Aced Out

He was an ace Marine fighter pilot in World War II, a Medal of Honor winner, a two-term Governor of South Dakota. Apart from the fact that his strongest cuss word is "criminy," there is nothing about Joe Foss, 50, to suggest that he is a pushover. Yet that is apparently what the owners of the American Football League figured after they elected him commissioner in 1959. They wheeled and dealed behind his back--maneuvering franchises, swapping players, conducting secret, premature drafts of college prospects.

Finally Foss cracked down: he invalidated a secret draft, ruled a trade illegal that would have sent a couple of disgruntled San Diego stars, Earl Faison and Ernie Ladd, to Houston. When the owners grumbled, he cut them short. The pop-off," he said, "is no longer fashionable in this league."

During Foss's six years as commissioner, the once-struggling A.F.L. became a solid competitor of the older by 39 years) National Football League. In 1964, the A.F.L. won a $36 million TV contract. By last year, attendance had soared to an average of 31,500 per game--more people, as Foss iked to point out, than the biggest crowd at any game in the league's first year. Last August the league expanded to nine teams--adding a franchise in Miami--and now there is talk of a tenth tearn in Chicago. How much Foss had to do with all this is a moot question. Very little, said his enemies among the owners--and last week they forced him to quit with a year still to go on his 50,000-a-year contract. As Foss's sucessor they chose Oakland Raiders Coach Al Davis. Foss's good advice to Davis: "Wear a thick skin and a soft mile, and carry a sense of humor."

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