What if Ryne Sandberg wasn’t traded to the Cubs in 1982? Could the Phillies have won another championship other than their one in 1980?

Last week in this column, I focused on careers that “could have been” among Philadelphia-based athletes if they would have not been traded away.

In this week’s version of my Yesterday column — reminiscing about sports and pop culture in the 1960s, 70s, 80s and sometimes before and beyond — I’ll take a look at more Philly athletes who were dealt away too soon, as well as have a grab bag — there’s an old-school term — of items from our days.

Finally, do you remember Victor Rivera? How about Rick Krinkles, or did you have a pair of Super Slider Snow Skates?

He Wasn’t Sandberg-bagged ... Dallas Green knew what he was doing. Green left the Phillies after the 1981 season for Chicago to take over the reins of the Cubs. Larry Bowa, who was 36 at the time, sought a three-year extension promised by outgoing owner Ruly Carpenter.

Bowa wanted to join Green in Chicago, and the Phillies — for whatever reason — would part with him for fellow shortstop 28-year-old Ivan DeJesus in a swap. Green realized Sanberg’s potential and wouldn’t pull the trigger without him.

“And the rest, as they say, is history” (a British phrase dating back to 1839).

Based on Sanberg’s production — he was the NL MVP in 1984 — he certainly would have been a productive mainstay at second base and easily could have helped the Phillies to another championship. He recorded a 68.1 WAR in Cubs’ history, and only Mike Schmidt has a higher one (106.9) in Phillies’ history.

During his time with the Cubs, Sandberg hit .285 with 282 homers, 1,061 RBIs, and he also collected nine Gold Glove awards, seven Silver Slugger awards, and made 10 all-star appearances from 1982-1997.

Contrarily, the Phillies employed Manny Trillo, Juan Samuel (five seasons), Tommy Herr (two seasons) and Mickey Morandini (seven seasons). All of them were steady contributors — Samuel had some good years — but none of them reached Sandberg’s status.

DeJesus spent three seasons in Philly before he was dealt to the Cardinals. He hit .249 in Philly and was dealt for lefty reliever Dave Rucker, who spent two seasons with the Phils (that’s a tough one to remember).

Some Second Thoughts ... Here’s one man’s opinion of some other Phillies who may have left too early: Dick Allen, Jack Sanford, Cookie Rojas, Julio Franco, Curt Schilling, Gavin Floyd, Cliff Lee and may I say, Oscar Gamble?

Eric’s Early Exit? ... Eric Lindros’ Flyers career is certainly marked with many questions.

He was traded in 2001 after his rocky relationship with GM Bobby Clarke, along with his concussion history, to the Rangers for four players who never panned out.

If he had stayed, Lindros may have been the difference in getting the Flyers past Tampa Bay in 2003-04, and there could have been some interesting scenarios with the likes of Simon Gagne, John LeClair, Jeremy Roenick and Mark Recchi as arguably the league’s deepest offensive onslaught.

Forsberg’s Foot ... Peter Forsberg was traded by the Flyers in a multiplayer deal to acquire Lindros in 1991. He averaged 29 goals in 11 seasons in Colorado and returned to the Flyers in 2005 as a free agent signing.

But a nagging foot injury limited his playing time. Still, Forsberg scored 115 points in 100 games, gaining the second-best point-per-game average. Lindros has the best with 659 points in 486 games (1.36 ppg).

You have to wonder what would have happened if Forsberg wouldn’t have been traded for Lindros.

Sixers’ Shots ... In keeping in line with the theme, four Sixers who come to mind who were dealt away too early were: Wilt Chamberlain to the Lakers, Chet Walker to the Bulls, Charles Barkley to the Suns, and Moses Malone to the Bullets.

More on them in a future column.

Take the Subway Back ... Along with the Phillies, some Mets who left too soon can be Rusty Staub, Ray Knight, Darryl Strawberry and Kevin Mitchell.

Staub was traded for a declining Mickey Lolich, and Mitchell was dealt for Kevin McReynolds. Ray Knight was not brought back from the championship team in 1986.

The 12th Precinct ... It was 50 years ago earlier this week that “Barney Miller” debuted on ABC-TV. The series debuted Jan. 23, 1975 and ended May 20, 1982.

Capt. Barney Miller, portrayed by Hal Linden, had a memorable cast of Fish, Wogo, Dietrich, Harris and also Yemana, who was portrayed by Jack Soo — who passed away from cancer during season five.

The series spun off a series “Fish,” highlighting the life of detective Phil Fish from Sept. 1977 to May 1978.

It is a classic that had a lot of life, and I always loved the opening and closing themes.

Readers Write

Throw-In Hall of Famer

Dear Jeff,

I was 15 years old when the Phillies and Cubs made the trade that has always haunted the Philadelphia organization.

Larry Bowa was my favorite player and was crushed when I heard the news that he was shipped to Chicago for Ivan DeJesus. I don’t remember the details, but I know my father and I were listening to the radio, and that’s where we heard about the swap. Little did most people know that the throw-in to the trade would have the biggest impact. Ryne Sandberg became a Hall of Famer (although not many remember that he played a bulk of his first season in Chicago at third base).

While the trade is obviously regrettable, and Sandberg would have probably had a similar career in Philly, if he would have stayed in Philly I probably wouldn’t have had a chance to cheer for one of my other favorite Phils – Juan Samuel, who became the team’s starting second baseman in 1984.

Rod Heckman

Times News Sports Writer

Krinkles, Not Krispies ... In the 1960s, Post unveiled its “Sugar-Coated Rice Krinkles” cereal as a counter to Kellogg’s “Rice Krispies.” It was part of an introduction of rice-based cereals such as “Puffa Puffa Rice.” I always liked rice cereals.

However, Rice Krinkles disappeared in 1969, making room for Post’s new puffed rice cereal, “Fruity Pebbles,” a fruit-flavored cereal meant to resemble little rocks.

Another Classic Game (Toy) ... This was probably the perfect time for this item, and maybe you had them.

In 1970, K-Tel (you knew them of vinyl fame) released “Super Slider Snow-Skates,” which were two small plastic boards that resembled a skateboard deck and would attach to your boots.

It was the prequel to snowboarding.

WWWF/WWE Wrap ... Each week, I’ll look back at a former pro wrestler we watched growing up.

Do you remember Victor Rivera? He began his career in 1964 and had a 20-year run until 1984. Overall, Rivera won 850 matches, lost 472, and had 208 draws over his 1,535 matches. He was known for his dropkick and cannonball moves.

Rivera spent time in the WWWF, where he teamed with Tony Marino to capture the International Tag Team Championship, and he also held the NWA Americas Championship belt.

He was noted as a longtime tag-team partner with Pedro Morales — they were NWA titleholders — and also with Haystacks Calhoun.

I remember seeing Rivera as a familiar wrestler on Saturday morning’s “Championship Wrestling” on channels 29 and 48.

Memory Lane ... Every week, I’ll look back at a former player, coach, manager or media personality from our yesterday.

Do you remember Phillies’ right-handed reliever Gary Wagner? He spent five seasons with the Phillies from 1965 through most of 1969 until he was dealt to the Red Sox that year in September for pitcher Mike Jackson.

Wagner was waived by the Red Sox in April 1971 and signed by the Expos. He never appeared in a game with the Expos and was released in May. Wagner was re-signed by the Red Sox and later released.

In six seasons, Wagner was 15-19 with a 3.70 ERA and 174 strikeouts over 267.1 innings in 162 games.

Your thoughts are always welcomed; email them to tnsports@tnonline.com.