Monday, Dec. 02, 1957

Scoreboard

P: When he heard he had been traded from the Kansas City Athletics to the Detroit Tigers as part of a 13-player shuffle, onetime Yankee Billy Martin sounded off with his customary ballfield belligerence. "They say six clubs were after me," said Billy. "If I was key man of the swap, I want a piece of the profit." Even though Billy stands small chance of collecting any cash, Detroit General Manager John Mc-Hale happily egged him on. "Keep talking," he told Billy--for an infield holler guy is just what the lackluster Tigers need.

P: While big-league baseball was reorganizing its rosters, baseball writers were riffling through their memories and replaying the past. Most Valuable Player in the National League, they decided, was Milwaukee Outfielder Hank Aaron. But the vote was as close as the pennant race, and St. Louis' First Baseman Stan Musial, National League batting champion (for the seventh time), finished only 9 points back. Most Valuable Player in the American League: the New York Yankees' bad-legged Outfielder Mickey Mantle (batting average for the season: .365), who limped in 26 points ahead of Boston's Ted Williams (.388) to take the title for the second year in a row.

P:According to the script, Argentina's Antonino Rocca was one of the "heroes," and California's Dr. Jerry Graham was one of the "villains" in the professional wrestling show at Madison Square Garden. But wrestlers are notorious hams, and few fans were surprised when Rocca attacked Graham after the bell. Only when the burly Argentine began banging his opponent's head against a ring post and real blood fell on the canvas, did the crowd realize that it was watching a real fight for a change. Few in the Garden wanted to waste the rare opportunity. Beer bottles sailed ringward from the balcony; chairs were swung with painful accuracy. Two cops were injured and two spectators jailed before the riot ended. Haled before the New York State Athletic Commission, the suddenly friendly wrestlers announced that they had seen nothing at all. On the theory that they should have been looking, Commissioner Helfand fined Rocca. Graham and their two teammates a total of $2,600.

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