Bullough, Yogi Two of a Kind

Hank Bullough is gone, but his malaprops won’t be forgotten. Before the Buffalo Bills sent him packing Monday, Bullough was becoming football’s answer to Yogi Berra. Some of his 1985 gems:

--”The spare of the moment.”

--”He’s making improvement throwing the ball where he’s throwing the ball.”

--”We keep beating ourselves, but we’re getting better at it.”

--On owner Ralph Wilson: “I’m not a yes guy. He knows that when I hired him.”

--On the top college backs: “Well, you’ve got that Jackson kid at Auburn and that Bonaparte kid at Navy.”

Trivia Time: Who was the first person signed out of the Naval Academy by the Raiders? (Answer below.)

Lester Hayes variously has referred to John Elway as Goose Gossage, Dwight Gooden and Roger Clemens. Now, it’s Mike Scott.

Said Hayes, explaining the 53-yard pass to Mark Jackson that set up Denver’s first touchdown against the Raiders Sunday: “Elway threw me his famous split-fingered fastball. I was on Jackson like glue, and the ball broke. Unbelievable. I was on him man-to-man. I was in good position. But John threw that split-fingered fastball, and it was academic.”

Add Raiders: From Buddy Martin’s story in the Denver Post, saying he didn’t recognize the team in silver and black: “They certainly weren’t the Los Angeles Raiders we have come to know and hate . . . the real Raiders wouldn’t have laid down in the stretch, when time is usually a Raiders ally instead of a Raiders enemy.

“I’m not sure I didn’t like it a whole lot better when those nasty, fire-breathing, dog-kicking, egg-sucking Raiders showed up every game for a death match.

“Wherefore are thou, Kenny Stabler and Ben Davidson and Jack Tatum and Marv Hubbard and Otis Sistrunk and Fred Biletnikoff?”

The latest proposals to raise the baskets to 11 or 12 feet recall that Abe Lemons, to help the little man, proposed instead that the baskets be lowered.

“Or,” he said, “we could just cut a hole in the floor and all recruit midgets. ‘Hi, little fella, like to drive a Cadillac?’ ”

Said Washington receiver Clint Didier after the Redskins came from 12 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Minnesota Vikings, 44-38, in overtime Sunday: “This is the biggest game I’ve ever played in comeback-wise.”

Not really. In 1983, the Redskins came from 15 points back in the fourth quarter to beat the Raiders. Trailing 35-20, the Redskins rallied behind Joe Theismann to pull it out, 37-35. Theismann threw three touchdown passes, while Jim Plunkett--remember him?--threw four for the Raiders, including an NFL record-tying 99-yarder to Cliff Branch.

Trivia Answer: Eddie Erdelatz. A former head coach at Navy, he was signed as the first Raider coach in 1960.

Quotebook

Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz, told that two bowl scouts were in attendance at Saturday’s game against Navy: “Were they lost?”