Jack and Emily were little kids and Ben wasn't here yet when I caught my big fish. I must give credit to Emily. Without her I would have never caught the fish. Here is how it happened.
We were on vacation in the mountains and were fishing on the Pecos River by the lakes at Cowles. Jack was playing in the dirt under a huge tree by the river. Emily wanted to walk with me and watch me fish. Jack was about 3 and Emily about 6.
Fishing had been lousy. We hadn't even gotten a strike from the bridge at Cowles down to the lower lake. I continued to fish and Emily continued to follow with me around the bend in the river around the lakes. Hole after hole, still nothing.
We finally got to a place where the bank on our side of the river becomes a cliff. The grass and the trail were wet so I told Emily to stay where she was and not to follow me while I tried to climb up the trail and see if there was any holes that I could get to from the side of the cliff.
If Emily ever wonders why Abby doesn't do what she tells her to do, she just needs to think back to her own childhood. Just like Abby would do, Emily ignored what I said and followed me up on the side of the cliff. It was a 10-15 foot drop to the river and she would have been swept away if she fell. Kay Ellen would have killed us both. I had decided I wasn't going to bother fishing the hole because I'd had no luck so far and didn't want to leave Emily by herself. When she came through the brush up the trail, crying because I'd left her I decided to go ahead and try to fish the hole down below.
Directly below us on our little ledge was another ledge that was a foot or tw0 below the water line. It was about and foot wide and 6 feet long and then dropped off into a deep hole. I dropped my line in with the salmon egg bait on the ledge and watched it float down the ledge and into the hole. When it dropped into the hole, "Wham!" A fish hit the bait hard. I set the hook and pulled up. I could tell it was a big fish.
I told Emily we had a fish and it was a big one. We'd have to get it up or no one would believe us. After a few moments I had the fish up onto our little ledge. It was HUGE! It was the biggest rainbow trout I had ever cuaght and the biggest one I had ever seen. It had to be 2 feet long and 20 pounds. (Exagerations are allowed and even expected in fish stories.) I had nothing big enough to put it in. The little plastic bags we carried for the normal trout would barely hold its head.
I wanted to see if I could get another fish out of that hole so I tried putting a big rock on the fish to hold it dow but it just flipped it off. Finally, I had Emily sit on it. While she sat on it I tried the hole again but had no luck. I decided I better get Emily off the ledge and the fish back to the cabin.
Still, I had nothing to put it in, so I took off my shirt and tied a knot in the sleeve of my long-sleeve shirt. I then stuffed the fish down into the sleeve and it completely filled the arm. We carried it back to the cabin like that.
When we got back with it we measured it. As I recall it was 16 or 18 inches long and over two pounds. That's a big fish for the streams around our cabin. No one in our family (Gary, Gary Don et al) has caught one bigger up there, and it's all because Emily didn't do what I told her to do.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Odd Stories - Chocolate Thunder
Do you remember Chocolate Thunder, Darryl Dawkins, the backboard breaking, slam dunking monster of the Philly 76ers? He was a 6'11", muscled, massive guy, mean as he could be. He was listed as 250 pounds, but I think he was bigger. Would you believe that I almost took him on one night?
The year was 1980. It was the Maverick's innaugural season. WBAP carried the Mavs and Mark Holtz was the play-by-play radio voice. He had just moved down from Denver but his familly hadn't joined him yet, so, he gave me his two courtside tickets. Mark only voiced the Mavs the one season before becoming the long time voice of the Rangers.
Greg Cagle and I took the tickets and sat right under the backboard at one end. The seats were actually folding chairs placed very close to the baseline. There wasn't as much room allotted to photographers and cameramen, so the seats were closer to the court than they are today. There was an aisle running up the middle of the section and I was on the aisle, row 2.
As an expansion team the Mavs were horrible. I think they won 15 games all season and lost 67. They had a bunch of no name young guys who, while physically overmatched, played with spirit and intensity and they managed some upsets of good teams. Their center was Tommy Legrande a 6'10" toothpick compared to Dawkins.
The Mavs were playing well and it was a close, intense game. The crowd was really into it; and, being down under the basket, I saw the ruggedness of the play, the banging, and the blatantly cheap shots. Dawkins was big and intimidating and delivering more than his fair share of the hits and the refs weren't calling any fouls. We were really yelling at him, the crowd was really wild, and I felt like I was on the court.
