<i> Nom de Rap</i> Was a Curve to Robinson

A.S. (Doc) Young, one of the leading chroniclers of the deeds of black athletes, writes to report that Frank Robinson’s daughter, Michelle, need not have been so surprised that her father failed to recognize rapper M.C. Hammer as a former Oakland Athletic clubhouse attendant--as reported recently in Morning Briefing.

“The superstar entertainer who is now known as M.C. Hammer wasn’t M. C. Hammer when he was a bat boy with the Oakland Athletics,” Young wrote. “Hammer’s real name is Stanley Burrell. If Robinson had reason to remember him, it would have been as Stanley Burrell. If Hammer had approached Robinson and said, ‘I’m Stanley Burrell, remember me?’ Robinson probably would have remembered him and talked with him.

“I first met this kid when he was 9 or 10 and made a trip to Anaheim for an Oakland-Angels series. He was, even then, very bright and self-confident. Later, Charles O. Finley, owner of the A’s, called Burrell his ‘executive vice president’ and gave him a cap with that title on it. It was said that some Athletics players believed Burrell also was a clubhouse spy for Finley.”

Mr. Lucky: Juan Manuel Fangio, regarded as motor racing’s greatest driver, turns 80 today. After winning five Formula One world championships, he still downplays his achievements. Asked the secret of his success, he said:

“Seventy-five percent of it is the car and the team around it. Only 25% is the driver--and much of that is to do with luck. I am surprised that so many people remember what I did--all my life I have been very lucky.”

Senna’s viewpoint: Ayrton Senna, the current world champion, has his own ideas about Fangio.

“Even if I or someone else can equal or beat Fangio’s record, it still will not compare with his achievement. What he did in his time is something that was an example of professionalism, of courage, of style and as a man, a human being. Every year there is a winner of the championship, but not necessarily a world champion. I think Fangio is the example of a true world champion.”

Trivia time: Who had the highest fielding percentage for a season for an infielder in American League history?

Series frustrations: The death of Marvin Owen last week brought to mind two intriguing World Series incidents in the career of the former Detroit Tiger third baseman.

He holds a record for going to the plate 31 consecutive times without a hit in World Series play.

He also was involved in the first ejection of a player from a World Series game. It happened in the seventh game of the 1934 series between the Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals. Owen stepped on Joe (Ducky) Medwick’s foot as Medwick steamed into third while Owen was fielding a throw.

Medwick starting kicking at Owen and the two prepared to punch it out. No blows were thrown, but angry Detroit fans refused to let Medwick return to his position, hurling bottles onto the field. Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis had Medwick ejected. St. Louis won the game anyway, 11-0, and won the Series.

Wet year: You think the rain was bad at Wimbledon? In 25 PGA tournaments this year, 15 have had a weather-related delay, postponement or cancellation.

Quick change: In his first 11 years in the majors, Kirk Gibson played for two managers, Sparky Anderson and Tom Lasorda. In one recent span, he played for three in three games: John Wathan, Bob Schaefer and Hal McRae.

Trivia answer: Eddie Murray, who fielded .999 as a first baseman for Baltimore in 1981.

Has he watched hockey?: Atlanta Constitution TV-radio writer Prentis Rogers had this to say about the U.S. Open telecast: “ABC’s 18-hole coverage of Sunday’s U.S. Open was more like a four-hour advertisement for products like ‘No-Doz.’ ”

Quotebook: Atlanta Falcon Coach Jerry Glanville, after completing a NASCAR high-performance driving school at Atlanta Motor Speedway: “Some people want to sink a 50-foot putt. I want to go into the first turn at 175 m.p.h.”