They Have Right Game, Wrong Call

With apologies to Kirk Gibson and Vin Scully, the most dramatic single swing in baseball history took place at the Polo Grounds in New York on Oct. 3, 1951, when announcer Russ Hodges came up with his classic call:

“Bobby Thomson, up there swingin’. . . .

“Branca throws.

“There’s a long drive. . . It’s gonna be, I believe. . . .

“ THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!

“ THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!

“ THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!

“ THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!”

So you’d figure a full-page advertisement from Sports Direct, Inc., for “Historic World Series Broadcasts,” as well as selected playoff games, would offer Hodges’ historic call. But the ad in the National last week gives us this:

“1951 GIANTS WIN PENNANT ON THOMSON’S DRAMATIC HR. (Rare broadcast by Gorden McClendon on Liberty Network)”

Trivia time: Which two NBA teams hold the record for combined points in an overtime period?

Couldn’t happen again: On this day in 1950, at the Coliseum, Detroit’s Wally Triplett gained 294 yards in kickoff returns, still an NFL record, as the Lions beat the Los Angeles Rams, 65-24.

Other NFL records set that day: Triplett’s average yardage per return, 73.5, and the Lions’ 41 points in the third quarter.

Swing and a Ms.: In a recent column, Marty Noble of Newsday chronicled New York Met outfielder Darryl Strawberry’s pendulum-like swings between saying he’d leave the team and saying he’d stay.

Last week, in a Los Angeles television interview, Strawberry said: “If the Dodgers are really, really, really interested in me, I’ll be here. That would be my No. 1 choice. I’m very determined to play here at home and if things can work out between myself and my agent and the Los Angeles Dodgers, I would love to be here at home and play. I mean, that’s a dream that you always think about.”

But hold it, Noble wrote. On Oct. 2, Strawberry said: “Lisa (his wife) doesn’t want me to play in L.A. She thinks I’ll be better off if I don’t play at home. Got to keep my lady happy.”

A role model?NBC-TV announcer Marv Albert will appear on an upcoming “Sesame Street” segment.

Gordon, the show’s host, misses his bus to a New York Knick game and accepts a ride in Oscar the Grouch’s “Sloppy Jalopy,” which Oscar purposely drives in the wrong direction.

Worse, Oscar’s radio plays nothing but static. Gordon misses the game altogether when the jalopy breaks down.

Albert, on his way home, happens by and saves Gordon’s day with a dramatic recap of the game.

Add Albert: This will be his second appearance on the show. Of his first appearance, he said: “I did an episode five years ago with Gladys the Cow, and it was my best work to date.”

Trivia answer: The Lakers outscored the Baltimore Bullets, 21-16, in overtime on Oct. 21, 1969.

Quotebook: Injured UCLA freshman forward Ed O’Bannon, when asked whether his classmates recognize him as a star recruit: “Some do recognize me. I recognize some of them, too.”