Most Unusual Place to Leave an Earplug

The Boston Celtics have been so plagued by maladies that even their broadcaster thought he had become a victim.

Writes Buddy Martin of the Denver Post: “Gravel-throated Johnny Most went to see team physician Thomas Silva the other day, complaining of deafness. The longtime voice of the Celtics said that he began noticing the loss of hearing about 18 months ago.

“Dr. Silva made a quick check of Most’s ear and discovered a TV earplug, which he extracted. The plug had been lodged there for a year and a half.”

Add Most: Writes Jack Craig in The Sporting News: “He hasn’t changed, except for his voice. The booming tones that once clearly enunciated words have given way to a raspy sound that surges and fades during a broadcast. But he has surrendered nothing else to time. Fairness is still irrelevant.”

Add Celtics: Although the market has been generally bullish, Boston Celtics stock has lost ground the last three days on the New York Stock Exchange.

When the stock originally was offered six months ago, it went for 18 5/8 a share. It’s now at 13 1/8.

Trivia Time: Who was the baseball commissioner before Bowie Kuhn? (Answer below.)

Sachio Kinugasa of the Hiroshima Carp, who is due to surpass Lou Gehrig’s consecutive-game streak of 2,130 next week, said he actually knows more about Babe Ruth.

“Babe Ruth is an American dream,” he said. “All Japanese players would like to be able to hit like him.”

Kinugasa, a 5-foot 9-inch, 165-pound third baseman, said his current favorite is Jim Rice.

“I like powerful hitters, because I can’t do it,” he said.

For the Record: UCLA won its last NCAA track and field title in 1978, not 1973. USC finished first but later was stripped of the title for using an ineligible athlete. UCLA and Texas El Paso, which had tied for second place, became co-champions.

Jack Clark of St. Louis, on Cincinnati outfielder Eric Davis, who has twice robbed him of home runs with over-the-fence catches: “He’s the Ozzie Smith of the outfield.”

From Cincinnati announcer Johnny Bench: “Slumps are like a soft bed. They’re easy to get into and hard to get out of.”

On the day that San Diego Manager Larry Bowa got a vote of confidence from owner Joan Kroc, the Padres were on a pace that would make them the losingest team in history.

When the New York Mets set a record for futility with a 40-120 record in 1962, they were 17-37 after 54 games. The Padres were 12-42.

Kevin McHale of the Celtics, on the drug investigation in Phoenix: “If that’s not a 17th- or 18th-Century witch hunt, I don’t know what is. I’m glad I don’t play in Phoenix. I might go into Houlihan’s and get arrested for having illegal French fries.”

Trivia Answer: Gen. William D. Eckert.

Quotebook

Rocky Bridges, manager of the Vancouver Canadians of the Pacific Coast League, on players who eat sunflower seeds: “Birds eat those things. I told the team, ‘I’m afraid some of you guys might start molting on me. Or maybe going to the bathroom on newspapers.’ ”