Marking Our History
by Nestor on Jan 19, 2009 10:23 AM PST
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PrintToday is a historic day for our nation.
Tomorrow is going to be another one.
This gives us an opportunity to take a note of Bruin LEGEND ...
Jackie running over Oregon State (Photo via Britannica.com)
... such as Jackie and Arthur Ashe, who have also made history not just as Bruins but as members of this great nation. They paved the way for this nation's history going well beyond the world of sports.
Never forget. While celebrating the milestones for our nation always good to remind ourselves the legends who make up the rich history of Bruin Nation.
GO BRUINS.
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of all the bruin alums I can name
I must say that it always brings a moment of pride to name Jackie Robinson, especially since many may not have known that he did indeed once go and play here (in 4 sports no less)
Jackie Robinson was among the many from UCLA
Arthur Ashe, Rafer Johnson, Ralph Bunche, etc.
Bob O. (Signholder #3)
I thought Ralph Bunche was also a sports figure!
The Reader’s Companion to American History, edited by John A. Garraty and Eric Foner, published by Houghton Mifflin Company cia answers.com:
In 1927 Bunche graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles, where he had excelled both in and outside the classroom. He wrote for the school newspaper, won oratorical contests, was sports editor of the yearbook, played guard for three years on the basketball team, and became Phi Beta Kappa.
And I think Kareem Abdul-Jabbar...
… also deserves to be on this list given his scholarship and sports excellence.
Tom Bradley too!
One of the first African-American mayors of a major U.S. city (Los Angeles) and also a UCLA athlete, running track. One of the biggest reasons that I am proud to be a Bruin is the fact that UCLA gave a chance to these and other great African-American leaders when other schools refused to do so.
We have a proud history, don't we?
I remember reading a while back that during the 30s and 40s, we were refered to by ignorant people as Jew-CLA because we admitted Jewish students when others wouldn’t.
Let’s all remember that it’s up to us to extend equality to all, no matter ethnicity, religion or orientation.
by bruinbabe2000 on Jan 19, 2009 1:46 PM PST up reply actions
Bradley was also a pioneer on the LAPD and City Council
I believe that Bradley was first African American to reach the lieutenant rank in the LAPD. Years later he became the first African American elected to the L.A. City Council. Not bad for a Bruin track athlete (Ralph Bunche was also on the Bruin track team)
What more can be said
Jackie Robinson was an amazing student and athlete, and he has been such a huge milestone for African-Americans in athletics and academics. He is what UCLA is all about, and having him as a UCLA alum makes me so proud to root for blue and gold (and not those thugs from across town).
by uclaisthebest123 on Jan 19, 2009 2:12 PM PST reply actions
Robinson and Ashe -- true American icons
They rank #1 and #2 on the NCAA list of all-time most influential student athletes, with six other Bruin greats on the list.
Bruins 8, Trojans 1
Even though the list didn’t include Ralph Bunche (they surely could have), there are 8 Bruin student-athletes honored vs. 1 Trojan. In the entire history of USC (older than UCLA), they couldn’t identify a single male Trojan meriting honor as one of the top 100 student-athletes in the country.
Worst examples of athletes-criminals-students list
If the list was about the worst example for society as student-athletes, the Trojies will dominate the list by a landslide:
1. OJ
2. Bush
3. Lendale White
4. Leinart
5.-100. many, many more!
by UCLA Championships Made Here on Jan 19, 2009 5:44 PM PST up reply actions
Great list
Have to admit being surprised that U$C didn’t get the likes of Pat Haden, Lynn Swann or Ronnie Lott on the list, but oh well.
by FreewayBruin03 on Jan 19, 2009 10:57 PM PST up reply actions
None of them match up to the others on that list
If you look at the student-athletes populating that list, most of them have accomplishments that transcend sport (e.g., Alan Page going to the HOF and working as a federal judge, Gerald Ford going from football All-American to U.S. President, Dwight Eisenhower going from NCAA athlete to WWII supreme commander and U.S. President), or their athletic accomplishments are iconic in stature (e.g., Tiger Woods, Kareem, and Michael Jordan).
Cheryl Miller is the only Trojan that rightfully deserves to be on that list, because of what she did for the sport of women’s basketball (and I always had a soft spot for her, because she used to come into Pauley Pavilion and root for the Bruins when her little brother Reggie was playing) Of course, higher ranked Bruin Ann Meyers was even more of a pioneer, being the first female player ever drafted by the NBA and one of the pioneering female broadcasters.
