After BYU, He Had Seen Enough

When Ty Detmer, a 6-2, 175-pound quarterback at Southwest High School in San Antonio, threw for 36 touchdowns last year as a junior, the college scouts already were making life miserable for the family.

So, the family came up with a plan. According to the New York Times, they scheduled a summer trip to the campuses of BYU, UCLA, Stanford, California, Illinois, Alabama and LSU. The idea was to let Ty check out the schools and coaches and see if he could make a decision before his senior year.

It didn’t take long. At Provo, Utah, Ty decided that if BYU was good enough for Gifford Nielsen, Marc Wilson, Jim McMahon, Steve Young and Robbie Bosco, it was good enough for him.

So, it was back to San Antonio, and everybody was happy. Well, almost everybody. At UCLA, the next scheduled stop, they weren’t thrilled. Nor was Ty’s mother.

“I wish we had gone on with our trip,” said Mrs. Detmer. “I love to travel.”

Trivia Time: Whose record did Nolan Ryan break to become the all-time strikeout leader? (Answer below.)

Add Forgettable Quotes: Said former USFL coach George Allen after the court decision that may have pulled the plug on the league: “I am sure this will be the last time you’ll ever see anyone attempt to start a professional league.”

Two weeks later, David F. Dixon of New Orleans announced plans for an eight-team league starting next spring.

For the Record: Angel announcers Ron Fairly and Al Conin, discussing retired numbers, said that Frank Robinson was one of the few to have his number retired in both leagues. Not so. His No. 20 has been retired by Baltimore but not Cincinnati. The only Reds who have had their numbers retired are Fred Hutchinson (1) and Johnny Bench (5).

The only men who have had their numbers retired in both leagues are Casey Stengel (37), New York Yankees and New York Mets, and Henry Aaron (44), Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers.

Baseball’s best left-handed pitcher out of Mexico? In Milwaukee, they’ll tell you it’s Ted Higuera. He has the same record as Fernando Valenzuela at 15-7 and a better earned-run average, 2.54 to 2.98.

Says Manager George Bamberger: “This guy is not a good competitor, he’s a great competitor. He’s strong enough to throw 160, 170 pitches. That’s what you call a battler.”

Orlando Twins Manager George Mitterwald, a former Minnesota Twins catcher, said after a series against the Memphis Chicks that he thinks Bo Jackson is two or three years away from the major leagues, but no more than three.

“He’s got tremendous speed, runs from home to first base in 3.8 seconds,” Mitterwald told Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “He made a couple of running catches in right field on balls that most people couldn’t even get to. He’s a little stiff with his throwing but has a good arm. And he has tremendous power at bat. In one game, he was 3 for 4 and everything he hit was a rocket.”

Trivia Answer: Steve Carlton. Ryan originally broke Walter Johnson’s record of 3,508 on April 27, 1983. Carlton passed Ryan on June 7, 1983 with his 3,526th strikeout.

Quotebook

Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post, on Greg Norman’s loss in the PGA Championship at Inverness: “Whatever you do, please don’t ever say ‘Holy Toledo’ to Norman.”