Maglie, Ex-Giant, Dodger, Yankee Pitcher, Dies

-- BASEBALL

Sal "The Barber" Maglie, the last of eight major-leaguers to play for the New York Yankees, New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers, died of pneumonia today in Niagara Falls, N.Y. He was 75.

Maglie had been confined to a nursing home since May 1987, when he sufered a stroke.

The right-handed pitcher compiled a 119-62 regular-season record, plus a 1-2 World Series mark, in a major-league career from 1945-1958. Maglie pitched for the New York Giants, Cleveland, Brooklyn, New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals.

Playing for Brooklyn, Maglie suffered a 2-0 loss in the fifth game of the 1956 World Series, when Don Larsen pitched a perfect game for the Yankees.

After retiring as a player, Maglie worked as a pitching coach for the Boston Red Sox, the 1969 Seattle Pilots and the Buffalo Bisons.

-- Tom Gorman, who pitched for the New York Yankees and Kansas City Athletics from 1952-59, died in New York of heart disease. He was 67.

-- Lenny Dykstra is disputing a magazine account that he cursed loudly and had to be restrained from attacking another casino customer while losing $50,000 at baccarat in Atlantic City, N.J.

The Philadelphia Phillies center fielder told the Philadelphia Daily News that "the only thing true about the story is that, when I go to Atlantic City, I do play baccarat.

"But the rest of it is far-fetched. It's making me out to be somebody that I'm not. I never went after anybody. As for the numbers, they're way off. It's ridiculous."

Eliot Kaplan, Philadelphia Magazine editor, said today that reporter Bruce Buschel saw Dykstra lose $50,000 and "go ballistic after he did."

-- GENERAL

Mike Tyson's rape conviction last Feb. 10 was voted the top sports story of the year in balloting by Associated Press sports editors and broadcasters.

The No. 2 story was the ouster of Fay Vincent as baseball commissioner.

Third place went to the Dream Team, the U.S. Olympic basketball team that breezed to the gold medal in the Barcelona Olympics, led by Magic Johnson. Johnson's own story, his comeback and second retirement, was voted No. 4.

The Toronto Blue Jays' World Series victory snuck in at No. 5, followed by three more basketball stories: Larry Bird's retirement and repeats by the Chicago Bulls as NBA champions and Duke as NCAA champion.

The dual national football championships of Miami and Washington and Richard Petty's retirement (103 points) as a NASCAR driver rounded out the Top 10.

-- SKI RACING

Petra Kronberger, three-time World Cup and Olympic champion, shocked the Austrian sports world today when she announced her retirement from competitive skiing.

Kronberger, 23, who won gold medals in slalom and combined in this year's Winter Olympics, said she lost her motivation and wanted to return to school.

-- HORSE RACING

Yesterday's races at Yakima Meadows were canceled because of sub-standard track conditions and snowfall in the Yakima Valley, track officials said. Racing is scheduled to resume Wednesday, weather permitting.

-- TENNIS

Fifth-seeded Vincent Spadea beat Gaston Etlis of Argentina 7-6 (11-9), 6-3 to become the first American since Jim Courier in 1987 to win the Orange Bowl championship in Miami Beach, Fla.

In the girls final, top-seeded Barbara Mulej of Slovenia beat second-seeded Rosanna de los Rios of Paraguay 7-5, 7-5.

-- HOCKEY

Kamil Kolatek scored with 3:43 remaining to give Czechoslovakia a 6-5 victory over the United States in the World Junior championships at Gavle, Sweden.

-- BOXING

Mexico's Eduardo Ramirez outpointed Miguel Mercedes of the Dominican Republic to win the vacant IBC continental superflyweight championship in Las Vegas.