The mail bag’s again full and begs sharing. As usual, new readers from near and far took the time to write about: The ‘double standard’ and OSU football…Gary Wright…story priorities…and ‘Best Sports Memories’. Read and enjoy.
This edition of The Reader Speaks is well fortified with content from a lot of new readers, and readers writing to this column for the first time. In particular, the post-Fiesta Bowl story on the double standard of support for OSU in a losing effort brought an expected, emotional response:
“You wrote it, and you got it right. Performing under pressure is expected at Ohio State. You even wrote that it’s anticipated, and that ‘is’ the standard. But every top program in the country expects better than four missed kicks against Michigan and Clemson. You can’t excuse that.” … Mark Trepanzik
“Unfortunately, Ohio State football sometimes means too much to too many people. I’ve enjoyed it for years, but I also understand that disappointment is part of being a fan of any team, or school.” … Mariane Denny
“It’s a shame that some redneck that (tweets) that stuff about (kicker) Tyler Durbin gets mentioned in the same reference with Ohio State University. That much should be said, and I’ve said it.” … Bill Ganz
“I really enjoyed your story, and thank you for reminding us all that no one is immune from the insanity that comes with Ohio State football. You remembered correctly. Even Woody Hayes became a victim of his own success.” … Bill Conyers (Youngstown)
Many, besides Press Pros, remembered former attorney and official Gary Wright, and wrote to remind us:
“Thanks for the great story on Gary. One of the best people I’ve met in sports. Still hard to believe.” … Jack (Springfield)
“I knew Gary from Miami University. He was a great ‘Redskin’.” … Tony Smith
“You mentioned that he was on the school board. He never put up a sign, and he took no ads out in the paper. I think he did go to Candidates’ Night, and he won by the largest margin. He was just that well thought of by everyone in the community. Thank you for the wonderful tribute to Gary. I enjoy reading your columns, even the ones about hunting!” … Denise Derge
Our call out for readers to send us their best memories of sports personally witnessed brought in a bonanza:
“My best (and worst) memory had to be the AFC championship game between the Bengals and San Diego when the wind chill was 50 below. How can you forget something like that?” … Paul (Fairborn)
“My first college football game. I was eight years old and though much of that day has faded from memory, there are still snapshots in my mind. We sat at the top of C deck and my hero, Jim Otis, a fellow Celina Senior High graduate, was the fullback for the Buckeyes, wearing #35. A second memorable game was the same Coldwater-Cardinal Mooney game you wrote about. Mooney drove 69 yards in nine plays, scoring on a six yard pass from Tim Marlowe to Mike Gemma with :21 to play. But the Cavaliers Kurt Schlarman still had one more play left in him and he blocked the PAT try to give Coldwater their second Division 4 State Championship 28-27.” … Cris Cron (Celina)
Hal McCoy wiith Tom Browning at a Dragons game in Dayton.
“I was there on September 16, 1988 when Tom Browning pitched his perfect game against the Dodgers. The game was delayed by rain and we almost didn’t go because of a long drive back to Evansville, where I lived at the time. But we bought box seats outside for $5 each and went anyway. Glad we did.” … John Hertzinger
“March, 1980, UD Arena, Northridge vs. Dunbar. The game went triple overtime and Dunbar won 95 – 86. Paul Hawkins of Dunbar scored 36 points and Polar Bear Jim Pollard hit for 48, and there were no three point goals at that time. Pollard hit 18 of 32 from the field and was 12 of 14 from the line. He went on to become an Arizona State Sun Devil but blew out a knee in a summer league game after his freshman season.” … Mike Mescher (Proud Northridge Alum)
“Thanks for writing about Game 7 of the 1960 World Series because I was there, eight years old, sitting in the left field bleachers, and watched Yogi Berra go back to the wall and the ball go over the fence. My cousin, who lived in Pittsburgh, knew some of the players and later that winter he took me to Dick Stuart’s house. Very cool memory.” … Robt. Santonelli
“Last Reds game at Crosley Field on June 24, 1970. I took my 78-year-old father who had seen his first baseball game there back in the 30s. I remember him having tears in his eyes and he never said a word during the game. Later I bought him a pair of seats from Crosley when they tore it down, and he had them bolted into his patio so he could sit there and listen to the games on radio from the new ballpark. A good memory.” … Tom Klein
And finally, it was Mark Twain who once noted that everyone has to be someplace, sometime. To wit:
“I’d like to know how you decide to write about games like Milton Union and Covington. Mind telling me?” … Dave
(Ed. Note: Ah, Dave, I remember you well…from the fall football ‘Picks Page’, right? Well, here you go. They were there and the game was a mile from my house on a cold wet night in January. If not us, who? You do the math.)