The Tailgater...

I have a long-time friend, believe it or not. It's been 40 years and counting. Wow! The years just fly by.

His name is Don and he's the ultimate tailgater. We both have a lot of stories to tell...and some we shouldn't. But when it comes to tailgating, Don and his family and friends put on a pregame party in the grassy area, just north of the Arizona stadium,t hat is to die for. Tailgating has been a part of the pregame at Arizona ever since I can remember. And it gets bigger and bigger every season. Thanks mainly to die-hard fans like Don and his family.

The ritual starts early, say about five hours before game time as Don and a select few, lineup their motor home along with many others, awaiting the checkered flag to enter the confines, which will be their home for the next eight hours.The trick is to get that number one, two or three lot space...on second thought by six o'clock they're all good. But I guess it's like the pole position at the Indy 500. Everybody wants it.

Once in position, there is a lot of work to do. Tables, chairs, and television sets. Satellite disks and cables. Barbecues. Tents. And the food. My goodness, everything from potato salad to juicy steaks. You name it, chances are the numero uno chef, Kevin, has the fire crackling for your favorite fare.

And, of course, there are plenty of beverages to keep you cooled down under that hot Arizona sun. The afternoon's in September are plenty warm. Sometimes the monsoon will come a long and put a damper on things, forcing Don and friends to chase down a tent or two. By game time, all is well.

The grassy area is vacant-- except for a few fans that have decided to sit back in their lounge chair and watch the game on television--and you can hear the roar from the stadium as 56,000 fans await the kickoff.

College football on a Saturday night...it is the place to be.

Have speed...will travel

Jamaican Usian Bolt...okay, I'll say it, bolted out of the blocks in Berlin a couple of weeks ago and set a new record as the fastest human with a 100-meter clocking of 9.58.

So, we know the name of the fastest human, but how about the older athlete? Just how fast are the elite athletes over the age of 50 running these days.

Plenty fast, let me tell you.

According to Masterstrack.com, fifty-one year-old Michael Waller, currently the assistant track and field coach at Pacific Lutheran College, sped to a 11.31 clocking at a Masters race in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in July, while Amanda Scotti, 51, covered the 100 meters in 13.35 at a Masters meet in Pasadena, Calif. in June of this year. Scotti is a stay-at-home mom of two boys and lives and trains in Folsom, Calif. World-class sprinter Jim Hines became the first one to break the 10-second barrier at the 1968 Olympic Games. Since then, it has become commonplace for the Olympic gold medal winner to break the mark. And the women are edging closer to the mark as well. Florence Griffith Joyner holds the record at 10.49, set back in 1988.

Remarkable! I passed by my high school the other day. The old 400-yard track is still there, right where its always been. I think back to 1963 and I can recall how special we treated are prep track stars. Back then a 9.8 would probably win you a 5A state final. If you were lucky enough to have a student-athlete in school who could run with the wind, it was a sure bet everybody knew him. Of course, five years later they went to this meter thing and instantly made it harder for me do my calculations and comparisons,but it is amazing how the records keep falling.

Oh well, I guess I'll go out and run my 15-minute mile.

On the eve of September...

In the Stands Report by Bookemdano: Is it an omen? The Arizona Wildcats 2009 football team is heading back to the 1970s. My goodness, we now have one of my favorite rock bands in the mix: Earth, Wind and Fire. It has now been reported that the Wildcats' trio of running backs Nicolas Grigsby, Keola Antolin and Greg Nwoko have been branded by the Arizona defense.

Nwoko, who runs like a bull and will not go down easy is labeled "Earth" and Antolin, who blew the Arizona fans away last year with his antics on the field, is the "Wind" and Grigsby is aptly named the "Fire"...or, if I may add: "The Fire in the Hole".

The strange thing about the whole idea is the fact the top song by the "EWF" was the million-dollar hit "September" and, in the the lyrics, the date of September 21 is mentioned. As we head into next week's opener against Central Michigan, we say goodbye to August and we usher in the eve of September. Whoops! Different band.

At any rate, the Wildcat fans are ready to get it on and are treated to back to back home games as Arizona will host Northern Arizona on Sept. 12, before they pack up and head for Iowa on Sept. 19.

Mike Stoops and his staff will then prepare for a "second season" -- beginning with a hard-nosed practice session on Monday, Sept. 21, as they get ready for their Pac-10 opener at Oregon State on Sept. 26. Stoops should have all the pieces of the puzzle together when the Wildcats hit the practice field on the 21st of September with Earth, Wind and Fire leading the way.

Could the Wildcats be 3-0 when they head up to Corvallis? We hope so. Central Michigan will be no pushover.  NAU..well maybe. Then there's Iowa with 70,000 fans on hand to cheer them on. Should we settle for 2-1.

 No!  It's the eve of September, for goodness sakes.

Sit back, relax and enjoy an old Western

For many of us old timers who still play ball, there comes a time when we need to sit back, relax and mend the aching torso. For me, all it takes to get my mind off my aches and pains is a cool beverage, some popcorn and an old Western movie.

I pretty much like them all, so what ever I select from my library is good enough. But if I had to pin down my three favorite cowboy flicks, I'd probably pick a classic from 1953, which is probably a common favorite among most of my old-time friends, and then there are two modern-day Western films I love to watch over and over again.

Two of the flicks involve cattle, horses and an automobile or two. So I guess you can't classify them as Westerns, but I do it anyway. When you get my age, you can classify them how ever you want.

The first on my list is all "Western" and at times provides us with beautiful shots of the Grand Tetons around Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The movie, Shane, tells the tale of a former gunfighter, played by Alan Ladd, who drifts into town in hopes of changing his ways, but finds himself in a heap of trouble.

In the end, he faces my favorite villain of all time, Jack Wilson, played by Jack Palance. Palance received an academy award nomination for his supporting role as the meanest cowpoke ever. The movie also stars the great Van Heflin, Jean Arthur, Brandon DeWilde (who plays Joey) and of course Ben Johnson, who has been in every Western I can think of.

The showdown at the end between the two gunfighters is classic. If you can't remember Joey's final words in the flick, "Shane! Come back!" chances are you're not old enough to understand this blog.

