His Gopher Ball Was Different

The term “gopher ball” denotes a home run, but for Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller, it had a different meaning when he was growing up on an Iowa farm.

He told this story to Stan Hochman of the Philadelphia Daily News: “I paid $5 to buy a ball autographed by Babe Ruth in 1928. Ruth and Lou Gehrig barnstormed through Iowa with teams called Busting Babes and Larruping Lous.

“I rode 20 miles from Van Meter to Des Moines to see them. Then I saw the ball and the price and got an idea. At the time, they gave you a bounty of 10 cents for catching gophers.

“I got my dad’s Dodge truck and drove to this big alfalfa field. Put the exhaust hose down the gopher holes and flushed ‘em out.

“Got a burlap bag filled with ‘em that was worth $5. That was enough for the ball. I’ve still got it in my trophy chest back home, and tell everyone that it was the

first gopher ball I ever held in my hands.”

Note: If Feller has the year right, he might have been the youngest driver in Iowa. He turned 10 years old Nov. 3, 1928.

Trivia Time: Name the only player who has represented both Canadian teams in baseball’s All-Star game. (Answer below.)

Tito Landrum, signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1972, was released by the club but later re-signed. In between, he took a number of odd jobs.

Of one, he said: “I was a security guard at Maas Brothers department store in St. Petersburg, Fla. I think I got $5.80 an hour, but I finally quit.”

Asked why, he said, “Somebody pulled a knife on me.”

Later, he made a return visit to see his security-guard friends.

“A guy about 6-foot-6 came along, and they were chasing him into the woods,” said Landrum. “The police said to me, ‘You go into the woods and beat the brush.’ They would surround the perimeter and catch him when he came out.

“I told them, ‘You’ve got the sticks. You go in there.’ ”

The Equalizer: Last Saturday, Carlos Reveiz kicked three field goals to help Tennessee score a 16-14 win over Alabama, which is quarterbacked by Mike Shula.

On Sunday, Fuad Reveiz, brother of Carlos, kicked a field goal to give the Miami Dolphins a 41-38 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Said Dolphin Coach Don Shula, father of Mike: “When the ball went through the uprights, I forgave Fuad for what his brother did to Alabama.”

A number of Raiders got top billing in a Sports Illustrated poll of 200 NFL players on their likes and dislikes.

Lyle Alzado was voted the nastiest player in the league, and Lester Hayes got the nod as the most overrated.

Howie Long and Matt Millen also made the all-nasty list, while Alzado was ranked among the cheap-shot artists.

So, guess who got the most votes when the pros were asked what team they would like to play for most?

The Raiders, of course.

If people in New York are wondering why they didn’t get a Subway Series, the answer is simple. Yogi Berra wasn’t around.

The Yankees and Mets have appeared in a combined 21 World Series since World War II, and Berra has been in every one, either as a player, a coach or a manager.

Trivia Answer: Ron Fairly. He represented Montreal in 1973 and Toronto in 1977.

Quotebook

Comedian Milton Berle: “Waiting for the Clippers to win the NBA championship is like leaving a light on the porch for Jimmy Hoffa.”