Baseball Profits Declined by 78% in 1992

The average baseball player salary increased to $1,028,667, and because of that the operating profit of the major league clubs declined 78% in 1992, according to audited figures released by the Associated Press on Friday.

The year is the most recent one for which audited figures are available. Because each club uses its own accounting system, the 1993 figures will not be available until late this year or in 1995.

Baseball made $1.66 billion in 1992, an 8.2% increase, but earned only $22.2 million because player costs rose $177 million, to 55.2% of revenue, the figures showed. The teams had earned $98.53 million in 1991.

Owners have approved a revenue-sharing plan to help teams in the poorer markets, with the idea of presenting it to the players’ union to seek agreement on a salary cap in hopes of stopping an erosion of profits.

The figures showed that the eight largest teams in 1992 made a profit of $60.29 million, but that the other 18 clubs lost an aggregate $38.08 million.

Football

Unable to sign Tim Brown from the Raiders, the Denver Broncos instead signed four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Anthony Miller of the San Diego Chargers to a contract offer sheet. The Chargers have a week to match the offer, believed to be similar to the four-year, $11-million offer to Brown.

Clyde Simmons, a defensive end with the Philadelphia Eagles, signed a five-year, $14-million contract with the Phoenix Cardinals, reuniting with Coach Buddy Ryan.

Police are investigating possible foul play in the death of former Hawaii football player Terry Whitaker, 24, whose body was found on the top of the parking garage of his apartment building in Honolulu.

Auto Racing

Britain’s Nigel Mansell, who won the 1993 IndyCar championship as a rookie, began his sophomore season by winning the pole for the Australian IndyCar Grand Prix, a race he won last year at Surfers Paradise.

Mansell averaged 106.053 m.p.h. around the 2.795-mile street circuit.

Boxing

Juan Coggi of Argentina retained his World Boxing Assn. junior-welterweight title with a third-round knockout of Eder Gonzalez of Colombia in Las Vegas.

On the undercard, former World Boxing Council junior-middleweight champion Terry Norris stopped Armando Campas at 2:19 of the fourth round.

Figure Skating

Elaine Zayak, who finished fourth in this year’s national figure skating championships, has been chosen to replace Nancy Kerrigan in the April 7-8 Hershey’s Kisses Pro-Am at the Sports Arena. Zayak, the 1982 world champion from Paramus, N.J., regained her amateur eligibility last year.

Swimming

Nicole Haislett of Florida became only the second woman in NCAA history to win the same event four consecutive times when she won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:44.51 at the Division I Swimming and Diving Championships in Indianapolis.

Southland Report

Fremont High basketball Coach Sam Sullivan has been asked by the City Section’s rules committee to answer questions concerning two assaults a Fremont player and assistant coach were allegedly involved in at the conclusion of their Southern Regional Division I playoff game against Fresno Bullard High last week.

The rules committee is also investigating accusations made by the mother of a former Fremont player that Sullivan illegally recruited her son.

Jeff Nygaard’s 19 kills and nine blocks led top-ranked UCLA to a 15-5, 15-11, 15-6 volleyball victory over USC at Pauley Pavilion.

Olympics

The U.S. Olympic Committee, upset with the Tonya Harding affair, will form a task force to re-examine the 1978 Amateur Sports Act, the federal law that governs amateur athletics. Harding, 23, threatened to sue the USOC and was allowed to skate at Lillehammer, where she finished eighth. She pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to hinder prosecution in the investigation of the Jan. 6 attack on Kerrigan and was booked Friday in Portland, Ore.

Names in the News

McNeese State has chosen Ron Everhart, an assistant coach at Tulane, as its basketball coach. . . . A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar against General Motors over use of his given name, Lew Alcindor, in an Oldsmobile commercial. . . . Neal Pilson has been reassigned from his position as president of CBS Sports.