And then there is Kirk Douglas. Douglas portrays John W. Burns, a cowboy who just can't get down from the saddle and join the new world, a world full of rules, cars and airplanes. In this 1962 film, Lonely are the Brave, John W. Burns discovers his friend is in the local jailhouse. So, he arranges a fight at a tavern and gets what he wants, a night in the slammer to see his buddy. One thing led to another and Burns finds himself with some added jail time. Of course, he'll have none of that. He tells his buddy goodbye and escapes the hoosegow, gets on his horse and heads for the mountains. Of course, the local sheriff, played by Walter Matthau, gives chase.The rest of the movie is classic Douglas...and his horse, of course.

My third choice, is a film which was released one year later in 1963 and takes place in a dusty Texas town. The movie was called Hud. Paul Newman played the part of Hud Bannon, a cattle rancher and womanizer, probably in reverse order. He played it so well it garnered him an academy award nomination for Best Actor. He lost out to Sidney Poitier, who won for his brilliant performance in Lillies of the Field, but in my book it was classic Newman. You loved and hated the guy for an hour and a half. He battled with his own demons throughout the flick, especially with his father, who told him, "You don't give a damn about anyone, but yourself."

Hud had one friend, his young nephew Lon, played by an older Brandon DeWilde, who had portrayed Joey in Shane, just ten years earlier. Lon stayed by his Uncle for most of the movie, but in the end, he even wised up. It is a sad ending for Hud. The movie is a must-see.

In real life, DeWilde would die a few years later in an auto accident in Denver at the young age of 30. As far as I know, the movie, Hud, the war movie, In Harms Way (1965), and the comedy Wild in the Sky (1972) were his final performances.

I shook hands with the man...

Back in 1970, I had the honor of playing in a fast pitch softball all-star game at Tucson Santa Rita Park. I was one of maybe four shortstops who took the field that day.

 I played two innings at the most and maybe fielded a grounder or two. For sure, it was nothing to write home about. But still, it was an honor to have been selected. I was 25 at the time and not quite in my prime as a softball player.

Sitting in the dugout, nervously awaiting my call to the field, I noticed a player at first base who was fielding grounders with ease and he had this aura about him...you know, sometimes you just look at a player and you know he's going to have something to do with the outcome of a game. He was always talking to somebody. Everybody knew him. His name was Dick Griesser and he played for the Tucson Kings.

Believe me I can't remember the outcome of the all star game, or how many hits Dick got that day, but I will never forget the man. He died of cancer this week at the age of 77. A baseball star at Phoenix North High School in the early 50s, Griesser went on to play for the Arizona Wildcats and participated in three College World Series. He also played for Team USA in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

He would eventually settle in Tucson for good and become a well-known teacher and an AIA official. He will be missed. As the dust settled on Santa Rita Park on that warm, summer day forty years ago,we all shook hands. I remember looking up at Dick Griesser as he passed by me. I admired him then...and I still do.

That guy is going places...

Most of us old timers can go back in time and recall the time we witnessed an exceptional athlete perform.

At the time, we might have said, to the person to the right or left of us, "that guy is going places." It happened to me just like that in 1964. I was a sports publicists at a junior college in eastern Arizona (EAJC) and I saw this amazing athlete take a feed from a teammate, take two steps, and then unleash a dunk shot behind his back.

What was so amazing, the athlete was not much bigger than me. He was listed at six feet even, but a swear he looked eight feet tall as he headed back to the bench, while the fans let out a roar that shook the building. He scored 25 points that night against a freshman team from Texas Western. The El Paso team was one heck of an opponent. A few of the players ended up on the famous Texas Western team that won the NCAA title. The movie "Glory Road" documented the rise to fame of the 1967 Miners team, coached by Don Haskins.

But on this particular night, the star of the show was Eastern Arizona's Freddie Lewis. Freddie went on to play at Arizona State University and in 1966 was drafted in the tenth round by the Cincinnati Royals, but ended up the following year with the ABA and the Indiana Pacers. And he wasn't just a one-year wonder. Lewis played from 1967 to 1977 and amassed over 12,000 points and was a member of three championship ABA teams.

He played in 686 ABA games and 64 NBA contests. Lewis also played in 106 ABA playoff games, scoring 2,015 points. His lifetime regular season average was 17.0 points per game, while his playoff average topped out at 19.0.

Lewis, 66, is retired and resides in Indianapolis,Indiana, where it all started for him more than 40 years ago. I recall we had a Sociology class together at Eastern Arizona. It seems like it was just the other day when both of us were staring out the window, waiting for class to end. We both wanted to get to the gym. Freddie had basketball practice and I wanted to tag along, with pen and paper in hand, so I could watch a guy perform who was...going places.

The year of the "bug"...

In The Stands Report by Bookemdano: I hope it'll be the year of the "Bug". I don't mean the world-wide flu bug that has everybody up in arms, I mean Bug Wright, the sophomore punt and kickoff return man for the Arizona Wildcats. Listed at 5 feet 9 and 175 pounds, Wright got a chance to carry the ball out of the backfield a couple of times last night during the scrimmage at Arizona Stadium. He also hauled in a pass or two, and returned a couple of kickoffs, one of which was a quick hitter up the center of the field for 40 yards. A shoe string tackle at midfield kept him out of the end zone.

The Wildcats' coaching staff let him do just enough to have me pencil Bug in at the top of my "Wildcats Wish List" --which is to have Bug Wright provide us with at least one electrifying run every game, beginning with the season opener against Central Michigan and not ending until after, let's say, a bowl game.

My goodness, if he can just stay healthy, he'll be worth the admission.

Caught a glimpse of the Wildcats big tight end Rob Gronkowski.He was so popular with the autograph seekers, it took him a good twenty minutes to get through the entrance at the northeast corner of the stadium. You couldn't miss him. He towered over all the children who stood below him with their pen and posters in hand. The junior from Williamsville, NY., is six foot, six inches tall and weighs 265 pounds.

