Numbers Game Didn’t Add Up

It used to be standard operating procedure during a prized recruit’s on-campus trip. College coaches would show him a crisp, new uniform -- emblazoned with his favorite number -- in the school colors.

That’s what UCLA did last summer for Brigham Harwell, a football star who wore No. 84 for Hacienda Heights Los Altos High.

And that’s where a rumor started, one that fueled a controversy that nearly turned a former Bruin All-American against UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell.

The rumor, which burned up Internet message boards, was this: To sign Harwell, Dorrell had promised that he could wear No. 84, the retired number of Bruin Hall of Fame linebacker Jerry Robinson. Given that commitment, Dorrell then offered Robinson cash to allow his number to be used again.

It wasn’t true, but by the time Robinson heard about it last month, the story had grown to portray him as a greedy alum who was trying to extort the Bruin athletic program for money.

“It was an ‘SC alumnus, who has UCLA season tickets ... who was the first to tell me,” said Robinson, UCLA’s first three-time consensus All-American, in 1976-78. “The guy told me that he ‘heard that they were going to take your jersey out of retirement.’ Then he said, ‘I also heard that you said that the only way you would allow your jersey to be taken out of retirement would be if UCLA gives you $10,000.’

“I said. ‘What?’ I was baffled. I was stunned, speechless.”

Robinson called the school and asked Marc Dellins, UCLA’s sports information director, what he knew about the rumor.

Dellins tried to arrange a telephone conversation involving Robinson and Dorrell, but they weren’t able to hook up for several days. By then, Robinson was livid.

“It was one of the most emotional moments I ever experienced because what bothered me is that no one talked to me, even if the rumor was false,” Robinson said. “As soon as [UCLA] heard about it, I should have been contacted.”

Dorrell apparently planned on doing just that, crafting a letter to Robinson in which he explained what had happened. But before Dorrell was able to send it, Robinson became aware of the rumor.

Robinson became convinced that his jersey was offered without his permission and the Bruins were planning on paying him to have it “un-retired.” “It really hurt me ... this is a priceless treasure to not just me but to my family,” said Robinson, who played 13 seasons in the NFL with the Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles.

“This has always been a great honor to me. If my daughters, who are both volleyball players, have sons and they want to play football at UCLA, I would bring the jersey out for them. But that would be the only reason, there is no price.”

Robinson finally spoke with Dorrell nearly a week after he first heard the rumor. The conversation took place just before he conducted a telephone interview on a local sports radio program with Steve Hartman, a Bruin supporter but an outspoken critic of UCLA’s coach.

Although Dorrell had apologized and explained that there was no truth to the rumor, Robinson was still upset and expressed his displeasure on the radio, prompting more Internet conjecture. Dorrell said he understands why Robinson was upset, but that giving Harwell the retired number was never planned.

“It was all rumorville,” he said. “Brigham Harwell wore the number in high school and I think it started because he had an automatic assumption that he was going to wear the same number here.”

Harwell, who will wear No. 99 in the fall, said he feels bad that the number became an issue.

“They told me that the number was retired and it was never promised to me,” said the defensive lineman who won The Times’ Glenn Davis Award winner as the top high school player in Southern California. “I just thought that I would have a chance to talk to [Robinson] and ask him if I could wear it.

“But once I heard that he didn’t want to do it, that was fine with me. I understand that his number is retired for a reason and I don’t mind making a name for myself with a different number.”

New NCAA rules prohibit schools from personalizing jerseys for recruits, so Dorrell and UCLA shouldn’t have this problem again.

And despite the controversy, Robinson said he is closer to the UCLA football program than he has been in years.

“I’ve always felt that if you want to have one of the top recruiting teams in the country, you have to have the people who’ve been there,” Robinson said.

“The best recruiters are those who are in your Hall of Fame and you want to feel like you’re welcomed.”

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For the first time in three years, UCLA will conduct its football training camp on campus. The Bruins, 6-7 last season in Dorrell’s first season, will open camp Aug. 10. They were at Cal State Fullerton last year and Cal Lutheran in 2002. The Bruins will open the season against Oklahoma State on Sept. 4 at the Rose Bowl.