As the Mavs came down on offense, Legrande starts down the lane. Dawkins delivers a forearm smash to his face, bloodying his nose and lip. Incensed, I start toward the court. "You're not going to cheapshot one of my teammates and get away with it," I'm thinking. On the third step toward the court, just a step or two away from the court, I realize, "You idiot! What are you doing? You can't go on the court. Besides, that's Chocolate Thunder and he'd kill you!" Wisely, I stepped back to my seat and contented myself with just yelling forcefully at Dawkins.
And, that's how I almost took on Chocolate Thunder.
The year was 1980. It was the Maverick's innaugural season. WBAP carried the Mavs and Mark Holtz was the play-by-play radio voice. He had just moved down from Denver but his familly hadn't joined him yet, so, he gave me his two courtside tickets. Mark only voiced the Mavs the one season before becoming the long time voice of the Rangers.
Greg Cagle and I took the tickets and sat right under the backboard at one end. The seats were actually folding chairs placed very close to the baseline. There wasn't as much room allotted to photographers and cameramen, so the seats were closer to the court than they are today. There was an aisle running up the middle of the section and I was on the aisle, row 2.
As an expansion team the Mavs were horrible. I think they won 15 games all season and lost 67. They had a bunch of no name young guys who, while physically overmatched, played with spirit and intensity and they managed some upsets of good teams. Their center was Tommy Legrande a 6'10" toothpick compared to Dawkins.
The Mavs were playing well and it was a close, intense game. The crowd was really into it; and, being down under the basket, I saw the ruggedness of the play, the banging, and the blatantly cheap shots. Dawkins was big and intimidating and delivering more than his fair share of the hits and the refs weren't calling any fouls. We were really yelling at him, the crowd was really wild, and I felt like I was on the court.
As the Mavs came down on offense, Legrande starts down the lane. Dawkins delivers a forearm smash to his face, bloodying his nose and lip. Incensed, I start toward the court. "You're not going to cheapshot one of my teammates and get away with it," I'm thinking. On the third step toward the court, just a step or two away from the court, I realize, "You idiot! What are you doing? You can't go on the court. Besides, that's Chocolate Thunder and he'd kill you!" Wisely, I stepped back to my seat and contented myself with just yelling forcefully at Dawkins.
And, that's how I almost took on Chocolate Thunder.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Odd Stories - Doug Rader
In 1983 Doug Rader became the new manager for the Rangers. I was the Business Manager at WBAP and we carried the Ranger radio broadcasts. In addition to the games we carried a daily coach's show and that is the source of this post.
The Rangers were pitiful under Rader. I think he was just there 2 full season and a part of another one. Their winning percentage under his leadership was about .400 and their best finish was 3rd in the West. When the Rangers adopted red uniform jerseys one year he hated them and said he looked like a giant blood clot. Anyway, the story comes from his first year.
Rader had started his first season as manager, the team was coming home from spring training and they were going to have the annual welcome luncheon and introduction of the players and coaches to the media and season ticket holders. One of Rader's duties as manager was to do the coach's show. Of course he would be paid the standard fee that I think was $45 per show and generally paid monthly. Rader demanded that he be paid for the entire season, in adance, and in cash. As I recall the total was a little over $7,000.
Warren Potash was our General Manager and he was a little miffed that Rader wanted cash in advance but agreed to the demand. But, he was going to make a bit of a scene about it.
The first thing we did was find an old battered suitcase on which the latches had been broken and had to be kept closed by tying a belt around it. Then I went down to the bank and got the $7,000+ in ones except for a number of $100 bills. We proceeded to back the suitcase full of cash placing a $100 bill in the top of each bundle of ones that was on the top layer in the case. When the case was opened it looked like there must be $100,000 or more in there.
Warren took the suitcase full of money to the Welcome Luncheon. When it came time for him to make his remarks he said something about Rader's demand for cash and wasn't sure if it was because Rader wasn't going to be there that long or didn't trust us. He had removed the belt from the suit and presented Doug the case allowing it to fall open and spill the money all over the floor.
Rader never asked for cash again.
The Rangers were pitiful under Rader. I think he was just there 2 full season and a part of another one. Their winning percentage under his leadership was about .400 and their best finish was 3rd in the West. When the Rangers adopted red uniform jerseys one year he hated them and said he looked like a giant blood clot. Anyway, the story comes from his first year.
Rader had started his first season as manager, the team was coming home from spring training and they were going to have the annual welcome luncheon and introduction of the players and coaches to the media and season ticket holders. One of Rader's duties as manager was to do the coach's show. Of course he would be paid the standard fee that I think was $45 per show and generally paid monthly. Rader demanded that he be paid for the entire season, in adance, and in cash. As I recall the total was a little over $7,000.