If Gronkowski can stay healthy, there is a strong possibility he will be in line to garner first-team Pac-10 honors for 2009. Gronkowski has caught 75 passes in two seasons as a Wildcat and has amassed 1,197 yards, while scoring 16 touchdowns. You can bet that Coach Mike Stoops and his staff were playing it close to the vest in last night's Meet the Team scrimmage. The Wildcats didn't let a lot out of the bag. But, I for one, hope Mr. Wright bugs the heck out of Arizona's opponents this season. And we can only hope that Gronkowski can find away to haul in his share of passes from the Arizona quarterbacks, Nick Foles or Matt Scott.

Go Wildcats! September 5th...is approaching.

The open field...

Sometimes when I stop to smell the roses,which is not very often, I might take a walk in the park.

Every now and then I'll see an empty baseball field and I think to myself, where are the children?

Oh yes, it's the time of the year when Little League fans are focused on the Williamsport LL World Series, but that's only a select few of the millions and millions of children in the world. I remember, as a young boy, I used to leave the house with a bat and glove and I'd walk to the nearest park.

Sometimes, I'd run into a gang of kids, just like me, waiting patiently to get enough players together for a game of workups. Chances were slim that we'd ever have 18 players...it would be more like five, six, maybe seven. But in workups everybody would get plenty of action. You'd get a chance to play the infield, the outfield and pitch. The trick, of course, was to stay up at bat as long as you could.

Once you made an out, you would trot out to an outfield position, or in some cases, you would switch with the player that caught your ball.You would then begin a rotation around the field until it was your turn to bat again. This would go on for hours and, of course, I'd be the last one to go home. I'd get some rest and trot over to the park the first thing the next morning.

Talk about the lazy days of summer. You just don't see the game of workups played anymore. You could blame the hot summer days, I guess. Back in the 50s, it didn't seem as hot in Tucson. More cement now, less grass. Kids are home playing video games. Everyone has a pool these days and the ones that don't can find a city pool to dip into.

I think it's such a shame, as I pass by an open field, that the kids aren't there. It cost very little. Maybe mom or dad would need to furnish their youngin' with a water bottle or two. Of course, not everyone loves baseball the way I do, but with the economy the way it is, it certainly seems like cheap entertainment. As I sit in the bleachers and look out over the baseball diamond, I think to myself, how many of these open fields have I played on in my life. The answer is plenty. The memories are many.

The game of workups...I remember it well.

Ken Stone and Bubba Sparks

I have two new blogger friends that I look up to and admire. One is the author of www.masterstrack.com. His name is Ken Stone. The other is a 56-year-old pole vaulter by the name of Doug "Bubba" Sparks and his blog is www.bubbapv.com.

You can click on my favorite links or go to the blogs I follow and instantly find yourself in their world. For my readers on bookemdanosports, it is a must-read. Stone, a former copy editor for the San Diego Union Tribune, has a site dedicated to master athletes in track and field that will blow your mind away.

As for Bubba Sparks, he's a former five-time All American from Southwest Texas State and a three-time national champion pole vaulter. At the age of 56, he is now preparing for the 2009 Sydney Games to be held in mid October.

Thirty years ago the man was pole vaulting 18 feet. Now he's clearing 13 feet and could very well walk away with the masters title in Sydney. And if you want to know everything there is to know about pole vaulting, just go to his site. It is incredible.

I'm to old to start jumping. I'll be happy if I can snare a live drive at the Men's Senior League Baseball World Series in Phoenix in October. As for Stone, he's the man. If my blog could someday get to his level of expertise, I'd be happy. In the meantime, I'll continue to do what I do in hopes of running across more men and women of such caliber.

Just how fast can they run, throw and jump...

Just how fast can an over fifty elite athlete run, jump and throw these days?

Click on View my Complete Profile, on the right side of my home page, then scroll down all the blogs I follow and click on the one listed as USA Masters Track and Field Rankings. You'll be amazed.

For instance, in the mile run a 60-year-old fellow by the name of James Gorman ran a 5:11.47 at a USATF Masters Meet in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on July 9 of this year and followed that up in a similar meet out in Davis, California with a 5:23.04 clocking on July 31. In contrast, 50-year-old Stephen Chantry ran a 4:51.00 on May 1 in a meet at Raleigh, North Carolina. On the women's side, sixty-eight year old Maggie Stoll recorded a time of 7:05 in Nashville, Tennessee on June 16 and 60-year-old Trenice Mullis-Dubow ran the mile in 6:54.64 at Statesboro, Georgia on April 18.

In Palo Alto, California, Kay Glynn, 56, high jumped 1.38 meters (4 feet, 5 inches) and James Savers, 61, cleared 1.67 meters (5 feet, 4 inches) in Atlanta, Georgia on June 23.And how about 67-year-old Nadine O'Connor out in Palo Alto on August 5. She took hold of the shot put(3kg) and heaved it 8.43 meters (27 feet, 6 inches).

Amazing! So all you old timers out there. Get that shot put out of the closet and get to practicing. On second thought, it might be easier to check out the current track and field rankings. I threw my shot put away years ago.

A Man and a Priest...

This is not a sports story.

Far from it. But it is about the past...a long, long, long time ago. Back in the 17th century, a priest roamed the land that we now call our home. No street lights...no interstates, mostly just desert land. The priest did his part though, building mission after mission, 21 in all went up all over the Sonora Desert.

He was affectionately known as "Father Kino". His given name was Eusebio Francisco Kino, a Jesuit priest who traveled the countryside preaching unity and good will. This September, a shrine will be dedicated to Father Kino at the base of "A" Mountain, just west of the Santa Cruz River. The location of the shrine is often referred to as "The Birthplace of Tucson."  Father Kino died in 1713. His whereabouts unknown.

In 1966, a University of Arizona archaeologist by the name of Dr. William W. Wasley and his crew were digging in Magdelana, a small Mexican town less than 100 miles south of the Arizona border. They came across the find of a lifetime. Wasley and his crew discovered the grave site of Eusebio Francisco Kino.

Wasley passed away in 1970. He was my father-in-law.  My boys' grandfather. I was 21 years old at the time of the discovery. The word spread swiftly, from the tiny streets of Magdelana, to the busy streets of Nogales, and to Tucson and all of the Arizona communities.

