NEWS from the
Charlotte Hornets
Member of World Football League
3625 NCNB PLAZA
Charlotte, N C. 28280
(704) 377-9424
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mailed: October 21, 1975
NOTING THE HORNETS
NBC TO DO SPECIAL ON HORNETS: NBC-TV rolls into Charlotte on Thursday, October 23 to begin its shooting for a Hornets' feature to be shown on their new innovative sports show "Grandstand" broadcast Sunday afternoons in conjunction with NFL football. NBC selected the Hornets from the World Football League since the Charlotte Hornets are the only team in the league which has all its players on strictly percentage contracts. In fact, the Hornets are the only team in all of professional sports to have this distinction.
HAWAII GAME DESIGNATED AS UNITED WAY NIGHT: In conjunction with Saturday's game versus the Hawaiians, the Chamber of Commerce distributed 8,000 tickets to local businesses at $2.00 a piece. One dollar of these tickets which were sold in blocks of 100 or more to the businesses will go to United Way.
FAN APPRECIATION DAY IS SATURDAY: The Hornets have also designated Saturday's contest versus the Hawaiians as fan appreciation day. For approximately for one half hour before the game, fans will be allowed onto the field to converse with Hornets players or obtain autographs. This will be followed by a special message to the fans by one of the captains upon introduction of the team immediately before the game.
BIRMINGHAM GAME CHANGED TO SATURDAY NIGHT: The Hornets home contest slated for Sunday, November 16 against the Birmingham Vulcans has been changed to Saturday evening, November 15 at 8 p.m. The Hornets hope this change in schedule does not inconvenience anyone and hopes to have a good crowd for this crucial encounter.
"FALL SEASON" SEASON TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE: Season tickets are still available for the Hornets five remaining home games. Good seats are still available. Should the Hornets make the playoffs, it would be possible for a post-season game to be played in Charlotte, and a season ticket would assure the fan of a choice seat. Tickets range from $43.75 to $12.50. Payment plans available.
| FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: | John Evenson, Director of Public Relations 3625 NCNB Plaza, Charlotte, NC 28280 Office: (704) 377-9424 |
CHARLOTTE HORNETS FACT SHEET
| THE GAME THIS WEEK: | The Hawaiians at CHARLOTTE HORNETS Saturday, October 25, 1975 8 p.m. Memorial Stadium, Charlotte, N.C. Capacity -- 25,433 |
| THE COACHES: | Bob Gibson (Youngstown State '50) Mike Giddings (California '55) |
| RECORDS: | CHARLOTTE: Won 6, Lost 5 (1-1 in Fall Season) Hawaiians: Won 4, Lost 7 (1-1 in Fall Season) |
|
San Antonio 27, CHARLOTTE 20 (A) |
Philadelphia 21, Hawaiians 15 (A) |
SEASONAL HIGHLIGHTS: OFFENSIVELY, the Hornets suffered through the worst offensive show of the season, gaining only 66 yards rushing while throwing 36 times for 120 yards. Individually, Don Highsmith, the club's leading rusher and scorer, lost two yards in 16 rushing efforts. Highsmith has carried 211 times on the season, gaining 550 yards and 11 TDs. Quarterback Tom Sherman has thrown seven touchdown passes in his 96 completions in in 193 attempts for 1378 yards. James Thompson leads all receivers with 19 catches for 277 yards.
DEFENSIVELY, Jere Brown continues to lead in tackles with a total of 109 - - 87 unassisted and 22 assisted. David Douglas is second with 100 Marty Huff is third, Tom Chandler fourth and Ike Thomas fifth. Larry Shears has five interceptions and Randy Rhino three
SPECIALTY TEAMS: Ike Thomas is averaging 24.8 yards per kick return and Rhino ranks among the league leaders in punt returns with 23 for 214 yards.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS:
| HORNETS OFFENSE | HAWAIIANS DEFENSE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | 36 | Tim George | DE | 83 | Lem Burnham |
| LT | 78 | Carl Collins | DT | 79 | Karl Lorch |
| LG | 64 | John Culpepper | DT | 74 | Levi Stanley |
| C | 52 | Charlie Tiblom | DE | 81 | Skip Williams |
| RG | 70 | Darrel Bunge | LB | 54 | Jim Kalili |
| RT | 75 | Jerome Gantt | LB | 61 | Adrian Young |
| TE | 83 | Ray Parson | LB | 58 | Jim Sniadecki |
| WR | 48 | James Thompson | CB | 46 | Hal Stringert |
| QB | 19 | Tom Sherman | CB | 41 | Willie Williams |
| RB | 32 | Don Highsmith | WS | 8 | Chuck Detwiler |
| RB | 44 | Lewis Jolley | SS | 45 | Phil Andre |
| HORNETS DEFENSE | HAWAIIANS OFFENSE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE | 85 | Denis Turner | WR | 82 | Tim Delaney |
| DT | 69 | Greg Lens | LT | 70 | Pete Solverson |
| DT | 74 | David Douglas | LG | 76 | Cornelius Johnson |
| DE | 67 | Jerry Ellison | C | 57 | Ken Bowman |
| LB | 51 | Jere Brown | RG | 60 | John Wilbur |
| LB | 54 | Marty Huff | RT | 62 | Bob Richards |
| LB | 50 | Tom Chandler | TE | 85 | Mike Donohue |
| CB | 23 | Larry Shears | WR | 39 | Steve Haggerty |
| CB | 9 | Sonny Hicks | QB | 7 | Milt Holt |
| WS | 8 | Randy Rhino | RB | 30 | Walt Wingard |
| SS | 22 | Ike Thomas | RB | 18 | Clayton Heath |
HORNETS ON THE AIR: Saturday's Charlotte Hornets vs. Hawaiians game will be broadcast on WBT-Radio, 1110 on the AM dial, featuring Harold Johnson with play-by-play and Matt Snorton doing the color.
SPECIAL GUEST: The Hornets are happy to welcome a crew from the NBC sports series, "Grandstand", who are visiting this week to do a feature on the Charlotte Hornets and the World Football League.
| FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: | John Evenson, Director of Public Relations 3625 NCNB Plaza, Charlotte, NC 28280 Office: (704) 377-9424 |