The ol’ times of Purple and Gold during the Southern California Sportscasters Association

During the Southern California Sportscasters Association luncheon last week at Lakeside greens at Toluca Lake, we ran into Tommy Hawkins, a long-time regional broadcaster who additionally worked for years in community affairs with all the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“I broke Doug in,” he told Lisa Bowman, a previous broadcaster by herself.

“You did?” she reacted.

“Just ask him,” responded Hawkins.

We nodded having an amused smiled.

“How’d you break him in?” Bowman wondered.

“Introduced him around. . . revealed him the ropes,” related Hawkins. “Assured him that Wilt (Chamberlain) wouldn’t bite their mind off. . .”

We nodded once more, and started taking into consideration the 1968-69 NBA period by which I became a wide-eyed, naive, energetic, young reporter assigned to cover a Laker group that do not only had Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and Jerry western, but less popular players like Mel Counts, Johnny Egan, Keith Erickson, Billy Hewitt, Freddie Crawford and, needless to say, Tommy Hawkins.

At that time, Hawkins had been a 32-year-old, 6-foot-5 book forward away from Notre Dame in the season that is 10th in NBA, also it would become their last one.

For a beneficial percentage of the normal period, I became really the only journalist traveling utilizing the 11-man Laker team, and became type of its de facto man that is 12th.

Actually, by mid-season I became addressed as a result because of the players, and would play cards using them through the airplane trips and become invited to possess supper using them whenever on the highway and would drive the coach using them to your arenas.

Tommy Hawkins certainly ended up being quite accommodating, as were the Laker broadcasters, Chick Hearn and Rod that is hot Hundley an inveterate skirt-chaser on a group filled with such kinds.

Blessedly, I became in a position to keep an affable relationship with the volatile Chamberlain after an extremely erratic come from that he took exclusion to one thing I experienced discussed him within the L.A. Herald Examiner.

“Wilt Chamberlain was the tallest spectator during the Forum yesterday evening,” is the way in which we started among the my tales in evaluating Chamberlain’s listless work within a Laker loss.

Well, a few days later on, he arrived at me and said, “Who when you look at the (bleep) do you believe you will be composing that (bleep)? across me personally into the hallway for the Forum workplaces, looked down threateningly”

Aided by the brazen disdain of youth, we pointed to my chin and stated challengingly to him, ‘Go ahead, Wilt, hit me personally. I’m broke. The money is needed by me.”

Wilt Chamberlain regarded me personally with a look that is curious shook their mind, also handled a poor look, and stepped away.

He’d be certainly one of my closest buddies in the group from then on event, and I also can’t keep in mind just how many times that period and also the next when rent that is we’d and drive around towns like Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Milwaukee and Boston watching the feminine scenery.

The coach of this Laker group had been Butch van Breda Kolff, in which he and I also had a strained relationship during that period due to Chamberlain, as did VBK to my close friendship and Chamberlain.

I took Chamberlain’s part on a few disagreements that are passionate had with van Breda Kolff that We made public, and Frank Deford also published in a Sports Illustrated article that the Herald Examiner ended up being Chamberlain’s paper together with L.A. occasions had been VBK’s, that was accurate.

Nevertheless, despite our differences, van Breda Kolff never ever snubbed me, also welcoming us to possess Thanksgiving supper because of the united group in Philadelphia.

It had been so different in those full times for the newspaperman than it is currently.

The Lakers now have actually their very own airplane, and article writers aren’t permitted to travel onto it.

Nor do the article writers now carry on the group coach towards the arena, when I regularly did.

Nor do they drive the trains, when I did utilizing the united group from ny to Baltimore to Boston on a single journey.

Nor do they get back utilizing the united group after games towards the resort, when I constantly did.

I’d scurry up to my space, pound out my tale on a typewriter, then get a cab into the nearest Western Union workplace, where somebody would telex it back again to my L.A. workplace.

Chick Hearn always kept everyone loose with their sarcastic one-liners, and I also frequently ended up being the receiver of these, because had been the dour Laker trainer, Frank O’Neil.

We played lots of gin rummy games that season with Rod Hundley and Elgin Baylor, who had been a card that is skilled and whom additionally were certainly one of my senior school athletic idols.

While he happens to be, Baylor had been standoffish and guarded, but had a feeling of humor he frequently kept concealed, while Jerry western ended up being an affable chatterbox albeit nearly all of their chatter never managed to get into the sporting pages.

Chamberlain had been a loner whom went their own method off court, and I also can’t inform you just how many very very early night telephone calls on off days I received from Chamberlain welcoming us to own supper with him, that I constantly easily accepted.

Chamberlain gained extensive notoriety later on in their life as he stated in a novel which he had sex with 20,000 ladies, a claim which inspired laughter from those of us whom knew him well and knew their proclivity for monumental exaggeration.

It had been an enjoyable, giddy time for me personally, and you can find countless tales i will inform but won’t because I’m perhaps not Jose Canseco and betray juicy tidbits that weren’t intended for general public publicity free webcam dating sites.

The group would win 55 regular period games, plus it must have won the NBA name.

Bill Russell would walk off the Forum flooring for the time that is final might 5, 1969, as he would lead the Boston Celtics to a 108-106 make an impression on the Lakers in Game 7, once more having the better of Chamberlain, along with Baylor and western.

Jerry West wept later, and, sheepishly, i need to acknowledge used to do for a minute, too, a young reporter caught up within the feeling of the dark minute of a group with that I had become therefore closely aligned.

Jack Kent Cooke, the Laker owner, would fire Bill van Breda Kolff a couple of days later on, and Joe Mullaney will be the mentor the next period whenever we yet again chronicled the group.

The 1969-70 Lakers also would lose into the NBA finals in a casino game 7 into the nyc Knicks.

But no rips arrived on the scene of my eyes following the setback.

The happy purity that suffused my soul through the entire past period had disappeared forever.