Warren Potash was our General Manager and he was a little miffed that Rader wanted cash in advance but agreed to the demand. But, he was going to make a bit of a scene about it.
The first thing we did was find an old battered suitcase on which the latches had been broken and had to be kept closed by tying a belt around it. Then I went down to the bank and got the $7,000+ in ones except for a number of $100 bills. We proceeded to back the suitcase full of cash placing a $100 bill in the top of each bundle of ones that was on the top layer in the case. When the case was opened it looked like there must be $100,000 or more in there.
Warren took the suitcase full of money to the Welcome Luncheon. When it came time for him to make his remarks he said something about Rader's demand for cash and wasn't sure if it was because Rader wasn't going to be there that long or didn't trust us. He had removed the belt from the suit and presented Doug the case allowing it to fall open and spill the money all over the floor.
Rader never asked for cash again.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
First Grade - The Blue Sheep
Since I wasn't six prior to September 1st I couldn't go to public school first grade. If I wanted to start first grade I had to go to private school and I did. First Baptist had a private school first grade. Gary had gone there the previous year. The teacher was Miss Gill.
Miss Gill was a nice lady, but very stern and very big. She was probably 5' 10" abd 275 pounds. That may be an exxageration, but, remember, I was only in the first grade. Everyone looked bigger than they probably were.
Miss Gill carried around a wooden yardstick. If you talked in class without permission or commited some other infraction, Whap!, she swatted you on the hand with that yardstick. She could reach anywhere in the room with that yardstick with one step and a swing, or so it seemed.
Our room was the first room in the children's wing that runs along Border Street. In all of the remodeling over the years I think they've made an office out of part of the room and maybe made it where it connects with other nursery rooms. It didn't connect to any other room back then.
I sat on the second row in the second seat from the middle aisle. As Miss Gill was facing the class I was on her right, in easy swatting distance for her right handed swing.
One day our assignment was to color a sheep. The outline of the sheep was already provided for us on the paper. I colored mine and turned it in. After eveyone had turned their pictures in, she graded them and handed them back out. I got a check plus! The guy next to me got an X. I looked at his paper and at his grade and at his sheep and laughed. I pointed at it and said "Sheep aren't blue."
WHAP! My outstretched pointing right hand was swatted hard. "Don't make fun of people. It's not nice," Miss Gill said, and I've remember that to this day.
And that's what I learned in first grade.
Miss Gill was a nice lady, but very stern and very big. She was probably 5' 10" abd 275 pounds. That may be an exxageration, but, remember, I was only in the first grade. Everyone looked bigger than they probably were.
Miss Gill carried around a wooden yardstick. If you talked in class without permission or commited some other infraction, Whap!, she swatted you on the hand with that yardstick. She could reach anywhere in the room with that yardstick with one step and a swing, or so it seemed.
Our room was the first room in the children's wing that runs along Border Street. In all of the remodeling over the years I think they've made an office out of part of the room and maybe made it where it connects with other nursery rooms. It didn't connect to any other room back then.
I sat on the second row in the second seat from the middle aisle. As Miss Gill was facing the class I was on her right, in easy swatting distance for her right handed swing.
One day our assignment was to color a sheep. The outline of the sheep was already provided for us on the paper. I colored mine and turned it in. After eveyone had turned their pictures in, she graded them and handed them back out. I got a check plus! The guy next to me got an X. I looked at his paper and at his grade and at his sheep and laughed. I pointed at it and said "Sheep aren't blue."
WHAP! My outstretched pointing right hand was swatted hard. "Don't make fun of people. It's not nice," Miss Gill said, and I've remember that to this day.
And that's what I learned in first grade.
Second Grade Lunch
I was in Mrs. Fuel's second grade class at CB Berry Elementary. Our room was directly across the hall from the cafeteria/auditorium. There are two events that I remember distinctly from second grade.
I didn't know the words to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer so I was not selected to sing for a PTA meeting during school. I was very disappointed. The second event was one particular lunch.
I bought my lunch at school each day. I think it cost 25 cents and included milk. When you went through the line you were supposed to take the next plate in line. You weren't allowed to look for a better plate, one with fewer green beans or a bigger roll.
