Divorced. Dan Topping, 47, co-owner (with Del Webb) of the New York Yankees, millionaire grandson of Metal Magnate Daniel Gray Reid (American Can Co.), onetime husband of Cinemactress Arline Judge,* Skater Sonja Henie and others; and Alice Lowthers Topping, 30, onetime Manhattan model; after six years of marriage, two children; in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Died. Mort Cooper, 45, right-handed pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals (1938-45) who won more than 20 games in the seasons of 1942 (National League Most Valuable Player), 1943 and 1944 pitching to his brother, Catcher Walker Cooper, as the Cardinals won three pennants and two World Series; of cirrhosis of the liver, complicated by a staphylococcal infection; in Little Rock, Ark.

Died. Mel Ott, 49, member of baseball's Hall of Fame, longtime (1926-47) slugging outfielder for the New York Giants who also managed the team during his last six seasons, spent recent summers broadcasting Detroit Tiger games; of injuries resulting from an auto crash; in New Orleans. Ott made Manager John McGraw's team when he was 16. Casey Stengel, then manager of the Toledo Mud Hens, asked for the boy, but irascible John McGraw snarled: "Neither you nor any other minor-league manager is going to ruin that kid. He stays with me." Stay he did--long enough to hit 511 home runs, score 1,859 runs, bat in another 1,860, draw 1,708 bases on balls (all National League records that still stand). He batted over .300 in eleven seasons, led the league in homers six times, wound up with a lifetime average of .304. Giant fans called Mel Ott "the Little Giant," watched fondly as he took his straight-up, lefthanded stance, kicked his right foot up to get all his 160 lbs. into the swing, and pumped another home run into the stands.

Died. Samuel H. Stiefel. 61, white man sometimes known as "The Father of Negro Show Business," who as a bigtime theater operator gave early breaks to such stars as Pearl Bailey. Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Cab Galloway; of a kidney infection; in Philadelphia.

Died. Charles Kendall Gilbert, 80, onetime (1947-50) Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of New York; after long illness; in Charlemont, Mass.

Died. Janie Brady Jones, 92, widow of John Luther ("Casey'') Jones, railroad engineer made immortal by a folk song; following a stroke; in Jackson, Tenn. (see NATIONAL AFFAIRS).

* Dan's brother Bob Topping, sometime husband of Lana Turner, was also married to Arline Judge at one point, becoming the stepfather of his own nephew.

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