Ruth Sure Wasn’t Calling Shots Then

The Chicago Cubs haven’t won a World Series since 1908. Mike Downey of the Chicago Tribune put it in perspective.

“The last time the Cubs were the champions of the national pastime, Babe Ruth was a baby. He wasn’t the Bambino -- he was a bambino. Well, almost. A growing lad, let’s say.”

Trivia time: In the 1967 Pasadena Bowl at the Rose Bowl, West Texas A&M; defeated Valley State, now Cal State Northridge, 35-13. Who starred for West Texas A&M;? (Hint: He was part of the trivia answer here a week ago.)

TV buff: Remember Sgt. Schultz from “Hogan’s Heroes,” played by John Banner? Sgt. Schultz would always say, “I know nuh-thing!”

Bill Parcells remembers him. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that when Parcells was asked about Maurice Clarett, he said, “Don’t get me in that can of worms. I’m Sgt. Schultz on that.”

A different tactic: Cruiserweight champion James Toney, who will fight four-time heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield in Las Vegas on Saturday, was introduced by publicist John Beyrooty as a three-time world champion in a conference call with boxing writers.

“John Beyrooty, you keep making mistakes,” Toney said. “I am the eight-time world champion.”

There has never been an eight-time champion.

“Boxing publicists usually get accused of embellishing facts, not the other way around,” Beyrooty said.

Coincidental: The Atlanta Braves have six players with 20 or more home runs. According to Steve Vanderpool of Stats Inc., the only other National League team to do that was the 1965 Braves, in their final season in Milwaukee. Two sluggers from that team now manage teams that could face the Braves in the postseason -- San Francisco’s Felipe Alou and the New York Yankees’ Joe Torre.

Ejection specialists: The Braves’ manager, Bobby Cox, was suspended for two games near the end of the regular season for an argument that got him ejected in a game against Philadelphia on Sept. 11.

Cox, according to ESPN, has been ejected 108 times and is No. 3 on the all-time ejection list.

The leader is John McGraw, with 131, followed by Leo Durocher with 121.

Bonding cities: Reader Janice Hough of Palo Alto e-mailed to say, “San Francisco fans really do have something in common with Los Angeles fans. We wish we had a professional football team.”

Trivia answer: Mercury Morris.

And finally: Reader David Macaray, in reference to a Jim Murray quote about the late horse trainer Charlie Whittingham in Morning Briefing, passed along this story about Whittingham:

“A horse racing reporter once asked him why, unlike the other trainers, he never huddled with his jockeys and gave them any last-minute advice. Charlie answered: ‘They wouldn’t remember it. They wore those size-3 hats for a reason.’ ”

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