Somebody Lost Track of Arnold

Lew Schaffel, president of the Miami Heat, recently appeared at a men’s club gathering at a synagogue in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where he spread the good word on the National Basketball Assn. expansion team.

Schaffel mentioned that he attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, a school that produced such luminaries as Billy Cunningham, Doug Moe, Bobby Fischer and Barbra Streisand. According to the Boston Globe, an elderly man in the audience got up and mentioned that he went to Eastern District, a rival of Erasmus Hall.

“So you went to Eastern?” Schaffel said. “You know who went there, don’t you? Red Auerbach.”

“You mean Arnold Auerbach?” the man said. “Oh, I went to school with Arnie Auerbach. What’s he doing nowadays, anyhow?”

Add Globe: Jim Palmer told this story of his final years in Baltimore: “I always wanted defense over offense, but Earl Weaver always wanted offense. He’d want to play Jim Northrup in center, and I’d want Paul Blair.

“I told him, ‘I can get a raise, losing, 2-1, but I can’t get a raise, losing, 5-4.’ He let me have a lineup with Blair, in New York in ‘76, and I beat them (the Yankees), 2-0. Blair had 12 putouts.”

Trivia Time: Where did Fuzzy Zoeller get his nickname? (Answer below.)

Attention, Lakers: Says Detroit Pistons Coach Chuck Daly of the Boston Celtics: “With the addition of Jim Paxson and the expected return of Bill Walton, they’re a definite threat for the NBA championship.

“We hear Walton’s been practicing well, and we expect him to be ready for the playoffs. They don’t look nearly as tired as they did last year. If they’ve got Walton, they can win a game anywhere.”

Will-wonders-never-cease Dept.: From Robin Givens, wife of Mike Tyson: “Imagine, when I was graduating from high school, he was in reform school.”

Chicago Bears Coach Mike Ditka now admits he made a mistake in benching William Perry at the end of last season.

“I think we got so much involved with how much he weighed that we forgot how he played,” Ditka said. “He’s a pretty good football player. We can’t kid ourselves about that.”

Ditka said he’d like to see the Fridge report at 310 pounds next season.

“I want to use him in the backfield again on offense,” he said. “I really do.”

From Evelyn Ashford, saying she will concentrate on the 100 meters for the Seoul Olympics: “If you win the 100, it means you’re the world’s fastest woman. If you win the 200, it means you are a good 200 runner.”

Chicago Cubs Manager Don Zimmer, on shortstop Shawon Dunston: “Let me tell you something. He has more talent at shortstop than anyone, I mean anyone, I have ever seen. He has the best arm. The problem is, I want the outs to be outs. I don’t want the spectacular plays one inning and then an error on an easy play the next.”

If Dunston succeeds, Zimmer says: “He’ll own Chicago, more than any other player. They’ll love him.”

For What It’s Worth: Don Baylor needs 15 stolen bases to join Willie Mays and Bobby Bonds as the only men to hit 300 home runs and steal 300 bases. Baylor has 331 homers.

Trivia Answer: From the initials of his full name, Frank Urban Zoeller.

Quotebook

General Manager Lou Pinella of the New York Yankees, on the flap caused by Dave Winfield’s book: “I didn’t put stuff like that in my book. Of course, I didn’t sell many books.”