Going, going, Gone!

A recent story in the Los Angeles Times about Mickey Mantle hitting two tape-measure home runs at USC's Bovard Field in 1951 prompted a discussion among the golfers Monday at Woodley Lakes' 19th hole as to who hit the farthest home run in baseball history.

The conclusion was, "Who knows?" Mantle once hit one over 500 feet in Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., and he also launched a home run into the upper deck at Yankee Stadium that, if it hadn't hit the facade, might have cleared the ballpark.

Willie Stargell and Mike Piazza both hit balls out of Dodger Stadium, Stargell over the right-field seats, and Piazza under the roof of the left-field bleachers and into the parking lot.

Frank Howard crushed a ball that landed in the second deck of Dodger Stadium during the 1963 World Series.

Reggie Jackson, known for some mammoth home runs, hit a ball on top of the roof of old Tigers Stadium in Detroit at an All-Star Game. And it was during the game, not in the Home Run Derby contest.

Who knows how far some of the unmeasured home runs traveled that Babe Ruth, Jimmy Foxx, Lou Gehrig or Ted Williams hit?

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add home runs: Watching an exhibition game on TV last night between the Dodgers and Angels at Dodger Stadium reminded one of Jim Fregosi's exciting inside-the-park home run during a spring training game between the two clubs in 1963 at Dodger Stadium.

The Angels, who played their regular season games in the Dodgers' ballpark in those days, trailed 3-0 before a large crowd on a sunny Saturday afternoon. With the bases loaded, Fregosi hit a sinking line drive to right. Ron Fairly, who played both right field and first base, charged the ball and tried to scoop it on the hop but missed it. The ball rolled to the wall and the three Angels base runners scored easily. Fregosi, who was a rookie and also a state sprint champion, streaked around the bases and scored to give his team the lead. The 4-3 score held up and the Angels won.