Column Fodder

Over the 16 years that I was a columnist for the Kingsport Times-News, I collected hundreds of old newspaper clippings that I thought might make fodder for a column.

Now I have hundreds of these clippings but no column.

So I’ll be posting some of the more interesting ones on this blog. Starting with these clips:

From the front page of the Oct. 6, 1960 Kingsport Times:

'Count X' Unmasked

A masked wrestler known as "Count X" had managed to protect his identity in the ring for about a year, but he was stripped of the mystery in City Court here this morning. "Count X" was otherwise identified as Jack Ross, 29, of Nashville, after he forfeited a $25 bond for assault and battery. Ross was arrested by City Police after he hit referee Bill Canny with a chair—near the dressing room entrance at Civic Auditorium. Ross and his partner, Hassen Bey, had just lost the main attraction decision in the ring to Tex Riley and Len Rossi. The then-masked Ross turned on Canny in the ring, and then resumed his attack as the referee started to the dressing room.

I don’t know where I thought this would go as a column but I was always fascinated by the masked wrestlers I saw on TV in the fifties and sixties, especially my favorite, The Great Bolo. There have been many masked wrestlers over the years, including Kane, currently the mayor of Knox County, Tennessee under his unmasked name Glenn Jacobs.

(I couldn't find a photo of Count X but here is his tag team partner Hassan Bey.)

Sept. 8, 1929 Kingsport Times

Model Plane In Air Over Eight Minutes, Record

Clarence “Red” Wilson Constructs Model, Flies From Aviation Field Next to A. J. School

A miniature model plane, built by Clarence “Red” Wilson, local youth, set what is thought to be a world's record when it stayed in the air for eight minutes and five seconds. The plane had rubber bounds tightly wound to turn the propeller. “Red” launched the plane on the aviation field and it spanned the distance from the field to the Andrew Jackson school building.

The boys that were with Wilson stated the plane disappeared from sight for about three minutes, but that they caught a glimpse of the plane as it came down near the school building.

This is the first time that a project of this type has been tried by local youths.

The key phrase in this brief item is “thought to be a record.”

There was no Guinness Book of World Records in 1929 (it wouldn’t come along for a quarter century). Aviation records were a big deal in the teens and twenties: speed, distance. But there was no repository of the records, just a collection of newspaper clippings.

So the Kingsport Times editor wasn’t aware that in 1924, Robert V. Jaros of the Illinois Model Aero Club flew a rubber-band powered model plane 7,920 feet that took 10 minutes and 14 seconds.

Red’s accomplishment was quite a feat. But not a record.

Today, rubber-band powered model airplanes, which compete in the  F1D class, can fly for more than 40 minutes.

Incidentally the aviation field, called Lovedale Field in other stories of the era, was the bottom below Jackson School. 

Next this city basketball league roundup from Feb. 2, 1960, published under the headline “City Cage Results.”

JUNIOR LEAGUE

Scotty Webb poured in 67 points for Moose Lodge — and still wound up as only second high scorer Monday night. Teammate Wally Bridwell scorched the nets for 70 points as the high-flying Moose ran up an almost unbelievable 170-37 score against Hamlett-Dobson. Boby Prater hit 67 points to pace Kingsport Optimist to an 89-42 win over Teen Center 2. Jack Sitgreaves had 13 for the Teens.

Teen Center I edged Indian Springs. 41-38, despite a 22-point performance by the losers' Russell Hicks. Archie Millard led the win with 12. Remnant Shop downed Church of God, 54-47, as Bob Holt hit 16. Bill Wampler of Church of God had 18. Gene Allen tallied 16 to spark Brummit Grocery past Pet Dairy, 58-49. Bill Cox added 14. Jerry Hale and Ronnie Rush had 20 and 16, respectively, for the losers.

Wallace News nipped Bennett and Edwards. 77-75, on Leon Jackson's basket in the second overtime period. John Stevens paced Wallace with 25 points. Jim Carpenter got 26 for B&E. and Bill Hutchins added 24.

MEN'S LEAGUE

Dan's Sport Shop squeezed past Lynn Garden, 49-48, behind the 14- point output of Guy Crawford. Jim Kilgore hit 12 for Lynn Garden. Willard Bowery and Jim Taylor scored 24 points apiece to spark Inter-Mountain Telephone over Blue Ridge Glass, 85-56. Bill Kirkpatrick and Ken Richardson each hit 17 for Blue Ridge. Esso tripped Garden Basket. 61- 54, as Buck Collette and Tommy Byington scored 20 points apiece. Bill Whetsel got 16 for the losers.

Lots of familiar names in those few sentences: Wally Bridwell, who was D-B’s quarterback, Boby (pronounced BO-bee) Prater, who was an outstanding punter for D-B, Jack Sitgreaves (I went to church with Jack; his brother-in-law Bill Dickson had been the catcher on D-B’s 1952 state championship baseball team).

I don’t know if the Guy Crawford playing for Dan’s Sport Shop was the D-B coach. It wasn’t his son Guy B. Jr. who would have been only eight in 1960. Bill Kirkpatrick may have been the attorney.

But what really jumps out at me is that Moose team, with Wally scoring 70 points and his teammate Scotty scoring 67.

I played City League basketball (for Palace News) two years later, when I was in ninth grade, and I can tell you that nobody came close to scoring 70 points in a game. Teams didn’t score 70 points.

We played 8-minute quarters. (And there were no three-point shots.) To score 70 points you’d have to score more than a basket every minute. And consider that you had a teammate who would also have to score a basket a minute. Hamlett-Dobson must have been a truly awful team to give up 170 points in a 32-minute game.

And finally from today’s headlines:

For Thanksgiving Pringles is introducing Turducken Flavored “Pringles”

As you probably know Turducken is a chicken cooked inside a duck which is cooked inside a turkey.

Several Thanksgivings back Bruce Haney thought he might try turducken in his turkey deep fryer.

When he asked me what I thought, I told him, “I don’t eat any dish that begins with T-U-R-D.”