Weekend Lineup Will Give Viewers a Lesson in History

Two shows next week are recommended for sports history buffs.

One is a “Greatest Sports Legend” segment on Jim Brown Sunday at 12:30 p.m. on Channel 7.

The other is Bud Greenspan’s “Golden Age of Sports,” a look at sports in the Roaring ‘20s, which will be on HBO Tuesday at 10 p.m. and also will be shown Dec. 25, 28 and 31.

“Greatest Sports Legends,” produced by Philadelphia-based Berl Rotfeld Productions, is beginning its 16th season. Most syndicated sports shows last a year, and no other show has lasted nearly this long.

And in all these years, Brown, the former Cleveland Browns running back, is the one legend Rotfeld has wanted to do more than any other.

Brown always refused Rotfeld’s requests, but he agreed this time because Reggie Jackson is the interviewer.

“If anyone was going to do my life story, I wanted to be the one to produce it,” Brown said at a news conference in Century City this week. “I wanted to be the one to succeed or fail with it.

“I decided to do the show because of Reggie. When he called, I found him warm and understanding and humble.”

Humble?

It’s not a word usually used to describe Jackson, but these two hit it off. The result is a different look at Jim Brown crammed into a half-hour show, which was taped at the Dana Point Resort in Orange County.

Jackson, who was also at the news conference, said: “I didn’t want to dwell on the controversial things in his life. I wanted to show a different side to Brown.”

Said Brown: “He didn’t challenge me, as other interviewers have. He let me explain myself, rather than defend myself.”

Brown is the executive director of a program called Vital Issues, which works with prisoners in helping them improve their lives.

Add Brown: Jackson, speaking with reporters, said that if Brown at times comes across as an angry man, he understands.

“He comes from an era of the original black superstars,” Jackson said. “Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Bob Gibson, Frank Robinson. The list goes on.

“They gave so much to their sports and, in the end, got nothing in return. They were told they couldn’t eat in the same restaurants as whites, sleep in the same hotels, or room with whites. And heaven forbid if they ever dated a white woman.

“They were called Negroes or coloreds or worse. They were praised for what they did on the playing field, but when their careers were over, they were discarded.”

Jackson said the situation is better now, but there are still inequities.

“Look at the recent baseball meetings. How many blacks were there in decision-making positions?”

Jackson would like to remedy that. He says a manager’s job doesn’t interest him, but he would be interested in being a general manager.

“Or assistant general manager,” he said.

Last add Brown: Asked who were the hardest hitters when he was playing, Brown said: “They weren’t linemen, they were defensive backs.”

He named four, one of whom was cornerback Irv Cross, a former Ram and Eagle who is now one of Brent Musburger’s sidekicks on “The NFL Today.”

The others? Former Cardinal Larry Wilson, former Redskin Pat Fischer and former Cardinal, Ram and Lion Dick (Night Train) Lane.

Greenspan’s slick 1-hour HBO show takes viewers to an era before television.

It offers an opportunity to see such legends as Babe Ruth, Red Grange, Jack Dempsey, Bobby Jones and Bill Tilden perform.

The show, with Tim McCarver as host, is a typically well-researched Greenspan production. He said he spent 9 months producing it.

The big event this weekend is the Ram-49er game at San Francisco at 5 p.m. Sunday on ESPN.

Don’t miss the halftime show. It includes an emotional feature in which Roy Firestone, Phoenix Coach Gene Stallings and others discuss Stallings’ relationship with his 26-year-old son, who has Down’s syndrome.

College basketball is again getting dismal ratings--there is just too much of it--but one game worth tuning in figures to be Loyola Marymount at Oklahoma on ESPN at 5 p.m. Saturday.

These teams each averaged more than 100 points last season, and this season, Loyola scored 162 against Azusa Pacific, and Oklahoma scored 152 against Oral Roberts.

Someone at ESPN figured that if they maintain that kind of pace Saturday, there will be a basket every 15 seconds.

“In this game, 3 passes will constitute a stall,” said ESPN commentator Larry Conley.

Play-by-play broadcaster Roger Twibell said: “I wish our seat could be at the end line. This game will give people at midcourt a sore neck.”

Twibell likes to keep his own statistics.

“That’s going to be a real challenge in this game,” he said.

Said Conley, who may never get a chance to speak between baskets: “I’ll just lean back and tell Roger he’s doing a great job.”

TV-Radio Notes

As the National Football League regular season concludes this weekend, there again will be games Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday lineup has Washington-Cincinnati on CBS at 9:30 a.m., with Pat Summerall and John Madden reporting, and New England-Denver on NBC at 1 p.m., with Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen. . . . CBS opens its college basketball schedule with Georgetown-DePaul Saturday at about 12:45 p.m., after football. ABC counters with UCLA-North Carolina at 1 p.m.

The early NFL game Sunday is Houston-Cleveland on NBC at 10 a.m., with Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy. Longtime Cleveland fans will have to choose between the end of this game or the Jim Brown “Greatest Sports Legends” show. Either that, or crank up the VCR.

The next installment of “Greatest Sports Legends,” focusing on former Raider receiver Fred Biletnikoff, won’t be shown until mid-January. . . . Others who will be featured in later shows will be Franco Harris, Michael Spinks, Alan Page, Bob Lilly, Mike Schmidt, John Newcombe, Johnny Rutherford and host Reggie Jackson. Curt Cowdy will be the host of the Jackson segment.

The 1 p.m. NFL game Sunday on CBS is Green Bay-Phoenix, with Tim Ryan and Dan Jiggetts. . . . ABC, coming off its best Monday night game of the season, Miami’s 38-31 victory over Cleveland, offers another good matchup next Monday: Chicago at Minnesota.

Dan Dierdorf’s wit seems to be rubbing off on Frank Gifford. He got off some good lines during the Miami-Cleveland game. For example, when Dierdorf, talking about parity in the NFL, said a 3-game win streak constitutes a dynasty, Gifford said, “Suddenly Green Bay has a dynasty.” However, Gifford, who is prone to mistakes, made a terrible one during halftime when he twice referred to Miami’s Mark Duper and his suspension for substance abuse, but he called him Mark Clayton.

The head men of the major pro sports, football’s Pete Rozelle, baseball’s Peter Ueberroth, basketball’s David Stern and hockey’s John Ziegler, will have a round-table discussion on CNN Saturday night at 6. This is the third annual show, which CNN calls “The Commissioners.” . . . The Angels’ Wally Joyner will be the guest on Prime Ticket’s “It’s Your Call” next Tuesday at 6 p.m. On Dec. 22 and 26, “It’s Your Call” will originate from the Beef Bowl at Lawry’s restaurant in Beverly Hills. USC players will be on the show Dec. 22 and Michigan players on the show Dec. 26. Both shows will run from 5:30 to 6:30.

Kudos Department: Last Saturday’s California Bowl, in which Fresno State defeated Western Michigan, 35-30, in a thriller, may be a minor bowl, but it received major league treatment from ESPN. The camera work, the graphics and the announcing were first-class. It was obvious that announcers Steve Physiac and Steve Raible had done their homework.

“Life After Gold,” a syndicated show with Bruce Jenner serving as host, makes its debut on Channel 2 Saturday at 4 p.m. The show focuses on Olympic gold-medal winners. The guests on Saturday’s show include Matt Biondi, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Bonnie Blair, Eric Heiden and Bob Mathias.