Capital: Day Before, 1988
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Capital B2 SATURDAY August 27,1988 Sports Oliphant Cooke rewards makes it his starting QB big after Says he will finance new stadium By DAVID GINSBURG "My family and I plan to build add AP Sports Writer pay for the entire cost of a new coin flip WASHINGTON - Redskins' owner football stadium for the Redskins/' Jack Kent Cooke invested some he said at the team's annual presea- : By DAVID GINSBURG money in his starting quarterback son luncheon. "We'll have a new AP Sports Writer yesterday and said he intends to stadium without a penny cost to you BERNDON, Va. - Mike Oliphant's finance the construction of a new citizens, and it will be built sooner pathway to the NFL started with the flip open-air stadium for the NFL club, as a result of private enterprise." ' of a coin. Had the quarter not landed preferably in Washington. Cooke said the facility would have heads up, the Washington Redskins' rookie The Redskins gave quarterback a capacity of 78,000 people and running back might still be making a Doug Williams a new three-year feature "seats with fabulous sight living as a welder. contract yesterday as a reward for lines." He said the stadium would be Oliphant has caught four passes during his performance last season, when located "within spitting distance" of the preseason, three for touchdowns. he helped guide Washington to a the subway and would house a field Should he survive the final cut next week, Super Bowl victory. made of natural grass. he will become one of few players to Williams, 33, was to receive $550,- In the early 1970s, when Cooke successfully make the transition from an 000 this year, a figure well below owned the Los Angeles Lakers of the NAIA school to the NFL. that of most of the league's other National Basketball Association, he 'Four years ago, when he was working as starting quarterbacks He was enter- financed the construction of The ai welder in Auburn, Wash., Olinhant could ing the final year of a three-year Forum, the arena which still houses n^ver have envisioned his life would turn contract. the club. Cooke likened his current otit this way. He was waiting for a pizza Terms of the new pact were not project with that undertaking. with a friend when the sponsor of a local disclosed "I built The Forum to avoid the semipro football team walked through the As for a new stadium, Cooke said red tape, the bickering and the restaurant door. it is his intention to ultimately do- arguing," he said "It is the quick- I Oliphant's pal told him to ask the guy nate the stadium to the jurisdiction est, most economical way to do it." for a tryout. Oliphant refused. that leases him the land to build it Cooke said he hoped to have the *'I wasn't too hot on the idea," recalled on. new stadium finished when the Red- Oliphant. "But then my friend says, Til "At this time I have no idea who skins' current lease with RFK Stadi- flip a quarter. If it ends up heads, you try will provide it," he said. "But I um expires out and I'll pay for the pizza If it's tails, would prefer to keep the Redskins in "Is this a pipe dream? Not a bit," you pay and skip the tryout' " the District of Columbia I'd like to he said "It's as inevitable as tomor- 'The flip came up heads, and Oliphant keep the team in the nation's capi- row but perhaps not as imminent got a free pizza. And, even though he tal." All I ask is a realistic agreement didn't particularly care for football when Cooke has long expressed His dis- with (a jurisdiction) to lease me the he tried out for — and quickly quit — his pleasure over the team's current land " high school team, Oliphant took a shot at home, Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, Previously, jurisdictions in north- joining the Auburn Panthers. which was built in 1962 and original- ern Virginia and suburban Maryland "It was a drizzly morning on May 19, ly designed for baseball. had approached Cooke with ideas for 1984, Oliphant's 21st birthday. Because he Citing the 55,000 capacity, the sec- building a stadium. He has not ruled was wearing long underwear under his ond-lowest in the NFL, and the out any site, but clearly would pre- sweat pants, he was too embarrassed to 22,000 people on the waiting list for fer keeping the team in Washington, take off the sweats for the 40-yard dash. tickets, Cooke has spent nearly two where it has operated since 1937 Oliphant ran a 4.4 anyway and joined the years lobbying for a local junsdic- "We are historically the Washing- team, playing for free. A few weeks later, to build the team a new stadi- ton