Once upon a time, O.J. MIGHT have made this list by sheer force of his celebrity and “good guy” image, but subsequent events obviously tore down that facade. USC has had a lot of great athletes, but their accomplishments were generally limited to the athletic field (Pat Haden was a Rhodes Scholar, but he was neither a HOF athlete nor a transcendent figure in his off-the-field pursuits). Jackie Robinson and Arthur Ashe epitomize what it means to transcend sport.
The only other school...
…with as much of an impact on that list is West Point. Ironically my two favorite colleges.
Jackie was a big reason why I always wanted to be a Bruin (coming from a guy from a big-time Cal family in Northern California). Truly a great man. The only shame is that he (as well as Ashe and Bunche) could not live to see tomorrow.
by Bellerophon on Jan 19, 2009 11:02 PM PST up reply actions
No wonder!
No wonder UCLA is the most applied to university in the country. There is a rich history associated with the school and the people who made a difference in social, athletics, and academic achievements are numerous.
From Jackie Robinson to Lew Alcindor, from John Wooden to Arthur Ashe (the list is endless).
We have a top notched academic institution, #1 athletic program in the nation, a history of making landmark social changes, great weather, amazing student body, and a relatively inexpensive cost for education (compared to the private schools). Gosh, the school is not even a century old, imagine what the next century has in store.
BTW, we Jackie Robinson, they-suc have the Orenthal-enough said! There is no comparisons.
by UCLA Championships Made Here on Jan 19, 2009 2:17 PM PST reply actions
My experience with some of those mentioned above
-I went to school with Arthur Ashe and had classes with him. He was a nice guy, great tennis player, and quiet.
-Also went to a cocktail party for UCLA alums in NYC hosted by Ralph Bunche. What a great guy he was (Ambassador the UN at the time as I recall), outgoing, fantastic representative of the school.
-Lew Alcindor was in school when i was in graduate school. Saw him on campus (I mean he is tall..).
-Also shared the whirlpool with Rafer Johnson. Another great guy.
Bill
BillSouthBay
Wow
That’s pretty amazing Bill…
It’d be great if you could elaborate on your brief recollections of those great men for the younger members of BN sometime.
I am a youngster
However,
1. Arthur Ashe came to UCLA from Richmond VA and I had ROTC classes with him and a geography class, as I recall. He was quiet and always seemed to carry lots of book around, real studious. He had a good collegiate tennis career (Charles Pararell was his peeer). They were the two best players on the team at the time and it was coached by JD Morgan, a UCLA legend in his time. Ashe came across as aloof, but I believe that was because he was shy (lots of athletes are that way I have found over the years).
2. After graduation and during my military service, pre-Vietnam deployment, several of my classmates found ourselves in the Washington, DC area (one was in the armor and stationed near Baltimore, another stationed at Ft. Lee with me and another classmate not in the service but living in northern VA. UCLA BB came to NYC to play St. John in MSG. We all drove/flew to NYC to see the game, someone had tickets. We took our wives and toured the city on Saturday game day. Before the 8PM game we were invited (or crashed I am not sure how that worked out) to a party hosted by Ralph Bunche in a high rise with a terrific view and attended by, mostly, transplanted UCLA grads living in NYC and environs, I met a doctor who was doing his residency in NY, and confessed there was a torrent of people going to the west coast from NY and a trickle coming the other way, him included. Several corporate CEOs were the, the head of Revlon included. Charles Young, then Vice Chancellor was there as well. Ralph Bunche could not have been more gracious and took the four couples in at the party like we were family. He was, at that time, a famous person on the international stage but you would not have known it by his demeanor.
3. I don’t have much on Lew Alcindor since I was in grad school and not as close to the campus action as during my undergrad years. He hung out near the Bschool so I used to see him towering over any and all around him. But he was accessible and easy to chat up at that time.
4. I came to UCLA to play baseball (we played at Joe E Brown field before they tore it up to build a basketball arena named for an oilman who gave money for its construction). Anyway, I was a pitcher and continually had arm issues. Duck Drake, the trainer (he was good on football injuries like in knees, etc. but for pitchers arms, another story). In any event I had to soak my elbow in the only whirlpool at the training room. At the same times I came in, Rafer Johnson and CK Yang were soaking their legs. The three of us in the whirlpool and I thought that was as it was supposed to be for all of us. I knew that Rafer had just won the decathalon at the Rome Olympics and had invited CK to come train with him at UCLA to prep for the Tokyo Olympics. Rafer had also just concluded being Student Body President at UCLA and was a fine and quality individual. I saw him a few years ago and asked him about CK. He told me that CK is in Taiwan and doing well.
