Only Legendary Hutson Could Rattle ‘Bones’

It was just a line at the end of a Newswire column that Robert “Bones” Hamilton had died in Palm Springs. Hamilton was 83.

But Bones, in his day, was perhaps the finest defensive back in Stanford football history and captain of the legendary Vow Boys, a group of freshmen who vowed in 1932 never to lose to USC. They never did, becoming the first team to play in the Rose Bowl three consecutive years.

Hamilton played against Alabama’s Don Hutson one year in the Rose Bowl, the matchup pitting the nation’s premier defensive back against the end who became the standard for pass receivers. After the game, Hamilton said, “I couldn’t recognize Hutson if I met him face to face because I spent all afternoon chasing him. The rear view, I will never forget.”

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Trivia time: Bob “Horse” Reynolds was a tackle with the Stanford Vow Boys. What record did he set that won’t be equaled?

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Good company: Guard Mitch Richmond of the Sacramento Kings, who’s averaging more than 23 points, is on pace to become the seventh player in NBA-ABA history to average 21 or more points in each of his first eight pro seasons. If he’s successful, he will join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Rick Barry, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson.

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Traffic jam: More than 10,000 competitors from as many as 197 countries are expected for the Olympics this summer at Atlanta. Four years ago, a record 9,300 athletes from 169 countries competed at Barcelona.

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Following orders: During games, Boston Celtic guard Dee Brown has his wedding band attached to the laces of his left sneaker.

“My wife told me to have it on me at all times,” he said. “This is the best I can do when I play.”

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No mustard? Barry Bonds recently said that if you put nine Barry Bondses on the field, you’d win the World Series. But Byron Nepomuceno pointed out in the San Francisco Chronicle that “You’d still be one hot-dog short of an Oscar Mayer package.”

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Add Bonds: The Giant outfielder’s salary of $8,418,667 is second only to that of Detroit Tiger slugger Cecil Fielder among major league players. Fielder checks in at $9,237,500.

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Playing lesson: When New Zealand’s Michael Campbell finished his final round of golf at the Players Championship, he found an envelope taped to his locker. Inside was a letter from defending Masters champion Ben Crenshaw inviting Campbell to join him in a practice round the day before this year’s Masters starts.

“I just think so much of his game,” Crenshaw said. “I really do. Obviously, it is Michael’s first visit and the biggest help I can be to him is to help him try to learn those greens.”

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Close quarters: One of the first things Lindy Infante did after being named coach of the Indianapolis Colts was to buy a house next to quarterback Jim Harbaugh’s.

“Now we can hold our quarterback meetings in the backyard,” Infante said.

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School days: Apparently Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is no fan of Don Fehr, major league baseball’s union chief. Reinsdorf was quoted by the Denver Post’s Jerry Crasnick:

“We have to educate players before Fehr gets to them. We have them in the minor leagues for three, four or five years. We have to do a better job of educating them before Don Fehr gets his hands on them and sours them on life.”

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Trivia answer: Reynolds played 60 minutes in three consecutive Rose Bowl games.

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Quotebook: Cecil Fielder, after stealing the first base of his career, in his 1,097th game: “I told you I’d get it before I retired. I’m through now.”