In all his years of excavation as an archaeologist could Dr. Wasley have dreamed of such a discovery? That was his job and he certainly left his mark in the history books.

Jim Thorpe...All American...Still my favorite track and field movie

Okay all you old timers. Let's go back a bit.

The year was 1951 and a wonderful track and field movie was released that is still one of my favorite flicks about an extraordinary human athlete.

Burt Lancaster portrays the legendary Jim Thorpe, the native American who battled racism and captured gold medals at the 1912 Olympic Games. It was Lancaster's 1960 flick "Elmer Gantry" in track clothes. Born in Oklahoma in 1988, a descendant of Chief Black Hawk, Thorpe rose to stardom in the Stockholm Olympics by winning all but one event in the pentathlon and running away with the decathlon as well.

My goodness, he was such a versatile athlete.He ran the 100-yard dash in 10-flat, the mile in 4:35, long jump at 23-6, high jump at 6-5, and pole vault at 11 feet...and that's just to name a few events. He ran hurdles, ran intermediate distances, threw the discus, heaved the shot and threw the javelin. He went on to play pro baseball and football. And in his biggest battle of all, he fought of discrimination until the day he died in 1953.

Trouble seemed to always follow Thorpe, and he was stripped of his Olympic medals when it was discovered he had played on a professional baseball team for a mere sixty dollars. Thank goodness, Thorpe's medals were reinstated by the International Olympic Committee in 1983, thirty years after his death.

Buy the movie and get the full impact of Thorpe's saga. By the way, Billy Gray, from "Father's Knows Best" TV fame, portrays a young Thorpe in the movie. And the great character actor Charles Bickford portrayed Pop Warner, Thorpe's coach and father figure, who was the first person to take notice of Thorpe and his athletic ability at the Carilse Indian School in Pennsylvania.

Thorpe had an Indian name which meant "Bright Path". Thorpe certainly created his own path...his own journey in history by running, throwing, catching, jumping, hitting and vaulting his way to glory.

A Million Dollar Movie...

In 2004, Clint Eastwood produced, directed and starred in the best boxing movie I have ever had the pleasure of watching on the silver screen.

I love "Rocky" movies...because I love "Rocky" movies. I do not expect every actor in a "Rocky" flick to garner an academy award, but there I sit anyway as the final boxing scenes unravels. But in "Million Dollar Baby"I expect the three main characters played by Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman and Eastwood to walk onto the stage at the Academy Awards and pick up their Oscar.

I expect it. I want it to happen. And I would have been shocked if it didn't happen.

The movie won for Best Picture. Eastwood collected the Best Director Award. Freeman the Best Supporting Actor Award. And Swank boxed her way to the Best Actress of the Year Award.

Jamie Foxx won the Best Actor Award for "Ray" and he not only had to beat out Eastwood, but Johnny Depp (Finding Neverland) and Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda). I'd hate to have been the judges on that one.

Swank's character, Maggie, walks into the boxing gym at the beginning of "Million Dollar Baby" and captures our hearts and she doesn't let loose until the very end. I walked out of the movie, desperately wanting to change the ending. The movie was that good. As for Freeman and Eastwood, they were both outstanding -- Freeman as "Scrap" and Eastwood as "Frankie". They were together in the academy award winning western, "The Unforgiven". I didn't think they could top those performances. I was wrong. Buy the DVD. See it over and over again. Make plenty of popcorn and bring plenty of tissue.
(Reviewed on Amazon, under the reviewer's name, Daniel H. Price)

How High Can they Go!

Back in 1997, I covered a high school track meet in Phoenix and witnessed first hand the beginning of girls' prep pole vaulting in Arizona.

I was sceptical.

That year, most of the girls were having trouble out-doing the boys in the high jump, who were consistently jumping over six feet...some near the 7-foot mark.

I figured there would come a day when I would be shaking my head at the progress of women's pole vaulting. It has come to pass. In 2003, April Kubishta of Lake Havasu set a state record with a vault of 13 feet, 1 1/4 inch and, in doing so became the first female to clear 13 feet in Arizona. She went on to become a star vaulter at Arizona State University and in 2008 set a personal best of 14-1 indoor and 13-11.75 outdoor. In contrast, Alec Hsu vaulted 16 feet, 1 inch in May of this year as he completed his stellar senior season at Phoenix Desert View High School.

Tolleson's Nick Hysong still owns the boy's state prep record at 17 feet, 4.75 inches. And then there's world record holder Sergey Bubka (Ukraine) who owns a vault into outer space with a remarkable vault of 20 feet, 1 3/4 or 6.14 meters. (I hate that meter thing).USA's Tim Mack vaulted 5.95 meters at the Athens Olympics. But getting back to the girls, Russian Yelena Isinbayeva vaulted 16 feet, 6 inches (5.03 meters) in Rome at a meet in 2008.

Remarkable! Hats off to all vaulters, especially the Arizona female vaulters who got it all started back in 1997.

The Road to Williamsport

Imagine what it must feel like if you are a parent or a grandparent and you're packing up the family jalopy and heading out today to watch your child participate in the Williamsport Little League World Series.

Sixteen teams will converge on South Williamsport, Pa., August 21-30 for the 2009 LL World Series, including a team from Chula Vista,Calif., winner of its game in San Bernadino last night over a team from Granite Bay, Calif. The score was 11-4 in favor of the southern California team. It was a real pressure-cooker of a game, held in front of (can you believe it) 13,000 fans.

Back in 1973, the family of Ed Vosberg made the trek to Williamsport to watch the Tucson native and former major league pitcher compete in the series as an 11-year-old. Vosberg was the first player to compete in not only the Little League World Series, but the College World Series and in "The Show"...the Major League World Series as well.

The Tucson Cactus Little League team knocked off Colonie, New York, 4-0, in the quarterfinals and then jumped all over Birmingham, Michigan, 8-1, in the semis behind a one-hitter from Vosberg.

Tainin City, Taiwan ended the Tucson team's spectacular run with a 12-0 win in the championship game.

