This Ram Grabbed His Art by the Horns

Fred Gehrke, an L.A. Ram halfback of the late 1940s who died Saturday at 83, made a major and distinctive contribution to the franchise. An art major at the University of Utah, he hand-painted horns on the Rams’ leather helmets in 1948, the first modern helmet emblems in pro football.

The next year, the team switched to plastic helmets featuring a baked-on version of Gehrke’s design, which has been used ever since.

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Dangerous: Tom FitzGerald in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Chicago Cub prospect Ben Christiansen settled a lawsuit filed by Anthony Molina, the batter he beaned with a warm-up pitch during a college game even though Molina was standing 24 feet from home plate.

Christiansen’s agent said, “The whole thing was an accident.”

Said Chronicle reader Charles Roche, “If that was an accident, let’s hope Christiansen never takes up bowling.”

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“You’re full of ... “: San Jose State has recruited a defensive back named Chris Baloney. It doesn’t take much imagination to predict the taunts he’ll get from rival teams.

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Trivia time: Who holds the Laker record for assists in a game?

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On the trail: Tiger Woods has made the cut in 81 consecutive PGA Tour events since he withdrew from the rain-delayed tournament at Pebble Beach in 1998. The streak is the fourth longest in tour history, behind Hale Irwin (86), Jack Nicklaus (105) and Byron Nelson (113).

“I’ve watched him play since he was 14,” Nelson said. “He has the ability to make a shot or putt, when he needs it real bad, better than anyone I know.”

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Hardly sympathetic: The Denver Post’s Terry Frei, commenting on the coaching carousel in the NHL, has trouble feeling too sorry for these new members of the ranks of the unemployed: “When the Stars fired Coach Ken Hitchcock last week, ‘Hitch’ had two years remaining at $1.1 million a season on his deal. He isn’t going to have to go back to selling equipment in Edmonton and coaching youth hockey to make a living.”

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Remember? Dick “Night Train” Lane, the Hall of Fame NFL cornerback who died recently, had a memorable nickname. Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune recalled some other distinctive nicknames. A sampling: Running backs L.G. “Long Gone” Dupree, Howard “Hopalong” Cassady, Alan “the Horse” Ameche, linemen Johnny “Blood” McNally, Eugene “Big Daddy” Lipscomb and William “Refrigerator” Perry, and receiver Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch.

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Looking back: On this day in 1975, Julius Erving of the New York Nets scored 63 points in a 176-166 four-overtime loss to the San Diego Conquistadors.

It’s not surprising that the 342 points set an American Basketball Assn. record.

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Trivia answer: Magic Johnson, 24, against Denver in 1989 and Phoenix in 1990.

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And finally: George Andrews, a longtime NBA player agent, switched sides several years ago and became assistant general manager of the Grizzlies in Vancouver and Memphis.

Andrews, who recently left the organization and is thinking of writing his memoirs, said: “I went from representing poor downtrodden millionaires to poor downtrodden billionaires.”

Mal Florence