When They Were Good, Times Were Pretty Bad

With a 7-3 record, the University of Arizona now has gone five straight years with winning seasons, something that hadn’t happened in Tucson in almost 50 years.

The last time it happened was in 1933-37 under Coach Gerald (Tex) Oliver. Arizona boosters were so appreciative that after the 1937 season they presented Oliver with a bonus check of $1,000.

That was pretty good money in those Depression days. In Los Angeles, for instance, you could buy a seven-room house for $12,500. Coffee was 17 cents a pound, and you could get a dinner at Taix restaurant for 60 cents.

So what did Tex do with his $1,000? He bought a new car and drove off to become the coach at the University of Oregon.

Trivia Time: Which of these Hall of Fame running backs never gained 1,000 yards in a season: Red Grange, Ollie Matson, Hugh McElhenny. (Answer below.)

Washington Redskins receiver Malcolm Barnwell, obtained before the season from the Raiders for a second-round draft choice in 1986, was placed on waivers this week after catching only three passes for 28 yards this season.

According to team sources, Barnwell’s repeated absences from team meetings hastened his departure from the club.

Said Redskins General Manager Bobby Beathard as he made the announcement: “I just became a member of the ‘You just don’t outsmart Al Davis Club.’ ”

Said Golden State Warriors General Manager Al Attles when asked if Chris Mullin’s contract is a big one: “It’s not Green Stamps.”

Add Mullin: Since he reported, the playing time of Lester Conner has been reduced, causing Conner to take this philosophical stand: “I just have to adapt. Just like the sea creatures coming out of the seas onto land, I have to adapt. I don’t look at it as being so bad. I could be extinct.”

Chicago Bulls trainer Mark Pheil, on the absence of Michael Jordan, out with a foot injury: “The valuables bag is a lot lighter.”

Before Sunday’s game, Tony Hill of the Dallas Cowboys gave this answer when asked about Chicago Bear defenders Mike Richardson and Leslie Frazier: “I never say anything bad about cornerbacks. I cherish my body quite a bit.”

Wrote Jim Dent of the Dallas Times Herald after the game: “Tony Hill leads the NFL with 909 receiving yards. But he is losing credibility among his teammates. Instead of diving--or even stretching--for a catchable (Danny) White pass in the end zone, Hill made a half-hearted effort. A reception would have given Dallas a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter.”

Wrote Skip Bayless of the Dallas Times Herald: “If Hill had left his feet and given up his body, he could have caught it. He might have caught it by merely stretching. He did neither. Hill did not make the kind of play the Bears would make all day. Ah, ‘Phony’ Hill.”

An item last week on Lefty Driesell requesting that he be called Charles G. Driesell ended as follows: “Don’t ask him what the middle initial stands for. Would you believe Grice?”

This week a letter from South Pasadena arrived which said: “Certainly. Why not?”

Enclosed was the card of Grice Axtman, executive manager of the South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce.

Trivia Answer: All of them. Matson came closest in 1956 with 956 yards.

Quotebook

Washington Redskins quarterback Jay Schroeder, on facing Dwight Gooden in Class A ball as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays organization: “I helped put Dwight in the majors, and he helped put me in football.”