Howard J. Lamade Stadium will be rocking later this week and the television crews and sports reporters will be all over the place, covering the 63rd Little League World Series. I was trying to recall my Little League days...it was back in the mid 1950s and I remember my uniform was a bit big as I picked up my bat and glove and headed for Randolph Park to play in a game,which would decide who would move on to regional competition. We lost. I'm not sure if there were 13,000 people in Tucson at the time. But the parents and the grandparents were there, cheering us on.

Good luck to all the teams in Williamsport.

Grandma and Grandpa...How could you ever forget them?

Most of my readers have a lot of time on their hands.

They certainly have the time to shuffle up to the table, enjoy a cup of coffee, and watch the roses bloom out on the patio. If they're lucky, they might have a chance to play ball with their grandchild, check out a movie with the little critter or just hang out with them and watch them pound the keys on a computer, while you sit there and watch in amazement. I recall my own grandfather, who I spent time with (but not nearly enough) when I was seven years old. My grandfather and grandmother owned forty acres of land,  just outside of Little Rock, Arkansas, in a town called Jacksonville.

 It is ironic that all these years later, I would have a book available on Amazon.com/kindle entitled Billy's Victory, in which the main character, Billy Ray Reynolds, played baseball and bicycled his way around a fictitious town called, Johnsonville.

My grandfather would take me on a Sunday morning walk, down a crooked path, just east of the farm house, and eventually onto the railroad track, which led directly into Jacksonville. It didn't take long, maybe forty-five minutes, and we'd end up at the local hardware store, sitting outside, with our feet propped up, while we gabbed away with a bunch of old timers about the price of corn. We'd then wander over to the grocery store and Grandpa would buy me a couple of sugar cookies. Of course, that would make my day.

I'm sure most of my readers have similar stories. It doesn't hurt to revisit them once in awhile. I remember the first shotgun that my Grandpa handed me. It was a 28-gauge nickel-plated, piece of work. My goodness the squirrels could see me coming for miles. Unfortunately, I don't have the gun anymore, too bad. But I certainly have the memories. My mother told me a story about my grandpa and his love for baseball. Back in the 1940s, he was playing on an old timers team.

Grandpa and the team took on the local high school team in a sandlot game. Grandpa's team won. My mother said that her father wanted to pursue a baseball career, but he just couldn't leave his roots and his hometown. As I think back, I can now understand why.

Woodstock...recalling 1969

Here I go again with my early morning coffee and my thoughts from the days of old.

This time the year is 1969 and this weekend marks the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock Music Festival, which was held on a dairy farm in the town of Bethel, 43 miles southwest of Woodstock, New York.

The countryside was filled with more than 450,000 onlookers as they came to watch performers such as Richie Havens, Joan Baez, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker and Jimi Hendrix perform...along with bands like Jefferson Airplane, Creedance Clearwater Rivival and the great Santana. It was a rock and roll "Heaven"...the place to be.

I was 24 years old at the time, married, with two boys.  Many of my friends had packed up their cars at mid-week and had headed out of Tucson to join the rock and roll crazed fans. I, on the other hand, stayed put in the Old Pueblo. For goodness sakes, I had a doubleheader scheduled at Santa Rita Park that weekend.

As I recall, on Saturday morning we had gone to the El Con Shopping Center. My wife shopped and I headed off to the barbershop. The barber was busy trimming my locks, when he stopped...pointed his trusty comb toward the window and saw my wife and the two boys stroll by. His exact words were, "Look at that gal, she couldn't be more than 12 years of age." An embarrassing moment for all.

Of course, we were both in out 20s, and, I guess, we were both a couple of scrawny looking young people. Getting back to the year 1969, it was a remarkable one as far as sports were concerned. I recall it was the year when the great New York Yankee center fielder Mickey Mantle retired. The New York Mets won the World Series that year, knocking off the Orioles in five games. Smokin' Joe Frazier sent Jerry Quarry to the canvas in the seventh round and won the heavyweight title. The Celtics beat the Lakers and Joe Namath predicted a win in Super Bowl VIII...and got it, as the New York Jets bested the Baltimore Colts, 16-7.

It was a sad day in sports as well. The great, Italian-American fighter Rocky Marciano died in a plane crash and 1969 was the year  Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.

I can't remember who won the doubleheader at Santa Rita Park. I think it was my team.

Fun at the movies...What's your favorite golf flick?

Who's your caddy?

My top three golf movies have one thing in common: The caddy steals the show.

In "The Greatest Game Ever Played" amateur Francis Quimet goes up against British golfers Harry Vardon and Ted Ray at the 1913 U.S.Open. Quimet's father feels his son should earn an honest living...away from the golf course, but Francis was persistent and entered the U.S.Open, anyway.

Quimet, played by Shia LaBeouf, is a long shot and is not expected to give the two professionals too much trouble. But the young amateur quickly becomes a crowd favorite as he plays himself into contention. The 1913 Open was held at the Brookline Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, and it just so happened the Quimet family lived across the street from the club, making Francis a hometown boy -- that, of course, excited the crowds at the course and around the city as Francis moved his way up the leader board.

Quimet's caddy, Eddie Lowery, played by Josh Flitter, keeps Francis focused as the amateur golfer heads for his showdown on the final day of the Open. Eddie is not much bigger than one of those jumbo drivers, the club of choice by the weekend golfer nowadays, but he has a big heart and he stays at Quimet's side to the very end. Director Bill Paxton saw to it that Flitter had all the good lines and I left the theater with a smile on my face.

In "The Legend of Bagger Vance" directed by Robert Redford, the caddy is the mysterious Bagger Vance, played by Will Smith, who makes sure the hero of the flick, Rannulph Junah, played by Matt Damon, stays on the straight and narrow when he battles the legendary Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen in a four-round, two-day exhibition match.

The match takes place in 1931 and I was quickly drawn in by the tapestry and the elegance of golf played in the 30s. Smith steals the show with his performance of Bagger Vance as did Josh Flitter in his performance as Eddie Lowery.

My third offering, is a more current version of golf. And that is Kevin Costner's "Tin Cup", a golf flick more familiar to Arizonans. Parts of "Tin Cup" were filmed at the Tubac Country Club in Tubac,while Roy McAvoy's run-down driving range was filmed near Sonoita, Arizona.The caddy in this one is none other than Cheech Marin, who plays McAvoy's sidekick, Romeo Posar.