There are more stories and events like Walt Hazzard in his senior year. I knew him and he was a good guy as well. I was a fraternity brother of both Gail Goodrich and Keith Erickson and so Walt was at our house for dinners, and other events.
Bill
BillSouthBay
That's good stuff, Bill
My one encounter with Alcindor was his freshman year when we had a hearts game. His knees came up to the top of the card table. I don’t think he said two words the whole time. Why is it that I think I remember that game a whole lot more than he remembers that game?
Brilliant
Firstly, please accept my sincerest apologies for the mere suggestion that you are anything but a youngster Bill!
Those are some absolutely great stories though, about true UCLA legends (ably demonstrated by the fact that half the campus is named after them now). Crashing Ralph Bunche’s party…fantastic.
And Fox, playing Hearts with Alcindor? If it was any other Basketball star I’d be asking if he used his extra height to look into your hand, but that’s just not his style. I hope you remember who won?
not to be a hater but...
can’t help but compare our greatest running back (Jackie Robinson) and suc’s greatest running back (O.J.)
or is less historic but still as obvious, the class of our most recent great running back MJD and the classless cheaters from across town – Bush and White
enough said!
Go Bruins
TRM
This thread is the reason
This thread is why I love and live my UCLA sports as much as anyone I know.
This thread is why I don’t kill myself (even if I feel like it) when we lose to $cjc or ASU or ND or anyone else.
This thread proves that our school still beats them all in the end.
greg in denver - UCLA guy for life
C K Yang
BillSouthBay, I am sorry to say that CK had passed away last year or maybe the year before.
CK Yang
Sorry to hear about CK. Rafer and he kept up their relationship throughout their adult lives, according to Rafer when I saw him a few years ago.
As to Fox71, I am sure I remember the conversations in the whirlpool between Rafer and CK, with me chiming in from time to time much better than either of them do, or did in the case of CK.
Bill
BillSouthBay
Johnson:Yang An Amazing Relationship
I was on campus when they were training, together.
I remember the overwhelming feeling I had about Rafer Johnson who would take in a competitor and teach him what he knew.
Rafer Johnson belongs on the list of all time great Bruins — a list that is distinguished by both prowess and character.
sjh
Jackie Robinson Museum
I was in a cab in Manhattan and saw that they were opening a Jackie Robinson Museum in Tribeca…pretty awesome!
Looks like they are also looking for a curator…anyone fit the bill?
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
CK Yang
My first impression of CK was not very good. I remembered I was taking a night class in the year of 61, and I always went to have dinner at the caferteria before class because I loved those short ribs. Coincidentally CK sat across from me and I didn’t know who he was at the time. While I was in the middle of dinner, CK pointed at the pepper, signaling me he wanted that. When I passed the pepper to him, he didn’t even acknowledge or thank me. Later on I found out who he was and he was an original native tribesman from Taiwan who doesn’t speak English and probably not used to the western culture. So I didn’t think much about our first meeting. I heard he went back to Taiwan after the Olympics and did a lot of good things for the country.
Thank You, N.
For posting about this. My daughter and I talked about individuals who acheived greatness despite society’s “positioning” of them yesterday—a perfect conversation for MLK day. As always, I was so proud of how many of those folks were UCLA Bruins.
Love My Bruins
Overlooked Bruin Heroes
As I’ve written before, UCLA was said to have sent more “freedom riders” to the South, during the struggle for civil rights, than any other University.
I vividly recall the busses, loaded with young kids, heading out on what was a dangerous mission to an unknown place. I too, wanted to ride a bus but was turned away because I was too young.
(For the many of you too young to know this time, it was a time of threat and violence — often perpetrated with the tacit approval or at least lack of deterrence from law enforcement officials. People who stepped on those busses knew that at a minimum they probably faced arrest and a “criminal record” and sometimes worse — physical harm and/or death. Yet, they stepped on and traveled south. Many of these same students later opposed the Vietnam war; I always found it ironic that in doing so, they were called cowards; no label could have been more ill fitting.)
When we think about what happened, today, with the swearing in of the President, we ought also think of our Bruin brothers and sisters who played an important role in opening up the path to equality.
In so many ways, every day, I am proud to be a Bruin.
sjh
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