Saturday, October 31, 2015

The Freakin' Weekend (1969)

I wonder if my family gets tired of my being so interested in TV.




Well, I'll have to give that some thought. But, anyway, here's this weekend 1969's Kentucky New Era football-picks contest.


I really love that big football player in the middle of the double-truck ad.


Here are the state high-school rankings.


And here's the Associated Press college poll. I'm hopeful that Nashville's ABC affiliate, WSIX, on Saturday shows No. 3 Tennessee at No. 11 Georgia.


And here are the pro standings.


There's no way Hoptown 1969 me is hoping for it, but it will turn out that we could've done a lot worse than WLAC showing the 0-6 Saints and the 2-3-1 Cardinals:





The World Series is over, and it's time to get serious about football, as indicated by the new Sports Illustrated this week.



So, baseballwise, 1969 Hoptown me is a straight-up A's guy. The Philadelphia Athletics were great when I was 6, 7, 8 and 9 years old, and I've stuck with them ever since--even when they moved to Kansas City, even now that they're in Oakland (California), even though I think the owner's a kook.


Footballwise, though, I'm less passionate about any single team. 

My dad was a huge football fan generally, and, by the time I was born in 1922, Dad had gotten especially hopped up about pro football because Evansville had an NFL team, the Crimson Giants. He believed pro football was going to be a big deal, and he was eventually right, of course--it just didn't happen in Evansville; the Crimson Giants folded before I turned 1. 

But we ended up moving to Chicago, and, with the Bears in town, Dad just kept right on following pro football, just kept right on saying he had known (All Along™) it was going to be a big deal even back in Evansville and just pulled me with his enthusiasm right along into being a fan myself. Around the same time I became an A's fan in baseball and started paying much independent attention to sports at all--the late 1920s and early 1930s--the Green Bay Packers were really, really great, and they became my team. In 1929, when I was 7, the Packers had what, to this day in 1969, remains the closest-to-perfect season in pro-football history: 12-0-1. Green Bay won eight of its games by shutout. Even in the one tie, the Packers allowed no points: Green Bay 0 at Frankford (Pennsylvania) Yellow Jackets 0. Then the Packers got Don Hutson, and they became this really exciting passing team that won NFL championships again when I was 14, 17 and 22. 

Green Bay went into decline then for a good long while, when I was first living out in North Carolina. But I was so happy with the NCFA and getting married that I wasn't much bothered by the Packers' being bad, anyway. And, too, once TV came around, the game looked so great that I just enjoyed watching any of the teams--it didn't have to be the Packers (TV Is Amazing™). Plus, after Vince Lombardi arrived in Green Bay in 1959 and I got excited about the Packers again, they got so great that I could even afford to be magnanimous enough to root a little on the side for the Browns (and Blanton Collier of Paris, Kentucky), the Rams (a bunch of the NCFA guys had played with Roman Gabriel in high school and college) and the Bears (for Dad). I watched the AFL, too, and, since the Miami Dolphins got Bob Griese--from Evansville!--to play quarterback, I've gotten excited about them. Then Lombardi went to the Redskins, so now I'm paying attention to them, as well.

Point is that, by 1969, Hoptown me is pretty much interested in every pro-football team and devouring as much content on the AFL and NFL as I possibly can. Dad was totally right about pro football--it's a very big deal.

37 comments:

  1. 1969 me lives for the St. Louis Cardinals (in baseball) above all other teams. I was in the first grade when the Cardinals won the title in 1926, and I've stuck with them ever since. The Cardinals just won back-to-back pennant in 1967 and 1968, so their decline this year didn't bother me too much.

    I'm also a huge fan of Vandy football, although I've finally come to realize that Vandy isn't going to be competitive again. I still want Vandy to stay in the SEC -- I think Georgia Tech and Tulane made a mistake dropping out. I'm also a big fan of Navy -- I've been going to their games for years. And I root for all the SEC schools.

    And, of course, I'm a big UK basketball fan. I grew up when Adolph Rupp was first getting started, I saw him bring UK to Vandy in the late 1930's, and I can get the games on WHAS late at night here in D.C.

    The Redskins and Senators have been terrible ever since I came to D.C., so I've never taken them seriously. But now I'm caught up in the excitement over having Lombardi in town. I might get season tickets next year.