On this day we were having some sort of chicken soup. As I was approaching the serving line I saw this shriveled up miniature chicken leg sticking up out of the little bowl of soup. Looking quickly I realized that bowl was going to be mine. I tried to drop back in line but couldn't do it. Then I tried to take the next bowl but the cafeteria worker hollered at me to take the next plate in line. I was stuck with the shrivelled up piece of chicken in a bowl. All the other bowls had pieces of chicken in the bowl like a normal soup. They didn't have this shrivelled up stump of a chicken leg dumped in a cup of thin gruel. I might have to take it but I sure didn't have to eat it!
I sat down and ate my lunch, everything but the shrivelled up chicken leg and hideous gruel. I started to get up and take my tray to the cleaning window but Mrs. Fuel stopped me. "You have to eat all your food," she said. I sat back down but refused to eat. Lunch period was over but I hadn't eaten my shrivelled stump so I was not allowed to go back to class. I had to stay there and eat everything on my tray. I refused. I don't know how long I sat there, the only one in the entire cafeteria. The workers were back in the kitchen cleaning and getting ready to go home. I sat there. I was not about to eat the shrivelled stick and gruel. Finally, Mrs. Fuel came back into the cafeteria. "Have you eaten your soup?" she asked. "No, and I'm not going to!" I replied. She spent a few more minutes trying to get me to eat it and I continued to refuse. Finally, she let me put up the tray and go back to class.
I think this is probably where Ben got his ability to deal with Mrs. Stanley. I didn't want to and I wasn't going to and I didn't eat that disgusting shrivelled specimen. So much for second grade lunch.
I didn't know the words to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer so I was not selected to sing for a PTA meeting during school. I was very disappointed. The second event was one particular lunch.
I bought my lunch at school each day. I think it cost 25 cents and included milk. When you went through the line you were supposed to take the next plate in line. You weren't allowed to look for a better plate, one with fewer green beans or a bigger roll.
On this day we were having some sort of chicken soup. As I was approaching the serving line I saw this shriveled up miniature chicken leg sticking up out of the little bowl of soup. Looking quickly I realized that bowl was going to be mine. I tried to drop back in line but couldn't do it. Then I tried to take the next bowl but the cafeteria worker hollered at me to take the next plate in line. I was stuck with the shrivelled up piece of chicken in a bowl. All the other bowls had pieces of chicken in the bowl like a normal soup. They didn't have this shrivelled up stump of a chicken leg dumped in a cup of thin gruel. I might have to take it but I sure didn't have to eat it!
I sat down and ate my lunch, everything but the shrivelled up chicken leg and hideous gruel. I started to get up and take my tray to the cleaning window but Mrs. Fuel stopped me. "You have to eat all your food," she said. I sat back down but refused to eat. Lunch period was over but I hadn't eaten my shrivelled stump so I was not allowed to go back to class. I had to stay there and eat everything on my tray. I refused. I don't know how long I sat there, the only one in the entire cafeteria. The workers were back in the kitchen cleaning and getting ready to go home. I sat there. I was not about to eat the shrivelled stick and gruel. Finally, Mrs. Fuel came back into the cafeteria. "Have you eaten your soup?" she asked. "No, and I'm not going to!" I replied. She spent a few more minutes trying to get me to eat it and I continued to refuse. Finally, she let me put up the tray and go back to class.
I think this is probably where Ben got his ability to deal with Mrs. Stanley. I didn't want to and I wasn't going to and I didn't eat that disgusting shrivelled specimen. So much for second grade lunch.
Basketball -Jr High Style - RA's
While playing in the school league, we also played in the Tarrant Baptist Association Royal Ambassador league during my Junior High years. One strange thing is that I don't remember any RA games between my very first season as an 8-9 year old and my 7th grade RA team. I really don't remember much about the 7th & 8th grade RA seasons, but here goes.
We had graduated from the garage painted cotton undershirts and cotton short to real basketball uniforms. We had white tops with green numbers and green satin-looking shorts. Our uniforms were very much like Arlington High's. As a 7th grader I didn't get to play much, certainly not near as much as I thought I deserved to play. I was very small but very quick and a good ball handler. My defense was outstanding. I thought I should play more but the bigger, older guys got the time. Our players included Tommy Pope (from the first team), Mitchell Kolinovsky (he's a preacher now in Grand Saline or somewhere), Tommy Wier (he wasn't very good), Bobby Greenwood (he was horrible but in later life he was an animal trainer who trained birds and other animals for TV shows, events, and the like), Cary Don Risinger, Gary, Verne Hargrave, and me. We probably lost as many games as we won.
On some of the other teams I met some guys that I would play against later in high school. I became good friends witha kid from Haltom but I can't remember his name. He was my same age but a grade younger. He had a big brother a couple of years older who was the star of their team.
