He Was Really Just Horsing Around

Jesse Owens, like all black athletes of his era, was born too early to cash in on the millions, even the thousands, that runners such as Carl Lewis, Edwin Moses and Michael Johnson can make today.

After Owens won his four gold medals in Berlin in 1936, the best he could do when he returned home was to race for a few bucks against horses in 100-yard sprints as a sideshow at carnivals.

Even that was a sham, Owens revealed later. The races were rigged. The starter would hold his pistol near the horse’s head, so when the gun went off the horse would rear at the sudden sound.

“By the time he came down, I was 50 yards down the track,” Owens said. “At that point, even though he was obviously faster, it was too late to catch up and I would win.”

Trivia time: What was Owens real name?

Problems, problems: Sue Olsen once ran 24 consecutive hours with no stops. Last year, she ran 62 miles of a 100-mile race before dropping out. She went home, went into labor, and gave birth to a daughter the next day.

Her worst worry about long distance running? Toenails.

“I wish they wouldn’t grow back,” she told Nolan Zavoral of the Twin Cities Star-Tribune. “It’d be easier that way. Evolution hasn’t caught up with us. We don’t need toenails. We aren’t digging anymore.”

Looking back: On this day in 1858, fans were charged for the first time to see a baseball game. About 1,500 paid 50 cents each to see the New York All-Stars beat Brooklyn, 22-18, at Fashion Race Course on Long Island.

Different strokes: If U.S. swimmer Tom Dolan, who suffers from asthma, wins gold at Atlanta, the big payoff could be a rumored deal with a pharmaceutical firm.

A gold medal could land him a $250,000 endorsement deal for an asthma medication.

Good guy: After Rene Lachemann was fired as manager of the Florida Marlins, he gave a long-stemmed rose to each of the team’s female office workers. As Lachemann left, Marlin employees gave him a standing ovation.

He’ll soon know: Forward Larry Johnson, recently traded from the Charlotte Hornets to the New York Knicks, on his prospects in the Big Apple: “You’re either good or you’re not. And New York will tell you.”

So long, Chief: Chief Moccanooga has been relieved of duties as the mascot for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Moccasins. Chancellor Frederick Obear said some local Native American residents felt it was offensive and should be changed.

Easy pickings: After the Colorado Rockies stole nine bases against the Dodgers’ Hideo Nomo, Denver sportswriter Jerry Crasnick asked Rocky Manager Don Baylor if Nomo’s unusual delivery made him more vulnerable to steals.

“If you had some cleats on, I’d probably have sent you down to steal a couple too,” Baylor replied.

Trivia answer: James Cleveland Owens.

And finally: Veteran NASCAR driver Jimmy Spencer, talking to his 8-year-old son after having won his first Winston Cup race: “I told him we were going to the press box to do the winner’s interview. I told him he’d never been there before. He looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘Dad, neither have you.’ ”