He Didn’t Think It Was Funny, So He Supplied a Punch Line

Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle recalled one spring at Vero Beach, Fla., where Sandy Koufax and Reggie Smith were playing lob-toss.

“Reggie was coming off shoulder surgery and he could barely get off a 20-foot throw,” Jenkins wrote.

“Nearby, a couple of shirtless men, maybe 20-22 years old, were watching the scene, working on a six-pack of beer. One of the guys got a little belligerent and started riding Smith. ‘You’re throwing like a girl,’ he said.

“After another nasty remark or two, Reggie calmly set down the baseball, walked over to the foul-mouthed one and floored him with one brutal punch. On with the show.”

Trivia time: Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain were the only Lakers to have their numbers retired before Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. What were their numbers?

Golden touch: Announcer Tom Kelly, telling Tom Harmon stories at Riviera Country Club, said that the inebriated fan who tried to tackle Harmon in the 1940 California-Michigan game at Berkeley was saved from the hoosegow when Harmon asked the cops to bring him to the Michigan locker room.

“The guy turned out to be the president of an insurance company,” Kelly said. “Harmon wound up being a spokesperson for the company and made a ton of money.”

Great stuff: Wrote Larry Guest of the Orlando Sentinel when Fred Couples returned to Orlando, Fla., after his victory in the Los Angeles Open: “Freddie was proudly brandishing his most-cherished new possession. The tournament trophy, you say? Nahhh. Freddie seemed proudest of a hockey stick autographed by Wayne Gretzky.

“It seems, several (PGA) Tour pros took in a King game one night while in L.A. and were ushered into the locker room afterward to meet the Great One.”

Look out: From Philadelphia forward Charles Barkley: “New York is my kind of town because I have a gun.”

Trivia answer: Baylor 22, West 44, Chamberlain 13.

Quotebook: Atlanta forward Dominique Wilkins, scoffing at claims that Larry Bird is over the hill: “Bird is still the only one who actually gives me a headache.”