Two Years Shy of 80th Birthday, Barber Maintains a Steady Hand

On the final day of the Kroger Senior Open last week in Mason, Ohio, 78-year-old Jerry Barber shot a 69, which matched the round of winner Jim Colbert.

Barber said it’s not often he shoots a round in the 60s, but there are exceptions: “Once in a while I go crazy.”

Barber and son Tom, 51, are getting ready to travel to Lytham, England, to play in next week’s British Senior Open at Royal Lytham, where the elder Barber was captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 1961.

Jerry Barber said he expects to play all right, as long as his putting continues to hold up.

“My nerves are pretty good, considering how far down the line I am,” he said.

Trivia time: Who was the only player ever to pinch-hit for Ted Williams?

What do you think?Harmon Killebrew was asked what he thought of the baseball owners’ proposal to the players to share profits 50-50.

“Will they want to share losses, too?” he asked.

Mr. Tune: Del Harris is about to begin his first year as Laker coach, but he is far from a rookie. Harris has coached the Houston Rockets and the Milwaukee Bucks and tells a story about one of his players in Houston, Bill Willoughby.

“Willow was listening to his headphones when one of our reporters, who was new on the beat, walked up beside him and wanted to make conversation,” Harris said. “He said, ‘Willow, what’s that you’re listening to?’

“Willow said ‘Sony, man.’ ”

Crystal ball: Bob Glauber of Newsday, writing in the Sporting News, offered this prediction, which might be of interest to Ram fans: “Los Angeles Rams quarterback Chris Miller will remain injury free . . . oh, for at least a week, anyway.”

Musical chairs: For what it’s worth, 19 of the 28 NFL teams are projected to have different starting quarterbacks this season.

Buddy system: Buddy Ryan is signing autographs for Arizona Cardinal fans until his arm hurts. Here is his standard speech:

“These players are going to win eight games. And I’m going to win three games. And my assistants are going to win two. That means you (fans) have to win three. Make it against the Eagles, Giants and Cowboys.”

Not to mention peanuts: From Simon Barnes of the Times of London: “Sport is a conduit for trivial dislikes, capricious hatreds and the heady pleasures of a not-quite-innocent gloating at another’s misfortune.”

Guess that about sums it up.

Sense of humor: Shortly before Charlie Ward posed for his first official picture as a New York Knick, someone tossed him a football.

Ward caught it, laughed and tucked the ball under his arm, Heisman Trophy-style, while photographers clicked away.

Trivia answer: Carroll Hardy batted for Williams on May 18, 1958, after Williams was injured when he fouled a pitch off his foot.

Quotebook: Del Harris, on when he knew his hair had turned completely white: “When the sportswriters describing it as salt-and-pepper dropped the pepper.”