NFL OWNERS TURN TO HALAS FOR SELECTION

JAN 26 (Miami Beach, FL-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The quiet man at the stormy NFL meeting may yet have the last word. Hopelessly snarled in an effort to elect a successor to the late Bert Bell as commissioner, the owners turned to the man who probably knows more about professional football than anyone alive. They decided to try to take the handcuffs off George Halas, owner of the Chicago Bears and a pioneer of the game. Halas has been unable to speak his mind on the commissioner for fear he'll lost support on expansion if he takes sides. Through 22 rounds of balloting since the voting started last Wednesday, Halas abstained 21 times. The one time he voted was for Paul Schissler, special events director of the Los Angeles Times. Monday, with the vote stalemated at seven for Marshall Leahy of San Francisco and four for Acting Commissioner Austin H. Gunsel, Leahy's supporters asked Halas to attend their caucus and explain his position. Apparently, Los Angeles, Cleveland, San Francisco, Detroit, Green Bay, New York and the Chicago Cardinals weren't aware Halas was concerned they wouldn't live up to their promises in Philadelphia last October to admit Minneapolis-St. Paul and Dallas to the league this year. The "solid seven," as the Leahy group has become known, deny a report they asked Halas to join their group and try and coax two of their opposition to swing to their camp. They deny also that in return they promised a solid block for expansion. Halas also says such things weren't suggested. However, it seemed strange they spent 2 1/2 hours behind closed doors just to pass the time of day. Halas says he told the seven he wasn't as concerned about a commissioner as he was about expansion. "Expansion is more important to the league than a commissioner who might serve one, two or five years," Halas says he told the Leahy people.

'CASE OF MISSING NOTES' STIRS NFL

JAN 26 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The NFL meeting was the most frustrating experience we've had in 22 years of newspaper reporting. We found it necessary to write the same story five times, with offensive and defensive variations, of course. And at those prices, yet!....Packer President Dominic Olejniczak fought the late meeting time Monday during Sunday night's session. The first suggestion was to adjourn until 5 o'clock Monday evening, but Olejniczak argued bitterly, despite objections from members of the Leahy camp, which is backed by the Packers. A new vote was taken and the Monday meeting started at 1 o'clock...Many writers and some club representatives pulled out Monday, leaving a skeleton crew in the meeting room and the press "box." One scribe pointed out: "Aside from the patio, there's nothing concrete."...Last week's cold weather - plus the overflow of plane crashes, reduced the exodus from Florida Monday morning. The 70-passenger Eastern Airlines plane we were on had only 18 other customers aboard....A pad containing the meeting notes of Joe Labrum, NFL publicity chief and assistant to the commissioner, was stolen during or after a press conference held in the meeting room Wednesday night. It was assumed by league officials that it was swiped by a news-nosy scribe but the league was reminded that several members of the AFL were on the premises. Some wag suggested that the league had noticed fingerprints on the note pad and "will the writers please line up to to be fingerprinted." Anyhow, the grid scribes are mild compared to a writer at a recent major league baseball meeting. He had the meeting room wired for sound in advance and later came out with the works...Marshall Leahy, the San Francisco attorney who is commissioner candidate of seven clubs, including Green Bay, left for the west coast Sunday. He pulled out with this comment: "Let me know."...Bobie Cahn, the tiniest former game official, stopped to see some old friends. The diminutive referee, looking nowhere near his 65 years of age, passed on his regards to George W. Calhoun, the former Packer secretary-treasurer and publicitor. "They always wanted to run me out of Green Bay,"  Cahn said, asking: "Were you the guy who wrote all those nasty things about me?" Cahn has been away from officiating since World War II days. Bobie was famous for burrowing under a huge pile of football players for the ball!...When will the meetings end? Dan Reeves owner of the rams, put it this way: "Sometime between Wednesday and Thursday." He said that Sunday. Just before we left Monday morning, Dick McCann of the Redskins predicted: "Something's going to happen today." It didn't. He was just putting us on for leaving the warmth for the snow and cold of dear old Green Bay. Irony: It was cold in Florida all week - until Monday morning.