If they were handing out academy awards for caddies, I guess I would have to pick Marin. He edges out Will Smith and Josh Flitter in my book. Posar has his hands full trying to keep McAvoy in line, but he gets the job done and eventually they head for North Carolina and the fictional U.S. Open.

 See all three, you'll be glad you did.

Where are they now? Volume 2

Hello, Mr. Robinson!

The second in a series of articles entitled: Where are they now? takes us back to 1968 when a rookie running back rambled for 1,023 yards with the Cincinnati Bengals of the American Football League.

 It was the Bengals first year in the AFL and the rookie became the first player to gain 1,000 yards for a first-year expansion team. The running back was a third round draft pick and was selected after playing just one year of football for the University of Arizona. His name is Paul Robinson. He had transferred to the UofA after an exceptional two seasons as a track star at Eastern Arizona Junior College in Thatcher where he won a national title in the hurdles.

 It wasn't long before the Wildcats' football coach Darrell Mudra got a hold of him...and the rest is history. Where is he now? Well, he hasn't gone too far. In fact, he's just down the road...in Safford, Arizona. "Yes, I moved back to Safford after my pro football career. I met a beautiful gal, got married and settled down."

Robinson married the former Arleen Pines, went into the rental business and as he puts it, "just kicked back" in the farming community of Safford, which is located just a few miles east of the junior college he attended.

Arleen passed away in 1988. "I've been a widower for 21 years. I recently finished my ninth year as a probation officer with Graham County," Robinson said in a recent interview. "I'll  never leave here."

Paul has family in Marana, including his brother, Cleo, a well known basketball referee in Tucson, but he loves his job and the Safford area and is "staying put."

"I love it here. I go to a lot of high school games and offer my support, but my playing days are over. I took quite a beating in the pros," Paul added.

It's been 42 years since he won "Rookie of the Year" honors by both the United Press and by Sporting News. Robinson said he spent five seasons with the Bengals and another two with the Houston Oilers, now known as the Tennessee Titans."I have plenty of gear from the Bengals, but I don't have a thing from the Oilers."

So, if anybody out there has some Oilers' paraphernalia for sale, give Mr. Robinson a call.

Soccer coach looking for work...will relocate

Sixty five year old boys soccer coach Ken Cormier resigned his coaching position at Douglas High School last week. During a phone interview yesterday, Cormier said it was for personal reasons and he said it all stemmed from a disagreement with the Douglas Unified School District's central administration.

This forum deals mainly with old timers who for the most part are retired and are playing one sport or another for simply "the love of the game." So, I will not dwell on Ken's battle with the Douglas school district, nor will I discuss the position that both sides are taking. But what we have here is a 65-year-old soccer coach who is a proven winner with four regional titles to his credit and over 30 years of coaching and teaching experience (24 of those years spent in Douglas), who still wants to continue to do the same.

"I love coaching and I love being around the kids," Cormier said. "It's a lot of fun. I coach baseball, too. It doesn't matter what sport it is. I just love doing it and I want to continue. I'm not ready to hang it up." And he's willing to relocate. Ken and his wife,Jennifer, have nine children, five daughters and four sons. The oldest son, Ken Cormier Jr.,joined the Marines in 2008 and is currently serving in Afghanistan. Local sports fans have certainly heard of him. Ken Cormier Jr is one of the top prep cross country runners to come out of the southern Arizona area in quite a while. Cormier, who won two national running titles during his prep days at Douglas High School, received a full-ride scholarship to Arkansas and spent two years as a Razorback before coming down with mononucleosis.

Cormier decided not to return to Arkansas for his junior year and instead signed on the dotted line and joined the Marines. "We are very proud of him," said the senior Cormier. With eight children still at home, Ken Cormier has a lot of work to do if he decides to relocate. If he does make that move, this forum will keep an eye out to see where he lands.

Note: Ken and I went to Eastern Arizona together in the 1960s.

The cardboard glove...

Seventy five year old catcher Juan S. Martinez will be making the trip to Phoenix on October 19th to play with the Golden Aces at the 2009 Men's Senior Baseball League World Series.

Martinez will be one of two Golden Aces catchers who will see action at the series. Martinez, in his second week of workouts with the Tucson team, said, "I've been around a long time, but you know what? I never get tired of strapping on the gear. I love playing ball and I love catching."

And he's been doing it since he was knee high to a grasshopper.

"I grew up in Douglas, Arizona, back in the early 1940s, and we were pretty poor. We didn't have a lot of things." And that included baseball gloves. "I remember we used to get pieces of cardboard and then we'd shape them into a glove. We'd use staples, glue, whatever we could find to form the cardboard into a glove."

According to Martinez, the makeshift glove did the trick and it certainly was a little easier on the fingers, especially when he was required to knock down a hard hit ball. Another obstacle he faced as a young boy in the barrio was his size, or shall we say lack of. "I'm 5 feet 4 now and I was a little fella then. I got into my share of scrapes. I won a few and lost a few."

When he moved to Tucson with his family, they settled on the south side of town and it didn't get any easier. "I was still so small. I was always getting picked on. I finally got tired of it. So I asked some of the members of the gang to get a hold of their leader...and they did. I got beat up pretty bad, but after that, they left me alone."

Juan has a different battle to deal with now... and that's "father time". Golden Aces manager Mike Morales, who is also the starting catcher on the squad, put the over-sixty team through a two hour practice Saturday at one of the annex fields at Tucson Electric Park...and the early morning sun didn't waste anytime getting up over the mountains.

"It gets pretty hot. Sometimes there's some bad throws and I get a little tired of chasing them," Martinez said, jokingly.

Chasing balls to the backstop is nothing compared to what he went through as a young man."I spent a lot of time in the service. First, I was in the Air Force and they sent me to Germany. I couldn't join the Army because I already had two brothers who had gone before me," Martinez added. "After that I came back to Tucson, I joined up with the Air National Guard and did aircraft maintenance. I ended my career in the service with the Navy Seabees."

