Ali Remembers the Colors, but Not 10-Year-Old Tyson

When Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali appeared on Arsenio Hall’s show last week, the New York Times said Tyson revealed that when he was 10 years old and doing time in a Bronx detention center, Ali visited the facility.

Tyson said he didn’t get to meet Ali.

“I couldn’t get close to him,” Tyson said. “I was one of the troublemakers in the back.”

“I remember you,” Ali said. “You were the one in the brown pants and the yellow shirt.”

“Oh, wow.” Hall said, marveling at Ali’s memory.

“Everybody had brown pants and yellow shirts,” Tyson said. “It was the uniform.”

Out of the dark: Tackle Harris Barton of the San Francisco 49ers, asked to compare new Coach George Seifert to Bill Walsh, told the Oakland Tribune: “George is a players’ coach. Bill was like Darth Vader. You never knew what he was thinking. He was always watching you. There were so many things he was particular about, like keeping your shirt tucked in, not cussing. There was a definite dark side there.

“George, though, is really pleasant. We don’t have to be scared walking through the hallways limping. This is definitely a different feeling.”

Trivia time: In what ballpark did the Los Angeles Dodgers open the 1958 season after moving west from Brooklyn?

Flip side: William Drozdiak of the Washington Post said that Danny Ferry will enjoy a lot of advantages playing in Italy, but warned: “When you play away games against gritty little teams in Sardinia, where the entire village is poised to celebrate for a week if the local team can beat Rome and its million-dollar American, be prepared for nothing short of guerrilla warfare.

“Referees will be cowed into whistling you for fouls if you come close to breathing on an opponent. Maniacal fans have been known to heat up 100-lira coins with their cigarette lighters and toss them at the American star. When the crowd runs out of change, burning cigars and cigarettes may rain down on you--especially if you are causing their team to lose.”

Would-you-believe-it Dept.: Quick now, who holds the New York Yankee record for most steals of home in a career? Would you believe the Iron Horse? Yes, it’s Lou Gehrig, with 15. Maybe even more surprising, Babe Ruth had 10.

Ho-hum: From Tom Friend of the Washington Post, trying to explain the infrequent appearances of Redskin owner Jack Kent Cooke at league meetings: “Apparently they bore him. League officials remember the year he attended one morning session in New York and owners haggled over whether to fine teams if their players didn’t pull up their socks--then left in a huff. As it turned out, he bought the Chrysler Building that afternoon.”

Need a license?: Ellis Clary, Toronto Blue Jays’ scout, on the size of the new SkyDome: “It’s big enough for deer hunting.”

Add Clary: According to the Chicago Sun-Times, he once gave this scouting report on Ryne Sandberg: “I found his weakness. He can’t slide into the wind.”

Trivia answer: Seals Stadium in San Francisco.

Quotebook: Longtime minor league manager Rocky Bridges, asked if he had reached his potential: “I may have gone beyond it.”