We played the games at the South Side Recreation Center on Rosedale in Fort Worth. All the games were played on Saturday except, for some reason, the very last game was played one week night. The games would be played cross court so that 2 games could be played at the same time. The team we were supposed to play didn't show up. Haltom was supposed to play another team in a game that would decide the championship. Both teams were undefeated. Since we weren't going to have a game, they played full court for the championship. Haltom was in gold and the other team in red. I really don't remember who won, but I think Haltom did. I do remember that both teams were very good.
There was an age limit so by the time I reached 9th grade, most 9th graders were ineligible. Verne and I were still on the team and a friend of Verne's named Ronnie Lindley came to RA's so he could play. I only remember one other player on that team, Danny North. He was HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!! But, everybody had to play. I always wished he wouldn't show up. He was the oldest of 10 or 11 kids. His family lived in two houses, I think on Connally Terrace at Park Row. His mom was a great big fat woman. She didn't even know she was pregnant with her last child until about the time it was delivered. Her name was Mary Cherry North. Their whole family sat on the front pew at church.
Ninth grade and I was still very short. I was 5-foot or so. I started my 10th grade year at 5-2, so that should give you an idea. I was the best player on our team, then Verne and Ronnie. We had a good team despite the fact that I was the only player to be on the school team. We had won every game going into what would be the championship game against Diamond Hill. Joe Myers was our coach and RA Counselor.
In addition to the Diamond Hill game, one other stands out. We were playing First Baptist Mansfield. They had a big guy about 6' 2". He was a football player type, slow, broad, and tall. He and the rest of their team play very rough. To start the game and for almost the entire first half we only had one referee. I was always good at banging around even though I was small. I could block out, hit guys, and make it all look like their fault if there was a foul situation. Well, a second referee shows up and as I'm dribbling down the court it is kind of quiet and my mother shouts out, "There is a second referee here now Charles, so you can't be playing as rough as you have been." She is calling out attention to me for the referees to watch. I was flabbergasted! I turned around, still dribbling, and said, "Would you shut up!" Big mistake. She shut up but I heard about it when I got home.
The big guy was hurting us with a semi-jump shot from just inside the free throw line. Ronnie couldn't guard him even though he was our tallest player. Although he was a foot taller than me I said, "Let me guard him." I thought I could block his shot because he'd pull the ball behind his head on his shot and had a rather slow release. I was quick enough that I could jump around to his side, block the ball behind his head, and steal it. After doing that 2 or 3 times and taking the ball each time on a fast break score, he was toast. He lost all confidence and we won the game. I don't remember exactly what hapened to me when I got home, but I'm sure it wasn't pleasant. At least we won.
The week of the championship game was also the week we played for the city championship at school. We had a Wednesday practice for the school team that kept me from going to RA's that week. Since I wasn't at RA's that week Joe benched me for the entire first quarter. Big mistake. The Diamond Hill Baptist team was the 8th Grade Diamond Hill Junnior High team. We were behind 8-10 points after the first quarter. Late in the game we'd gotten the lead down to a couple of points. I stole the ball on our defensive end. I heard somebody call down under our basket, saw one of our players, and threw it down for what should have been an easy tying score. Too late I realized that the player was Danny North. He didn't catch the ball. He fumbled it and batted it around until until he kicked it out of bounds. Their ball. They came back down and scored and time ran out. We lost the championship game.
Joe Myers, Verne, and I were talking the other day. Joe brought up how he remembered that we almost won the championship. I reminded him that we would have if he hadn't benched me for the first quarter. He didn't remember that part. Verne just remembered how cold and clammy Joes's hands were. When he would call a time out we'd come over and Joe would grab you by the shoulders. I can remember even then that Verne would wrench his shoulders around trying to get Joe's hands off him.
We played RA ball our 10th grade year as well. We weren't very good. We had no height. Since I was playing varsity as a junior and senior I was ineligible for RA ball, so that chapter of my life was over.
We had graduated from the garage painted cotton undershirts and cotton short to real basketball uniforms. We had white tops with green numbers and green satin-looking shorts. Our uniforms were very much like Arlington High's. As a 7th grader I didn't get to play much, certainly not near as much as I thought I deserved to play. I was very small but very quick and a good ball handler. My defense was outstanding. I thought I should play more but the bigger, older guys got the time. Our players included Tommy Pope (from the first team), Mitchell Kolinovsky (he's a preacher now in Grand Saline or somewhere), Tommy Wier (he wasn't very good), Bobby Greenwood (he was horrible but in later life he was an animal trainer who trained birds and other animals for TV shows, events, and the like), Cary Don Risinger, Gary, Verne Hargrave, and me. We probably lost as many games as we won.
