Coach Spoke of Winning, With a Twist

Former Florida State football coach Bill Peterson is a legend at the school for leading the Seminoles to their first victory over rival Florida in 1964.

But in his 11 years as coach, 1960-70, Peterson was perhaps best known for his malapropisms. When he died Thursday at 73, fans recalled some of his famous lines:

--”You guys pair off in groups of threes, then line up in a circle.”

--”The greatest thing just happened. I got indicted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame. They gave me a standing observation.”

--”I’m the football coach around here and don’t you remember it.”

--”You guys line up alphabetically by height.”

--”We can beat this team. All we have to do is capitalize on our mistakes.”

--”You guys have to run a little more than full-speed out there.”

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Trivia time: The San Francisco Giants have the best record in the major leagues this season and are on a pace to win at least 100 games. When was the last time they won 100?

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A loud swing: Eddie Feigner, one of the most popular softball players of all time, is considering retiring sometime in the next year or two.

“Sure, I get tired,” said Feigner, 68. “I don’t get a major league sore arm. I get an economic sore arm. If you pitch hard and your livelihood depends on it, you do things.”

Feigner says he has won 8,000 games and thrown 930 no-hitters in 98 countries and more than 4,000 cities.

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An honored man: Dan McGrath of the Sacramento Bee said Bill Walsh’s selection to the NFL Hall of Fame was deserved because the former San Francisco 49er coach turned a loser into a winner with his unique style.

“He was, if not a Communist, a California weirdo who had to wait until he was 47 to land a head-coaching job,” McGrath wrote.

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An early call: Lou Piniella managed the New York Yankees when Don Mattingly hit home runs in eight consecutive games in 1987. Piniella is now the manager of the Seattle Mariners, whose Ken Griffey Jr. recently matched that streak.

“The only credit I can take for any of this is that I was smart enough both times to keep putting their names in the damn lineup,” Piniella said.

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A shot in the arm: When the triple-A Iowa Cubs returned recently from a lengthy trip, all of the players had to receive tetanus shots as a precaution against disease from the flooding that occurred at Des Moines’ Sec Taylor Stadium.

“The outfield looks pretty good from a distance, but it still may be a little yucky with whatever flowed there from the river,” team physician Richard Evans said.

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For the record: Friday’s trivia question referred to six former No. 1 draft picks on the Miami Dolphins’ offense. Not counting this year’s pick, there are actually seven. Left off was running back Keith Byars.

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No more A’s: Monte Poole of the Oakland Tribune said the recent trade of Rickey Henderson by the Athletics to the Toronto Blue Jays was merely the latest blow for a baseball team whose management is more concerned with saving money than winning games.

“But the 1993 A’s are not simply a case of cheap shoes coming apart,” he wrote. “It is more a case of cautious shoppers getting ripped off. Expect even more caution.”

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Trivia answer: In 1962, when they were 103-62, beating the Dodgers in a playoff series, then losing to the New York Yankees in the World Series.

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Quotebook: Benito Santiago of the Florida Marlins, after throwing out New York’s 40-year-old Frank Tanana on the Met pitcher’s first stolen-base attempt of a 21-year career: “If he’s safe at second base, I have to get up and work out at 5:30 tomorrow morning.”