"61"

From the desk of Dan Price

Back in the day...1961

In 1961, teenagers lucky enough to own a hot rod, maybe  a '57 Chevy or a hopped up 1955 Ford or maybe even a late 50s Corvette, tooled around Tucson looking for action along 22nd Street, up and down the Speedway strip or maybe even a trip north to the end of Campbell.

It was all good.

Johnny's Drive-in, Richie's, the A&W and the Lucky Wishbone -- plenty of places in town to chow down after a game. 

In Sunday's Arizona Daily Star, columnist Greg Hansen refers to the 1961 University of Arizona football team as one of the greatest ever -- a 8-1-1 record and a 22-13 win over ASU, in Tempe no less, to cap the season -- the Wildcats' best won-loss record in 62 seasons.

It was an exciting time in Tucson sports in 1961 and for yours truly, too. 

I loved sports and I was busy enjoying my sophomore year at Catalina High School. After reading the headlines and sports articles in the Star every morning since I was knee high to a grasshopper,  I had become hooked on the sports writing of the great Star sports editor Abe Chanin. I wanted to be just like him, and in 1963, I became the sports editor of my high school paper, The Trumpeteer, thanks mainly to the best journalism teacher ever, John G . Carlton, who ran roughshod over a bunch of budding journalist at CHS year after year, and saw to it we, the students, produced the best weekly school paper in the nation. The awards kept coming for The Trumpeteer, with Carlton at the helm, long before and long after I had come and gone.

Carlton (photo below) passed away in 2015 at the age of 79. He spent 29 years at Catalina High School. 

As for Mr. Chanin, he retired from the Star and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Chanin passed away in 2014 at the age of 92.

Chanin (photo below) was honored in 1988 by the Arizona Press Club for 50 years of distinguished service to Arizona journalism. In 1990 he was named to the Arizona Hall of Fame by the Phoenix Press Box Association.

I look back at 1961, where it all began for me -- the passion to write...and write...and write. At the age of 77, I'll continue to fumble with the keys on my laptop -- trigger finger...Arthritis and all.