UCLA Had Big Appeal for Garrett at One Time

It may not be that well known, but USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett, the 1965 Heisman Trophy winner as a Trojan, grew up a UCLA fan.

“When I was growing up in East Los Angeles, everyone in my neighborhood was a UCLA fan because of Jackie Robinson and Kenny Washington,” Garrett is quoted as saying in “UCLA vs. USC: 75 Years of the Greatest Rivalry in Sports,” a Times publication written by Lonnie White. “Then in the 1950s, when the Bruins had Sam ‘Touchdown’ Brown and Ronnie Knox, I knew all of their players and was a big fan.”

Add Garrett: So how did he end up at USC?

“Because I was getting recruited by both schools, I was pretty ambivalent. Then, almost at the 12th hour, USC came in and told me Coach [John] McKay wanted me. That’s all it took.”

Trivia time: What was former UCLA coach Terry Donahue’s record against USC?

Color commentary: White said that when he was working on his book, former USC coach John Robinson told him, “I just wish they went back to both teams wearing home jerseys. That’s what really set the rivalry apart -- to see the powder blue on one side and cardinal and gold on the other.”

There’s hope: Bill Lankhof of the Toronto Sun, on the Indiana Pacers being devastated by player suspensions: “The Raptors are just a couple of more brawls like the one in Auburn Hills from becoming playoff contenders.”

A bad call: A 30-year-old man holding the down marker at a youth football game in Cranston, R.I., was arrested recently on suspicion of assault, according to WJAR-TV of Providence.

The arrest was the result of a fight the man got into with game officials after they told him he couldn’t use his cellphone during the game.

“Mr. Down Marker faces simple assault among his five charges,” wrote Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times. “Or, as his lawyers explained it to him, a fourth and one.”

They never forget: Reader Paul Jackson of Chatsworth sent an ad from a sports memorabilia newspaper about an autograph show in Fairfield, N.J., featuring legendary sports celebrities.

A caption above a mug shot of Mookie Wilson reads: “ ’86 Met World Series hero.” Above an adjacent mug of Bill Buckner, the caption reads: “ ’86 Red Sox World Series goat.”

Wonder if Buckner might reconsider attending this event?

Trivia answer: 10-9-1.

And finally: King announcer Bob Miller, speaking at a Southern California Sports Broadcasters luncheon, said a fan in Toronto threw a balloon filled with blue paint at the team bus after the Kings’ victory over the Maple Leafs in Game 7 of the 1993 Western Conference finals.

Miller said the balloon struck the window where broadcaster Stu Nahan, then with Channel 5, was sitting. According to Miller, radio commentator Brian Engblom said, “And they don’t even get Channel 5 here.”

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