Maybe He Thought Her Name Was Carrie

Grace Needleman, a high school senior from Cape Elizabeth, Maine, came up with a different way to find a prom date. And it almost worked.

On vacation in Florida with her parents last weekend, she and a friend, Alice Evans, went to the Boston Red Sox spring training camp in Fort Myers, taking along signs they hoped would get the attention of 32-year-old General Manager Theo Epstein.

One read: “Theo, we’re excited you didn’t go,” a reference to Epstein’s off-season resignation and return. The one held by Needleman read: “Will you go to the prom with me?”

Epstein walked over, signed autographs and, after checking to see that the Red Sox were home on May 6, the date of the prom, agreed to accompany Needleman.

But Glenn Geffner, Red Sox publicity man, later told the Portland (Maine) Press Herald that Epstein’s reply had been in jest.

“Theo appreciates the support, but of course he will not be attending. We were all surprised to see the media coverage this good-natured exchange generated,” Geffner wrote in an e-mail.

“This all was taken in fun,” said Grace’s father, Richard Needleman. “These kids know he is not coming up here.”

Trivia time: Jim Brown, as a Syracuse senior, lost out to what player from a 2-8 team in the 1956 Heisman Trophy voting?

The secret to golf: Jake Paine, who at age 3 got a hole in one at a nine-hole golf course in Orange County in 2001, was featured in this space last week.

Coincidentally, a British schoolgirl, Kate Langley, 9, recently got a hole in one and claims to be the youngest female golfer -- by 109 days -- to do so.

She told the Sun of London: “My coach told me to hit the ball harder, so I did.”

Golfing buddies: The Times’ recently retired Hall of Fame motor sports writer Shav Glick was also a longtime golf writer, and he loves to play the game. Parnelli Jones, who attended a retirement party for Glick in Arcadia on Saturday, said, “Shav and I had a special relationship because I’m the only driver who loves golf as much as he does.”

Not a good closer: Not only did Bode Miller fail to win a medal at the Winter Olympics, Randy Hill of Foxsports.com reports, but “according to international insiders,” the skier also “finished last during closing ceremonies at a Turin bar.”

One plus: David Letterman said it wasn’t all bad for Miller.

“Coming back through the airport, he did not have to spend much time going through the metal detector.”

Looking back: On this day in 1966, USC pole vaulter Bob Seagren set an indoor record of 17 feet 1/4 inch at Albuquerque, N.M.

Trivia answer: Paul Hornung of Notre Dame.

And finally: Can’t remember the jersey number of the 1995 Heisman winner from Ohio State? Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times provided these hints:

“Eddie George’s Grill 27 opens ... with a menu featuring 27 draft beers, 27 wines, 27 specialty drinks and a 27-ounce porterhouse steak.”

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