He Would Have Been a Real Veteran at 15

Joe Louis Reliford of Douglas, Ga., is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Never heard of him? Well, his place in history is secure.

As a 12-year-old, 68-pound batboy on July 19, 1952, he pinch-hit for the Class-D Fitzgerald (Ga.) Pioneers to become the youngest person to play in a professional baseball game.

And he almost got a hit, on a sharp line drive. He was barely thrown out at first base.

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Trivia time: What UCLA reserve came off the bench to score 26 points in the Bruins’ 98-83 victory over Duke in the 1964 NCAA championship game?

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Her Airness: Sheryl Swoopes, who led Texas Tech to the NCAA title in women’s college basketball in 1993, will become only the second person to have a Nike shoe named after her when “Air Swoopes” is unveiled in November.

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Familiar ritual: During the John Wooden era, former Pan American and Texas basketball coach Abe Lemons said of yet another UCLA victory in the NCAA championship game:

“Just another UCLA bullfight. In the end, the matador sticks it in you, and the donkeys come out and drag you away.”

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Professional respect: TNT announcer Bob Neal told USA Today what he’ll remember most about Michael Jordan’s 55-point performance against the New York Knicks on Tuesday was when concert violinist Itzhak Perlman leaned over in the third quarter mouthing the words, ‘How many points?’

“When I told him 42 at the time, Perlman said, ‘He’s a true artist.’ ”

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Rare praise: When Red Auerbach was coach and later general manager of the Boston Celtics, he had few kind words for the Lakers. Now, at 77, he must be mellowing.

In an interview with Mike Lupica of Newsday, he praised Jerry West, saying: “A lot of ex-players get into these front-office jobs and and don’t want to work. Jerry West outworks everybody.”

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Clueless: Kevin Wickander, a pitcher in the Detroit Tigers’ minor league system, played in Taiwan last year.

“If we’d lose a few games in a row,” Wickander said, “the fans would hang a string of pineapples from the grandstand near our dugout. I don’t even want to know what that was supposed to mean.”

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Trivia answer: Kenny Washington.

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Quotebook: Arnold Palmer, asked if he had watched much golf on television when he was a child: “When I was growing up, they had just found radio.”