Sport: The Payoff

When Kansas State College wanted a good passing quarterback, it went to market to buy one. Top-grade quarterbacks come high, but Kansas State was able & willing to pay. Last week, speaking at a Wichita club dinner, Kansas State's former Coach Ralph Graham told his little story of commercialism in big-time college football:

"To get this passer I sent a coach to the junior college Little Rose Bowl game in California. Another went to Texas and the Juco Bowl game there. Still another went up to Iowa. One of my coaches found a passer in Texas. He was a real honey. We had this prospect flown to the campus. We paid all expenses, fed him steaks and introduced him to all the important alumni.

"During the spring practice game, he was about set to attend K-State. Then he mentioned owing $800 on his car. The boosters [a group of alumni] agreed to pay that. Then he wanted something extra besides the $75 legally allowed by the conference. They agreed to pay him $125 extra (i.e., $200 in all] per month. He needed an apartment. They agreed to provide a three-room apartment across from the Nichols Gymnasium at $90 a month, rent paid.

"We thought we were set. Then this passer disclosed he needed summer school to become eligible." The eager boosters, dazzled by the passer's ability and plainly charmed by his ingenuous requests for money, promptly sent him to Texas' Tyler Junior College. The boosters paid his tuition and fees and, just to make sure that he was comfortable, gave him $125-a-month spending money. "Then," said Coach Graham, announcing the payoff, the ingrate "enrolled at Texas U., not K-State."

The player? "As a point of honor," said Coach Graham, who was obviously not the slightest bit ashamed of his story, "I'm not going to name the player. He's a fine boy—just a victim of overcommercialized college sports who was taught he had a market value." Irate Texans were not so reticent. The player, they said, was named Alvin Beale. Furthermore, Beale never went to Texas U.; he graduated from Tyler and joined the Navy.