Moscow, Nyet!

U.S. track and field stars had seldom looked better. Villanova's muscular Frank Budd sprinted 100 yds. in 9.2 sec. to smash Mel Patton's 1948 world record, oldest on the books. No fewer than 13 pole vaulters scaled 15 ft. California Schoolboy Ulis Williams, 19, chased Veteran Olympic Champion Otis Davis, 28, to the wire in the 440, finished only 0.2 sec. behind him. An unorthodox upstart from Southern California, Bob Avant, dived headfirst over the high-jump bar, somersaulted onto his back with a crunching thud after clearing 7 ft. to beat Boston University's John Thomas. Loose-limbed Ralph Boston of Tennessee State landed only 1/4 in. shy of his third 27-ft. broad jump, and three men heaved the 16-lb. shot more than 60 ft.

The National A.A.U. championships on blustery Randall's Island, N.Y., were ample proof that the country has champions to spare. And since the squad that takes off this week for a U.S.-U.S.S.R. dual meet in Moscow was to be chosen from the A.A.U.'s top performers, it seemed certain that the U.S. would field a wellrounded, unbeatable team.

Trouble was, the Moscow meet was organized by the Amateur Athletic Union, a collection of solemn sports buffs who run U.S. amateur athletics with all the imagination of benighted medieval seigneurs. Riding herd over 16 sports from track and field to baton twirling, these stern defenders of amateur purity bristle when outsiders presume to promote so much as a friendly basketball game,* have often been described as "neither amateur, nor athletic, nor a union."

Reluctant Refusal. The A.A.U. knew in advance that many of the competitors who wanted to go to Moscow could scarcely afford to spend a week away from their jobs. But A.A.U. officials, who also know the pleasures of junkets abroad, proceeded to plan a full-blown four-week tour anyway, with meets in Stuttgart, London and Warsaw, following the Moscow competition. The result: nine men, nearly one-fourth of the 41-man U.S. team, reluctantly refused to make the trip. "The A.A.U. works for the A.A.U. on these trips," growled Olympic Discus Champion Al Oerter, one of the defectors. He spoke from bitter experience. In 1958 the A.A.U. wanted him to go on a similar, month-long tour, but agreed to permit him to compete only against the Russians, then get back to earning a living for himself and his pregnant wife. "After we beat the Russians, I was told I had to finish the tour," said Oerter. "I appealed to Dan Ferris [who runs A.A.U. affairs as honorary secretary], but he told me that . . . anyone leaving earlier would have to provide his own transportation." Broke though he was, Oerter stayed behind in Moscow while his teammates flew off to Athens, was finally bailed out by a Soviet athletic official, who paid his hotel bills and his air fare home.

Silver-Haired Seigneur. The nine who shunned this year's trip include four first-place winners in last week's meet, four seconds, one third. Seven of them are married; none are well-off. Without them. Villanova's James F. ("Jumbo Jim") Elliott, who must make do coaching a squad studded with leftovers, should still have a winning team. Along with Budd and 220-yd. Winner Paul Drayton, two sprinters he developed himself, Jumbo has enough speedsters to sweep every flat race from

100 to 1,500 meters. Even in the field events, where the reluctant champions will cost him valuable points, he has some capable performers. Items:

P: Pole-Vault Champion Ron Morris, who cleared 15 ft. 8 in. but elected to stay home, will be replaced by German-born Marine Lance Corporal John Uelses and Miami's Henry Wadsworth. At Randall's Island, both men hit 15 ft. 4 in.

P: Discus Defectors Oerter and Rink Babka will be missed, but Army Lieutenant Jay Silvester beat them both at Randall's Island with a 195 ft. 8 in. heave, only 101 in. short of the world record.

P: Shotputters Parry O'Brien and Dallas Long, experienced Olympians, will be replaced by New York University's Gary Gubner and Silvester, both of whom have tossed the 16-lb. ball more than 60 ft.

To Dan Ferris, at least, the loss of a few points seemed insignificant, and all he wanted from the rebels was respectful silence. Said he testily: "I don't think they should make things tough for the younger men by complaining." Shrugged Manhattan Lawyer Pincus ("Pinkie") Soher, the A.A.U.'s track and field chief: "No one is coerced to go. We're not a totalitarian group." Added Ferris: "Sometimes I think the best thing would be to forget the foreign trips." With that, the silver-haired seigneur flew to Moscow with an advance contingent of competitors to spend eleven extra days abroad.

* When a Swedish basketball team turned up in the U.S. in 1959 to play small colleges with Swedish and Lutheran traditions, the A.A.U., outraged that it had not been consulted, threatened to suspend any team that played the Swedes. The baffled visitors went home after playing a couple of non-A.A.U. teams in the U.S. and three in Canada.

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