Finishing the Race Could Wait: The Chicken Was Getting Cold

In 1912, Joe Dawson won the second Indianapolis 500 with a time of 6 hours 21 minutes and 6 seconds.

But what made that race memorable was the 10th-place finisher, Ralph Mulford. He was told that, if he wanted to collect his money, he was going to have to finish.

So he did, taking eight hours and 53 minutes. It seems Mulford, in no hurry, made several stops for fried chicken.

The finishing rule was changed the next year.

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Trivia time: Babe Ruth was retired on an infield grounder on this date 60 years ago. What was memorable about that at-bat?

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Traveling uniform: The uniform supposedly worn by Ruth in the 1924 season was used in the movie “Pride of the Yankees� and became part of a sports memorabilia collection owned by a Las Vegas man who became the victim of a mob-style hit.

After the man’s death, the uniform could not be found until the television show “Unsolved Mysteries� did a feature on Ruth’s lost apparel. Then, a Long Island man mysteriously surfaced with it and turned it over to Suffolk County police. When no one claimed the uniform, it was returned to the Long Island man.

The two pieces were sold to a Cooperstown, N.Y., collector and then to a Florida organization called Sports Card Heaven International Inc. Last week, the uniform and $200,000 worth of cards were stolen from a rental car in New York.

Monday night, William Wilson III, 39, was arrested after police discovered the uniform--pants size 44, shirt size 50, worth an estimated $50,000--in his Manhattan apartment.

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No Bo: Pittsburgh Post Gazette columnist Paul Meyer paid tribute to Mark Johnson for the rare if not unique feat of having thrown a touchdown pass and hit a home run in the city of Philadelphia.

Johnson threw two touchdown passes for Dartmouth against Penn in a 1989 game at Franklin Field. Johnson, now a first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates, hit his first major league home run earlier this season at Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium.

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A racing fan is born: Dodger infielder Garey Ingram refused to take part in the Indy 500 clubhouse pool that required a $20 entry fee until teammate Tim Wallach told Ingram he would be fined $50 if he didn’t enter.

Ingram drew Indy winner Jacques Villeneuve but had no idea he won the pool until he asked a teammate for the results.

“I’ll have to get into these things more often,� Ingram said.

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Trivia answer: It was Ruth’s final at-bat in the majors.

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Quotebook: Gene Mauch, who managed in the big leagues for 26 years without making it to the World Series: “If it’s true you learn from adversity, then I must be the smartest . . . in the world.