Silky Just Wasn’t This Smooth Back in ’58

In winning Saturday’s Santa Anita Handicap, Southern Image stayed with the lead pack and took the lead going into the second turn.

Silky Sullivan never would have done it that way.

On this date in 1958, in front of a crowd of 61,123, Silky Sullivan, ridden by Bill Shoemaker, won the Santa Anita Derby by 3 1/2 lengths after trailing by 19 after five-eighths of a mile.

But that was nothing. A couple of weeks earlier, in a 6 1/2-furlong allowance race at Santa Anita, Silky Sullivan trailed the eighth horse in the nine-horse field by 40 lengths early. And he won by 1 1/2 lengths.

That’s why, after a big comeback, a coach will sometimes say, “We pulled a Silky Sullivan.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the NBA record for most seasons leading the league in free-throw percentage?

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Soap opera buff: During the Lakers’ victory over New Jersey on Sunday, ABC’s Al Michaels said, “Some people have referred to the Lakers as ‘All My Children.’ Now it’s up to Phil Jackson to be the ‘Guiding Light.’ ”

One thing is certain: This season has been a soap opera for the Lakers.

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Hairy issue: Drew Gooden of the Orlando Magic was scratched from Sunday night’s game against the Sacramento Kings because of a leg injury. But it wasn’t a pulled muscle or anything like that.

Gooden was sidelined because of infected hair follicles on his right leg. The infection, at first believed to be spider bites, required a visit to a hospital emergency room.

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Getting even: Dan Daly of the Washington Times, in an e-mail, provided more background on the near brawl between Gino Marchetti of the Baltimore Colts and Frank Ryan of the Cleveland Browns after the 1964 NFL championship game, which the Browns won, 27-0.

Marchetti and Ryan were in Los Angeles for that season’s Pro Bowl when Marchetti went after Ryan in Ray Ortiz’s Stardust Lounge in Downey. Daly said Marchetti was still fuming because he thought Ryan, who was hoping to get teammate Johnny Brewer a touchdown, was trying to run up the score.

Also, Ryan had said Marchetti “didn’t get within breathing distance of me” in the championship game.

After Marchetti put a hit on Ryan in the Pro Bowl that separated his shoulder, Marchetti said, “Yes, sir, I was in on the tackle. And I’d say it was a pretty good tackle.”

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On the right track: From Channel 9’s Alan Massengale: “Remember when the home run epidemic started and the debates raged over whether or not the baseballs were juiced? Turns out, it was the players.”

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Trivia answer: Bill Sharman, seven seasons.

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And finally: Mike Downey of the Chicago Tribune noticed that Mianne Bagger, the first transsexual to play in a professional golf tournament, shot an 84 in the Women’s Australian Open. “I was never sure of this, but now I know it for a fact: I can play golf every bit as well as the top transsexual professionals do,” Downey wrote.

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