NY Post sports media watchdog Phil Mushnick receives no small amount of abuse from this corner, but every now and then —say, 2 or 3 times a year — he nearly redeems himself with an item that show the non-crusader Phil to be a pretty funny guy. I’m sure one of those occasions will present itself sooner or later, but until then, here’s Mushnick quizzing WGN’s Pat Hughes about Ron Santo’s wig.
“Ron gives his hairpieces nicknames,” Hughes explained. “He did the same with his gloves when he played. He had a Gamer when he played, and now, for special occasions, he wears his Gamer hairpiece.
“In 2003, we were in Shea, cold April day. Ron got too close to one of those overhead heaters. All of a sudden we saw smoke coming from his head. His hairpiece was smoldering. Had to put it out.
“When it stopped smoking, he asked, ‘How does it look?’ ‘Not too bad.’ I lied. If he stood in one end zone and I stood in the other, it wouldn’t have looked too bad from 110 yards.”
Not sure which toupee Santo was wearing this afternoon, but presumably it wasn’t one called “Lose To Dusty By Two Touchdowns”.
His leg prostheses are named Woody and Peg. (The spare: Hemingway, as in “A Farewell to Legs.”)
Does that mean you’re going to throw his name as a candidate for when Leno gets dumped as Tonight Show host for his sagging ratings?
Someone’s gotta entertain the Old Folks Home Crowd that NBC covets.