Bigoldtackle
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RE: 2021 football schedule unveiled
(02-10-2021 07:55 PM)Ricefootballnet Wrote: (02-10-2021 07:30 PM)Almadenmike Wrote: (02-09-2021 11:02 PM)Ricefootballnet Wrote: We arranged to get a dedicated phone line from KTRU to the crows nest press box in Autry. This, just to do freshman basketball games, as Bill of course did the varsity games. He was so jealous of Synamon that he kicked us out of the press box.
Wow!! That's terrible!
I broadcast freshman basketball games from the crows nest one year. Must have been the year before you & Bill Synnamon.
I don't remember having any issues with "The Barber" ... although I did (privately) snicker at all the "quote marks" he put around a wide variety of phrases in his news releases.
OK, Mike, well here’s the story…
It was a dingy evening in early November 1969 as I trudged from Lovett college after dinner toward the basement of the RMC, where, as newly appointed News Director at KTRU, I was setting up the evening newscast. Walked past the training table which was in front of the Baker Commons, as you will recall, and about four or five football buddies of mine exploded out and surrounded me. “Hlavinka, Hlavinka, you’ve got to take us down to the radio station and let us say something. Hagan has been fired.“ It was basically the Lovett college sophomore backfield, Kim Malone, Jackie Laurenzo, Mike Spruill, Cliff Crabtree, and I’m sure Jim Miller was in on the mix. We went down to KTRU and I just opened the mic, and we had a quick on the air session. Those boys were all good friends of mine. I remember sitting drinking a beer with Jim Miller on the front steps at Lovett once, watching our college fellows walk by, and Jimmy saying “I can’t understand it, WE are the normal people.“ Anyway, they had their say, and then I put a bulletin out on the AP saying Hagan had been fired, etc. etc. My uncle Charlie was driving from Texarkana up to St. Louis for a law case and listening on KMOX when he heard our family name being announced on 1120 radio. 15 seconds of fame. Anyway, Bill was absolutely fire breathing. He had had a press conference arranged for 9 o’clock the next morning, and had everything choreographed, and this ruined the whole thing. “I’ll make sure you never do that again! I’m going to call AP and get you thrown out and get that wire machine taken out of your junk radio station basement!” I was shocked. I was just responding to my pals on the football team. Geez, we’re students… Anyway, he did call AP and tried to get us kicked out, and the machine removed. The next afternoon I was in the KTRU news room and I got a call from Mr. Freeman, the AP head man in Fort Worth. He said, “don’t you worry a bit about Mr. Whitmore. I explained to him that you all are a regular member of AP and that you have a contractual duty to report the news, and that you were just doing your job. If you ever have any problems with him again, you just give me a call and I’ll take care of it.” Oh, so seldom in life do we get to savor little victories like that! So I stayed on Bill’s bad side for about I don’t know 15 or 20 years, but as he slowed down in his old age, we realized our common bonds, and I wound up pushing him around the concourse at Rice Stadium in his wheelchair. I cried at his funeral.
Bull Sh-tmore, we used to refer to him as. Not really fair - he did the best he could with limited resources.
What did the Lovett gang have to say about Hagan's firing ? Happy, or sad ? IMO He was the epitome of an arrogant, my way or the highway egomaniac - who was all about himself and who started the downhill slide of RU football fortunes after Neely left. He was looking for an excuse to demote you, even if the guy behind you was a turd, just to prove he was the boss. He'd put you at 5th string at a position on the posted depth chart, when there was nobody in the 3rd or 4th string slots - a real chickensh-t. Nobody wanted to play for him, which is a shame because we had some real talent on that 1970 team. I started my last two years, and was drafted, btw, so this isn't sour grapes about being relegated to the bench, or some such.
(This post was last modified: 02-11-2021 12:16 PM by Bigoldtackle.)
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