Irrepressible

In Chicago, TV Sportscaster Tom Duggan has as many detractors among his 250,000 viewers as he has fans, but they all get some sort of kick out of his outspoken opinions. Last February, when Duggan was fired by NBC's station WNBQ for saying on the air that President Jim Norris of the International Boxing Club was "palling around with gangsters," the station was swamped with protests. An NBC apology persuaded Norris to withdraw his libel suit and Duggan was returned to the air.

Last month Duggan was at it again. On his 10:30 p.m. show, he took a few sideswipes at the forthcoming championship Marciano-Walcott fight, which is promoted by Jim Norris and his I.B.C., and due to be televised by NBC. The next day, says Duggan, he was fired again. Thousands of Duggan fans again phoned, wired and wrote their protests, but this time NBC stiffly announced that it had "terminated the services of Mr. Thomas Duggan because of his failure to adhere to . . . standard operating policies. This policy requires all material for broadcast to be cleared in advance."

Duggan was far from silenced. He still had a sports column in the Chicago American at $250 a week. And, five days later, he was back with a new sponsor and a new vote of confidence, hired to do two half-hour sports shows at $200 each over ABC's station WBKB-TV. Said Duggan, by now used to landing on his feet: "I'm not trying to be a crusader on sports. I'm more like an umpire, calling the plays as I see 'em."

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