By John Erardi
Enquirer staff writer

Devoted baseball fan Dana Quigley was up until 1 a.m. Tuesday watching his beloved Red Sox on ESPN score four runs in the top of the ninth inning to beat Oakland 8-3. But the Champions Tour iron man is not about to compare his consecutive tournaments streak to shortstop Cal Ripken's consecutive games streak.

For Quigley, it is 256 straight tournaments for which he has been eligible - make that 257, with this week's Kroger Classic which runs Friday though Sunday at the Tournament Players Club at River's Bend - spanning seven years.

For Ripken, it was 2,632 straight baseball games spanning 17 seasons. So, yes, Ripken's streak is more impressive.

But don't short-change Quigley.

He has the same thing Ripken had: passion for the game, great genes and a playing style that is stripped-down pure with no high-torque moving parts.

How much longer can Quigley go?

Fellow touring pro Jim Thorpe, who was sitting next to Quigley at lunch Tuesday, heard that question and chimed in with his estimate.

"How old are you, man?" Thorpe asked Quigley. "Fifty-six? Fifty-seven?"

"Fifty-seven," Quigley said.

"Ten more years," Thorpe said, prompting a guffaw from Quigley. "Why not?"

"Well, I could get hurt," Quigley said. "But I don't do anything but play golf."

"That's it!" Thorpe exclaimed. "Like I told my wife, 'Honey, I don't mind taking out the trash, but don't ask me to change any light bulbs or get up on any ladders, because if I get hurt, we're (in trouble).' "

The closest that Quigley came to missing a tournament was earlier this year in Mexico.

His friend had accidentally broken Quigley's driver, and Quigley, who much prefers playing over practicing, went to the range and hit 400 balls to try to get some feel with a new driver.

"I got up the next day and couldn't move my elbow," he said. "I waited until Wednesday night, and flew into Mexico, solely because of the streak. It was the first time I was thinking about the streak first, and me second. I figured I'd have to withdraw, but I wanted to try."

He gutted it out and played.

To Quigley's knowledge, nobody has ever come close to playing this many consecutive pro tour events, and nobody ever will.

"It'll never be broken, because all the guys coming out now (on the Champions Tour) are tour guys who have played all their lives," Quigley said. "I didn't get the opportunity to play this much in my younger days. I'm like a kid in a candy store now.

"It's exciting for me to come into a new town each week. I'm playing the game I love, and I'm here with all these great players. What could be better than that?"

NOTES: Bruce Fleisher withdrew from the Kroger to return to Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., where his home sustained heavy damage from Hurricane Frances; R.W. Eaks took his place. Also withdrawing was Tom Purtzer (bad back), replaced by Rafael Navarro. Joining the field after open qualifying Tuesday at Four Bridges were Bob Ralston (65) and Dick Mast (67). ...

Quigley won the most money ($5,400) in the four-man Argosy Skins game ($10,200) on the back nine Tuesday. Thorpe won $2,800 and Bob Gilder $2,000. Kroger defending champion Gil Morgan was shut out.

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E-mail jerardi@Enquirer.com