Blowing His Horn No Help

Quick now, who’s the manager of the Milwaukee Brewers? Don’t have a clue? Don’t feel bad, you’re not alone.

The question recently was put to a class of fourth-graders in a Milwaukee grammar school. Nobody knew. That wasn’t unusual, except they were looking at him. He is Tom Trebelhorn, who, in the off-season, works as a substitute teacher.

Of his lack of recognition, Trebelhorn said: “It’s not unexpected. I’m sure there are people all over America saying, ‘Who is this guy?’ ”

Said The Sporting News: “On the Brewers’ winter tour, he was almost left behind in Madison (Wis.) when nobody noticed he wasn’t on board after a banquet. Later on the tour, he was introduced as Jim Trebelhorn.”

Would-you-believe-it dept.: When Kansas beat Oklahoma State Friday, it was the 100th win for Larry Brown as the Jayhawk coach. It made his record 100-27. That’s exactly the same record that former Kansas coaches Ted Owens and Phog Allen had after their first 127 games.

From Richard Justice of the Washington Post: “Mets outfielder Darryl Strawberry, who made $945,000 last season, earned $11,360 last week at a baseball card-collector’s convention in Texas. He received a $7,000 appearance fee and $4 for each of the 1,090 autographs he signed. His convention contract had a stipulation that no media people would be present.”

Trivia Time: Name the only two men who played in the National League playoffs between the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951 and the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers in 1962. (Answer below.)

Colorado State running back Steve Bartalo, all-time ground gainer in the Western Athletic Conference, told the Denver Post that Miami’s Alonzo Highsmith was the most impressive athlete at the NFL tryout camp in Indianapolis.

“Bartalo reported that the 240-pound Highsmith had a vertical jump of 35 inches, about half a foot higher than most backs, and benched 225 pounds 27 times, a far better mark than a lot of the linemen on hand,” the Post said. “Another physical specimen who impressed Bartalo was Christian Okoye, the 250-pound fullback from Azusa Pacific.”

When Gerald Henderson, formerly of Boston and Seattle, reported to the New York Knicks, Coach Bob Hill asked him the difference between the Celtics and the Knicks.

Hill: “He said the difference was leadership. Leadership and intensity. I asked what he meant by intensity, and he said it was a matter of everybody having their job and accepting their role and doing their job with pride. He said Larry Bird is a better leader than he is a player.”

Said Slick Watts at the NBA Legends game: “The way some of these punk guards today don’t penetrate and pick up offensive fouls, I could still play.”

But not right now.

“I’m a little out of a shape,” he said. “And all that tequila last night certainly didn’t help.”

Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post, on how Charles Barkley has trimmed down since his Round Mound of Rebound days in college: “Auburn listed him at 6 feet 6. But that was just his width.”

Trivia Answer: Willie Mays of the Giants and Duke Snider of the Dodgers.

Quotebook

Stan Hochman of the Philadelphia Daily News, after Charles Barkley, explaining why he was late for a 76er game, said he had to see the finish of “All My Children,” his favorite soap opera: “Will Barkley stay forever ‘Young and Restless’ living in ‘Another World’ without ‘A Guiding Light’ or will he drive Coach Matt Guokas into ‘General Hospital’?”