You’re Only as Old as They Say You Are

A lot of people are amazed that Jimmy Connors is still a contender on the courts at 36, but Vic Seixas isn’t one of them.

Seixas, 65, a former U.S. Open champion, told United Press International: “I don’t think it’s such a wonder, in spite of what everyone thinks. Ken Rosewall won the final at Wimbledon when he was 43.”

Actually, Rosewall was 40, and he didn’t win. He lost to Connors, who was 21. But you get the idea.

Idle Thought: Wonder if Walter Payton is having second thoughts on his retirement after seeing Tony Dorsett rush for more than 100 yards for Denver Sunday? Payton was in the league two years before Dorsett but is actually younger. Dorsett turned 34 on April 7, Payton on July 25.

Trivia Time: Madagascar, which pulled out of the Olympic Games this week, was represented in the 1968 Mexico City Games by what Westmont College sprinter who finished eighth in the men’s 100 meters? (Answer below.)

Now-it-can-be-told Department: In a story on Art Rooney’s funeral, Gary Tuma of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette wrote: “There is a part of the Catholic liturgy in which the celebrant of the Mass turns to the congregation and says, ‘Let us offer each other a sign of peace.’

“When Pittsburgh Bishop Donald Wuerl said that Saturday, Al Davis and Pete Rozelle, seated one behind the other in pews along the center aisle at St. Peter’s Church on the North Side, turned and shook hands.”

From Bob Uecker, recalling his brief stint as a catcher in Philadelphia: “The cops picked me up on the streets at 3 a.m. and fined me $500 for being drunk and $100 for being with the Phillies.”

65 Years Ago Today: On Sept. 14, 1923, Jack Dempsey knocked out Luis Angel Firpo of Argentina in the second round of their heavyweight title fight at the Polo Grounds in New York. Firpo, the Wild Bull of the Pampas, was knocked down seven times and Dempsey twice.

Dempsey appeared to have lost his title when Firpo knocked him through the ropes in the first round, but writers at ringside pushed him back into the ring.

Said Nat Fleischer of the Ring record book: “It was the most dramatic fight in the history of modern pugilism. It was a gripping, nerve-shaking contest between lion-hearted, heavy-hitting ringmen.”

Where They Are Now: Hubert Mizell of the St. Petersburg Times writes of former heavyweight champion Lou Nova, 75, who is living in Las Vegas in a mobile home:

“Nova still regularly stands on his head, which he claims prevents baldness, hypertension and tooth decay.”

Said Michael Jordan, an Olympic gold medalist in 1984, when asked about the chances of the 1988 United States basketball team at Seoul: “They have a tough task. They don’t have the outside shooting we had, and they’ll have to find it if they plan to win the gold medal.”

Dominique Wilkins of the Atlanta Hawks, when asked about the team’s 13-day tour of the Soviet Union, told the Cleveland Plain Dealer: “I will never go back. It was good to be around the fellows, but the next time we have a family reunion, let’s do it down in Palm Beach.”

Trivia Answer: Jean-Louis Ravelomanantsoa.

Quotebook

Mel Hall of the Cleveland Indians, on the trade rumors this year: “I’ve worn every uniform in the American League. I lead the league in assumptions.”