On the subject of lousy public relations, I’ll never stop despising professional athletic outfits. They let colleges train and prepare people for their programs but are horribly remiss about citing the sources that give them the best farm systems in existence — with virtually no investment.
Somehow, however, the pros with the help of the media are not the least bit reluctant to emphasize the school where a performer originated when that jock is in some kind of jam. Two cases in point.
The past week, Scottie Pippen retired from pro basketball after a great career that peaked when he and Michael Jordan were Chicago Bulls. In virtually none of the official announcements was there any reference to Pippen’s college. The fact he prepped at little-known Central Arkansas is part of the story: Guy from smaller school ascends the heights in the NBA. Here was a chance for the PR guys and the media to give credit to a school that got the guy ready at no cost to the pros.
Then Justin Smith, defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals, got caught in a drunken driving case. Boy, you had no trouble finding out he was from Missouri University. Or when klutzy giant Greg Ostertag fell and broke his hand … quickly everybody knew he was from Kansas.
How many times do the television graphics people project thumbnail sketches of athletes and leave out the university of origin? Several networks are doing a better job, but there still are glaring omissions. The schools, of course, are delighted about anonymity when an athlete rams a hand into the cookie jar of misbehavior. But what about more emphasis on the schools’ contributions in the good times?
I keep marveling how the pro football, basketball and baseball teams get such vast benefits from costly college programs without helping much, if at all. Football will snatch guys as soon as possible, after their junior years. The kids get better all-around coaching in school than they ever would from overpaid pro aides.
Basketball grabs people out of high school or after one or two years in college, where the coaching is far better. NBA guys let rookies languish on a bench when they’d be far better off under a Bill Self-type staff. Not many Kevin Garnetts or LeBron Jameses can go a cappella from high school to the NBA with major impact. The colleges train players and the pros strike when they get a chance.
Baseball long has been purloining guys off campuses but in some cases has been more helpful financially.
Yet when things go bad, the college of record gets plenty of ink. When it’s milk and honey, too often it’s the pro teams and coaches who bask in the glory.
¢
Don’t know if you saw USA Today’s Wednesday rundown on the kind of money some high schools spend on sports, most notably football. It’s all tied in with the movie “Friday Night Lights,” about the 1988 season at Permian High of Odessa, Texas.
Some of the expenditures are staggering when you take into account how hard so many school districts struggle nowadays. For example, the famed Valdosta (Ga.) High just finished a $7.5 million facelift on its 10,300-seat stadium, where they outdraw and probably outspend Valdosta State University, a small-college playoff qualifier. The money amounts and the prep facilities in states like California, Georgia, Texas and Ohio are shocking.
The Valdosta coach makes $87,500 a year, is athletic director, gets a truck and doesn’t have to teach. The average teacher makes about $42,000. The Odessa Permian coach/athletic director gets $93,000 and amazing perks.
But no matter how much they spend, pay or throw around, I’ll bet no town in America ever had more fun than Lawrence in the glory days of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s when Chalmer Woodard and Al Woolard were the coaches. There was a lull during the Don Pfutzenreuter and Frank Gibson tenures, then things boiled up again under Bill Freeman and Dick Purdy. Having Haskell Stadium was a major help, and crowds often were in the 8,000 range.
In a lot of those seasons, you just didn’t schedule events on a Friday night when the Lions were playing here (and many followed them on the road). LHS entered the 1961 season with a 47-game winning streak that commanded national attention. Enthusiasm was always high, good behavior dominated, and the kids on those teams — from scrub to sub to star — had some of the most enjoyable, rewarding experiences of their lives.
Head coaches may have made an extra $1,500 or so while aides like Jerry Rogers, Darrell Falen and Max Rife got rich on $500 or so, may even have shot up to $1,000 at one point.
Cynics ask, “What good is happiness, it can’t buy money.” But there never was enough money to equate the soaring happiness of Lawrence High football when it was so captivating and productive … Texas, Georgia and the rest included.
¢
Just in case you get any new verbal flak from Kansas State football nuts, Kansas was 8-0 against the Cats from 1907-15, 8-0 from 1945-52 and 10-0 from l956-65. KU once went 13 years without losing to KSU, 10-0 from ’56-65, a tie in ’66, then wins in ’67 and ’68.
But if the Purple Panther crowd still is abrasive, remind them that the ‘Cats once lost 28 in a row — the last seven games of ’45, 0-9 in ’46, 0-10 in ’47 and opening losses to Illinois State and Iowa State in ’48. The 0-28 streak ended with a victory over mighty Arkansas State in the third game of 1948, that cupcake paving the way to an 0-7 finish.
How’s all that for a humbling hairball, Willie?
