a poor Mexican boy from a barrio in California experienced from the elegant country clubs of America, forged a remarkable career in a sport of the rich and at a time played for the rich.

A fearless and relentless competitor, he became one of America's greatest and most enduring champions, one who forces comparison with Bill Tilden, Don Budge, Jack Kramer and John McEnroe. His fiery temper, love of the game and compelling personality made him a favorite of the crowds and columnists. He fought his way out of a barrio with relentless demands upon himself and upon the forces that ruled the world. He paid a price for those demands. Fans will not exalt he who will not be humble. And Pancho remained a "Lion" to the end, bowing to no one, not even cancer. You can destroy a MAN but you cannot defeat him.

In 1988 he played a national senior tournament at the Germantown Racquet Club. Most of us were only fans when he was at his best, but he played for us, for himself but mostly for the game. An official came up to him during a warm-up and told him he couldn't wear a red shirt at the cricquet club, clothes had to be ``all-white.'' He laughed, hit a few more balls and said, as he walked up, ``I thought I broke through the colorless barrier when I started playing in the forties.''

He is one of the men I admire most in the game. One of its greatest players, he was also one of its best minds, technical and tactical. No more than a handful of those who have written about how to play the game, write as well. Given those credentials, it is galling to any sense of tennis history and the honor we owe it, to see the article on his death relegated to the fourth of the sports pages. Pancho would probably have laughed and said, as he did to so many other slights in his life, ``it don't come easy, man, it don't come easy.''

It might have been good enough for him, but it shouldn't be good enough from us to him. Light a candle, say a prayer, his kind will not pass by often.

LARSEN BOWKER VIRGINIA TECH MEN'S TENNIS COACH

It's time to start over in pro sports

First, baseball. Then, hockey. Now, basketball. Could we start over, please? There is now a game played by lawyers, legislators, and unions that supercedes the games played on fields, ice and courts.

Owners and players alike don't put the athletic competition first. A hockey team, the New Jersey Devils, can win the Stanley Cup, and the next day entertain an offer to move to another city. Players have a greater loyalty to free agency than they do to their team that pays them and the city that watches them.

What could we do if we started over? I'd suggest that teams be owned by municipalities rather than cash-hungry owners. The Oakland/Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders is recent example of an owner whose commitment to a particular locality is questionable (although I know some folks who would welcome a Brooklyn/Los Angeles/Brooklyn Dodgers scenario.)

I'd also suggest that players be paid a reasonable salary that is based on their athletic abilities and celebrity status, but which doesn't bankrupt smaller cities. Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Seattle and other teams from New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Chicago.

I know it isn't possible to go back to a simpler, more sane era in sports. So, I guess I'll do the next best thing: I'll be content to watch the Roanoke Express and the Salem Avalanche, and forget about the major-league owners and players, and the lawyers, legislators and unions.

TONY SEEL ROANOKE

The Roanoke Times welcomes letters on any sports subject. Write to Sports Editor, Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va., 24010.