In 1961 Fargo, the Cheer Was ‘Gimme an R’

How far have we come from 1961, when Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth’s record, to 1998, when Mark McGwire broke Maris’ record?

In 1961, there were no cable TV or network updates. Back in Maris’ hometown of Fargo, N.D., Roger’s dad, Rudy, used to drive to a local radio station to follow the crucial games via the old-fashioned ticker tape.

“We’d just sit there and wait for the updates,” a Fargo sportscaster, Bill Weaver told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Tick . . . tick . . . tick . . . HR . . . tick . . . tick . . . tick . . . NYY . . . tick . . . tick . . . M . . . tick . . . A . . . tick. . . .

“It drove us crazy waiting to see if the next letter would be an N or an R.”

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Trivia time: Former Dodger general manager Al Campanis was given the nickname of “Trader Al” after selling a minor league catcher to Kansas City. Who was the player?

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Add apology tours: The famous Red Sox curse supposedly began when they sold Ruth to the Yankees for $120,000.

The Red Sox are trying to make it up to the Bambino, if belatedly. On the 50th anniversary of Ruth’s death, they invited his daughter, Julia Ruth-Stevens, to a game and held a ceremony in which they officially apologized to Ruth.

“Hopefully, that will hold some sway,” Mike Port, the assistant general manager, told Newsday.

Port also confided, “I have these miniature dolls to represent all the teams that might be involved in the postseason and pins to stick in them. But that’s not to indicate we believe in such things.”

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The unnatural: Doesn’t sound like former San Francisco 49er coach George Seifert, now a CBS announcer, is taking right to this TV stuff.

“Sometimes you say, ‘My God, what did I get myself into?’ ” Seifert said before his first telecast. “There is apprehension. You find yourself on edge. You get quite nervous to the point you’ve got to get up and go for a walk. . . .

“This is like someone involved with track instead of a team sport. When you’re on camera, it’s like you’re running the 100-yard dash. You’re a little bit more exposed.”

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Maybe it was coincidence: Adidas, eager to get 6-foot-7, 260-pound junior Chris Hobbs of East Chapel Hill (N.C.) High to attend its summer basketball camp, donated sneakers, equipment bags and warmups to his school.

“What I tried to do is make sure they understand that they aren’t buying Chris Hobbs,” East Chapel Hill Coach Ray Hartsfield told the Charlotte News & Observer.

“[But] there’s no doubt in my mind the Adidas deal was dependent on Chris’ going to their camp. It wasn’t said, but I wouldn’t have called them back if Chris had decided to go to Nike. I think that was as clear as the water in Colorado.”

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Trivia answer: Jim Campanis, his son.

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And finally: Houston Astro General Manager Gerry Hunsicker, who used to work for the New York Mets, on the difference: “Everything you do is under a microscope in New York. Here, it takes a month for half the country to know what’s going on.”