European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 29, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse Friday september 29, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 23 commentary time of save Usa eur sports Bucky Fox is . Sports in sudden death it s says Berlin s Larry Parker a former Usa eur sports chief. The Issue has been says v corps sports Boss Joe Mulligan Usa eur is letting us die a quiet death. They Don t want to say anything and let it All go will the army continue its Usa eur championships for 1990? Headquarters in Heidelberg say the question is under study and that Gen. Crostic e. Saint the Usa eur commander will provide the answer within a month. Usa eur s sports chief Don Claycomb is sup Posedly conducting that study. He won t comment. Col. Sam Floca Usa eur Public affairs officer released a statement noting that Saint directed a study of the Structure of Pur organized Spons and recreational activities to include Usa eur Lovci programs such As teaching coaching clinics and Usa eur level championship the debate is still open says Chuck Large who ran Usa eur sports from 1983 and 86. It s my undemanding the decision has not been said Large now a Worms Community official. What the cinc is asking is is this a Cost efficient program i would t Tell you it s a dead Parker does. He followed Large As Usa eur sports chief and now helps run Berlin s Community activities. He looked at Usa eur s sports funding and saw the sign they Cut All the Money Parker explained that major commands the size of Berlin used to draw about $13.000 from a depart ment of the army dividend called the self sufficiency exemption. The Money flowed through usar eur and was directed toward varsity level sports. I just got the list last said Parker. All the Mac oms major commands have been zeroed out on sports. It s Mulligan sees another sign ask Don Claycomb where is the 1990 Usa eur schedule he does t have Bill Mallon. The Stuttgart sports director says he can t produce a Community sports Calendar because Vii corps does t have one and that Vii corps can t create a schedule until Usa eur does. Usa eur usually releases a tentative schedule in june but Large said when i was up there there were times when i could t put out a Calendar until mid october. I m not saying that s what happened. But you can pull out last year s Calendar and change a couple of Days and you re of. Just because there s no Calendar does t mean the decision has been if Saint s decision is pending he won t gut usar eur sports. So says a Guy from the Safe Side Continental sports conference director buddy Chap Man. I Don t think that la Fly said Chapman. Sports arc too big Over Here. He ii get too much flak. He might be Able to do that in the states where you can go off base to play sports. But it s the Only Amer ican thing Over Usa eur s championship events for 1989 include13 sports racquetball basketball Power lifting boxing volleyball soccer Golf Tennis slow pitch softball track and Field Cross country Flag football and wrestling. Floca s statement notes a desire to ensure that funds available for our programs arc utilized so As to Benefit to the members of the Usa eur Mannheim s Community recreation director Bill Ross figures Money is pushing Saint in this debate. He has to be thinking that some sports Are not pay ing their own Way that there s a Lack of interest said Ross who has been involved in military sports since 1946. Bui basketball packs the gyms. There s plus instead of a Ross a longtime boxing coach said boxing basketball softball and wrestling get their Money s Worth. But volleyball soccer and track Don t. Those three Don t put anybody in the stands he said. The Way i look at it is intramural arc for participation Community level for Stuttgart s Mallon said Saint might be thinking that As for laying the Money out and the people involved he s not gelling his Money s Worth. But he s nol thinking that in basketball you might have 24 people playing Bui 2,000 in the stands Large recalls How Baum older s Usa eur title Fis l Chron be Usa eur sports produced Raum Huldi r s Ray Mercer right who swung his Way in tin olympic Gold in 1988. Teams of 1979, 80, 81 and 83 pulled thai Community out of a Gutter. Baum older was not called Back then. They had a lot of problems. When they won those championships the entire Community got behind it. Thai s an Jimmy Davis starred on the 1983 Baumholzer champions. He s planning to keep playing for the bears at age 32. That is if Sarel a keeps it championship program. As it is now there s not enough of it said Davis. You have to have something to entertain the sol Diers including myself. A tension release. Going to company level program is not sufficient. We have seven Guys from our company on the Community team. If we went to the company learn the mediocre Guys would be reduced to just watching. What would they do Baum older s Deputy Community commander col. Thomas Tysdal said a disappearing act would be demoralizing. People Here live for Usa eur championships. Soldiers extend Here and come Here because of our sports. I Don l know whal in would eos us if we did i have Usa eur slashed ils sports program once be fore. Thai was in 1970. The commanding general Back then was Michael Davidson and he ordered the division level setup slithered into an on duty Infra Cavern mass participation formation. The european wide championships and clinics disappeared. By 1975. Usa eur boxing was Back. The next year came Usa eur wrestling and in 77 usar eur basketball. This cutting came about in the Early 70s, and it did i work said Large. Gucz sometimes you think we d learn from Large was instrumental in bringing Usa eur Back from the dead. Parker was around in those Days too and blames this threat on too Many new people with not enough historical he likes to reel off former Usa eur greats such As hurdler Willie Davenport and boxers Eddie Crook and Ray Mercer. All Ihrck Vaul cd from Usa eur to olympic Gold much did the army capitalize on Ray Mercer standing up there with a Gold medal around his neck asked Parker. The army is still reaping dividends from Mercer. The former Baum older bomber is 9-0 As a pro Afler slopping Arthell Lawhorne Al 1 05 of inc second round last week in Jacksonville Fla. He got his shot by winning the Usa eur championship underscores Hank Rone the Wiesbaden Community recreation officer and Veteran boxing ref Eree. He went from Usa eur to All army and up the ranks. If icy Cul Usa eur sports it la be and verse to soldiers but will keeping Usa eur sports be Adverse to inc army s Bank no Way insists Mulligan. The v corps if army sports takes a hit if the Usa eur level sports program Dies Whalean Vve expect fur championships would a 21st Talcom Champion still play a corps Winner in a Europe-nidi1 basketball series As Karlsruhe did against Wiesbaden lust Spring i Don t know if this Means no More Usarek championships or if the responsibility will go to the Mac oms major commands to produce a usar eur Champion said Hank Rone the Wiesbaden Community recreation officer. You could have Competition Between Mac oms. There won t be a depart ment just to do take swimming. Usa eur dropped the spurt hut Berlin is holding a military swim meet this weekend. Could the major commands run events like that without having to fund a Usarek sports office nil. Said Chuck Large. The former Usa eur sports chief i in Basi to the importance of an umbrella or Guni Utun. If you re going to run a program he said you be not to have an honest broker sports chief says that last Winter he joined other snort officials in Saint s office where the general told Clay comb there is no Money problem. He told us he wanted sports More focused on inc company level to pm phase a the corps level and said the financial situation were that desperate you d have to do in. But there s nol a Money crunch. They re just being Lold that this program is nol needed. Clay comb has been told to just do the department of the army sports office in Washington is aware of Usa eur s teetering sports state. Ste Brown a a sports official said his office is preparing a letter for Brig. Gen. Neal Jaco com Mander of the army Community and family support Center to Send to Saint expressing concern Over Possi ble cuts. Said Brown in Light of How successful they Usa eur sports have been we re saying thai a Large part of the Success of the army sports program stems from inc Success of the Usa eur will Saint actually erase Usa eur level sports height despite the uproar. Remember he s the Only general with guts to publicly Call the army environment in Europe a welfare state which is exactly whal in Usa eur sports does t need to slay in a stale of welfare. It can draw Money from commercial sponsors. Claycomb s office could Start aggressively seeking Bucks from outfits like Miller Lile and Ford which already Back military sports. Then in the heat of hoop mania we could have the Usa eur Miller Lite Ford basketball championships. Sure beats none Al All. The Sutt to Stripe
