Even ’49 Wimbledon Champion Knows Image Is Everything

Ted Schroeder, who won Wimbledon in his first and only appearance in 1949, believes the stars of the ‘90s are too scruffy.

“Most of today’s men are a bunch of bums,” he said. “Their shirttails hang out, their navels are on show and, of course, they need to shave. And they should get their hair cut. If you are a champion, you should look like a champion.”

Perhaps he was thinking of new champion Andre Agassi, who answers to all of the above; three-time champion Boris Becker, with a ginger beard to match his ginger hair, and former winner Pat Cash, with a sumo-type knot to keep his ponytail in order.

Looking ahead: How seriously does Stanford take its Big Game against California? The phone number for Cardinal season football tickets is 1-800-BEAT CAL.

Trivia time: Who was the first black player signed to an American League contract?

The envelopes, please: Utah Jazz President Frank Layden, recalling his days as the coach at Niagara: “When I took over, my predecessor told me he had left three envelopes in the drawer of the desk and if things got tough I should open them one at a time. The first year we went 2-25, and I opened the first envelope. It said, ‘Blame me.’ So I told everyone it was my predecessor’s fault. The next year we weren’t much better, so I opened the second one and it said, ‘Blame the alumni,’ and I did. The third year things were still going bad, so I opened the third envelope and it said, ‘Prepare three envelopes.’ ”

True put-down: Stock car driver Brett Bodine was all smiles when he noticed a young female fan, hanging on the fence at Sears Point Raceway, shouting at him. When Bodine acknowledged her, she shouted, “Go down and get Richard Petty for me, please.”

Three of a kind: In one round in a recent PGA tournament, Davis Love III, Tommy Armour III and P.H. Horgan III all shot the same score, a--what would you expect?--three-under-par 69.

Tumbling talker: Mary Lou Retton, the former Olympic gold medal gymnast, spends much of her time these days giving motivational speeches. It’s something, she says, that never fails to amuse her.

“It’s funny,” she said. “I go into the meetings of CEOs, middle-aged men, mostly, and they listen to me, this little thing who could be their daughter. But it’s fun. I get a kick out of it.”

How old is old: Before Arnold Palmer approached his 50th birthday, the age limit for senior golf was 55. Eager to capitalize on Palmer’s popularity, the PGA dropped the eligibility age to 50. Now the Senior PGA Tour is permitting 49-year-olds to enter their qualifying tournament--the idea being that if anyone qualifies, he becomes eligible to play on his 50th birthday.

Trivia answer: Larry Doby, by the Cleveland Indians, in 1947.

Add Doby: Now 68, Doby decries the lack of knowledge by many of today’s players of the game’s history. He told Jack De Vries of USA Today Baseball Weekly: “Baseball really became the All-American game when Jackie (Robinson) and I got the opportunity to play. Afro-Americans should know the history of their people who made a contribution to the country. If Jackie and I had failed, it would have been a long time before anyone would have taken a chance on another Afro-American.”

Quotebook: Tom Kite, an old Texas fisherman, on how he felt while tossing and turning the night before the final round of the U.S. Open: “I was flipping like a hot fish on a grill.”