If Rush Limbaugh Can’t Make It ...

Larry King was the featured speaker at the Pasadena Quarterbacks Club luncheon Friday.

Larry King?

Even King had trouble figuring out why he was invited.

“I was thinking, ‘I work for CNN, an advocate of free speech,’ when it hit me,” King said. “This is a free speech.”

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Payback: King says he has been invited to speak at all kinds of functions, but maybe the most interesting invitation came from the Mafia when he was working for Channel 4 in Miami early in his career. He said the offer came from a character named Boom Boom, and it was one he couldn’t refuse.

Afterward, Boom Boom told King he was owed a favor and said five words King will always remember: “Got anybody you don’t like?”

Said King, “I don’t think the general manager at Channel 4 ever knew I saved his life.”

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The real payback: King said he got a call a few weeks later, with a strange voice telling him Apple Tree was going to win the third race at Hialeah. He said he scraped together $1,300 to bet on Apple Tree.

“There were three things I was sure of that day,” King said. “Death, taxes and Apple Tree winning the third at Hialeah.”

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Trivia time: What was significant about the 1970 game between UCLA and Oregon at the Coliseum? (Hint: UCLA led, 40-21, with less than five minutes to play.)

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Tough times: Also speaking at Friday’s luncheon, as he always does, was Pasadena City College Coach Tom Maher, who maintains a sense of humor despite his team’s 0-9 record.

“Who put this book down in front of me?” Maher asked, holding up a copy of “Football for Dummies.”

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Game plan: PCC plays host to Saddleback tonight, and Maher said the Saddleback defense has been giving up only about one yard per rush.

“As an 0-9 coach, my plan is to run the ball a lot,” Maher said.

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Parting shot: King said he’d like to come back.

“And when I come back, PCC will be 9-0,” he said. “So I’ll see you in 11 or 12 years.”

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The real answer: King is an avid sports fan and said his book, “Why I Love Baseball,” would be coming out next spring. But the real reason he spoke was because the club’s speaker coordinator, Chuck Hayes, invited him.

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CART reeling: Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times, on CART’s financial difficulties: “It might be time to put CART before the hearse.”

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Trivia answer: Oregon scored 20 points in a four-minute span and won, 41-40. Tailback Bobby Moore, who later became Ahmad Rashad, caught two touchdown passes from Tom Blanchard during the rally, and sophomore Dan Fouts threw the winning touchdown pass to tight end Greg Specht with 30 seconds left.

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And finally: David Letterman, on the joys of fatherhood: “I can hardly wait until I beat up my first hockey coach.”

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Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.