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  2. This week's KNE contest:

    -- Oklahoma vs. Iowa State (Buck's Paint & Wallpaper)
    -- Kentucky vs. West Virginia (Dollar Bros. Shoe)
    -- Georgia vs. Tennessee (McDonald's)
    -- Florida State vs. South Carolina (Wade's Men's Store)
    -- Christian County vs. Franklin-Simpson (Fish & Morin Jewelers)
    -- Caldwell County vs. Madisonville (Electric Plant Board)
    -- Baylor vs. Texas Christian (Minit Markets)
    -- Army vs. Air Force (Downs Drapery Shoppe
    -- Lions vs. 49ers (West & Witherspoon)
    -- Illinois vs. Purdue (Rudy's Texaco)
    -- UCLA vs. Washington (The Camera Shop)
    -- Alabama vs. Mississippi State (Campbell Office Equipment)
    -- Giants vs. Eagles (Baldwin Truck & Tractor)
    -- Nebraska vs. Colorado (Grants)
    -- Louisiana State vs. Mississippi (Henderson-Moorefield Lumber Co.)
    -- Arkansas vs. Texas A&M (Montgomery Ward)
    -- Bears vs. Vikings (Alibi Club)
    -- Auburn vs. Florida (Joy's Jewelers)
    -- Navy vs. Notre Dame (Burnett's Shoes)
    -- Ohio State vs. Northwestern (Hopkinsville Recapping)
    -- Colts vs. Redskins (Bill Beliles Furniture)
    -- Duke vs. Georgia Tech (Big K)
    -- Eastern Kentucky vs. Murray State (Myer's Mercury)
    -- Southern Methodist vs. Texas (Clayton's Jewelers)
    -- Western Kentucky vs. Morehead State (Atkins Dairy)
    -- Indiana vs. Michigan State (Major-Dray)
    -- Vanderbilt vs. Tulane (Haddock Bros. Grocery)
    -- Trigg County vs. Mayfield (Daniel Boone Fried Chicken)

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  3. Kentucky lost at Georgia last week 1969, 30-0, and that's two losses in a row in the SEC. West Virginia brings only one loss to Lexington. I'm picking UK.

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    Replies
    1. I really liked West Virginia's 1969 uniforms -- those were sharp. Also loved the shot of the scoreboard. That last interception by UK was possibly the worst pass I've ever seen in any football game ever.

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    2. I loved Kentucky's deep blue jerseys and helmets. The only thing better would be if the pants were, too.

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  4. Oh, wait, before I get into the football games, I was disappointed to read that keen Cynthia Lowry, the AP's crack TV-radio writer, reported last week that "ABC is unhappy about the reception of 'Music Scene,' 'The New People,' 'The Brady Bunch' and 'Mr. Deeds Goes To Town.' It is unhappy about more than that, but there is a limit to how much repair work can be done. It has in the wings the 'Pat Paulsen Show,' and Englebert Humperdink variety hour and a situation comedy called 'Nanny', about a governess." I got to see the first four episodes of Brady Bunch--"The Honeymoon;" "Deer Libby;" "Eenie, Meenie, Mommy, Daddy," and "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore"--and I'm a fan.

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  5. OK, back to the football games ... No. 3 Tennessee, No. 7 Florida and No. 8 LSU are all 2-0 in the SEC. No. 11 Georgia is 2-1, and a loss at home to UT would knock the Bulldogs out of the conference-title race. Florida goes to No. 17 Auburn, which is 1-2 in the SEC, and the Gators have never won there. LSU has a matchup with Ole Miss, and Archie Manning is back for the Rebels this year after throwing for 345 yards in a 27-24 upset over LSU last year.

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  6. I'm filling in Georgia, Auburn and LSU as winners.

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    Replies
    1. Writes YouTube user "Larry Smith:" "November 1, 1969 in Athens Georgia. # 3 Tennessee 17 # 11 Georgia 3. Curt Watson rushes for 197 yards a new Tennessee record until broken by Stanley Morgan's 201 yards versus Hawaii in 1975."

      That video, for which there is no commentary, is a freaking work of art--the colors, the sounds of the stadium, the whole 45-minute deal.

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    2. I really like seeing both teams in their home uniforms. The SEC should adopt this rule for all conference games -- you only wear the road uniform if your colors clash with the home team's colors.

