Track / Randy Harvey : Track Promoter Is Offering $10,000, but Nobody’s Biting

Al Franken, Los Angeles track and field promoter, hasn’t been able to give away $10,000, a predicament that has him extremely upset.

Chances are he hasn’t been offering it to the right people.

Franken made the initial offer several weeks ago, pledging $10,000 to the winner of the 400-intermediate hurdles at the Pepsi Invitational May 17 if world record-holder Edwin Moses would enter.

Since Franken still had not heard from Moses Monday, the promoter said he assumes that the race is off.

Anticipating as much, Franken decided last week to try again with the United States’ leading women sprinters. He said he would give $10,000 to the winner of the women’s 200 at the meet at UCLA’s Drake Stadium if Evelyn Ashford would agree to run against Olympic champion Valerie Brisco-Hooks. Brisco-Hooks accepted the offer, but Ashford has declined.

When not even the chance to win $10,000 can entice the best athletes to compete against one another, is it any wonder that the interest in track and field is declining in the United States?

“These athletes are living in a dream world,” Franken said Monday. “Don’t they realize that if they won’t run against each other, we can’t sell tickets, and if we can’t sell tickets, that means we will have even less money to offer them in the future?”

Franken, however, apparently has failed to realize that the athletes give every bit as much thought to finances as he does. The difference is that they are more concerned about their finances than his.

The reality is that there is more money available to the athletes in Europe, where track and field is one of the most popular sports, regularly attracting capacity crowds and live television coverage.

Performing well in Europe against international fields also brings the athletes more prestige because world rankings at the end of the year are based largely on the competition there.

Since the European season runs from early July to mid-September, the athletes don’t want to take a chance of overextending themselves this early in the year in relatively insignificant U.S. meets.

The only two U.S. meets this year that most athletes consider important are the Bruce Jenner in San Jose May 31 and the USA/Mobil meet in Eugene, Ore., June 19-21. Of the 16 Mobil Grand Prix meets, the Jenner is the only one in the United States.

This reality is exasperating to U.S. promoters such as Franken, who is having difficulty selling tickets.

He took out his frustration Monday on Ashford, reserving a seat at the head table for her during the track writers’ luncheon even though he knew she would not be there.

“I think it’s time to unload on them,” he said of Ashford and her manager, Ray Washington, who also is her husband. “They’re always complaining that I don’t offer them enough money. Well, here’s their chance to win $10,000. I’ll even offer $6,500 to the winner and $3,500 to the second-place finisher if that will make them feel better. What’s their excuse now?”

Rising to Ashford’s defense was none other than Brisco-Hooks, a guest at the luncheon.

“I think it would be good for the sport for her to run against me,” Brisco-Hooks said. “But I think it’s still too early for her to come back from her pregnancy and run something as hard as the 200.”

Franken responded that Ashford has committed to run the 200 in San Jose on May 31.

“If she’s strong enough to run the 200 at Jenner, why can’t she run it at the Pepsi?” Franken said.

“You train yourself to peak at a certain time,” Brisco-Hooks said. “Two weeks makes a lot of difference.”

Brisco-Hooks said it would be unfair to expect too much of Ashford this year. Brisco-Hooks said she was stronger after having her baby in 1983, but she pointed out that she was out for 14 months before returning to the track. Ashford had her baby last May 30 and returned to competition eight months later.

“I can’t say whether it will help her or hurt her this year,” Brisco-Hooks said. “Next year, she’ll be stronger. But this year, she’s running off the speed she had before. I’m not saying she couldn’t beat me this year. I might get psyched out by her. She’s still Evelyn Ashford.”

According to press releases, Ashford and Brisco-Hooks were supposed to meet in the 100 at the Mt. SAC Relays April 27.

Ashford was there, winning easily, but Brisco-Hooks had a date with Bill Cosby.

They met on the track in Philadelphia during the Penn Relays to tape a segment of Cosby’s show, which will be shown Thursday night.

“I had Mt. SAC scheduled early, but the Cosby thing came along three weeks earlier,” Brisco-Hooks said. “After that, I had no intention of running at Mt. SAC, especially not in the 100 meters.”

Ernie Gregoire, assistant track coach at Mt. San Antonio College, said he and other meet officials weren’t aware of Brisco-Hooks’ defection until the day of the meet.

“Her coach (Bob Kersee) was at Mt. SAC on Thursday and Friday before Valerie was supposed to compete on Sunday, but he never said a word to us about her not running,” Gregoire said. “We expected her along with Kersee’s other people who were supposed to run and didn’t.”

The good news for the Pepsi Invitational is that Franken has commitments from the world’s fastest 800-meter runners, Joaquim Cruz of Brazil and Johnny Gray of the Santa Monica Track Club.

Unfortunately, only one of them will run the 800. Cruz has entered the mile.