|
Back in the day when the Bengals became a franchise (and you didn't have to root for the Browns). Paul Brown coaching, Bob Johnson:first pick, John Stofa:first Bengal, Bob Trumpy, Later, Ken Anderson, Isaac Curtis, Louis Breeden, Ken Riley, Tommy Casanova, and Mike Reid. Back in the day when The Big Red Machine was considered one of the best baseball teams ever, when Riverfront Stadium was, well, Riverfront Stadium. When the Ohio River froze over and people were walking across, to say they did. Back in the day before cell phones. What's a pay phone? Back in the day before microwaves and propane grills. Back in the day when a big TV was 25 inches and you had to get up to change the channel: too much work. Back in the day when you had three or four channel to choose from and they certainly weren't in HD. Heck you were lucky if you had color TV. I knew I would never pay for watching my favorite shows. Back in the day before twenty four hour sports talk and unbelievably, before ESPN. Yes, there was a time when there was no ESPN. Back in the day when there was no around the clock coverage of the Combine. Back in the day when no one knew who Mel Kiper was. Back in the day when there was no coverage of the NFL Draft, except for periodic updates by TV and Radio.
December 1977 I played in the East West Shrine game. The game was played at Stanford, my alma mater's biggest rival. Being a Cal guy, I did only have to drive across the Bay Bridge, so that was good. Back in the day when there were only a handful of teams who made it to Bowl games. I believe there were fewer than ten, and that included the four major bowls. Being in a Bowl game was huge. It was a chance for scouts to see you up close, at practice and see how you matched up with the other top players. Our Combine. Height and weight day. We were brought in early, before a practice, and told we were having our height and weight taken by the scouts and team reps. This day was not my favorite, heck, the only time I ever stood in the back row for a team picture was in 1968, when I was 12 and playing Little League baseball. We had a bunch of 10 and 11 years olds on our team that year. My turn. Breech, kicker, California the scout says. I step on the scale, you know the kind with the little sliding weight that never seems to stop where you expect it to. As the scout slides the weight farther and farther to the left he begins to chuckle. Finally, he says, "150 pounds of pure muscle," as everyone in the room has a good laugh. Height next, I knew I was not really blessed in that area. They had the wall marked with a nice professional grid to stand next to so they can get your height. Fine and dandy if you are tall enough to reach the grid, I was not. So, as I stand there exposed to the world, I had on shorts, waiting for them to come make a mark just for me, I'm thinking, this feels like Mom or Dad marking the wall at home to see how much little Jimmy has grown this month. Well, let me tell you, not much. Everybody gets a good laugh. Our Combine. There were no interviews, no Doctors, not even a 40 yard dash. Some schools did have a day when scouts would come and time a 40, but you not much else. I know at Cal, Berkeley, we didn't have a day for the scouts, just the protesters. Interestingly, many of those players went on to stellar careers. On the East team was University of Kentucky stars Derrick Ramsey and Art Still. Our West team was coached by Eddie Robinson and after just two weeks you could see why he was so successful, an amazing man. We had some players who would go on to play with the Bengals, the late Don Bass, David "Deacon" Turner and Tom Dinkel. Also, linebacker Gary Spani and Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams. We had a great team and won the game - 23-3. How times have changed and so has the draft Growlzone.com Cincinnati Bengals News |
