His Career Didn’t Get Off to a Flying Start

Iowa’s football game against Ohio State on Saturday was the 100th game for the Hawkeyes’ Kirk Ferentz as a head coach. His first was in 1990 for NCAA Division I-AA Maine, against Villanova at Philadelphia.

Maine lost by 24 points, and then lost the pilot of the chartered airplane that was to take the team home.

“I looked in the cockpit, and there were stuffed dice hanging down,” Ferentz told the Des Moines Register. “Right then, I figured this wasn’t a good deal.”

The pilot had decided to take a side trip to Atlantic City, N.J. Another pilot had to be flown up from Florida, and the team didn’t get back to Maine until 7 a.m. the next day.

“It was a total disaster,” Ferentz said of the trip.

Things went a bit better for Ferentz’s team Saturday -- Iowa beat the Buckeyes, 33-7.

Trivia time: Which Cal quarterback was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1975 NFL draft?

Not a good idea: The 1939 USC football team that finished 8-0-2 and won a share of the national championship was honored at halftime of the Trojans’ game against Arizona State.

Bob Voigt of Palm Springs, a reserve on the 1939 UCLA team that tied USC, 0-0, recalls how the Bruins almost won.

“In the fourth quarter, UCLA had a first-and-goal at the two, and not once did the ball go to halfback Jackie Robinson,” he said. “Quarterback Ned Matthews, calling the plays, decided to use Robinson as a decoy.”

More 1939: Former UCLA coach Bill Barnes, who turns 87 Wednesday, was a 175-pound tight end on the Tennessee team that was unbeaten and unscored-upon before losing to the ’39 Trojans, 14-0, in the Rose Bowl. However, a pulled hamstring kept Barnes out of that game.

Texas A&M;, Cornell and USC ended up being voted No. 1 in the various polls that year.

“To be honest, back then we didn’t even know they kept track of such things,” Barnes said.

Incidental information: The area code for Knoxville, Tenn., is 865, which spells out VOL.

Mystery solved: Regarding a Morning Briefing item about Bill Russell being No. 2 on a list of people Wilt Chamberlain was to call the day he died in 1999, several readers wondered who was No. 1 on the list.

Ian Ng Chen Hin, a film producer involved in a number of projects with Chamberlain, says it was him.

“It was a reminder for Wilt to call me so he could wish my mother a happy birthday,” he said.

Looking back: On this day in 1992, Jari Kurri of the Kings scored his 500th goal in an 8-6 victory over the Boston Bruins. Kurri became the 18th player to reach the mark.

Trivia answer: Steve Bartkowski, who was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons.

And finally: Michelle Wie turned 15 on Monday. So what gift do you give a teenager who seems to have everything? “My cousins got me a Game Boy,” she told reporters at the Samsung World Championship. “I’m pretty addicted to that stuff.”

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