Farewell to the Heroes

He was an Olympic champion's hero. The gold medals he won in track and field in 1936 meant something to every athlete. The Olympics that year were held in Nazi Germany, and Jesse Owens, U.S. entrant, won four gold medals in the 100-meter, 200-meter, broad jump and 400-meter relay.

The ironies of Owens' life are two-fold. Owens said upon his return from the Olympics that Americans had over-emphasized Hitler's refusal to shake his hand. After all, he added, in his own country Owens had to sit in the back of the bus. Ultimately, he said he was not considered an American athlete but a Black person. Owens' tragic death from lung cancer comes at a particular touchy time for the United States as president Carter and the Olympic Committee debate whether the country should enter the games scheduled for Moscow this summer.

When the press wanted comment from an athlete on what the United States should do, they looked to Owens. Why? Because now Americans consider him a great American athlete, the way they should have in 1936.

After 11 seasons, five division championships and two Super Bowl wins, Roger the Dodger Staubach decided to call it quits on Monday, closing a page in pro football history.

Following a mandatory four-year tour of duty in the Navy, the 26-year-old former Heisman trophy winner joined the Dallas Cowboys. He gained a reputation for dependability, relying on his favorite receivers such as Drew Pearson and Cliff Harris to catch the famous long bombs. When other quarterbacks would have panicked, when lesser quarterbacks would have pitched the ball away, Rodger buried his head and weaved his way through the defensive line.

He was simply a good ballplayer.

During Staubach's last few seasons as undisputed leader in the Cowboys' tough backfield, the team's position in the pre-season rankings was never in question. And now...