Ram Notebook : League Sacks Cardinals’ Socks : How Did Punter Dale Hatcher Get Married? Well . . .

Bill Bidwill, who owns the St. Louis Cardinals, was desperate to end the club’s four-game losing streak last week but resisted the usual course of action of firing the coach, Jim Hanifan.

Instead, Bidwill rummaged around in the back of the equipment room and came up with some old, woolen, maroon socks the Cards used to wear and ordered them to be worn against the New Orleans Saints last Sunday.

The players hated the hose but liked the result: a 28-16 victory.

“The socks were the difference,” wide receiver Roy Green said. “They were so ugly the offense said, ‘Let’s score and get off the field before anyone sees them.’ ”

It also may have helped that Neil Lomax completed 14 of 20 passes for 2 touchdowns and Stump Mitchell rushed for 158 yards and scored 3 touchdowns.

Bidwill wanted the socks worn against the Rams Sunday at Anaheim Stadium, but the NFL stepped in Thursday and ordered that the socks be returned to mothballs, ruling they were in violation of its uniform code.

Bidwill also may end up firing the coach but, in the meantime, anything’s worth a try.

Ram backup quarterback Steve Dils was telling Jeff Kemp about the Christmas tree he bought--for $125.

“Did it come already decorated, with presents around it?” Kemp asked.

Rookie punter Dale Hatcher’s wife, Lindley, watched practice Thursday. Hatcher, from Cheraw, S.C., recently told how they met.

“Back home you don’t have many girls to choose from,” he said. “There just aren’t many pretty girls around.

“She grew up in a town about 30 minutes away and had a younger sister. When I played football in high school she was a cheerleader. About three summers ago her parents moved to Cheraw. My cousin was telling me about this pretty girl that was going to his church.

“We were sitting around on a Friday night and I said to my cousin, ‘Wayne,’--my cousin’s name is Wayne--’let’s call up those new girls and go out and talk to ‘em.’ Wayne liked her and she didn’t like him, and he was afraid she’d like me, but finally I talked him into it.

“We’re sitting there watching TV, and Lindley and I didn’t talk much to each other ‘cause I didn’t think she liked me, and she didn’t think I liked her.

“I found out about a week later when some girl told me that she was crazy about me. I said, ‘Are you serious?’ I couldn’t believe it, because she was just perfect. In fact, I’d told Wayne that night, ‘That’s the kind of girl I would want to marry.’ I got mad at Wayne because Wayne didn’t tell me. Then I started ringing the phone off the hook.

“Four months later we got married.”

Ram Coach John Robinson says he doesn’t want the team to get carried away with its 27-20 victory at San Francisco Monday night, for fear it might fall into another slump.

“I told the team, ‘We’re a little bit like a guy in Alcoholics Anonymous. We’ve gotta go day by day, one day at a time. We’re three days sober now.’ ”

Great Britain’s Channel Four was at Rams Park this week cutting interviews for its weekly pre-game show featuring a tape of the NFL’s game of the week.

The host was John Smith, the former English-born placekicker of the New England Patriots.

Producer Jim Marooney said he tapes four games each weekend and selects the best one.

“We had planned to show the Raiders’ game at Denver,” he said, “but we changed our mind after Monday night.”

Marooney said the weekly ratings are “fantastic.”

“We have about four million people watching, which isn’t bad for a country of 55 million.”

Robinson took note when Vince Ferragamo, waived by Buffalo last week, signed with Green Bay this week.

“Everybody here is happy for him,” said Robinson, who traded Ferragamo and a third-round draft choice to the Bills for tight end Tony Hunter last spring. “Everybody likes Vince and wants him to do well.”

Bob Schnelker, the Packers’ offensive coordinator, was excited after running Ferragamo through a tryout at Rams Park when the Rams were trying to trade him, but the two clubs couldn’t agree on a deal. Now the Packers have him for nothing.

“The Packers are a good passing team,” Robinson said. “He might flourish in that environment.”

Three years ago this month Ferragamo passed for 509 yards against the Chicago Bears--the second highest total in NFL history. However, the Rams lost, 34-26.

Ram Notes

Center Doug Smith, his head problem unresolved, was declared out of Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Anaheim. Tony Slaton will start again, with guard Dennis Harrah listed as the emergency backup. Robinson said Russ Bolinger is a future possibility at center. Bolinger, on injured reserve since he broke an arm in the fourth game, started working out in pads this week and should be mended before the playoffs. . . . Fans may contribute to the Toys for Tots program Sunday by bringing new, unwrapped toys to the game. . . . The Rams fell 14,300 tickets short of a sellout at the deadline for lifting the local TV blackout Thursday. . . . Eric Dickerson said Thursday he was as surprised as anyone when his agents suddenly reached agreement last weekend with the Rams on his long-sought contract extension.

“When Jack (Rodri) called and told me he had it settled, it was a shock to me,” Dickerson said. The three-year extension through 1989 is worth more than $3 million, but Dickerson said it hadn’t been on his mind all season and wasn’t a factor in the Rams’ reduced success at running the ball.