Of course, there was always baseball to be played. Juan is a member of the Tucson Old Pueblo Baseball Club.The club's home field is Santa Rita Park and they've been playing there since the mid 1970s. But for now, he'll be a member of the Golden Aces and he won't be taking the field with a cardboard glove.

Things have changed.

Really playing for pizza...

Let's go back just seven years, which is unusual for me in this forum, but there's something I want you to check out.

In 2002, University of Arizona quarterback Jason Johnson threw for 3,327 yard in his final season as a Wildcat. Johnson recorded 17 touchdowns and most of his passes went to Bobby Wade. As an added note, Willie Tuitama amassed 3,093 yards in 2008 and 23 touchdowns in his senior season as the Arizona quarterback.

Getting back to Johnson, I recall a game against UNLV in September of 2001 when Johnson, in front of 47,000 screaming fans tossed three touchdown passes to Wade in a wild 38-21 Wildcats victory. Johnson was invited to the Buffalo Bills training camp in 2003 and I lost track of him after that...until now. I was blogging away the other day and came across Johnson's blog. He is now in Italy playing football. I recently read John Grisham's novel, Playing for Pizza, a fiction novel which depicts a quarterback (Ric Dockery) who is shuffled from the NFL to Italy and ends up playing for pizza. Johnson, on the other hand, is doing it for real and he documents his exploits in the blog,"Really playing for pizza".

So, for all my readers, especially you old timers, I'll make this as easy as possible. Go to: View My Complete Profile on the right side of my blog, click on it and it'll take you to my favorite blogs. Scroll down to Really Playing For Pizza...click on it. And have fun.

I remember when...

Grew up in Tucson...moved here with my family in 1952. Seen a lot of changes. Still remember cruising Johnny's, dancin' at the Embers, fibbing to my folks while spending late nights at Sabino Canyon, reading about Charles Schmid, spending time at the end of Campbell, walkin' downtown to the YMCA, going to the drive in at 22nd/Alvernon and still remember that sad day when all my girl friends transferred from Catalina High to Palo Verde...those were the days.

I remember when Arizona Wildcats running back Joe "Jackrabbit" Hernandez" ran over defenses and when Peter LaCock (the son of Hollywood Squares' Peter Marshall) played first base for the Tucson Toros. I remember when Albert Johnson played basketball at Arizona and thrilled fans with his jumping ability. I remember when Carl Cooper coached track at the UofA. When Darrell Mudra coached football. When Fred Snowden created a frenzy when he took over coaching Arizona basketball, in a similar fashion to the documented exploits of Texas Western's Don Haskins (depicted in the great flick, "Glory Road").

I remember great high school coaches like Jim Wing, Lee Carey, Cliff Myrick, Bill Lovin, John Griste and John Mallamo...and the list goes on: Bill Kemmeries, George Genung and Larry Hart. All men who shaped our lives...back in the day. Us old timers will never forget what happened then. Of course, sports in the Valley of the Sun continues today with a new wave of coaches. And in years to come, they will also be remembered.

Feel free to comment on any coach or item above. Remember this article was written with just two cups of coffee in my system. Don't get me started again, or I'll name some more...remember feel free to comment. Maybe your grandson or grandaughter has a favorite coach who you feel deserves recognition. And by all means...if you have a Johnny's Drive In story to tell, let's hear it. (With in reason, that is...remember I'm always monitoring).

TOTS member...a former player for the New York Yankees...

Sixty eight year old Jerry Hamelin joined the TOTS (Tucson Old Timers) baseball team in 2002.

Currently he is the only member of the TOTS who says he has major league experience and has played for the New York Yankees. According to Hamelin, the Yankees called him up in 1960 and 1961 (at the tail end of both seasons), while he was a member of the Richmond Virginians of the International League. "I batted a total of ten times and got three hits," Hamelin said. "I had the pleasure of playing with both Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris and against such players as Brooks Robinson and Ted Williams."

Hamelin figured he was well on his way to a career in the major leagues when trouble struck. Hamelin came down with spinal meningitis, just before spring training in 1962, and was left paralyzed from the waist down for more than a year. Hamelin returned to the playing field in 1963, but it wasn't with the New York Yankees.

His dream of playing in the major leagues was gone. Instead, he took up softball, and ended up working for IBM in Burlington, Vermont. He raised a family there and in 1981 transferred with IBM to Tucson. He retired from IBM in 1996, after discovering he had prostrate cancer. "I recovered from the cancer...I guess God is looking after me," Hamelin said.

Through all his troubles, and there have been many, Hamelin is still playing baseball -- not with the Yankees, but with a group of guys who keep playing for the love of the game.

Where are they now? Volume 1...

First in a series of stories entitled: Where are they now?

Volume one takes us back to the 1969-70 University of Arizona basketball season and focuses on a hot-shooting, free-throw specialist who lettered four years with the Wildcats. He was an in-state recruit, which is rare and almost unheard of in this day in age.

He was a star player at Catalina High School and received a full ride scholarship to Arizona and fit nicely in UofA head coach Bruce Larson's system.

His name is Mickey Foster.

Where is Mickey now? Foster, 61, resides in Littleton, Colorado,and is married to his college sweetheart, Margaret, formerly Margaret Lang Boice, and they have been together for 39 years, raising eight children (six sons and two daughters) along the way.

Mickey's brother-in-law is Warren Rustand, another well-known Arizonan and star player for the Wildcats in 1965. Mickey also has an older brother, Jamie Foster, who also played at Catalina (1958-1961) and at Arizona (1962-65). A reserve forward for Larson, Jamie played on the same team with Rustand. Jamie is well known to local sports fans. He is the former owner of the sports pub, Home Plate. Now retired, Jamie is a frequent visitor to the NCAA Final Four.

Quite a basketball family.

In an interview over the phone earlier this week, Coach Larson reminisced about 60s basketball at the UofA and what it was like to have coached players like Mickey Foster. "As I recall, Mickey worked hard in making the transition from a forward in high school to the guard position at Arizona," Larson said. "Mickey held the free throw percentage record for a while. His junior year he shot 83.3 percent from the foul line." Foster finished his junior season with a 16.6 scoring average and followed up with a 12.4 scoring average for his senior season. As for Larson, he coached from 1961-1972, posting 136 wins, while losing 148. Fred Snowden took over the head coaching duties at the UofA in the fall of 1972.

