Klein’s First Game Left Him With Scents of Foreboding
In his book, “First Down and a Billion,” the late Gene Klein told of his first game as the new owner of the San Diego Chargers, a 31-21 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in a 1966 exhibition game at Anaheim Stadium.
With the Chargers trailing, 24-21, John Hadl threw a touchdown pass to Jacque MacKinnon, ostensibly putting the Chargers ahead, but the play was called back because of a holding penalty.
Klein: “My coach, Sid Gillman, went crazy, running up and down the sideline, raging at the official. The nicest thing he said to him was, ‘How can you make a call like that? You stink, you know that, you stink!’
“The official said nothing. He just picked up the ball and marched off a 15-yard penalty. But as he put down the ball, he turned and faced Gillman. ‘Hey, Sid,’ he screamed, ‘how do I smell from here?’ ”
Add Klein: Of Gillman, he said, “He was a widely respected football man. In the language of football, as I was to learn, widely respected is a code phrase, meaning he wins, but nobody likes him very much.”
More Klein: Recalling the 1973 season, during which the Charger team psychiatrist was accused of giving the players amphetamines, he said, “Cincinnati’s Paul Brown called the Chargers ‘The sinkhole of the NFL.’ My dear friend in Oakland, Al Davis, said I should be thrown out of football. Under the circumstances, a team with a 2-11 record and a drug scandal, I did the only thing possible--I raised the ticket prices.”
Trivia Time: What five players from USC are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
Would-you-believe-it Dept.: Sullivan Award winner Janet Evans, competing for Stanford on a swimming scholarship, told the New York Times: “My parents said if I didn’t want to swim in college, I didn’t have to. They would pay for my tuition. They never put pressure on me to swim. They said if I ever wanted to quit, then quit.”
Yuk, yuk: Notre Dame basketball Coach Richard Phelps, known as Digger because his father runs a mortuary, told the San Francisco Chronicle, “Morticians are the very last people to let you down.”
Add Digger: “Being the son of an undertaker has its advantages,” he said. “For instance, when I was courting my wife, I gave her flowers every day.”
Ninety-three years ago today: On March 17, 1897, Bob Fitzsimmons knocked out Jim Corbett in the 14th round and won the world heavyweight title at Carson City, Nev. It was the first boxing match to be filmed.
Trivia answer: Morris (Red) Badgro, Frank Gifford, Ron Mix, Willie Wood and O.J. Simpson. Badgro, who played for USC in the ‘20s, was an all-pro end with the New York Giants. He also played outfield for the St. Louis Browns, batting .257 in 1929-30.
Add Mix: Wrote Gene Klein of his first visit to the Charger locker room: “The first player I met was all-pro tackle Ron Mix. ‘Oh,’ Mix said sullenly, ‘you came to see the animals, huh?’ So much for mutual respect.”
Quotebook: Philadelphia forward Charles Barkley, agreeing that Charlotte’s Rex Chapman, who is white, should have been invited to compete in the slam-dunk contest at the All-Star game: “Rex Chapman has got black legs. He jumps like a brother.”