Perry Has Ability to Pass, Too

More than one observer has labeled William (The Refrigerator) Perry as an outstanding athlete, but is it possible it’s more myth than truth?

Not the way Bob Sudyk of the Hartford Courant tells it.

Says Sudyk: “This amazingly agile and gifted athlete kicks 50-yard field goals in practice ‘just for fun.’ He also can dunk a basketball like a doughnut and hit a softball 400 feet. He can cover 40 yards in 5.05 seconds. He can jump onto a three-foot high table from a standing position and bench press 465 pounds.”

But can he throw a pass?

Perry told Sudyk: “I got a pretty good arm. I’d like to throw a pass off a fake run. I can throw a ball 70 yards. Did it at college.”

Coach Mike Ditka knows one thing for sure: “He is going to become the wealthiest big man in the history of the game.”

Add Perry: Joseph Sanchez of the Denver Post has come up with a new nickname for The Refrigerator: “The Galloping Roast.”

Add Forgettable Quotes: Wrote Skip Bayless in Sunday’s Dallas Times Herald, predicitng a win for the Cowboys: “The reason this team will be 8-3 is that it quietly has become one of the NFL’s most physical. . . . That’s what happened when the fighting broke out in the Bears-Cowboys preseason game. That was just the Cowboys warning the Bears that they no longer will be bullied in their backyard. No more turning the other pretty cheek.

“Sunday, an eye for a black eye, 27-7.”

Trivia Time: If UCLA wins Saturday, Ted Tollner will become the first USC coach to lose to both UCLA and Notre Dame three years in a row. What USC coach was winless against both schools in the same period? (Answer below.)

Would-you-believe-it dept.: Penn State quarterback John Shaffer hasn’t lost a game as a starter since the seventh grade. His record went to 53-0 Saturday when the Nittany Lions beat Notre Dame, 36-6. Irish Coach Gerry Faust wasn’t surprised by his performance. He coached Shaffer at Moeller High School in Cincinnati.

Said North Dakota Coach Pat Behrns after the 49-0 loss to North Dakota State Saturday: “I’d like to just crawl into a gunnysack and have somebody throw me into the Red River.”

Nobody did, so the next day he quit.

“I feel at this time the football program needs a change, and at this point, I also need a change,” he said.

Indianapolis cornerback Preston Davis, on Miami receivers Mark Clayton and Mark Duper: “They are supercharged. The Marks Brothers are fuel-injected. The only way to stop them is to put sugar in their tanks.”

Atlanta kicker Mick Luckhurst, a native of England who went to the University of California, said of Sunday’s roughing-the-punter penalty against the Rams: “They didn’t intimidate me. Every time you kick the ball in rugby, you wind up getting hit.”

Note: When not playing football, Luckhurst can be seen caddying. His wife, the former Terri Moody, is an LPGA regular.

For What It’s Worth: Ken Hobart, the ex-Idaho quarterback who succeeded Dieter Brock, threw five touchdown passes, three to ex-San Diego State receiver Steve Stapler, to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats into the Grey Cup game with a 50-26 win over the Montreal Concordes.

Trivia Answer: Don Clark in 1957-58-59. He escaped a shutout with a 15-15 tie with UCLA in 1958. The Trojans tied it on a 74-yard kickoff return to a touchdown by Luther Hayes and a two-point conversion run by quarterback Tom Maudlin.

Note: In 1959, USC was unbeaten going into the UCLA game, but Bruin tailback Bill Kilmer, who was doubtful with ankle injuries, switched to ripple-soled shoes and led UCLA to a 10-3 win.

Quotebook

Chicago Bear safety Dave Duerson, describing his team: “We have all types. Wild and crazies, straight and narrows and the schizos. We’ve got ‘em all. A nice blend.”