Falkenstien humbled by Hall induction

By Andy Samuelson     Jun 10, 2001

? As a band played Kansas University’s fight song in the background, legendary broadcaster Max Falkenstien walked to the podium with a smirk on his face.

He addressed longtime friend and former All-America basketball player Ernie Barrett known to many as “Mr. K-State” and said, “Ernie, how is it to applaud to the Jay-Jay-Jayhawk?”

Behind a big laugh from the crowd, so began the first of three inductions of men with KU ties Saturday into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame at Sterl Hall in Eisenhower Park. Joining Falkenstien were former KU track and field coach Bob Timmons and former KU football player and Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike McCormack.

Three other individuals round out the Class of 2001 inductees: Linwood Sexton, a standout running back at Wichita State; Judy Bell, an amateur golf legend and first ever female president of the USGA; and swimmer Jeff Farrell, who won two gold medals in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.

A Broadcasting Legend

Falkenstien’s broadcasting career began while he was a senior at Liberty Memorial in Lawrence and he has been on the microphone calling games for the Jayhawks since 1946.

This year alone, Falkenstien, 77, was featured in Sports Illustrated; he and partner Bob Davis were named to the Sweet 16 of sports broadcasters by Dick Vitale; and he was named the “best of college basketball radio personalities” by The Sporting News.

He has co-authored a book and has been a vice president of a bank all in the same city Lawrence in which he was born.

Falkenstien said he was humbled to be mentioned among so many great individuals yet honored to accompany them.

“When I thought about being elected to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame with all of the magnificent athletes that have been honored before me, it’s a little bit overwhelming,” Falkenstien said.

“All I’ve ever done is talk about them. But if I’ve been able to bring some pleasure, excitement, joy, sadness and emotion to people down through the years, then that’s certainly reward enough for me.”

Davis, who introduced Falkenstien Saturday, delivered several stories to the 200 fans in attendance. One particularly humorous tale delighted the crowd.

Davis told of how he, Falkenstien and KU basketball coach Roy Williams were at Seaworld in Miami a few years back.

“Max and Roy are standing at the dolphin pool and Roy has a big sack of popcorn,” Davis said. “Roy said to Max ‘Do you think the dolphin would like popcorn?’ Animal-lover that he is, Max said ‘I know he does, Coach. Go ahead and feed him.’

“He (Roy) threw a big glob of popcorn in there, and the dolphin keeper came running out of his office and yelled, ‘Get out of here popcorn will kill the dolphin.’ Roy turned to thank Max for the advice, but Max was already over watching Shamoo.”

He Blocked for the Best

McCormack, 71, was a three-year starter from 1948-50 at KU after a standout prep career at De LaSalle High School in Kansas City, Mo.

A 6-foot-4, 250-pound tackle, McCormack, was drafted by the New York Yanks in the 1951 NFL draft and was later traded to the Cleveland Browns, where he blocked for Hall of Fame running backs, Jim Brown, Bobby Mitchell and Marion Motley and quarterback Otto Graham.

McCormack played in six Pro Bowls and was an NFL champion with the Browns in 1954-55. After his playing career ended he was an assistant coach for the Washington Redskins under Graham (1966-68), Vince Lombardi (’69) and George Allen (’70-72) and head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles (’73-76) and Baltimore Colts (’80-81).

He was an interim head coach of the Seattle Seahawks before becoming the team’s president and general manager in 1982. McCormack also played a vital part in bringing the Carolina Panthers’ franchise to the NFL and also serving as the team’s first general manager and then president.

“Football is the ultimate team game,” said McCormack, who was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1984. “So I’ll accept this honor on behalf of all of my teammates.”

In McCormack’s closing remarks he thanked everyone, but especially made it a point to relate to the audience the importance of God in his life.

“Whatever ability you have, is God’s present to you,” he said. “Whatever you do with that ability, is your present to God.”

The Man They Call “Timmie”

Timmons name is synonymous with KU track and cross country and with good reason as he helped the Jayhawks win 27 conference titles and four national titles from 1965-88, but the man known to his athletes as ‘Timmie’ was a sports pioneer long before his days as a Jayhawk.

Timmons is most well-known for helping Jim Ryun at Wichita East run a sub four-minute mile, but Timmons had also coached six different high school sports before he came to KU in 1965.

He helped fellow inductee Farrell break a national high school swimming record while at East. In Wichita he founded the Wichita Swim Club and Wichita Track Club.

Timmons continued coaching after he left KU at Baldwin for several years, and even though he’s looking forward to possibly coaching in the future, he said he couldn’t have done anything without the support of his wife Pat.

“I wouldn’t be here at all without the support and sacrifices she made in our family,” Timmons said. “Pat was a mom and a dad; she took on a lot of responsibility and never complained.

“Pat allowed me to do the things that at the time I thought I needed to do as a coach.”

Lifelong friend and former KU basketball player and assistant coach Jerry Waugh may have summed up Timmons’ career best Saturday, saying he was a coach that knew no limits and had a passion for achievement.

“If I could do one thing over in my life,” Waugh said. “I’d liked for Bob Timmons to be my coach.”

Judy Bell

Bell’s playing career ranks her among the top female amateurs of the 1950s and 1960s, when she won three Broadmoor Invitational titles, the 1958 South Atlantic Championship and the 1963 Trans-Mississippi title. She was a member of the 1960 and ’62 United States Curtis Cup before becoming the first woman to be named to the USGA’s 16-member Executive Committee and its first female president in 1996.

Linwood Sexton

Sexton, a three-sport star at Wichita East, was one of the first black athletes in the Missouri Valley Conference. While at Wichita University from 1945-47 he rushed for 1,995 yards. As Sexton’s name was announced Saturday, the WSU fight song played, and Sexton joked “that the band did know another song.” Sexton, however, may have had the most support as family and friends and a charter bus of patrons from Halstead cheered him on.

Jeff Farrell

Farrell is the first ever swimmer to be inducted to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. In the first meet of his senior year at East under Timmons, he set a national record of 2:11.8 in the 220-yard freestyle. He was named to the All-America High School Swimming Team in 1954. Farrell set 25 American, World and Olympic records in his career.

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