At Least, His Arm Is Strong

Between matches at the D.C. tennis tournament, Boris Becker was getting a rubdown from trainer Todd Snyder when John Feinstein of the Washington Post overheard this exchange:

Snyder: “Boris, you could have been a great football player.”

Becker: “I like football, but I think maybe my bones are too soft to play it.”

Snyder: “No way. You would have been a great tight end.”

Becker: “Tight end? Why tight end? Why not quarterback?”

Add Becker: Told that his English has improved, he said: “I like speaking English. I learned it listening to the things McEnroe and Connors call me on the court. Actually, I always liked it. I like the accent, I like learning to express myself in different ways. I even like using bad words more in English. Somehow they don’t sound as bad as when I say them in German, probably because I don’t understand them quite as well.”

Trivia Time: When Bill Mazeroski homered over the left-field fence to win the 1960 World Series for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who was the left fielder for the New York Yankees? (Answer below.)

46 Years Ago Today: On Aug. 1, 1941, Lefty Gomez gave up 11 walks to the St. Louis Browns but still pitched the New York Yankees to a 9-0 victory. He allowed five hits. It was a major league record for walks in a shutout.

Note: Joe DiMaggio, whose 56-game hitting streak had ended July 17, went 2 for 4 to extend his new streak to 15 games. It would end after 16 games, giving him hits in 72 of 73 games.

Add Gomez: Asked the secret of his success, he said, “Clean living and a fast-moving outfield.”

Add DiMag: From the latest Sporting News: “Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio, who wore No. 5 in his storied career with the Yankees, visited Bay Meadows, near San Francisco, for inter-track betting. DiMaggio made a hunch $5 wager on the No. 5 horse running at Golden Gate Fields. The horse won, paying $55.50 (to $1). DiMaggio’s payoff came in (a stack of) $5 bills and a 50-cent piece. ‘Never saw so many fives in my life,’ said the Yankee Clipper.”

Presumably, that called for some high-fives.

Randy Romero, who has overtaken Angel Cordero for the riding lead at Belmont Park, lost his whip in the ninth race Wednesday, but that didn’t stop him. He ripped off his goggles and used them as whip. His mount, Daring Warrior, responded to the unusual urging and won by a neck.

Romero was fined $200 because New York rules prohibit the use of anything but a whip or a hand to strike a horse.

Romero didn’t complain. His share of the winning purse was $1,560.

A lot of old coaches will tell you they don’t play football like they used to, but listen to 84-year-old Jake Gaither, former coach of the Florida A&M; Rattlers: “The game has grown more exciting and interesting. Television and radio exposure is largely responsible. It is still a rough, tough, collision-type game played with reckless abandonment, asking no quarter, giving no quarter. The boys are agile, hostile, mobile. Take no prisoners. Kill a mosquito with an ax.”

Trivia Answer: Yogi Berra.

Quotebook

New York Yankees catcher Rick Cerone, summoned as a relief pitcher in the 20-3 loss to the Texas Rangers, on why he used a spitter: “I didn’t have my good stuff.”