Former Laker Owner Cooke Had an Ear for Expertise

Former Laker owner Jack Kent Cooke, a transplanted Canadian who had never seen a professional basketball game before he bought the team in 1965, reportedly learned the game by listening to Laker announcer Chick Hearn.

So impressed was Cooke by Hearn’s knowledge of basketball that in 1972 he made him an assistant general manager.

“I know Cooke, and elevating Hearn to assistant general manager was no token gesture on Jack’s part,” former Laker Tommy Hawkins, an executive vice president with the Dodgers, told Southern California magazine. “Hearn’s NBA knowledge is almost like that of a scout. I think Cooke recognized this and decided to take advantage of it. Personally, I never thought Chick got enough credit outside the business for his inside knowledge of the game and its players.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the NBA record for most field goals in a game without a miss?

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Hint, hint: From Phil Jackman of the Baltimore Sun: “I like Reggie Jackson, but one shudders to think what kind of a show he’ll put on for the television cameras in Cooperstown come August when he’s the only one being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Remember, Mr. October, the Gettysburg Address ran about 200 words.”

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Need a mean streak: Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post, on the Cleveland Cavaliers: “Great talent, too nice. Team mascot should be Ernie Banks.”

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Hockey glossary: For those Texans with only a limited knowledge of the NHL, Frank Luksa of the Dallas Morning News supplied definitions for several hockey terms, a few of which are included here:

“--Red light: . . . appears when a goal is scored or the building catches fire.

“--Penalty box: Where players go to fight fans.

“--Enforcer: Player with the IQ equivalent to temperature of ice. His only forte is fouling to intimidate. He plays 80 games, scores two goals, spends 2,500 minutes in the penalty box. Don’t invite him home. He will spear your house pet.

“--Slashing: Not to be confused with tripping, hooking, holding or cross-checking. Slashing employs the stick as a scythe in a hacking motion to cause a rival to fall down. When prone, he is easier to skate over and leave blade tracks across the chest.”

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Doesn’t ring a bell: Bernie Lincicome of the Chicago Tribune, on a proposal to add another round of playoffs to baseball’s postseason: “Baseball is doing this because it pays Omar Vizquel $1.125 million. Who is Omar Vizquel? Exactly.”

Vizquel is a shortstop for the Seattle Mariners.

Spin doctors: Said author-broadcaster John Feinstein, accusing Cal of revisionism in its campaign to discredit ousted basketball coach Lou Campanelli: “If this goes on another week or two, we’re going to find that Campanelli was the brains behind the Lindbergh kidnaping.”

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Trivia answer: Wilt Chamberlain, who made all 18 of his shots for the Philadelphia 76ers against the Baltimore Bullets on Feb. 24, 1967.

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Quotebook: Former NFL coach Bum Phillips, asked if he expected some financial reward for the tutelage he gave his son, Coach Wade Phillips of the Denver Broncos: “Really, I never tuteled that boy.”