The Angry Whales

The huffmg-and-puffing world of the shotputting whales has never seen--and has certainly never heard--anything like it. Almost every week, it seems, someone heaves a shot farther than before. The 1959 distance of 63 ft. 4 in. achieved by two-time Olympic Champion Parry O'Brien (6 ft. 3 in., 250 lbs.) is still officially recognized as the world record. But in recent weeks it has been bettered by Army ist Lieut. Bill Nieder (6 ft. 3 in., 240 lbs.) with a put of 65 ft. 7 in., by California's Dallas Long (6 ft. 4 in., 263 lbs.) with 64 ft. 6 1/2 in., and by Californian Dave-Davis (6 ft. 3 1/2 in., 265 lbs.) with 63 ft. 10 1/2 in.

War of Words. And while the shot-putters are setting records with the 16-lb. ball, they are proving themselves equally adept at flinging insults. The main target: veteran O'Brien, a haughty sort who makes no secret of the fact that he thinks himself king of the whales. O'Brien started the war of words when he called Nieder a "cow-pasture thrower" with "atrocious form." Nieder replied angrily, accusing O'Brien of fearing to face him in direct competition. Asked Nieder at one meet when O'Brien failed to show up: "Where's the Los Angeles dodger today?" Retorted O'Brien to Nieder's charges: "I'll stand on the record. It shows that we have met 18 times. Nieder's only won twice." He contemptuously described Nieder as "Lieutenant Nieder--in charge of shotputting for the U.S. Army." Said Nieder: "I consider O'Brien conceited and stuck on himself.

" Both Davis and Long enthusiastically share Nieder's feeling toward O'Brien. Says Davis, a physical education major (among his courses: Methods of Baseball, Square Dancing, Driver Education) at San Fernando Valley State College: "O'Brien psyches me out. He pretends you're not there. When you put, he turns his back on you just like you're some invisible man. Maybe just as you're putting, he drops his shot on the ground. It's not so bad losing to Nieder or Long. But to O'Brien, that's horrible." Says Long: "O'Brien is an outsider. He's not one of us."

The Old Champ. Among them, Nieder, Davis and Long hope to win the three shotputting places on the U.S. Olympic team, and thereby keep O'Brien from going to Rome this summer. As for O'Brien, he professes complete confidence that the plot against him will fail. "So the Old Champion is supposed to be tired," he says. "Well, he still responds to the thrill of competition. Looks like the Babe Ruth of track and field has to come up with one for the big show."

But last weekend, the Sultan of Shot was not the big show. At the Drake Relays, he left Davis in his dust with a throw of 63 ft. 1 1/4 in., but saw his meet record clipped by Nieder's 63 ft. 11 1/2 in. Strangely mellowed by defeat, O'Brien spoke to Nieder for the first time in the day, said: "Nice going, Bill."

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