Way OT and way, way back
by Fox 71 on Feb 28, 2010 7:28 PM PST
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Garages need to get cleaned out in Geezerville, and I looked in one box that had, among other things, the DB from November 22, 1965, discussing our 20-16 win over just$c. I know why I kept that one, obviously. There was another DB from May 7, 1965, but I had some difficulty figuring out why that one went into the time capsule. It may have been just to memorialize this letter, which I promise I repeat word for word:
"Alcindor Tour Protest
I see by the papers where a 7 foot 1 inch basketball player from New York was an invited guest here as part of his shopping tour to see which of more than 100 colleges throughout the land can make things more attrative for him.
My naive question is: what in the world is a state school, supported by the peoples' taxes, doing this this kind of competitive bidding? Is it this overemphasis which makes pay for a stadium we neither need nor want.
Isn't this cynical wooing of a high school boy exactly the kind of thing that blurs the line between amateur and professional sports and leads inexorably to scandal?
Competitive sports are of course a valuable part of total college life, and there is nothing wrong with winning. But let's keep our sanity and let those who put winning above all else compete for the wandering giant.
Incidentally, will someone correct me if I'm wrong, or did UCLA do fairly well this past season with a starting line of of Goodrich, Erickson, McIntosh, Lacey and Goss, every one of whom came out of a high school in the greater Los Angeles are.
/s/
Clara Rodney, Graduate, Education"
Clara missed on what Lew meant to UCLA, of course, and not just in terms of athletics. But the first cousin of this letter probably didn't get published in the daily trOJan in connection with OJ2. And that shows that there is and always has been a difference between UCLA and that other place.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.
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Thanks Fox
It’s always great to see slices of our history.
Kareem has been a great example of all that is good about UCLA.
I still get goose bumps every time they play his commercials for the school.
sjh
It hardly seems like history, because we were there
The front page of the DB about the 20-16 game also had an article about the death of Hans Meyerhoff, who was killed in a car crash that same afternoon.
Lots of interesting things in the time capsule.
More OT: Kareem the Student and Player
was the antithesis of the AAU, 5 Star, “entitled” player who seems to dominate college basketball, today.
He came to school, quiet, respectful and “coachable”.
He left probably the best player ever to step on a college floor — and his head was still on straight (as it is, today.)
Fox, my brother, we were blessed to be around Coach and the incredible student/athletes he taught.
I wish, for CBH, some kids like Kareem.
sjh
2 old men reminiscing
next thing we’ll start talking about the iHop Sr. specials — buy one get one free from 3-6PM.
sjh
Captain, your moniker reminds me of another geezerly memory
and that is Capt. 4-Q. I found a picture of him in that same box in my garage, and I’ll see if I can scan it and post it. (This high tech stuff is not my long suit. I may end up sending it as an e-mail to one of the mods. But it takes me a while to get this sort of thing going.) The geezers will surely remember the great Capt. 4-Q, and his creator, the equally great Tony Auth.
Gotta jump in here also
There has never been anything like the big guy on or off the court. I had the privilege of taking classes with him (he usually sat up front — didn’t much care that he blocked the view of many others — and was totally absorbed in the lectures. I also stood and talked to him at a dorm dance (can’t remember which dorm); that must have been pretty funny; me being 5’5" chatting with a seven footer — and he was totally down to earth, shy to a fault (of course it was tough for a 7’ frosh to get a girl to dance with him) but still exuding pride and confidence. I forgot what I had said to him but as we parted I will always remember him wishing me luck. He of course didn’t need any. I will always wonder what his college stats would be if (1) he could play varsity in Yr 1, and (2) he had been allowed to dunk.
He lived in Dykstra, I think.
I played a game of hearts with him there. I don’t believe he said a word.
Memories, memories
I hope Clara Rodney went to the freshman-varsity game in the fall of ’65. Has there ever been a more remarkable freshman-varsity game anywhere?
For you young’uns, once upon a time, freshmen not only didn’t jump to the NBA, they couldn’t even play varsity basketball. So Lewis, as Coach always called him, and Bill only played three seasons. And they graduated! And went on to remarkable careers beyond basketball!
In this day of the Jrue Holidays, it’s hard to remember when student-athletes were exactly that.
And thanks for the Captain 4Q—I’m in Philly, so I still get to enjoy Tony—and the heads up on Hans Meyerhoff, who’s only remembered now as a Hall.
question re OJ2
Isn’t this cynical paying $1000 to a high school boy’s handler exactly the kind of thing that blurs the line between amateur and professional sports and leads inexorably to scandal?
No. That's totally different
Just ask any of OJ2’s handlers. Or Timmeh. Or Garrett.
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