Monday Night, March 6, 1967, AFH
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I'm ack home after what turned out to be a 10-day hospital stay for my wife's heart surgery. Wasn't expected to be open heart, but that's what it turned out to be. The good news is that the vitral valve was repaired. Going to be a month-long recovery with rest and exercise, but she'll live longer with more vigor.
Thanks to approxinfinitty revising the site. I'm now onboard so I can comment. Approxinfinity encouraged me to post excerpts from my journal of Adventures and Misadventures as a Jayhawk. Here's another. Enjoy!My Dad took me to my first KU football game when I was seven-years-old. (Yes. I'm 80, but still in good health!) The Jayhawks beat the Santa Clara Broncos 21–9 on September 27, 1952, having beat TCU at home the previous Saturday. In those days, and for many years, the Jayhawks always opened their season playing Texas Christian University, either at home or on the road. It was a beautiful, jacket-less fall day. (Much like the ISU game when I was a yell leader! Ha.)
My first KU “football heroes” probably came out of that game – the running backs Charlie Hoag #21 and Bob Brandenberry #44. (Charlie Hoag also played on the 1952 National Championship basketball team.) Later that fall or the next, I remember my mother driving me to Downtown Kansas City to a sporting goods store and buying me a leather helmet, a pair of heavy canvas football pants and a long-sleeved off-white football jersey. I picked the number 21 for them to iron on the back of the shirt.
J. V. Sikes was the head football coach in ‘52, and the Jayhawks went 7-3 but 3-3 in what was then the Big 7 Conference. The next year they went 2–8. Sikes was fired and replaced by a highly touted, successful coach at powerhouse Massilon, Ohio, high school. Chuck Mather went 0-10 in his first season. His record improved slightly each year, when in 1957, he finally had a winning season at 5 - 4 – 1 and was fired. What I remember about those years was that KU football players wore white pants, bright blue jerseys and yellow helmets (Yellow Helmets!). I also recall the first face guards – a single composite grey bar or a plexiglass strip. (Invented by Paul Brown of the Cleveland Browns. Did ya know?) Mather was replaced by Jack Mitchell.
During these years Dad took me to a number of KU football games. He never had season tickets, but we always seemed to have good seats. Our routine was to drive to Lawrence via K-10 highway to the ATO fraternity house for lunch. As we approached Lawrence and Haskell Indian Institute (as it was known in those days), we had a curious habit of trying to predict whether an Indian (or more) would be standing on the corner of the intersection by Haskell’s stadium! (There was a convenience store there, which made it likely.) It was just a fun thing to do. We didn't have to worry about being accused of racism in those days.
There was always a good gathering of alums at the ATO house in those days. And, pre-television, the games ALWAYS kicked-off at 1:30 p.m. After lunch, we’d walk over the hill to the stadium, buy a program and take our seats. Sometimes we’d rent canvas seat-backs for $1 each. On homecoming weekends, my Mother would always join us. Students would have five-gallon buckets filled with long-stemmed mums outside the stadium. Dad would buy her a big white or yellow mum with a blue and red “KU” affixed atop it using dyed pipe cleaners to wear on her dress or jacket.
That's enough history for this morning. If I get a little encouragement, I'll post more memories. All the best to each of you. I enjoy our civil conversations.