14 Years Later, Fisk’s Waiter Picks Up Tab

At lunch recently in Boston, Chicago White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk, Jack Sands, Fisk’s agent; two of Sands’ employees and a sportswriter were treated to an unusual display of loyalty.

According to Dave Nightingale of the Sporting News, Sands reached for the $70 tab, only to find that waiter J.T. Thorne had beaten him to the bill.

“This one’s on me,” Thorne said.

Sands asked if the manager of the restaurant was taking care of the check.

“No sir,” Thorne said. “I am. This one’s on me.”

Asked why, Thorne said: “Well, I’m from New Hampshire, too, like Carlton. And 14 years ago, I brought my girlfriend down to Fenway Park for a Red Sox game. This man (Fisk) gave us autographs and a baseball, and he was especially charming to my girlfriend.

“We had a great time, and I remember that day like it was yesterday. I said to myself that if I ever got a chance to pay back Carlton for his kindness of 14 years ago, then I’d do it.

“And today’s the day.”

Wonder if the Fisk party left a tip?

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Trivia time: Jim Thorpe won Olympic gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon. He was a collegiate and professional football star. He played briefly in the major leagues. But in 1912, Thorpe also won another athletic championship. What was it?

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Hold the anchovies: With a starting job now available, Eddie (Earthquake) Blake of the Miami Dolphins has decided to get serious.

The second-year offensive guard, who weighed as much as 345 last season, has lost 33 pounds and is considered the favorite to win the starting position.

“I got a call from a guy at Pizza Hut a few days ago,” Blake told Scott Fowler of the Miami Herald. “He asked me, ‘Eddie, why don’t you order anything anymore?’ I said, ‘Look, man, I’d like to help you out, but I’ve got to keep the weight down.’ ”

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No cha-ching: Those poor Pittsburgh Penguins. And we mean it literally.

According to an Associated Press story, the Penguins’ failure to make another Stanley Cup run is costing the team big money.

Read the story: “(The Penguins’) 4-3 overtime loss to the Islanders in Game 7 of the division finals cost (owner Howard) Baldwin millions of dollars in ticket revenue--the Penguins would have played at least two more home games and as many as eight more--and ancillary income.

“The Penguins’ clever marketing department also figured to clean up on a third Stanley Cup; sales of T-shirts, pennants, license plates and almost every other product that could be stamped with the Penguins’ new logo earned millions more this season. Two years ago, a marketing company estimated that sales of Penguins-related souvenirs following the first Stanley Cup rivaled and, in some cases, surpassed that of the then-Super Bowl champion 49ers.”

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Trivia answer: The intercollegiate ballroom dancing title.

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Quotebook: Texas Ranger Jose Canseco on whether his former team, the Oakland Athletics, was still an intimidating force: “Maybe to a high school team.”