On some of the other teams I met some guys that I would play against later in high school. I became good friends witha kid from Haltom but I can't remember his name. He was my same age but a grade younger. He had a big brother a couple of years older who was the star of their team.
We played the games at the South Side Recreation Center on Rosedale in Fort Worth. All the games were played on Saturday except, for some reason, the very last game was played one week night. The games would be played cross court so that 2 games could be played at the same time. The team we were supposed to play didn't show up. Haltom was supposed to play another team in a game that would decide the championship. Both teams were undefeated. Since we weren't going to have a game, they played full court for the championship. Haltom was in gold and the other team in red. I really don't remember who won, but I think Haltom did. I do remember that both teams were very good.
There was an age limit so by the time I reached 9th grade, most 9th graders were ineligible. Verne and I were still on the team and a friend of Verne's named Ronnie Lindley came to RA's so he could play. I only remember one other player on that team, Danny North. He was HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!! But, everybody had to play. I always wished he wouldn't show up. He was the oldest of 10 or 11 kids. His family lived in two houses, I think on Connally Terrace at Park Row. His mom was a great big fat woman. She didn't even know she was pregnant with her last child until about the time it was delivered. Her name was Mary Cherry North. Their whole family sat on the front pew at church.
Ninth grade and I was still very short. I was 5-foot or so. I started my 10th grade year at 5-2, so that should give you an idea. I was the best player on our team, then Verne and Ronnie. We had a good team despite the fact that I was the only player to be on the school team. We had won every game going into what would be the championship game against Diamond Hill. Joe Myers was our coach and RA Counselor.
In addition to the Diamond Hill game, one other stands out. We were playing First Baptist Mansfield. They had a big guy about 6' 2". He was a football player type, slow, broad, and tall. He and the rest of their team play very rough. To start the game and for almost the entire first half we only had one referee. I was always good at banging around even though I was small. I could block out, hit guys, and make it all look like their fault if there was a foul situation. Well, a second referee shows up and as I'm dribbling down the court it is kind of quiet and my mother shouts out, "There is a second referee here now Charles, so you can't be playing as rough as you have been." She is calling out attention to me for the referees to watch. I was flabbergasted! I turned around, still dribbling, and said, "Would you shut up!" Big mistake. She shut up but I heard about it when I got home.
The big guy was hurting us with a semi-jump shot from just inside the free throw line. Ronnie couldn't guard him even though he was our tallest player. Although he was a foot taller than me I said, "Let me guard him." I thought I could block his shot because he'd pull the ball behind his head on his shot and had a rather slow release. I was quick enough that I could jump around to his side, block the ball behind his head, and steal it. After doing that 2 or 3 times and taking the ball each time on a fast break score, he was toast. He lost all confidence and we won the game. I don't remember exactly what hapened to me when I got home, but I'm sure it wasn't pleasant. At least we won.
The week of the championship game was also the week we played for the city championship at school. We had a Wednesday practice for the school team that kept me from going to RA's that week. Since I wasn't at RA's that week Joe benched me for the entire first quarter. Big mistake. The Diamond Hill Baptist team was the 8th Grade Diamond Hill Junnior High team. We were behind 8-10 points after the first quarter. Late in the game we'd gotten the lead down to a couple of points. I stole the ball on our defensive end. I heard somebody call down under our basket, saw one of our players, and threw it down for what should have been an easy tying score. Too late I realized that the player was Danny North. He didn't catch the ball. He fumbled it and batted it around until until he kicked it out of bounds. Their ball. They came back down and scored and time ran out. We lost the championship game.
Joe Myers, Verne, and I were talking the other day. Joe brought up how he remembered that we almost won the championship. I reminded him that we would have if he hadn't benched me for the first quarter. He didn't remember that part. Verne just remembered how cold and clammy Joes's hands were. When he would call a time out we'd come over and Joe would grab you by the shoulders. I can remember even then that Verne would wrench his shoulders around trying to get Joe's hands off him.
We played RA ball our 10th grade year as well. We weren't very good. We had no height. Since I was playing varsity as a junior and senior I was ineligible for RA ball, so that chapter of my life was over.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Basketball - Junior High Style
In the summer after my 6th grade year we moved out into the country to what is now a housing development on the corner of I-20 and Pleasant View Drive. When we moved there it was a 1/4-mile dirt and gravel road off a bumpy, very narrow, barely 2-lane Pleasant Ridge Drive. While the mailing address was Route 2 Box 296, Arlington before being changed to various other route and box numbers and finally 4250 Pleasant View Drive, it was in the Fort Worth school district. In the Fall of 1968 the area was changed to the Arlington ISD.
