Stanford Going Out on a Limb

Stanford may not be at full strength for Saturday’s game with UCLA at the Rose Bowl, owing to the theft of the school’s Tree mascot. The culprits apparently were five UC Berkeley students, who mailed a photo of the blindfolded shrub to the local media.

Inhabited by a student during games, the 10-foot-tall costume became the on-field symbol several years ago after the school’s Indians nickname was dropped.

Alas, it’s unlikely that the players will issue a “Win One for the Tree” cry.

Two years ago, the mascot--and the student inside--were pummeled by angry Cal fans after Stanford defeated the Bears to qualify for the Sun Bowl. And Stanford defensive end Kailee Wong said at the time: “You can beat up our Tree as much as you want--as long as we win the football game.”

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COMING OUT OF RETIREMENT: If the mascot isn’t recovered, the school will probably dredge up a retired Tree costume. Old growth, I guess you’d call it.

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MORE BAND SUSPENSE: Apart from the search for the Tree, there’s also the usual anticipation about what Stanford’s unpredictable band will do in L.A.--on or off the field.

A previous Stanford road trip coincided with the O.J. Simpson criminal trial. Almost two dozen band members gathered outside the courthouse and played tunes such as “It’s Too Late to Say You’re Sorry,” drowning out defense attorneys Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. and Robert Shapiro, who were trying to talk with the media.

Shapiro accused the musicians of staging a “spectacle.” He said this with a straight face.

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SPEAKING OF SPECTACLES. . . . They’re nothing new in the courtroom, evidently. The Times’ Harry Carr once wrote of the deft choreography of defense attorney Earl Rogers during a murder trial.

Rogers’ client, Carr wrote, “was a low beast with a face that revealed his character [but he possessed] a good voice and a fairly good profile.” He was due to testify in the afternoon.

“During the noon recess,” Carr continued, “Rogers asked me to remain. I sat in the witness chair while he arranged the window curtains of the courtroom with the skill of a movie art director so that the light would bring out the best features of his client.”

The verdict: Not guilty.

The time: Early this century.

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THE CHOICE OF SPEEDERS: Richard Dowdy of Carlsbad came upon an auto insurance agency whose name should appeal to the pedal-to-the-metal crowd (see photo).

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AND IF SOMEONE OBJECTS TO YOUR SPEEDING: Rich Wohlers of Newbury Park saw an ad in a weekly for an old-fashioned projectile that can apparently be attached to an automobile for offensive purposes (see accompanying).

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NO WORD FROM EDDIE HASKELL: In its “Halloween Preview” edition, TV Guide interviewed two alumni of the “Leave It to Beaver” TV show, Jerry Mathers (the Beav) and Frank Bank (Lumpy), each of whom has a new biography.

Bank, who retired from show biz after the series ended, is the co-author of “Call Me Lumpy.” I believe he is the first actor ever to pen reminiscences about a show on which he had sixth billing.

Interviewer Ted Johnson pointed out that while Lumpy’s tome is full of tales of his sexual exploits in the 1960s, Mathers’ bio (“ . . . And Jerry Mathers as the Beaver”) offers stories that “are innocent by comparison.”

Mathers’ explanation: “I lived in the Valley.”

miscelLAny:

You know how long meetings can last. A colleague inadvertently phoned a number she had for Ted Goldstein, a press aide in the L.A. city attorney’s office, forgetting that Goldstein had retired last month. His voice mail is still there, however, informing callers that he is “away at a meeting somewhere in City Hall.”

Steve Harvey can be reached by phone at (213) 237-7083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com and by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, Times Mirror Square, L.A. 90053.