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David Cordell

Jerry - Your Tommy Roe video reminded me of my favorite example of the concept of synergy: Short skirts and windy days. Last Sunday at church I saw a couple of girls wearing dresses almost as short. Would have been sent hom from RHS circa 1969.

Janalu - I think I have already mentioned this. My water heater is on the opposite end of the house from my shower. I run the water into a bucket about two-thirds of the way to the top (so I can carry it without spilling) and then I pour it into the swimming pool. No, it doesn't solve the water situation, but at least it is more than a drop in the bucket.

Re Life of Riley -- yes, I enjoyed that show. Sadly, my second memory of William Bendix is his lame portrayal of Babe Ruth in the Babe Ruth Story. It is hard to play someone who is bigger than life. (Don't mention the difficulty of playing the role of Jesus. It's easy by comparison. No existing film and no need to replicate his swing!)

Wayne Gary

David,

I remember "The Life of Riley" TV show. Do you remember the billboard on Hwy 78 in Wylie that read "Live the life of Riley in Wide Awake Wylie".

Steve Keene

Wayne,

Is wide awake a synonym of woke?

Wayne Gary

Steve,

They were "wide awake" and country consertative long before "woke".  They did not want to be know as a "sleepy town".

Wayne Gary

Those interested in Texas History might want to go to the Allen Public Libaray tonight at 7:30 or watch live.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

Wayne,

Ronnie Parker was a fellow classmate of the 1969 class of RHS, and he is also a descendant of Quanah Parker.  Cynthia Parker was a White settler child whose parents were living with a small group of White settlers in Texas.  The settlement was attacked by Comanche Native Americans, who killed most of the people living there, but Cynthia was captured and was taken to live with the Comanches.  Cynthia is Quanah's mother.

Hollis Carolyn Heyn

Other Lamplighter kindergarten and possibly first grade attendees from the class of 69 are Marshal Netherland, Bucky Grimes, and Randy Jones.  It was a wonderful place. 

Wayne Gary

Steve,

Just some background on Hamilton Park. In the 50's and 60's Hamilton Park was the area where young black professionals could live.  Most of the residents had bachelors, Masters and PHDs degrees and was considered to have the highest average level of education of any neighborhood in Dallas County. In the early 70's RISD closed the schools and split the HS kids between RHS and Lake Highlands.  The schools became magnet schools which still remain today.  Richardson Jr High on Abrams and Northwood JR High on Coit have been changed to magnet schools.

Hollis:

I do not remember any of the others because after 1st grade I went to Arthur Kramer Elem in Dallas for 2nd and 3rd grade.  When I moved to Spring Valley Elem. I remember being in class with Bucky but we never connected to being at Lamplighter.

Jim Bedwell

Wayne & Hollis,

David Mercer also went to Lamplighter as did Mickey Mantle Jr., but I don't know what grade(s) for either person.

Wayne Gary

I went to the talk in Allen by the Greatgreatgreat grand son of Quanah Parker.  Very good. In about 2 weeks the talk will be on Youtube.

Jim Richmond was there.

They started off the evening by showing this film shot in 1907 with Quanah Parker.

Lowell Tuttle

There is a bit more to the history of Hamilton Park.   I can't re call...but I am sure I going to wik it....

Janalu got me perked to wikipedia Quanah Parker..  Now that was quite a read.   I am sure there's a whole lot more to that story as he left 27 children from 7 wives.   

Wayne Gary

I just found this list. Brings back memories.

Hollis Carolyn Heyn

Jim B:

Yes, Mickey Jr was in my class.  He wore a Yankee uniform every day to school.  His dad came inside one day to pick him up and it must have been late in the day as this activity room was deserted.  Some teachers were whispering that there was the Mick.  So deciding to check out what the big deal was all about, I walked straight up to him and stood at his feet looking straight up at him and not saying anything.  I remember the two of us standing there staring at one another.  He prob was used to 5 to 50 year old females acting in this fashion.  I think he was mostly silent, not even saying "hello, little girl." 

David Cordell

Rest in peace, Jim Brown. 

Although I don't remember it, I was in the stands at the 1957 Cotton Bowl when he scored 20 of Syracuse's 27 points against the victor, TCU. Saw him again in about 1964 against the Cowboys. He scored on a run of about 5 yards, but he must have covered a hundred. Met him briefly at LAX in 2000. I have mentioned this before: many consider him to have been the best lacrosse player of all time. He is the Lacrosse Hall of Fame as well as the College and NFL Football Halls of Fame.

This short clip shows only a couple of runs, but they reveal a lot about the power and balance of the man. I can't say who was the best running back of all time, but he would certainly be among the finalists.

Lowell Tuttle

David.   For what it's worth, I feel he was the best.   Best I've ever seen.   That run against the Cowboys, whenever it was, where he went around the end and the press photo showed him crossing the goal line with six or seven Cowboy defensive players strewn in his wake....that was one of the best football photos I ever saw.  We were lucky to see him play as much as we did.   I think there were 4-5 players injured on that play.

Will search for the photo. 

Too much to search through.   It seems to me the photo was from the top of the end zone angle.   Jim Brown was slowing to his end of run trot.   All the Cowboy defensive players were on the ground, spread out, having been sitff armed down or knocked down or dove for the tackle...It was quite amazing.   Not sure if it was the Herald or the Morning News.  

He was one of my heros.

Maybe it was in Cleveland.

November 21, 1965   Cotton Bowl...3 yard run...(I thoug  ht it was longer.)   It was on the WFAA tower side e nd zone (tunnel side.)   Sure, that must have been it.   He last appearance in the Cotton Bowl.

Jerry May

Lowell, 

I agree. Jim Brown was the best in my opinion. And he always had a good day against the Cowboys, except the

game I went to in 1962. He looked like a man amongst boys when they came out of the tunnel. They say he was playing hurt that day, but then they all played hurt back then. 
My opinion is their coach thought we would not be playing the pass much, and he thought Frank Ryan (QB) and company would beat us with little doses of Brown. Our "D" showed up in all phases though......and held Brown to just 29 yards! Eddie Lebaron, Frank Clarke and Don Perkins had big days to compliment the defense.

And we won 45-21!

But Jim Brown could run over, leap or use his deceptive speed to beat most teams! And he was effective with the fullback pass as well as catching balls! And no one has beaten his career average per carry @ 5.2 yards!

Barry Sanders was one of the best (and I saw him too) and averaged 5 yards per carry. 
Yup, there may never be another Jim Brown!

David Cordell

I saw Gale Sayers in college. My family was visiting my brother who was a freshman at OU, ad Kansas was visiting. He was a fabulous runner and averaged 5.0. Won Rookie of the Year over Bullet Bob Hayes. Of course, Sayers's career was cut short by injuries.

Saw Earl Campbell many times at UT. He was powerful, of course, but also deceptively fast. One particular run sticks in my mind. He broke free on the right sideline. Defensive backs were chasing him but weren't making up ground. But maybe they didn't want to!!

Steve Keene

Wayne, Hull, Janalu, David, Sandra, Bob.D, Hollis, Bob F, bruce and Karin Anderson, Jerry and Ellen May, and Ron Knight,

I am biding my time and making arrangements to spend an Old Panhandle boys' last days in the New Mexico high desert,

This song comes to mind:

 

Jerry May

Ellen knew the Mantles well. She taught Danny Mantles 2 children how to swim, and had met "The Mick" and Merlin

when they and all four were still living on Watson Circle prior to that. And the "trophy room" Merlin decorated was loaded with all of Micks' trophies, baseballs, bats, gloves and other paraphernalia highlighting a fabric wall done in Yankees' grey background and blue pin striped colors,

She said Mick was cordial (first time she met him) and immediately noticed his massive forearms. She knew Merlin pretty well as well as the guys (2 of which have passed)

Above is championship ring Danny acquired, that Ellen took a pic of (grainy; sorry)

Wayne Gary

Wayne Gary

Steve,

I don't know why you are thinking about moving to New Mexico.  This one is for you.

Lowell Tuttle

David.   One story I heard was the Longhorns workouts included repeat 40's all season and preseason long.  Witnesses told me that Earl Campbell consistenly outran Johnny Ham and Johnny Lam Jones in the sprints.

They were both Olympic Relay team members.   

That was a lot of mass.

Of course the difference with Jim Brown and today's athletes is the 300 lb-ders.   Both size and speed was different in the late 50's and early 60's.   Jim Brown was the size of an offensive tackle, or close.   I don't think Bob Lilly or Jethro Pugh weighed much over 270, if that.   I remember being amazed about the size of Ernie Ladd back in those days and now there are perhaps dozens of guys his size in the league.  He was truly a man amongst men...like Earl. 

Meanwhile, Rahm is going for a 614 yard par five in two in a few moments.

Jerry May

Lowell you are correct. But, speed could very well have been most of the reason Brown stood out back then. 
He did run track and by the time he was clocked in the 40 was 4.5 in pads! Not bad at all for a guy who weighed 232. Or any guy for that matter.......then or today!

Big Earl was a phenom himself, and though heavier would've outrun Jim in the 100. I remember a game against 

OU, he took them apart seemingly by himself! And was cause for Switzer to answer when questioned after the loss to say: "A little too much Earl!"

David, I loved Gale Sayers and watching him score his 22 touchdowns his rookie year! But he was not the only Jayhawks prodigy. John Riggins, who ran a 9.8 100 in high school, outran the entire Miami secondary in one of the Super Bowls and was named MVP for his part in the Redskin win.

Wayne Gary

Jerry, David,

Do you rember the first NFL player over 300 #

William Anthony Perry (born December 16, 1962), nicknamed "the Refrigerator", is a former American football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, primarily with the Chicago Bears. He played college football at Clemson and was selected by the Bears in the first round of the 1985 NFL Draft. Perry gained popularity during his rookie season as a member of the Bears team that won the franchise's first and only Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XX. During the season, Perry occasionally played fullback in goal line situations and set the then-record for the heaviest player to score a touchdown at 335 lb (152 kg). He remains the heaviest player to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl and has the largest Super Bowl ring at size 25.

Wayne Gary

I was watching Ch 13 PBS and rembered these 2 songs