Anyway, we had left the friendly confines of the green and gold Berry Bears for the Purple and White Handley Greyhounds. It wasn't until we proudly wore our green and gold Berry letter jackets that we learned that our arch rival Meadowbrook Junior high bore the colors green and gold. We didn't wear the jackets much after that and I think they are now up in the cabins in the mountains.
Handley didn't have a "real" 7th-grade football team. Only the 9th grade had a regular schedule of games. The 7th grade practiced every day during the season and had one final scrimmage type game at the end of season. Still, the football players were the accepted jocks and the coaches knew them. We had basketball tryouts for two weeks, mostly run by the 7th grade football coach and Biology teacher and watched some by the head basketball coach Mr. Baldwin.
In those days of short, short basketball shorts I wore some bright gold shorts about as long as today's uniforms. Tryouts were conducted for an hour before school and watched by anyone who wanted to show up. Mostly, we had full court games with players rotating in and out. I can remember hearing 8th and 9th grade guys laughing about my shorts but also talking about how fast I was. After the last tryout session Coach Morris, the Biology teacher, said Coach Baldwin was going to make the final selection for the team the next day. Coach Morris was going to recommend the following people and he named them. They were all football players. That left Gary and me out. We went home that day thinking we probably wouldn't make the team. In talking about it in later years, Gary said he was terribly upset thinking that we hadn't made the team. All I really remember was thinking that the football coach didn't know basketball and when the basketball coach made the ultimate decision Gary and I would be there. Sure enough, when Coach Baldwin announced the team it was the guys who could play basketball, not just the football players, and Gary and I had made the team.
Gary and I were the starting guards for the team. John Tandy, Kim Riddle, and Alan Stanford were the 3 big men inside. We all played later at Eastern Hills High School. Gary was a starter on the JV as a sophomore, a squadman on the varsity as a junior, and didn't play as a senior. Alan also was a starter as a Soph, squadman as a junior, and lettered as a senior. John, Kim, and I all lettered as juniors and seniors. As 7th graders we had a pretty good team. We won the majority of our games, but I can't remember if we actually had a true league with a formal champion. I don't remember any particular game except that I had my tonsils out and missed the Christmas tournament. I also remember playing in a gym on the second floor of William James Junior High. I always thought that was so dumb and had never seen it before or since until our church built its gym. Stanford was our big scorer followed by Gary.
Our 8th grade year was pretty much a repeat of 7th grade without the tryout suspense. We had tryouts but we knew we were going to be on the team. Eighth graders were eligible to play on the 9th grade team and we all got to suit up for the final 9th grade home game against Meadowbrook. The only other thing of note was a new kid, Tommy Taylor. Tommy was a 7th grader but he was older than me and as old as Gary. His parents held him back and had him repeat 7th grade for athletic purposes. His dad was one of the top Southwest Conference football and basketball officials and Tommy was really good athelete. He played quite a bit on the 9th grade football team as a 7th grader.
For the 9th grade season I was relegated to 2nd team much of the time and Tommy took my place in the starting lineup. Carter Riverside had a guard who shot from his hip and was their leading scorer. In the first quarter in our gym he had already scored 10 or 12 points so Coach Baldwin pulled Tommy and put me in to shut the guy down. In the first few seconds that I was in he took a long shot and scored. He didn't score another basket the rest of the game. I totally shut him down. We slowly made up the deficit and had the game tied in the last minute of the game. They had the ball but we batted it loose toward mid court. Gary and I ran after the ball with the Riverside game between us. As we got to the ball we bumped one another and the Riverside guy fell down. The ref called a foul on Gary and we lost the game 42-41. It was a terrible call. We beat them later on in their gym. This time I started and totally shut the guy down again. I remember partially blocking one shot out at the top of the key, running around the lane, and catching the airball under the basket. We did have a City Championship game against Meadowbrook that we won. I started but got pulled for taking and missing a long shot, so I mostly sat the bench for the game.
Coach Baldwin was really a good coach and a great guy. Of the guys on that team only Kim Riddle and I started in high school. Another guy from Handley, Ricky Hall, started as a junior and senior but he didn't play in 9th grade because he broke his collarbone in football. In fact, he didn't play much in 7th or 8th grade either but got a whole lot better in high school.