EAGLES OBTAIN CHRISTY, BROWN

JAN 26 (Philadelphia) - The Philadelphia Eagles announced Monday the signing of halfbacks Dick Christy and Tim Brown. Both were picked up as free agents. Christy, from Chester, Pa., originally was drafted the Green Bay Packers. But before the 1958 season he was traded to Pittsburgh. He was released by the Steelers last September. Brown played one game with the Packers last season before being released.

NEW GRID LEAGUE EYES 8TH MEMBER

JAN 26 (Dallas) - The AFL opened a three-day meeting today to pick its eighth member and get the fledgling pro loop squared away for its fall kickoff. Atlanta, Oakland and Miami are the three contenders for the remaining franchise. Commissioner Joe Foss thinks Oakland or Atlanta may be most likely to win the franchise. A decision by the seven franchise holders will be made soon. Minneapolis-St. Paul interests recently dropped their franchise in the face of NFL expansion into that area. The NFL is meeting now in Miami and has not yet announced any expansion plans. The AFL delayed its meeting a week hoping the NFL would announce its plans. Foss said, "We can't sit around and wait on them." At today's meeting, the AFL will elect officers, hear a report by Bob Dedman, AFL attorney who has been in Miami for the NFL meeting, and listen to the Atlanta and Oakland delegations as well as a report by Foss. It will also discuss drafting of players, a 1960 schedule, possible agreements with the NFL and the Canadian Football League, rules of play and, finally, the type of football to be used by the league. Foss said his office will handle all television business for the eight teams. League rules state that all television will be handled on a cooperative basis and that all TV income shall be paid directly to the league rather than to individual clubs. Foss said that at the end of each year such money would be divided equally among the teams.

