19th Hole: The Readers Take Over

1954	Roger Bannister
1955	Johnny Podres
1956	Bobby Morrow
1957	Stan Musial
1958	Rafer Johnson
1959	Ingemar Johansson
1960	Arnold Palmer
1961	Jerry Lucas
1962	Terry Baker
1963	Pete Rozelle
1964	Ken Venturi
1965	Sandy Koufax
1966	Jim Ryun
1967	Carl Yastrzemski
1968	Bill Russell
1969	Tom Seaver
1970	Bobby Orr
1971	Lee Trevino
1972	John Wooden & Billie Jean King
1973	Jackie Stewart
1974	Muhammad Ali
1975	Pete Rose
1976	Chris Evert
1977	Steve Cauthen
1978	Jack Nicklaus

FUTURISTIC FOOTBALL
Sir:
If I remember correctly, Fran Tarkenton once said that passing to Homer Jones was like throwing to a "man on a motorcycle with a butterfly net." After reading Gridiron 2000 (Sept. 3), one has to wonder if by the year 2000 we really will be seeing some kind of gladiatorial biker speeding past defenders. (Of course the souped-up woman quarterback will be allowed to use this play only once a game.)

Although Byron Donzis' predictions of biomechanical devices and calculators for quarterbacks and power packs for running backs are quite mind-blowing, he nevertheless makes the point that football must change to adapt to the attitudes and preferences of the new generation. Also, the artwork of Tommy Soloski was superb.
ART ROSSI
Shrewsbury, Mass.

Sir:
I disagree with Byron Donzis' suggestion that 21st-century football players will be assisted by biomechanical devices. Future quarterbacks may be able to throw the ball 135 yards on a line and their receivers may be able to jump six feet in the air, but it will be as a result of conditioning, not of mechanical aids.

The science of biomechanics can determine, for example, exactly how an athlete could increase his vertical jump from two feet to six feet: how much weight to lift, how many repetitions, etc. The body will adapt if that training is gradual and progressive. There is no need for bionic parts.
MICHAEL P. KENNEDY
Consultant
Sports Potential Realization
Northfield, Ill.

Sir:
Frank Deford's Gridiron 2000 was very interesting. But speaking as an old 60-minute player (single-wing tailback, defensive halfback and punter), I feel football should be played by humans, not robots. If the innovations mentioned in Deford's article come to pass. I hope I am not around to witness them.
LANNY R. MIDDINGS
San Ramon, Calif.

Sir:
You may be shocked when 21st-century football arrives, but I won't be. In October 2000 I'll stroll into Boston's Fenway Park and watch the most popular sport reach its annual climax. Hundreds of millions of other people and I will get extreme satisfaction in knowing that baseball will then have been played in the same manner on the same field for nearly 90 years.
MIKE SALTER
Brentwood, Calif.

Sir:
As a high school football player, I found the sidebar Gridiron 1979, about the new and safer protective pads, very interesting. In my opinion, those pads should be put on the market as soon as possible, because if football becomes even safer, then it will also become the No. 1 sport in the world. I, for one, fully endorse Byron Donzis' new equipment.
BEN BRENNAN
Montclair, N.J.

CHOOSING SIDES
Sir:
The Seattle Seahawks fourth (Scouting Reports, Sept. 3)? Impossible! Why did you rate Seattle so low? You did the same thing last year, and look what happened!
BRENT VAN BEEK
Lynden, Wash.

Sir:
When did the Seahawks become the team with the league's ugliest uniform? Two years ago, in a player poll, the Seahawks' uniform ranked as third best, behind the attire of Dallas and Los Angeles.
BOB MAILHOT
Olympia, Wash.

Sir:
In the scouting report on Atlanta, Steve Bartkowski is quoted as saying, "I look around now and I see only one other guy on offense who has more years here than I do...." Jim Mitchell (tight end) and Jeff Van Note (center) were starters on offense while Peachtree Bart was still throwing for the California Golden Bears.