That's part 1 of Junior High basketball. That discussed the school part. Later, I'll tell you about RA (church) basketball.
Anyway, we had left the friendly confines of the green and gold Berry Bears for the Purple and White Handley Greyhounds. It wasn't until we proudly wore our green and gold Berry letter jackets that we learned that our arch rival Meadowbrook Junior high bore the colors green and gold. We didn't wear the jackets much after that and I think they are now up in the cabins in the mountains.
Handley didn't have a "real" 7th-grade football team. Only the 9th grade had a regular schedule of games. The 7th grade practiced every day during the season and had one final scrimmage type game at the end of season. Still, the football players were the accepted jocks and the coaches knew them. We had basketball tryouts for two weeks, mostly run by the 7th grade football coach and Biology teacher and watched some by the head basketball coach Mr. Baldwin.
In those days of short, short basketball shorts I wore some bright gold shorts about as long as today's uniforms. Tryouts were conducted for an hour before school and watched by anyone who wanted to show up. Mostly, we had full court games with players rotating in and out. I can remember hearing 8th and 9th grade guys laughing about my shorts but also talking about how fast I was. After the last tryout session Coach Morris, the Biology teacher, said Coach Baldwin was going to make the final selection for the team the next day. Coach Morris was going to recommend the following people and he named them. They were all football players. That left Gary and me out. We went home that day thinking we probably wouldn't make the team. In talking about it in later years, Gary said he was terribly upset thinking that we hadn't made the team. All I really remember was thinking that the football coach didn't know basketball and when the basketball coach made the ultimate decision Gary and I would be there. Sure enough, when Coach Baldwin announced the team it was the guys who could play basketball, not just the football players, and Gary and I had made the team.
Gary and I were the starting guards for the team. John Tandy, Kim Riddle, and Alan Stanford were the 3 big men inside. We all played later at Eastern Hills High School. Gary was a starter on the JV as a sophomore, a squadman on the varsity as a junior, and didn't play as a senior. Alan also was a starter as a Soph, squadman as a junior, and lettered as a senior. John, Kim, and I all lettered as juniors and seniors. As 7th graders we had a pretty good team. We won the majority of our games, but I can't remember if we actually had a true league with a formal champion. I don't remember any particular game except that I had my tonsils out and missed the Christmas tournament. I also remember playing in a gym on the second floor of William James Junior High. I always thought that was so dumb and had never seen it before or since until our church built its gym. Stanford was our big scorer followed by Gary.
Our 8th grade year was pretty much a repeat of 7th grade without the tryout suspense. We had tryouts but we knew we were going to be on the team. Eighth graders were eligible to play on the 9th grade team and we all got to suit up for the final 9th grade home game against Meadowbrook. The only other thing of note was a new kid, Tommy Taylor. Tommy was a 7th grader but he was older than me and as old as Gary. His parents held him back and had him repeat 7th grade for athletic purposes. His dad was one of the top Southwest Conference football and basketball officials and Tommy was really good athelete. He played quite a bit on the 9th grade football team as a 7th grader.
For the 9th grade season I was relegated to 2nd team much of the time and Tommy took my place in the starting lineup. Carter Riverside had a guard who shot from his hip and was their leading scorer. In the first quarter in our gym he had already scored 10 or 12 points so Coach Baldwin pulled Tommy and put me in to shut the guy down. In the first few seconds that I was in he took a long shot and scored. He didn't score another basket the rest of the game. I totally shut him down. We slowly made up the deficit and had the game tied in the last minute of the game. They had the ball but we batted it loose toward mid court. Gary and I ran after the ball with the Riverside game between us. As we got to the ball we bumped one another and the Riverside guy fell down. The ref called a foul on Gary and we lost the game 42-41. It was a terrible call. We beat them later on in their gym. This time I started and totally shut the guy down again. I remember partially blocking one shot out at the top of the key, running around the lane, and catching the airball under the basket. We did have a City Championship game against Meadowbrook that we won. I started but got pulled for taking and missing a long shot, so I mostly sat the bench for the game.
Coach Baldwin was really a good coach and a great guy. Of the guys on that team only Kim Riddle and I started in high school. Another guy from Handley, Ricky Hall, started as a junior and senior but he didn't play in 9th grade because he broke his collarbone in football. In fact, he didn't play much in 7th or 8th grade either but got a whole lot better in high school.
That's part 1 of Junior High basketball. That discussed the school part. Later, I'll tell you about RA (church) basketball.
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