SPORTS IN THE BLOOD

        Growing up around Dad, sports were in our blood. If it wasn’t, his enthusiasm for BYU football, BYU basketball, anything BYU, would have rubbed off on us. Unfortunately, his participation in sports ended with a terrible knee injury while playing football for Morgan High School. He was a rising star and his coaches and fans were shocked to see him carried off the field, never to play again.

        My earliest sports memories began while curled up behind our old wooden radio console, listening to BYU football and basketball. There, looking up at the orange filaments burning bright, I

Old time console radio

would listen to the broadcasters excited voices through crackling static. Sometimes the signal would fade causing the volume to waver. A slight adjustment to the tuning knob sometimes helped, but a swift kick to the side of the console was just as helpful.

BYU Football

        The time finally came when I was invited to a real football game high atop the old hillside stadium. Our seats were the old wooden benches, up high in the middle. My excitement for the game was expressed with my feet which kicked wildly during intense moments. The fans sitting in front of us would scowl at Dad and yell, “Could you do something about that kid? He’s kicking my wife!” Before I could do any more damage, Dad finally had to move all of us down the row until there was an empty spot in front of me.

The old BYU football stadium stands.

        Behind the goal posts in the north end zone was a set of bleachers called Cosmo’s Knothole Gang. For twenty-five cents kids could climb through a wooden cutout of Cosmo’s open mouth and

The "Old" Cosmo.

enjoy the game with their friends. Many of my pals liked watching the game from there. Running up and down the steep stadium steps was a silver metal hand rail with raised humps connecting sections of pipe. Those youngsters brave enough to slide down the railing affectionately named it the Nutcracker Suite.

The Phantom

        BYU rarely won a game until Eldon Fortie showed up. He was a running quarter back with elusive moves. He was so hard to tackle he was nicknamed “The Phantom.” He kept the crowd and the team in the winning column. We all looked forward to playing the hated Utes. They had mocked us for years, but Elton Fortie and company were about the change all that. And they did.

Eldon Fortie #40, All American. Quarterback for BYU.

        By the end of the game the Utes were totally frustrated, trying unsuccessfully to tackle Fortie’s magic legs. Following one of BYU’s many touchdowns a rotten beast wearing a Ute uniform blindsided our super hero. He was clipped in the end zone well after the play was over. The perpetrator got kicked out of the game but Fortie was carried off on a stretcher with a career ending leg injury. It was a very sad day for BYU fans. The Phantom was the first BYU football player to make the All American squad.

SHADOW BOXING IN THE BASEMENT

     Dad decided that our storage room in the basement should become our Rec Room. He invested big time: a chalk board, a ping pong table, and the unbelievable, our own TV set!

1950s console TV with its Indian Head test pattern

     It was probably Mom's idea. A built in babysitter, deep in the basement, where she could catch a break from the constant noise. Happy wife, happy life, so they say! We made a few additions of our own: a round Quaker Oats can and a tennis ball made for great indoor basketball.

Howdy Doody and Buffalo Bob

Lone Ranger and his horse Silver.

    The TV was a big hit. We always looked forward to Saturdays. They had great kids shows on TV such as Mickey Mouse Club, Howdy Doody, and the Lone Ranger.  Every Sunday night we would gather around and watch World of Disney. Dad's favorite was watching world championship boxing. Gene Fullmer was a local boy who would fight for the world championship.

Gene Fullmer was born in West Jordan, Utah. He became the World Middleweight Champion in 1957. He and Sugar Ray Robinson faced off more than once, exchanging victories and defeats.

Whenever Fullmer fought Dad was right there with him throwing punches. We always kept our distance until the fight was over. Watching him shadow box was as much fun as watching the real fight.

Gene Fullmer knocks out Sugar Ray Robinson, the reigning World Champion, at Madison Square Gardens, NY to become the new World Middle Weight Champion. 1957.

     But even better, on Saturday afternoons the movie theaters on Center Street and University Avenue  (Academy, Uinta, and the Paramount) had matinee movies on the big screen just for kids!

     If we finished our chores, Mom would drop us off with just enough money for the movie and a treat. They always started with a "news reel" which bored the kids. Then the Woody Woodpecker and Bugs Bunny Cartoons brought the cheering kids to their feet.

    One Saturday in the cold of winter, Mom didn't show to pick us up. After waiting for some time my sister Kay and I decided to walk home. It was getting dark, nothing looked familiar and we realized we were lost. We were wandering about 8 blocks up University Avenue when we heard a familiar honk, and there was Mom and a warm ride home. What a relief!