Two for the Money

The daily headlines often go to the rookies or the overnight stars. But lifetime records are made by the men whom the fans sometimes take for granted, the veterans who combine steady skill with tough durability. Last week two such veterans made news in their professions.

Set in His Ways. The rangy (6 ft. 8 in., 220 lbs.) forward with shock of wavy black hair held the ball lightly in his two ham-sized hands, then sent a set shot swishing through the hoop 28 ft. away. With that, Dolph Schayes, 31, of the Syracuse Nats last week became the first man in the history of the National Basketball Association to score 15,000 points. Before the game was over, he had raised his total to 15,013 as his team beat the Boston Celtics, 127 to 120.

As a ten-year-old on the playground of P.S. 91 back in The Bronx, Schayes was so embarrassed by his 6-ft. height that he adopted the driving, set-shooting style of his hip-high teammates. Even after New York University and twelve years with the Nats, Schayes is still a big man playing a small man's game. If left alone, he will toss an old-fashioned two-handed set that soars so high it is dubbed "the rainmaker"; if crowded, he will knock anyone into the seats who gets in his way as he drives for the layup. His trademark: a right fist brandished in the air after a basket.

A fine rebounder and good playmaker, Schayes leads the league in foul shooting, is respected by the pros as one of the game's greats (ten years an all-star). But fans are apt to be more impressed by the flashy feats of St. Louis' Bob Pettit or Minneapolis' Elgin Baylor. Says Syracuse's Schayes wistfully: "My ambition has always been to some day walk down the street and for someone to say, 'There goes the greatest basketball player there is.' I may play until that happens."

Stitches to Show. Attacking in the opening minutes, the bull-necked right wing skated full tilt into the goalie's cage, sprawled dazed on the ice with a 1 1/2-in. gash over his right eye. But before the period was done, the Detroit Red Wings' Gordie Howe, 31, was back in action, went on to score an assist and a goal in his team's 3-0 victory over Chicago. The performance gave Howe the 947th point of his 14-year career to break by one point the alltime National Hockey League record of Montreal's aging (38), legendary Maurice ("The Rocket") Richard.

Even after passing the Rocket, Howe still acted like the most modest rookie on the club. But many an expert regards Howe as the world's finest hockey player. Square and solid (6 ft., 201 lbs.), Howe has a pair of thick, supple wrists that can snap one of the fastest shots in the game (120 m.p.h.). What is more, he is a deft playmaker who is so tough he often takes extra turns with Detroit's spare lines, so rugged a body checker that he sometimes substitutes for a defenseman and comes zooming up ice to give Detroit four men on attack.

Since making the N.H.L. at the age of 18, Howe has become one of hockey's highest-salaried stars (an estimated $25,000), last week was named for the eleventh season to the league's All-Star team, the only player to be picked unanimously. Over the years he has paid the price despite his skill as a battler (brain concussion, ripped cartilages in both knees, "maybe 300, probably more, stitches on my face"). The proud Rocket is balefully intent on revenge, and the record will likely shuttle back and forth for the rest of the season. But with a seven-year age advantage on his rival, Howe seems certain to wind up eventually with the honor.

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