Redskins," he said, with em- a former player from the University of um phasis on the word Washington Puget Sound approached Oliphant to find File photo Yesterday, however, he changed Williams was signed by the Red- out whether he might want to go to Redskins' quarterback Doug Williams was rewarded yesterday with a new three-year contract for his approach and volunteered to skins in August 1986 He spent most (Continued on Page B7, CoL 1) guiding Washington to last January's Super Bowl victory against the Denver Broncos. finance the project himself (Continued on Page B7, Col. 1) Beathard's drafts usually turn out topsy-turvy Everyone knows Bobby Wally Kleine, Walter Murray, by most teams were chosen by Beathard is a genius Football SPORTS COMMENT Richard Williams and Carl Beathard when all of the real people say it every day Powell If you aren't one who talent was supposedly sponged up The general manager of the keeps the closest of tabs on the Take a look at some of Washington Redskins sloughs off Redskins, you know very little Beathard's late-round steals. such talk with a grin and swish of about any of these guys, save for He got Dexter Manley in the his thinning graying hair Kleine who was cut this week fifth round of the 1981 draft Later Beathard is right. before ever playing a regular in that same day he picked up He is not a genius. He is not the season game Charlie Brown, who became an greatest when it comes to drafting Certainly, making these guys all-pro receiver, in the eighth players out of college top draft selections cannot begin round, and Darryl Grant m the The truth is that a number of to be correlated with genius ninth. Clint Didier was taken In Beathard's top draft choices Of course, Beathard did latch • the last round of that same draft during his 10 years with the By JOE GROSS onto such players as Don Warren, In 1985 Beathard took Dean Redskins have not made the Art Monk, Mark May and Darrell Hamel in the 12th round Not grade. A couple of Beathard's recent Green with some of his first picks much before that he got Terry Orr Don't take this as a knock on first picks have been Bob Slater Other than this year, the real in the 10th and Raleigh McKenzie Beathard. He built the Redskins' and Tory Nixon, neither of whom genius of Beathard has come in the llth Super Bowl championship team. ever played a down for the through year after year in the Mark Rypien was a sixth-round But the genius doesn't come out Redskins later rounds of the draft Some of selection and Kurt Goveia an By OnM W. Trozzo - The Cipltol as much in his first picks as it Then you can look at some of the players not considered eighth-round pick in the 1986 Bobby Beathard has been far more successful with later round does later in later rounds the second or third picks like National Football League timber (Continued on Page B7, Col. 1) draft picks than with early round selections. Local 10-mile run expected to draw 3,500 participants By JOE GROSS a mile by the Ume it reaches Taylor in this area Also listen for such Associate Sports Editor Avenue names as Paul LaFortune. Tim Ga- The Annapolis 10-Mile Run is one From there the course heads into vin and Dave Barardi as the runners of the most colorful spectacles held downtown via Rowe Boulevard The are announced on the public address in this area. course goes down Main Street, which system The start, which will be bigger is another hot spot for spectators, The leading women in the event than ever this year since the field down Randall Street and into the include Patty McGovern. Sue Crowe. limit has been increased to 3,500, is Naval Academy grounds. After run- Liz Wilson, Kathleen Meyer, Pam Map of the 13th Annapolis great fun to watch. That has to be ning through the academy the run- Briscoe and Karen Doetschman, all 10-Mile Run details the why many hundreds of local people ners exit through Gate 8, turn right of whom have run 10 miles in less numerical mile markers. unrelated to any of the runners turn and head across the old Severn than an hour Aid stations are marked out to the east parking lot of the River bridge and into St Margarets Others in the field are likely to with 'W. Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadi- After a loop in that area, the field take upwards of 90 minutes tx> com- um very early on a Sunday morning heads back toward Annapolis and plete the course The back-of-the- to watch the event being held for the the stadium where the finish line pack runners will have the startling 13th consecutive year, get under will be on the grass in front of the experience of meeting the leaders way.