They Were as Crazy as Maynard

Former New York Jet receiver Don Maynard, named this week to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was an adventurous Texan who thrived on challenges, on and off the field.

Ira Berkow of the New York Times recalled a time the Jets were in Oakland for a game with the Raiders. During a midnight swim in the motel pool, some players bet Maynard he wouldn’t jump off the high board fully clothed. Maynard did, and collected $50.

“You going to fine him?” someone asked Coach Weeb Ewbank the next day, which happened to be the day of the game.

“Hell, no,” Ewbank said. “If I fine anyone, it will be the guys who made the bet--for dumbness. Maynard’s so crazy he would have done it for nothing.”

At media headquarters before the Super Bowl, NFL Films showed a number a features including one on coaches and their comments on the sidelines.

According to Todd Phipers of the Denver Post, one segment showed former Denver Bronco coach John Ralston talking to his quarterback. As the quarterback turned to return to the huddle, Ralston summoned him back.

“Stay here a little bit longer,” Ralston said, “so they’ll think we know what the hell we’re doing.”

Add Ralston: When he finally resigned as the Denver coach, he blamed it on illness and fatigue.

“The fans are sick and tired of me,” he said.

Trivia Time: When Bill Virdon managed the New York Yankees, how is it he never was booed by the fans in Yankee Stadium? (Answer below.)

In his book “First Down and a Billion,” here’s how former San Diego Charger owner Gene Klein introduces himself:

“My name is Gene Klein. I’m 65 years old and each month I get a Social Security check for $711 to prove it. I’ve had two serious heart attacks and, even without that $711, I have more money than I will ever be able to spend. So I can say anything I want.”

Of Al Davis, he said: “Over the years I’d come to understand that Al Davis had a personality problem. He didn’t have one.”

Add Klein: He made a fortune in a number a business ventures but admits he struck out on a few.

“Early in 1964,” he said, “I was offered the opportunity to purchase all American music publishing rights for a young British rock-’n’-roll band named The Beatles. The offer was part of a larger deal I’d made to broadcast three Beatles concerts over a 250-theater closed-circuit system. The asking price was reasonable. I consulted an expert for advice, my teen-age son, Michael. He shook his head. ‘They’re a fad,’ he assured me.”

Then there was the time he was going to challenge the Kentucky Colonel.

“I bought Minnie Pearl Chicken, a fast-food chain,” he said. “At the party celebrating the purchase I ate my first piece of Minnie Pearl Chicken. I got heartburn.”

Would-you-believe-it dept.: Indiana is called the hotbed of basketball, but in today’s Indiana-Purdue game, only two of the scheduled 10 starters are from high schools in Indiana. They are Steve Alford of Indiana and Troy Lewis of Purdue.

Trivia Answer: When Virdon managed in 1974-75, the Yankees played in Shea Stadium while Yankee Stadium was being renovated.

Quotebook

Utah Jazz Coach Frank Layden, on registering his 200th win as an NBA coach: “Now I’ve only got 738, or whatever, to catch Red Auerbach. So look out, Red.”