      For purposes of this rule, LSU's home jersey is white with purple numerals.

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  7. Here's something cool from Ed Shearer of the AP: "The Tulane-Vandy game matches a pair of look-alikes. Both have won only one game and scored 94 points for the year. Both victories were by four points, with the winning margin coming in the final three minutes." I'll pick Vandy here.

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  8. OVCwise, the league leader, East Tennessee State, is undefeated and idle. Last week, Murray State came up with a 10-10 tie in Johnson City, and this week the seventh-place Racers visit T2 EKU. The Colonels are coming off a 27-26 loss to Western (HURRAH!). That thrust the Hilltoppers into part of the giant second-place tie, along with Eastern, Morehead State, Austin Peay State and Tennessee Tech. WKU and Morehead play this week.

    I'm going with EKU and WKU in these two games.

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    Replies
    1. You can now get the OVC Demand channel or whatever it's called on your ROKU.

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    2. Eric, how often does 1969 Hoptown Eric drive over to Bowling Green to watch the Tops? Follow up question: how often does 1969 Hoptown Eric take the family over to Beech Bend Park?

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    3. Thank you for asking--the Tops, about once every other season; Beech Bend, only when people are in from out of town and want to go. We're more state-park speed than amusement-park speed.

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  9. With pretty much every passing day, I get more and more impressed with writers who actually finish things. So, anyway, I've got nothing but respect for the My Three Sons crew.

    There was a (typically outstanding) Cynthia Lowry article several 1969 weeks ago where Fred MacMurray talked about how the show introduced grandchildren triplets last year in a bid to juice ratings in the ninth season. This year's gimmick is pairing Steve with a lady friend. It's pretty clever how they got this going in the first episodes of the season.

    In "The First Meeting," Robbie, his wife and their kids are moving out of the old family house to get their own place, and Robbie's wife, Katie, decides to set up her widower father-in-law because she's concerned about his loneliness. The date with Millicent Sawyer goes nowhere, but it does sort of prime the pump for Steve to be interested in a widow, Barbara, he meets at Ernie's school. They end up going on a very charming dinner date, during which they have a totally credible conversation about metal fatigue.

    In Episode 2 of Season 10, "Instant Coworker," Robbie is offered a job at Steve's firm as a structural engineer, and he gets frustrated with his dad for being pre-occupied with his burgeoning romance. There's a terrific scene where Steve gives Barbara a front-yard golf lesson.

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  10. Replies
    1. According to Wikipedia, they grew up in Iowa, and then went to high school in Knoxville, Tenn. Afterward, they moved to Nashville. So I don't really think they're eligible.

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    2. Well, then I'm for the Rugbys, Westley Unseld or Blanton Collier.

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    3. I'm pretty sure that the 1969 Kentuckian of the Year was Frank Beard, who attended Louisville St. X and who won the Kentucky State High School Championship in 1957. In 1969, Beard won the Minnesota Golf Classic and the Westchester Classic, and played on the Ryder Cup team. He also topped the PGA Tour money list.

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    4. Blanton Collier was the Kentuckian of the Year for 1964.

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    5. Actually, Wes Unseld might have been Kentuckian of the Year for 1969. That year, he was both the MVP of the NBA and also the Rookie of the Year.

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    6. OK, now I've definitely decided to vote for Wes Unseld for 1969 Kentuckian of the Year. On the whole, I think being the MVP of the NBA is a bigger deal than being the top money-winner on the PGA.

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    7. Here's a few other Kentuckians of the Year:

      1972: Denny Crum
      1975: Joe B. Hall
      1978: Kyle Macy
      1980: Darrell Griffith
      1986: Pervis Ellison

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    8. Henry Clay was Kentuckian of the Year on several occasions, including both 1811 and 1850. I'm not sure anyone else has been Kentuckian of the Year in two years that are 39 years apart.

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    9. Some years are tough. For example, in 1948 the Fabulous Five won UK's first NCAA Basketball Championship -- but Alben Barkley was elected Vice President of the United States.

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  11. how did they end up in Central City?

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  12. The older one was born in Brownie, in Muhlenberg County, and they continued to have family there once they moved. Later, the story goes that one of them saw a TV report about Central City needing a new police cruiser, and so the Everlys donated the money for that happen or raised the money for that to happen--something along those lines. That led to the homecoming event they had for several years.

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