Wilt Just Happened to Be Going Around Lucky on That Day

Before scoring 100 points at Hershey, Pa., 25 years ago, Wilt Chamberlain claims he also set a record in a shooting gallery.

“True story,” said Harvey Pollack, publicist for the Philadelphia 76ers. “When we got to Hershey, we had a few hours to kill. So he went to a shooting gallery at a penny arcade in the arena and broke the points record.”

Said former teammate Guy Rodgers: “He hit every duck and bear.”

Rodgers said he wasn’t surprised.

“On the bus ride from Philadelphia,” said Rodgers, “we played pinochle and he won every hand.”

Pollack: “It was like he was destined to break the record that day.”

Said Oakland A’s General Manager Sandy Alderson, disclosing that Joaquin Andujar had called from the Dominican Republic and promised to be in camp Monday: “That’s etched in sandstone.”

Today’s Question: If there’s something in a name, were the Houston Astros asking for double trouble when they signed a 17-year-old infielder out of the Dominican Republic last October?

His name is Andujar Cedeno.

Trivia Time: After winning the 1951 National League pennant on Bobby Thomson’s home run, why didn’t the New York Giants celebrate with a big party that night? (Answer below.)

It will be a Subway Series in 1987, according to a Sporting News poll of 163 members of the Baseball Writers Assn. of America.

The New York teams will make it to the World Series by knocking off Kansas City and Houston in the Championship Series, according to the writers.

The Dodgers and Angels both were picked third in their divisions.

Dave Magadan, the former University of Alabama star who is bidding for the third base job with the New York Mets, is a singles-hitting specialist who has hit only four home runs in four minor league seasons.

Said Tom Verducci of Newsday, noting that Magadan, a native of Tampa, Fla., is writing a weekly column for the Tampa Tribune: “At least he has the power of the press.”

The best player is baseball? According to Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post, it’s not Don Mattingly, but Eric Davis.

Boswell employs his own rating system. He adds a player’s total bases and stolen bases and divides the total by the player’s number of outs. By this system, Davis is tops. Here’s Boswell’s all-star team:

1B--Don Mattingly (N.Y. Yankees); 2B--Steve Sax (Dodgers); 3B--Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia); SS--Alan Trammell (Detroit); OF--Eric Davis (Cincinnati), Tim Raines (Montreal), Kirk Gibson (Detroit); C--Lance Parrish (Detroit); DH--Larry Parrish (Texas).

Add Davis: Tim Raines, who has the highest stolen base percentage in big league history, told The Sporting News: “Eric Davis is the only guy I’ve seen who can’t be thrown out.”

Davis, a product of Fremont High, said: “Don’t believe this if you don’t want to, but it’s true. In high school I stole 55 bases, all standing up.”

Trivia Time: The World Series started the next day at Yankee Stadium.

Quotebook

George Steinbrenner, after purchasing the New York Yankees in 1973: “I won’t be active in the day-to-day operations of the club at all. I can’t spread myself so thin. I’ve got enough headaches with my shipping company.”