A Disabled Turley Still Valuable Asset

The subject was sign-stealing, and Tony Kubek said that Bob Turley was so good at it with the New York Yankees that Manager Ralph Houk refused to let him go home during the 1961 season when the pitcher was on the disabled list.

“Houk made him stay on the bench calling pitches,” Kubek said. “I bet he helped Mickey Mantle hit 50 home runs over the years.

“Johnny Blanchard and Ellie Howard loved to know what was coming. Other guys like Moose Skowron and Yogi Berra didn’t care.”

Kubek said that Frank Crosetti, the third base coach, became a student of Turley’s system and tipped off Roger Maris before the slugger hit his 61st homer, breaking the record of Crosetti’s old teammate, Babe Ruth.

Kubek: “Frank saw Tracy Stallard tip the pitch, whistled, and Roger hit it out.”

Said New York Yankees pitching coach Art Fowler when asked if he has seen any surprises in camp: “The biggest surprise is me.”

Fowler has been fired three times by George Steinbrenner.

Add Yankees: Ron Guidry has never expressed much affection for Billy Martin, but the record shows that he has performed much better under Martin than other Yankee managers.

His record under Martin is 84-26, a percentage of .764. Otherwise, he is 84-62, a .575 percentage.

Trivia Time: When Cookie Rojas played second base for the Philadelphia Phillies, he and what shortstop were identified with what popular song of the time? (Answer below.)

There’s talk that Soviet players will be playing in the NHL next season, but the Philadelphia Flyers don’t expect to see Viktor Khatulev, whom they picked in the 1975 draft.

Khatulev has since been kicked out of Soviet hockey for hitting a referee. He’s now a bartender in Riga.

Add Soviets: If they don’t come, that will be fine with Toronto Maple Leafs wing Miroslav Frycer, a native Czech, who says, “I left my home because of them. Let them stay there and play in Siberia.”

Wide receiver Sterling Sharpe of South Carolina, not Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown of Notre Dame, is rated the top draft prospect by the National Football Scouting combine, according to Peter King of Newsday. The ratings:

1. Sharpe (8.4); 2. Brown (8.1); 3. Brad Muster, running back, Stanford (8.0); Aundray Bruce, linebacker, Auburn (8.0); Scott Davis, defensive end, Illinois (8.0); 6. Keith Jackson, tight end, Oklahoma (7.9), Bennie Blades, safety, Miami (7.9); 8. Thurman Thomas, running back, Oklahoma State (7.8), Lorenzo White, running back, Michigan State (7.8); 10. John Stevens, running back, Northwestern Louisiana (7.7).

Add Brown: Gordon Forbes of USA Today said Brown had a spectacular workout for scouts at Notre Dame last month and that Coach Lou Holtz videotaped the whole session.

Forbes: “Holtz also made up a cassette of Brown’s big plays from his junior and senior years and sent copies to all 28 clubs.”

Add Muster: Says Cincinnati Bengals assistant general manager Mike Brown: “He’s probably the best at catching the ball of any back coming out. He’d be a throwback to the old days of the Giants, an Alex Webster-type back.”

Trivia Answer: The shortstop was Bobby Wine, and the song was “Days of Wine and Roses.”

Quotebook

Milwaukee Brewers General Manager Harry Dalton, on why he prefers Arizona as a spring training site: “Florida is for old people and their parents.”