Babe Ruth: "I only have one superstition. I make sure to touch all the bases when I hit a home run.".

The late HANK STRAM, who coached the Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints: "When I got into the coaching business, I knew I was getting into a high-risk, high-profile, profession, so I adopted a philosophy I've never wavered from: Yesterday is a canceled check, today is cash on the line, and tomorrow is a promissory note."

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AL MCGUIRE, the late Marquette basketball coaching legend, on a defining pressure game: "It's when you look at a cheerleader and don't notice her body."

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Former Nebraska football coach BOB DEVANEY, on why he didn't seek a lifetime contract: "I had a friend with a lifetime contract. After two bad years, the university president called him into his office and pronounced him dead."

Ex-Los Angeles Dodgers star (and current broadcaster) RICK MONDAY, on the high cost of gasoline: "I stopped at a service station on the way to the ballpark just to get an estimate."

BILL FITCH, former NBA coach: "I don't have ulcers. I'm a carrier. I give them to other people."

MERV RETTEMUND, former Baltimore Oriole, when asked which he'd rather face, Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer or Tom Seaver: "That's like asking if I'd rather be hung or go to the electric chair."

Former Pittsburgh Steelers center RAY MANSFIELD at a roast honoring menacing Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Lambert: "I taught Jack a lot--how to tie his shoes, how to brush his fangs."

JOE DIMAGGIO, the late New York Yankee legend, on his naivete as a younger player: "I can remember a reporter asking for a quote, and I didn't know what a quote was. I thought it was some kind of a soft drink."

BOBBY KNIGHT, when asked if he would consider coaching in the NBA: "Hell, I don't even watch the pros. If the NBA was on Channel 5 and a bunch of frogs making love were on Channel 4, I'd watch the frogs--even if they came in fuzzy."

TOMMY LASORDA, former Los Angeles Dodgers manager: "I read every newspaper I can get my hands on from front to back. And in the business I'm in, that includes the classifieds for unemployment."

Florida State coach BOBBY BOWDEN on former Seminoles linebacker Reggie Herring: "He doesn't know the meaning of the word fear. In fact, I just saw his grades, and he doesn't know the meaning of a lot of words."

PAUL CANNELL, former Washington Diplomats player, explaining why he dropped his shorts during a now-defunct NASL game: "I was trying to give the league a little exposure."

TONY MASON, former U. of Arizona football coach, comparing his recruiting with that of former USC coach John Robinson: "I sell cactus; he sells Heismans."

Former Texas football coach FRED AKERS: "Lou Holtz can talk faster than I can listen."

DIGGER PHELPS, former Notre Dame basketball coach, asked by Irish alumnus and Boston Red Sox great Carl Yastrzemski, when his team was finally going to win a championship: "Funny, I was about to ask you the same question."

GUMP WORSLEY, former Minnesota North Stars goalie, disputing an allegation that he did all his training in St. Paul bars: "That's not true. I've switched to Minneapolis now."