Price Too Steep to Horse Around

The picture of Gene Autry standing in front of a statue of Champion at the opening of his Western Heritage Museum recalls a story Patrick Reusse of the St. Paul Pioneer Press told about the Angel owner--a story Reusse admitted was never checked out but was too good not to tell.

The story goes that Autry, after the death of Champion, considered doing what Roy Rogers did following the death of Trigger. Rogers had him stuffed and mounted, and put him on display at the entrance to his ranch.

Autry called a taxidermist and said, “How much would it cost to do the same with Champion?”

“About $15,000, maybe $20,000,” the taxidermist said.

“How much would it cost to bury him?” Autry asked.

“A couple hundred dollars.”

“Bury the sumbitch.”

Quiz Time: When Pete Rozelle allowed National Football League games to be played after the assassination of John Kennedy, what kind of ratings did the games get on TV? (Answer below.)

Add Rozelle: Dallas Cowboys President Tex Schramm told the Baltimore Sun: “I’ve heard Pete say, if he had to do it over, he probably wouldn’t have played. It’s one of those situations, unless you’re there t the time and the one that has to make the decision, you can’t really appreciate the difficulty.”

The following is from a column by Don Riley of the St. Paul Pioneer Press in 1984: “Regional Dodge dealers offered Lou Holtz a fabulous deal that could have earned the Minnesota coach $300,000 this year to endorse their product on commercials for a five-state area. But it was nixed by Athletic Director Paul Giel.

“The question arises, why did a school with the drawing power of Notre Dame think it was great public relations to let Ara Parseghian make $200,000 a year with Ford, and the struggling Gophers think it improper for Holtz? No wonder the Irish think they’ll steal away Holtz in two years.”

Add Riley: Recalling some memorable National Basketball Assn. moments, he told of the time Tom Heinsohn thought he should have had a 2-shot foul.

“But you were only passing off,” the referee said.

“Nuts,” Heinsohn said. “Everyone knows I never pass off.”

Then there was the game in which Clyde Lovellette scored his 10,000th point and Paul Seymour made the presentation.

Seymour: “Here it is, Clyde, a trophy commemorating your 25,000 points--the 10,000 you scored and the 15,000 you gave up.”

Asked about Dick Vitale, his partner on ESPN’s college basketball show, Bob Ley told the Washington Post: “Dick’s like plutonium. A little goes a long way.”

Said Al McGuire: “I was with him in a golf tournament in Florida. In August. He’s talking about the Great Alaska Shootout. I said, ‘That’s 4 months away.’ C’mon, Dick, please. Nanook of the North, I call him.”

Quiz Answer: There were none. CBS-TV did not carry the games. Neither did radio.

Quotebook

Notre Dame football Coach Lou Holtz, on why he encourages off-season weight training: “If we win a big game, I’d like to think our players will be strong enough to carry me off the field.”