This Minister Forgets the Book When in Ring

Gregg Foster, a 27-year-old boxer who is competing in the National Sports Festival, also is a minister at the First Baptist of Hamilton Park Church in Dallas.

“But don’t get the idea I’m some kind of boxing Billy Graham,” Foster told John McGrath of the Denver Post. “I’m not. Once I stop inside the ropes, I throw the holy water away.”

He also said: “If the Lord wants to bless me with some money, I’ll take it. I think I can make a lot of money fighting on TV, because I can talk. Ray Mancini can’t talk.”

Foster, a 112-pounder, said his father, also a minister, tried to discourage him from boxing.

“Dad’s seen only one of my fights,” he said. “I knocked the guy out in the first round. Afterward, he told me if I ever tried to hit him that hard, he’d shoot me.”

And his mother?

“She’s all for it. She’d love me to turn pro. She wants to drive a Cadillac some day.”

Trivia Time: Among Southland high schools, which has produced the most Hall of Famers in baseball? (Answer below.)

How good is Dwight Gooden? If Sandy Koufax is the standard, why not ask Sandy himself?

“He’s the best pitcher for his age I’ve ever seen,” Koufax said. “He’s an extreme talent. If he stays healthy, there’s no telling what his numbers will be by the time he retires.”

Koufax likes the fact that Gooden is a power pitcher, rather than a finesse artist.

“When you strike out that many batters, there’s that many fewer times something can go wrong,” Koufax said. “When you get 27 groundouts, maybe you have four or five bad hops or an error. When you get pop flies and strikeouts, nothing much can go wrong. That’s the kind of pitcher he is.”

Said Kansas City outfielder Willie Wilson, predicting that fans would embrace baseball again after a strike: “You can only watch boxing and rugby on ESPN so long.”

Minnesota Viking President Max Winter, reflecting on the 3-13 season under the now-departed Coach Les Steckel, told the New York Times he took a lot of ribbing at owner meetings over the obstacle course that Steckel, an ex-Marine, installed on the practice grounds.

“But I told them we could beat any team in the league in rope climbing,” Winter said.

Steckel also introduced a prayer program that was not routinely accepted.

“I’m not against prayer,” Winter said. “But we would lose by 30 points and Les would have them down on one knee, being thankful they didn’t lose by 35.”

Rookie defensive lineman Richard Byrd of the Houston Oilers explains why he joined a group of players who shaved their heads as a sign of solidarity: “I guess it was voluntarily. There were 10 guys around me, so I volunteered.”

Now-it-can-be-told-dept.: Doug Dieken, retired offensive tackle of the Cleveland Browns, told The Sporting News of a game last year when linebacker Clay Matthews was wired for sound by NFL Films.

While Matthews was standing on the sideline, Dieken walked up to him and said: “Hey, Clay, you still cheating on your wife?”

Trivia Answer: Fullerton High, with two--Walter Johnson and Arky Vaughan.

Quotebook

Ken Denlinger of the Washington Post, refusing to get excited over a recent charge of intoxication against John Riggins: “Just guessing, but I imagine this arrest puts Riggins even with Billy Kilmer and about five behind Sonny Jurgensen.”