PETE ROZELLE, 33, NAMED COMMISSIONER OF NFL

JAN 27 (Miami Beach, FL-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Pete Rozelle, 33-yard old general manager of the Los Angeles Rams, is the sixth commissioner of the NFL. Rozelle's selection as a compromise candidate to succeed the late Bert Bell came unexpectedly Tuesday night and cleared the decks for debate today on league expansion. The youthful native of South Gate, Calif., was elected to the $50,000-a-year job by club owners, who had fought bitterly for seven days through 23 ballots. Rozelle, announcing he would keep league headquarters in Philadelphia and eventually moved to New York City, was given a three-year contract. He said he planned to keep the league staff intact, including Austin H. Gunsel, acting commissioner since Bell's death Oct. 11. Minutes after Rozelle's election, the owners re-elected Gunsel league treasurer, giving him a $5,000-a-year salary boost to a reported $15,000 and a $10,000 bonus for his work as acting commissioner. Rozelle's first problem as commissioner concerned the important issue of expansion which will be taken up today. "Expansion is a must for the NFL," said the new commissioner. "The growth of the league under Bert Bell has made professional football the top spectator sport in our country. There are many population areas that should have pro football." However, the 6 foot, 1 1/2 inch former Compton, Calif., Junior College basketball player did not say when the league should expand. He said that would have to be determined by the league owners. Minneapolis-St. Paul and Dallas have been promised franchises this year. Miami and St. Louis are possibilities in 1961. Representatives of all four are here awaiting the decision. It will take 10 of the 12 votes to push through an amendment necessary to approve any expansion. Rozelle was chosen as commissioner when the 12 owners were unable to agree on Marshall Leahy of San Francisco, Gunsel, and Don Kellett, Baltimore's general manager. Rozelle's Los Angeles club, along with Cleveland, San Francisco, Detroit, the Chicago Cards, New York and Green Bay were for Leahy. Washington, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Baltimore backed Gunsel and Kellett through most of the balloting. The new commissioner's election was far from unanimous. Actually, only nine votes were cast on the deciding ballot. Under the league constitution, at least three-fourths of the total votes cast were necessary for election. Rozelle received eight, San Francisco voted for Leahy, and Detroit, Los Angeles and the Chicago Bears passed. Joe Donoghue, Philadelphia Eagles' vice president and chairman of the meeting, said Los Angeles passed because Rozelle was from their club. He said San Francisco's Vic Morabito felt he had a moral obligation to support Leahy. There was no explanation for the abstentions by the Bears and Lions. The break in the stalemate over election of a commissioner came after the afternoon session Tuesday. The seven backers of Leahy finally realized that they could not put over the West Coast barrister in face of determined opposition from the minority four. Wellington Mara of the New York Giants and Paul Brown of Cleveland suggested Rozelle as a compromise candidate. Carroll Rosenbloom of Baltimore, leader of the opposition to Leahy, who wanted a five-year contract at $75,000 a year with headquarters in his native San Francisco, nominated Rozelle. Colleagues in the anti-Leahy movement, Frank McNamee of Philadelphia, George Marshall of Washington and Art Rooney of Pittsburgh expressed pleasure at the election of the young Californian. "We won't have to wrestle with the problem of a commissioner for many years," said McNamee. "He's young, intelligent, vigorous and was well thought of by Bert Bell." The minority won its major point in the election of Rozelle - keeping league headquarters east of the Mississippi. Asked what his attitude toward the new AFL was, Rozelle said: "I feel as Bell did, that there is a place for two leagues. We'll cooperate with them. We ask only one thing - honoring of each other's contracts." The end of the deadlock over the commissionership was sudden and dramatic. When the session began, Rozelle was sent from the room. His name was placed in nomination and the 23rd ballot of the marathon contest was cast naming Rozelle commissioner. After the result was announced, Rozelle and Donoghue took Gunsel out of the hotel for a conference. It was obvious they talked the acting commissioner into staying with the league. "I'm thrilled that Austin will stay," said Rozelle. "I need his knowledge and guidance. I don't know what I'd do without him." Christened "Alvin Ray" at South Gate, Calif., Rozelle is married and the father of a 16-month old daughter. He is a Navy veteran who attended Compton Junior College and the University of San Francisco. He played basketball and tennis, but never participated in organized football. Rozelle's assets are tactfulness, an engaging personality, a thorough knowledge of promotion and league business, and an intelligent forcefulness.

ROZELLE 'AN EXCELLENT CHOICE' - PACKER PREXY

JAN 27 (Miami Beach, FL-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Pete Rozelle, new commissioner of the NFL, was an "excellent choice," Packer President Dominic Olejniczak said here today, adding: "Pete is calm, young, smart, a good executive and he can grow right with the league." Green Bay was one of eight clubs voting for Rozelle. Olejniczak was the Packers' lone representative at the election Tuesday night. General Manager Vince Lombardi was in New York yesterday to receive an award from Fordham University and Counsel Fred Trowbridge had left for Green Bay earlier.

AMERICAN GRID LOOP GETS BID FROM SAN FRANCISCO

JAN 27 (Dallas) - The fledgling AFL promised today it would not run into difficulties similar to those of its established counterpart, the NFL. It had made a good start along that line in opening its first annual meeting Tuesday. It considered the applications of Atlanta and Oakland for the eighth spot in the league, then had to postpone a decision because it got an unexpected bid later from San Francisco. The NFL was deadlocked at Miami for a solid week over naming a commissioner. The AFL won't have that difficulty since it already has Joe Foss as commissioner. But it could be hung up on the selection of the eighth city although Lamar Hunt of Dallas, president of the league, said he figured they would wind up their meeting Thursday and that the city selected would be by unanimous vote. Cities already in the league are Dallas, Houston, New York, Buffalo, Boston, Denver and Los Angeles.