It Promises to Be a Colorful Game : Blue-Gray: College all-star contest will feature Charlie Finley’s fluorescent-striped football.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. â€”  The Blue-Gray All-Star game gives Charlie Finley a chance to prove that the pigskin could use a little color, and some small-college players an opportunity to show they can make it in the big time.

Finley, as owner of the Oakland Athletics, introduced baseball to brightly colored uniforms and white shoes, the designated hitter and an orange baseball. Now he’s pushing a fluorescent-striped football.

The ball, which already has been tried by high schools in nine states, will be used for the first time at the college level when the North meets the South in the Christmas Day game (9 a.m. PST, Ch. 7).

Finley’s invention is a regulation football with eight fluorescent-yellow stripes running its length. He said the stripes make it easier for spectators, and the players, to keep up with the ball.

“I always had difficulty following the football,� Finley said. “I think that we, the television viewers, are certainly entitled to be able to follow the ball. If you can’t see the ball, you can’t enjoy the game.�

Finley said the ball has received favorable reviews, but this will be the first test in a nationally televised game.

“I don’t worry about the colleges,� Finley said. “If the high schools approve of the ball, the college and pros will both follow suit. They’ll be forced to use it. The fans and spectators will force them to use it.�

Finley was in Hot Springs, Ark., last week to show the ball to Joe Reese, president of the National Federation of Interscholastic Coaches Assn.

Reese said he plans to introduce legislation when the coaches’ group meets next month in Tucson, Ariz., that would allow all high schools the option of using the striped ball, which also will be used next month at the Hula Bowl.

The Blue-Gray game features small-college stars and Division I players whose teams were not invited to a bowl--either because of their record or, in Houston’s case, because the team is on probation. Five Cougars will play for the South.

Johnny Bailey of Texas A&I;, college football’s all-time leading rusher, said the game is a chance to prove his record was no fluke just because the yardage was piled up against Division II schools.

“This is my chance to really show the pro scouts, and the nation, what I can do,� said Bailey, who will play for the South. “For four years, I have been criticized, and this is my opportunity to prove everybody wrong. This is my chance to show that I can compete with Division I players.�

The 5-foot-7, 179-pound tailback rushed for 6,320 yards at Texas A&I;, surpassing the NCAA record set by Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett at Pittsburgh from 1973-76. Bailey was a three-time winner of the Harlon Hill Trophy as the top player in Division II.

A player on the North team also has a identity problem.

Idaho’s John Friesz this year became only the eighth quarterback in NCAA history to pass for more than 4,000 yards in a season, but he’s relatively unknown because he plays in Division I-AA.

“I just want to come into the Blue-Gray game and show the nation I can play football,� said Friesz, fifth on the NCAA’s all-time passing list with 10,697 yards. “Playing in the Big Sky Conference, players don’t always get the recognition they deserve. I hope I can change some of that.