Character Relationship Map: Gus

Characters

• Hank Cooper (played by Ed Asner) — protagonist

  Team owner deeply in debt to bookmakers who bets his team's ownership on winning the Super Bowl. He authorizes putting Gus in the game and joins Andy to rescue the mule via helicopter during the champ...

• Andy Petrovic (played by Gary Grimes) — supporting

  A Yugoslavian man who discovers his family mule's kicking talent. He becomes Gus's handler, travels to the US, and scores the game-winning touchdown after the mule collapses during the Super Bowl.

• Crankcase (played by Tim Conway) — supporting

  An incompetent criminal hired by the bookmakers to sabotage the Atoms. He and Spinner steal the real Gus before the Super Bowl, causing a chase that ends with their arrest.

• Charles Gwynn (played by Harold Gould) — supporting
• Cal Wilson (played by Dick Van Patten) — supporting

  One of the two bookmakers Hank Cooper owes money to. He and Gwynn give Cooper a final ultimatum to win the Super Bowl or forfeit the team.

• Spinner (played by Tom Bosley) — minor

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Cal Wilson → Spinner (Professional Employer And Hired Saboteur) — Wilson uses Spinner as part of the criminal operation.

  Cal Wilson helps hire Spinner to stop the Atoms from reaching a successful Super Bowl outcome.

• Charles Gwynn → Spinner (Professional Employer And Hired Saboteur) — Spinner works for Gwynn's sabotage scheme.

  Charles Gwynn and Cal Wilson hire Spinner and Crankcase to interfere with the mule and make the Atoms lose.

• Cal Wilson → Crankcase (Professional Employer And Hired Saboteur) — Wilson participates in directing the sabotage operation.

  Cal Wilson joins Charles Gwynn in hiring Crankcase and Spinner to stop the team's winning run.

• Charles Gwynn → Crankcase (Professional Employer And Hired Saboteur) — Gwynn recruits Crankcase to undermine the Atoms.

  After their wager begins to backfire, Charles Gwynn and Cal Wilson hire Crankcase to prevent the mule from helping the team win.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Hank Cooper → Crankcase (Conflict Opponents) — The theft directly places Cooper against the hired saboteur.

  Hank Cooper joins the search after Crankcase and Spinner steal the real mule and threaten the team's Super Bowl effort.

• Andy Petrovic → Crankcase (Conflict Opponents) — Andy opposes the criminals' theft and works to recover the real mule.

  Andy Petrovic realizes that the mule at the Super Bowl is not the real one, while Crankcase and Spinner have stolen the original.

• Hank Cooper → Andy Petrovic (Alliance Rescue Partners) — Their emergency partnership protects the team's championship chance.

  When the real mule is stolen before the Super Bowl, Hank Cooper leaves by helicopter with Andy Petrovic to search for it.

• Hank Cooper → Cal Wilson (Conflict Debtor And Creditor) — Wilson helps impose the financial ultimatum on Cooper.

  Hank Cooper owes money to Cal Wilson, who joins Charles Gwynn in demanding that the Atoms win the Super Bowl or forfeit the team.

• Hank Cooper → Charles Gwynn (Conflict Debtor And Creditor) — Their debt dispute creates the central financial conflict.

  Hank Cooper is deeply in debt to Charles Gwynn, and Gwynn gives him a final wager: win the Super Bowl or lose ownership of the team.

• Crankcase → Spinner (Alliance Criminal Partners) — They function as an incompetent but persistent criminal team.

  Crankcase and Spinner attempt several sabotage methods together, steal the real mule before the Super Bowl, and are apprehended after the chase.

• Charles Gwynn → Cal Wilson (Alliance Business Partners) — The two bookmakers coordinate their financial and sabotage plans.

  Charles Gwynn and Cal Wilson act together as bookmakers, present the wager jointly, and later arrange efforts to stop the Atoms.

Story Analysis

A desperate team owner, an unusual kicking mule, and a determined handler overcome financial threats and sabotage to win the Super Bowl.

Plot Progression

1. Debt And Discovery — Hank Cooper faces the loss of his team because of unpaid debts. In Yugoslavia, Andy discovers the mule's remarkable kicking ability, creating a possible solution.
2. The Unlikely Kicker — A newspaper story brings the mule's talent to Cooper's attention. The halftime attraction becomes a football tactic, and the Atoms begin winning.
3. Sabotage In Motion — The Atoms' rise threatens the bookmakers' wager. They hire Crankcase and Spinner, whose schemes produce two losses but fail to eliminate the playoff opportunity.
4. The Stolen Contender — Crankcase and Spinner steal the real mule before the Super Bowl and replace it with an ordinary mule. Andy detects the deception at the championship game.
5. Rescue And Victory — Cooper and Andy search by helicopter while the stolen mule escapes and the criminals are chased down. After the mule collapses, Andy scores the decisive touchdown.