Things Aren’t Buddy-Buddy Among Eagles

You’ve heard of walk-ons, but how about walk-outs? The Philadelphia Eagles, under Coach Buddy Ryan, already are leading the league as one player after another takes a hike from the team’s training camp at West Chester, Pa.

Walking out Monday was Herman Hunter, a running back who last year set a club record for most kickoff return yardage.

On Saturday, veteran guard Steve Kenney departed. He was replaced by Greg Naron. On Sunday, Naron decided to leave.

Others who have left, through trades or releases, are center Mark Dennard and linebackers Reggie Wilkes, Joel Williams and Anthony Griggs.

Of Hunter, Ryan said: “He wasn’t blocking in any of the drills. As soon as the linebackers started blitzing, I assumed he would leave.”

Of Kenney, he said: “He thought he was better than I did.”

Has Ryan talked to the players?

“I don’t talk to people like that,” he said. “I don’t call them either.”

William Perry has been working exclusively on defense in the Chicago Bears’ camp, and Coach Mike Ditka was asked when The Fridge would be ready to go on offense.

“He’ll be ready by the second game of the season,” Ditka promised.

The second game is against the Philadelphia Eagles, coached by the aforementioned Ryan, who last year worked as Ditka’s defensive coordinator.

Trivia Time: When Jim Traber, a former Oklahoma State quarterback, was brought up by Baltimore to play first base last week, he joined which two other former college quarterbacks in the American League? (Answer below).

Now-it-can-be-told dept.: Former New York Yankee second baseman Bobby Richardson told Hal Bock of the Associated Press that when Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle were chasing Babe Ruth’s record of 60 home runs in 1961, most of the Yankees were pulling for Mantle.

“We looked at Mickey as a true Yankee. It was a Yankee record. We wanted a Yankee to break it,” Richardson said.

“We had played against Maris when he was with Kansas City and Cleveland. He had knocked me down at second base. He was the best in the league at breaking up the double play. I changed my way going across the bag on the pivot to avoid his rolling block.”

Add Richardson: Of Ralph Houk, who had succeeded Casey Stengel as manager, he said: “Ralph managed differently from Casey. Stengel would make you mad and challenge you to prove him wrong. Houk was a players’ manager. There was nobody on the team who didn’t like him. Stengel called me, ‘That kid.’ I was never sure he knew my name.”

Add Stengel: He was dropped by the Yankees after they lost the World Series to Pittsburgh in 1960.

Afterward, he said: “I guess this means they fired me. I’ll never make the mistake of being 70 years old again.”

Southpaw Bob Ojeda, 11-2 with the New York Mets after a 9-11 season with the Boston Red Sox last year, was asked if the Green Monster in left field was in the back of his mind when he pitched at Fenway Park.

“No,” he said. “It was in the front of my mind.”

Said Michael Bonallack of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club after Seve Ballesteros complained that conditions at Turnberry were too severe for the British Open: “Seve destroyed his argument by shooting a 64.”

Trivia Answer: Rick Leach (Michigan) of Toronto and Phil Bradley (Missouri) of Seattle.

Quotebook

Alan Knicely of the St. Louis Cardinals, on a play on which he was hit on the head while trying to catch a pop fly in Candlestick Park: “It will come on ‘Wide World of Sports’ right after the guy who falls off the ski slope.”