What did your high school team do?

Old Timers, especially the sports-crazed ones like me, are known for sitting around the neighborhood coffee shop and discussing earth-shattering stuff and trying to out do their fellow compadres with comments like, "We had the best high school basketball team ever to set foot on a gym floor."

Okay, maybe it would be tough to top the true story of the small town of  Milan, Indiana in the movie, "Hoosiers".  Of course, Hollywood stretched the truth a bit to add more of a dramatic flair. For instance, in the flick the town was called Hickory. The Milan Indians actually had 10 players, not six, but the fact the small town captivated Indiana basketball fans by reaching, and then winning, the championship game in 1954 was true.

And now for my story. In 1963, my high school team, the Tucson Catalina Trojans won the state title by upsetting the powerful  Phoenix South Mountain Rebels, 48-44, to win their first-ever basketball title. The Trojans had to get past the outstanding play of Rebel center Bob Wallace to garner the title.

Wallace scored 21 points and grabbed 19 rebounds against the Trojans. Wallace, who was also a football star at South Mountain, went on to play at Phoenix College and Texas Western and eventually ended up with the Chicago Bears and enjoyed a five-year career in the NFL.

As for the Trojans they won the title despite having their star player, Dick Chapel, sidelined with the mumps. The Trojans, coached by Galen Kintner, received a 16-point scoring effort from John Mustonen and another nine markers from Craig Gillaspie, as they came back from a 9-8 first quarter deficit to lead at the half, 30-19, and then held on down the stretch for the victory.

Bruce Larson, the head basketball coach at the University of Arizona, said after witnessing the game, "Kintner did a tremendous job. But remember that not even the greatest coach in the world could win a state championship without great material. It takes good coaching and good kids to win."

The Trojans certainly had that covered.

I wonder where they all are now...guys like Chapel, Mustonen, Gillaspie...along with Gordon Pixley, Joe Breck, Marc Stumpf, Glen Lamb, Terry Moe, Al Lindberg, Dave Supina, Dan Flores, Bob Donald and Jim Maneval.

Those were the days.

'Say it ain't so...Joe' list getting too long

Okay you old timers...I'm sure you feel the same way as I do.

This 'Say it ain't so,Joe' list is getting a little too long. Bring back Joe DiMaggio...the Duke...the Mick, sorry I'm getting carried away.

Too much morning coffee. Don't get me wrong, I'm a die hard baseball fan and I'll go down with the ship. It's just that it gets frustrating. I love to read about my baseball heroes in the box score every morning, but I'm down to just one at the moment that I glance at as soon as I open up the sports page. And he's Ken Griffey Jr.

I hope I never hear the words: "Say it ain't so, Ken." Griffey smacked his 622nd home run the other day. He ranks number five all-time, just behind Barry Bond (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714) and Willie Mays (660). Griffey is 39 years old and "father time" is closing in, but he's the man at center stage in my book. But, how can we ever forget our old baseball icons like DiMaggio (361 home runs), Snider (407) and Mantle (536). Of course, many of our old baseball heroes had their own demons to deal with back then, but you rarely heard the words, "Say it ain't so, Joe."

I think I'll go for my second cup of coffee...

Players prepare for 2009 MSBL World Series

The Men's Senior Baseball League World Series will get underway in Phoenix on October 19th and will continue through November 7th. Over 300 teams and 6400 players will converge on the Phoenix area to participate in the annual tournament.

The Tucson Golden Aces held their first practice August 1 at the Tucson Electric Park Complex and Mike Morales, who manages both the 60-and-over and the 65-and-over squads, is happy with the first workout. "We have to get started early and get ourselves prepared," Morales said,just moments following the first practice. "Every team in every state is doing the same thing. They'll be bringing the best players in their state and we'll do the same.You have to, if you want to remain competitive."

Morales has selected players from the Tucson Old Timers, who play over at Udall Park throughout the year, and from players on the well-established Old Pueblo team, which plays throughout the year at Santa Rita Park. "We have a few players coming in from as far away as Vermont and a few from Texas to round out our teams."

According to Morales, you need to have plenty of players available to play. A team could play up to 14 games and are guaranteed at least six games. For old timers, that will pull on the hamstrings a bit! The level of play for the over-60 crowd has improved over the years and according to Morales they play at an even higher level at the MSBL World Series. In the coming weeks, this forum will keep you informed of not only the progress of the teams as they prepare for the World Series, but their results while they are there as well.

"Big Daddy" Garlits

When the Arizona high school prep football season gets underway in September, Ian Garlits will take the field as the quarterback for the Tucson Santa Rita Eagles.

Forty years ago, I went through the turnstiles at a Phoenix raceway to watch "Big Daddy" Garlits perform in the National Hot Rod Racing Association's (NHRA) "funny car" event at the Winternationals.

The raceway was located on Hwy 87, just north of Phoenix, and the drag race took place during the era when such notable names as Don "The Snake" Prudhomme and the great female racer, Shirley Muldowney, were on the circuit.

Ian is the grandson of "Big Daddy" Garlits. Of course, this forum deals with old timers, so we'll let the local press cover the achievements of Ian, Coach Jeff Curran and the Santa Rita Eagles this season, but it looks like Ian will be one of the top quarterbacks in the city for 2009.

Getting back to that old Phoenix raceway, there is nothing left of it, except maybe the tower's foundation. If you're heading north out of Mesa toward Fountain Hills and you look off to your right, you may see some of the remnants. Nothing much there now, except an occasional tumbleweed  swirling in the wind. As for "Big Daddy" well he was something else -- the winner of 144 events over his lifetime. Garlits is now 77 years old.

Of course, the big talk back then was also the exploits of Muldowny, so much so a movie was made about her life and the film was released in 1983. The movie starred Bonnie Bedelia in the title role.

Racing in the Phoenix area has changed over the years. Now, as you journey from Tucson to Phoenix all you have to do is roll down your car window on a Sunday afternoon and take a gander at the Phoenix Firebird Raceway and listen to the sounds of a new era of engines.