Rose Went to Bank, Not to a Bookie

Bernie Carbo, a teammate of Pete Rose at Cincinnati in 1969-72, told Jim Donaldson of the Providence Journal-Bulletin he was surprised at the gambling accusations because he always considered Rose to be a cheapskate.

“Early in his career he wanted to know where every penny was going,” Carbo said. “He was so tight with a dollar.

“When I joined the Reds, we had a team meeting where we decided to pool the money we received from pregame and postgame shows and use it to throw parties at the All-Star break and at the end of the season.

“Rose stood up and said, ‘I’m going to be the star of the game a majority of the times, so why should I pay for the party?’ and walked out of the room.

“Whenever he was named star of the game after that, we’d take a roll of pennies and break it open in his locker. There’d be pennies everywhere.

“So what did Pete do? He went out and bought himself a big ol’ piggy bank. By the end of the season, it was filled.”

Add Carbo: “Pete Rose is a very egotistical person,” he said. “He wasn’t interested in winning or losing. He was only interested in Pete Rose.”

Trivia time: What do Mark Calcavecchia, Larry Mize and Fuzzy Zoeller have in common?

Change of course: From Blackie Sherrod of the Dallas Morning News: “The old Texas Longhorn, Terry Dill, on why he left his South Carolina law practice to join the seniors’ tour: “I’m a better golfer than I am a lawyer. I spent 20 years training to be a golfer, and only three to be a lawyer.”

Add Blackie: “Want another example of inane NFL stats?” he asks. “Under the league quarterback rating system, Dave Krieg is the fourth all-time passer. Sammy Baugh, Otto Graham, Terry Bradshaw are not in the top 20.”

Nothing to fear: St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Joe Magrane has a T-shirt that reads, “Throw strikes. Babe Ruth is dead.”

Relax, Boston: Roger Reid, Brigham Young University basketball coach, on reports that Michael Smith, No. 1 draft choice of the Boston Celtics, is a little on the wild side: “When you’re at BYU, it doesn’t take much to look out of the mainstream.”

Add Smith: Says Wyoming basketball Coach Benny Dees: “Mike Smith is an awesome presence--a whale of a player. You can’t guard him, and you can’t foul him. You foul him and he’s going to make both. You have committed suicide. You don’t guard him, and he’s going to score 100.”

Running scared: When the Long Beach Press Telegram polled major league general managers on the abilities of players in different categories, Roland Hemond of the Baltimore Orioles and Hank Peters of the Cleveland Indians declined to answer.

Said Hemond: “That information could be used against us in an arbitration case.”

Trivia answer: Calcavecchia in winning the British Open, Mize in winning the Masters and Zoeller in winning the U.S. Open, each beat Greg Norman in a playoff.

Quotebook: TV football analyst Tim Foley, former Miami Dolphin defensive back, asked what memories he cherishes most as a player: “Waking up after each of my operations.”