PEOPLE

Danny Abramowicz led the New Orleans Saints in pass receiving every year from 1967 until '71, but he was recruited as a thrower for this year's Mardi Gras. Reigning as Romulus, the first king of Rome, Abramowicz tossed doubloons to the crowd from a Mardi Gras float, and gained new respect for quarterbacks. "I threw more than 3,000 doubloons," he says. "My arm was about to fall off."

The Detroit Tigers' Frank Howard stands 6'7", weighs 250 pounds, looks at least twice that big and, fortunately, is a mild-mannered type who seldom gets riled. He has admitted, though, that there was one occasion when he lost his mild. After taking an extended razzing from a group of Washington fans, Howard charged over to his tormentors. "O.K., O.K.," he said. "You guys want me? The big guys come one at a time, and the little guys—you can all come at once."

A recent episode of television's Bob Newhart Show portrayed the comedian as a psychologist treating a Chicago Cub pitcher. According to the show's story line, Newhart put his patient's mind so at rest that he went out to Wrigley Field that night and pitched a winning game. Nice therapy, but it doesn't say much for Newhart's knack for restoring sanity. Wrigley Field has no lights.

Olga Morozova, the best woman tennis player ever to come out of the Soviet Union, and one of the most attractive, has a practical approach to things. "I keep my maiden name while I'm playing tennis," she explained. "Until I stop to have babies. Then I take my husband's name." She also demonstrated to Boston sportswriters that she knows about their city. "This is where your revolution began," she said, "and where Phil Esposito plays hockey."

When ex-glamour girl Diana Dors was featured as the coach of a hefty all-male Rugby League team in a new British TV comedy series, Ail Our Saturdays, some viewers complained that their credulity was being severely strained. But a lady named Olive Welby disagreed. She coached her first husband's team in Leeds after he died some years ago and ministered to her men as Dr. Marcus Welby (no kin) might have. "I used to massage the lads," she says, "and when they'd finished a game, I would swill them down with a hosepipe. I certainly looked after their welfare."

In 13 years of coaching, New Mexico State's Lou Henson was never ejected from a game. But this was his 14th and his first in the Missouri Valley Conference, and Henson was bounced twice To prevent further hasty exits, Aggie fans outfitted Henson with an emergency ejection kit, including such ever-useful items as a disguise, which would allow him to return to the bench incognito, and a can of referee repellent. Next year, watch out.

Ex-astronaut Neil Armstrong, first man to step on the moon, says he would like to return someday—with a Boy Scout troop on a camping trip. "Back when I visited there a few years ago, I thought it would make a great place for a camporee," Armstrong told a scouting banquet in St. Louis. Now, he says, it's over-visited. "They even have cars there," he said. "Abandoned cars."

There are Little Leaguers, and then there are Hollywood Little Leaguers. On one Beverly Hills team alone, the roster of spirited baseball prodigies includes Dodd Darin, son of Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee; Patrick Cassidy, whose brother Sean is coach of the team and whose parents are Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy; Lucas Reiner, son of Carl Reiner; Flavio Vanoff, son of Producer Nick Vanoff; and Marc Copage, familiar in his own role as the TV son of Julia. In the stands, predictably, parents act like parents. Neither heat nor cold nor divorce keeps them away. "And the screaming and yelling that goes on," says Hollywood Columnist Marilyn Beck. "You'd think a million-dollar movie part was in jeopardy."

Three years ago New York Knick Dave DeBusschere said, "I'm almost 29 years old, the brink of senility by pro basketball standards." Now DeBusschere is 32, still playing and prematurely gray. Resourcefully, he has turned this to advantage by using, and endorsing on television, a Clairol hair-coloring concoction. "Why should I let all the younger players think they can run over me on the court just because I look older?" DeBusschere asks. No reason, says a Clairol spokesman outspokenly. "DeBusschere's announcement is indicative of complete self-assurance coupled with a strong desire to appear young. We are glad to have him on our defensive team." That's defensive?

Trying to keep fit can be a pain, as Senator Robert Griffin discovered. The Michigan Republican hobbled into the Senate chamber and explained he had suffered a charley horse while doing his daily exercises. Minority Leader Hugh Scott suggested to Griffin that he substitute the Scott formula for keeping in good shape—proper diet and mental gymnastics.

The Fashion Foundation of America's list of Ten Best Dressed Men includes world heavyweight champion George Foreman and Burt Reynolds, who gained their fame by appearing in hardly any clothes.

TWO PHOTOS