—The Daily Collegian Monday. September 10, 1973 PITTSBURGH (AP) University of Pittsburgh football Coach Johnny Majors has denied charges by a former player that he was forced out by Majors as part of a scheme to rid the team of upper classmen. Lou Cecconi, a senior running back, left Pitt's Johnstown training camp two weeks ago after what he later said was a run-in with Majors over punishment for failing to weigh in before practice. After practice, the trainer called me over. He asked me why I didn't weigh in and I told him I forgot," Cecconi told a reporter Friday. "He said I would have to be punished." Cecconi. whose father was a Pitt star and a member of Carl DePasqua's coaching staff, said he was ordered by the trainer to roll back and forth across the practice field. Cecconi said he" asked if he could run laps instead, and that during a subsequent argument with the trainer and backfield coach, Majors interceded. " "(Majors) came charging over and he was yelling and screaming. His face was all red. He yelled at me . "I don't think anyone really likes him." Internal warfare has begun at Pitt "He came charging over It was all part of a plan to and he was yelling and get the upper classmen off the screaming. His face was all squad, said Cecconi, adding, red. He yelled at me," "I don't think anyone really Cecconi continued: likes him (Majors)." The former player said Majors' said Friday he Majors ordered him to do expected sooner or later he what he was told or leave the would face a showdown with field. Cecconi because "we were "I'm a Pitt man. I'm not concerned about factions, I'm here to do a job "I can judge a young man by what he does on our field, not by what his daddy did." ~, Lou Cecconi —Pitt coach Johnny Majors just being tested. He (Cecconi) wanted to see how far he could go before something would. happen." Cecconi suffered a knee injurylast season and was not expected to play this year, but Majors said "his daddy called me and said the boy wanted to play. Would I let him come out, however, he never participated in spring practice, he shouldn't have been here." Majors - said the players, were required to weigh' themselves everyday to guard against possible effects of intense workouts in the hot weather. • Majors said Cecconi's complaints amounted to being stabbed in the back, and he placed much of, the blame for the incident on Ceconni's injury and his father. "I'm aPitt man. I'm not concerned about factions, I'm here to do a job," said Majors. "I can judge.a young man by what he does on our field, not by what his daddy did." John and Jan bump Joe Penn State banner wavers have been getting quite a bit of exercise the past few weeks as the Lions are receiving a rather large helping of national attention. - Yesterday, however, was a bit of an exception as Joe Paterno got bumped off national television in favor of the final set of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, which ran a little longer than expected. The show CBS Sports Illustrated, which is done in conjunction with the television network and the sports magazine, had to be pre-empted to allow John Newcombe a TV audience for his victory over Jan Kodes. Someone in New York made the decision not to move back the show, so Paterno's half was given the axe, at least in the eastern half of the U.S. Conceivably, the show made it to the West Coast due to the time lag. But if you were waiting around your set for a football preview or a series tough football questions, you wouldn't have gotten what you were looking for anyway. That's because Joe did a somewhat different type of show, emphasizing a few of the more human and philosophical sides of the game itself, the players and a coach's relationships, to both. Baseball little leagues and happiness in family life were reported to be some of the topics discuSsed but on this day Newcombe was not to be denied so the best to be hoped for is a summer re-run. With the final set of the final match before the show, perhaps it was best.Paterno's slot was cut. Afterall, it looks pretty bad when Penn State's football coach is compared with Heidi. And with the movie "The Yearling" set to be aired immediately following, Joe had nowhere to go. Even Joe's pitch couldn't compete with the story of Jody Baxter and his pet fawn, and'hiq love for parents who are struggling to tear a living from the land in the backwoods of Florida. Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman may not make a Harris- Mitchell combination but little kids still rank them a slight favorite in the Sunday afternoon TV polls. Many were surprised to see Jack Nicklaus stumble coming down the stretch in the World Series of .Golf yesterday at Firestone Country Club in Akron. No sooner did Jack come into the lights, than his game fell noticeably behind winner Tom Weiskopf's. While his closing 69 was far from embarrassing, once again this year he was outdone in a major event. • The scene was somewhat reminiscent of the Open at Oakmont Country Club earlier this Summer. But on the final W. L. Pet: G.B. St, Louis 72 71 .503 , PIRATES 69 70 .496 1 Montreal 69 73 .486 2 1 / 2 New York 69 74 .483 3 Chicago 68 73 .482 3 PHILLIES 64 79 .448 8 Cincinnati 87 57 .604 Los Ang 84 60 .583 3 San Fran 88 61 .567 5 1 / 2 Houston 73 72 .503 14 1 / 2 Atlanta 69 76 .476 18 1 / 2 San Diego 52 90 .366 34 stretch it was young, handsome Johnny Miller who walked away with Jack's marbles instead of Weiskopf. If Jack's losing however, it surely isn't for any lack of concentration. If you've never seen Nicklaus putt while standing close enough to him to hear him bargain with his caddie, you can't understand the reason he is such a successful and determined golfer. He demonstrated his firey determination as well as his temper on Oakmont's fourth green in the final round of the Open. Johnny Miller had been through over half an hour before, blasting out of a bad trap 30 . yards away to about six inches from the hole. The birdie on this par five was his third during . 144 Mk the first four holes and became the foundation of his miraculous and Open-winning 63, that brought the historic course to its knees. After Nicklaus' sand approach (there were many) Jack's ball sat 14 feet from the cup: He knew the time to start winning the tournament was now. Jack went on one knee and went for advice. "This is going right isn't it," Jack asked. His caddie wouldn't cooperate. "No, there's nothing there." he assured Nicklaus. "C'mon now, I can see it. You sure?" The caddie was: 'no break." After studying the shot for several moments longer Jack approached it, picked his line and tapped it three inches wide to the left. No break. Nicklaus turned away toward the gallery and exploded into 'anger, his face deep red against his blonde hair. There was more fury in his eyes than any other golfer had shown under any other circumstance. Oakmont had won a small victory, but Jack did not concede it easily. When you can watch a man play only one green and still see the caliber of a champion in you're looking at a rare individual. No explanation for his current woes, except to say it's not for lack of study. standings Philadelphia 8, Pittsburgh 7 Cincinnati 14, Atlanta 6, Ist W. L. Pct Cincinnati 7, Atlanta 0, 2nd Baltimore 82 58 .586 New York 3, Montreal 0 Boston 78 65 .545 5 1 .i>. Chicago 5, St. Louis 4 , Detroit 76 68 .528 8 Houston 5, San Francisco 4 New York 72 71 .503 1 Los Angeles 5, San Diego 3 Milwaukee 69 73 .486 14 • Cleveland 62 84 .425 23 Cleveland 6, Baltimore 4, Baltimore 13, Cleveland 4, Milwaukee 10, New York 3 Detroit 5, Boston 4 '- Chicago 10, Minnesota 7 Kansas City 9, California 5, Kansas City 6, California 3, Rick Starr assistant sports editor West Oakland 82 59 Kan City 78 64 Chicago 72 71 Minnesota 68 73 California 64 75 Texas 49 91 549 4 1 / 2 503 11 482 14 460 17 350 3212
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers