Just saw the news. I treasure knowing Arnold Palmer, even if for a short time that had to be non-memorable to him, but has always been a special memory for me.
The observation I always made when visiting about Mr. Palmer was that "the color went clear through." He appeared on TV to be a genuine nice man, and in private he was even more of a decent, common man.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Saturday, September 10, 2016
HUSKERS
Daughter-in-law, Amy, called a bit ago to let me know the Huskers were on TV playing Wyoming. She is an Alabama fan. She "gets it."
We didn't have time to discuss it then, but she needs to know the long-term connection between us and Wyoming since it was in 1961 that Nebraska hired Bob Devaney from Wyoming and thus began the tradition of sold out stadiums (since the 1962 season, his first) and national championships.
Personally, I remember several things from those early years including Devaney (pronounced de van ee and not de vain ee just like it is Tom Osborne as in oz burn, not oz borne) speaking at our sports banquet in Genoa in the spring of 1962. He was great, a natural Irish story teller, and it played well in the gym in central Nebraska and in the homes where he recruited in Ohio, West Virginia and elsewhere.
I have often retold the story he told about the guy being fitted for a new suit, just not as effectively. I remember that team from the fall of 1962 going to the Gotham Bowl in New York City but idling at the end of the runway in Lincoln until the money had been wired. It was that close.
Nebraskans were fans of the Huskers before that, but they didn't enjoy success. In the fall of 1961, the autumn before Devaney, my friend Larry Pearson and I walked up to the little white and red-trimmed building outside the East Stadium, purchased tickets, sauntered in and had great seats. It was my first major college game and I soon realized that those guys were fast and they hit hard! Not like high school. One of the "cheers" was dedicated to the coach who preceded Devaney:
Give 'em hell, Bill Jennings, Give 'em hell.
Give 'em hell, Bill Jennings, Give 'em hell.
Give 'em hell, Bill Jennings,
Give 'em hell, Bill Jennings,
Aw, hell, Give 'em Bill Jennings.
Thanks, Jerry DeFrance for reminding me of that one a few months ago.
There are other connections, of course given the proximity to Wyoming. A childhood friend, Myrla Peterson married Jan Grossnicklaus from Shelby, Nebraska who was a Wyoming quarterback. When I was a sophomore, I played against (and tried to block) an athlete who played at Wyoming...I'll remember his name one of these days. He was definitely a man among boys the night we played.
Ah, the memories, and football autumn in Husker Nation. Thanks, Amy. It's now 38-17 Huskers with half the 4th quarter to go.
This is an afterthought--this will be the only football I watch or follow this year. No more NFL for me. For obvious reasons.
We didn't have time to discuss it then, but she needs to know the long-term connection between us and Wyoming since it was in 1961 that Nebraska hired Bob Devaney from Wyoming and thus began the tradition of sold out stadiums (since the 1962 season, his first) and national championships.
Personally, I remember several things from those early years including Devaney (pronounced de van ee and not de vain ee just like it is Tom Osborne as in oz burn, not oz borne) speaking at our sports banquet in Genoa in the spring of 1962. He was great, a natural Irish story teller, and it played well in the gym in central Nebraska and in the homes where he recruited in Ohio, West Virginia and elsewhere.
I have often retold the story he told about the guy being fitted for a new suit, just not as effectively. I remember that team from the fall of 1962 going to the Gotham Bowl in New York City but idling at the end of the runway in Lincoln until the money had been wired. It was that close.
Nebraskans were fans of the Huskers before that, but they didn't enjoy success. In the fall of 1961, the autumn before Devaney, my friend Larry Pearson and I walked up to the little white and red-trimmed building outside the East Stadium, purchased tickets, sauntered in and had great seats. It was my first major college game and I soon realized that those guys were fast and they hit hard! Not like high school. One of the "cheers" was dedicated to the coach who preceded Devaney:
Give 'em hell, Bill Jennings, Give 'em hell.
Give 'em hell, Bill Jennings, Give 'em hell.
Give 'em hell, Bill Jennings,
Give 'em hell, Bill Jennings,
Aw, hell, Give 'em Bill Jennings.
Thanks, Jerry DeFrance for reminding me of that one a few months ago.
There are other connections, of course given the proximity to Wyoming. A childhood friend, Myrla Peterson married Jan Grossnicklaus from Shelby, Nebraska who was a Wyoming quarterback. When I was a sophomore, I played against (and tried to block) an athlete who played at Wyoming...I'll remember his name one of these days. He was definitely a man among boys the night we played.
Ah, the memories, and football autumn in Husker Nation. Thanks, Amy. It's now 38-17 Huskers with half the 4th quarter to go.
This is an afterthought--this will be the only football I watch or follow this year. No more NFL for me. For obvious reasons.
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