One of the things I like best about being on the board of directors of some of the sports halls of fame in town is that I get to hear some great stories from inductees. Like some of the ones I heard during El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremonies last week. For example:
I ASKED Bobby Dibler, who officiated many NCAA basketball games including three Final Fours, who was the coach who gave him the toughest time. He laughed and promptly answered, “Don Haskins!” But, he added, one of the most satisfying moments of his career came when he won a dispute over Bob Knight, the ferocious coach at University of Indiana.
“One of his players went in for a layup and was fouled,” Dibler said. “The ball he threw up rustled the net as if the ball had gone through the hoop but it hadn’t.” Dibler called a foul on the opposing player but ruled no basket.
Knight came storming toward Dibler and fumed and raged that the ball had gone in. “I don’t give a damn about free throws, I want the basket,” he growled. Dibler stood his ground.
SOME GAMES later Dibler was officiating another Indiana game. Knight shook all the referees’ hands before the game – all except Dibler’s. However, Knight must have seen the video replay because he apologized on his way back to the bench. He whispered as he went by Dibler, “You were right. The ball didn’t go in.”
As for athletes, Dibler well remembers Michael Jordan. Dibler officiated the game where Jordan made the jump shot that won the national title for North Carolina. “It was amazing how Jordan could stop on a dime and go high in the air,” Dibler said.
MICHAEL JORDAN is also well remembered by another El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame inductee of this year, Rafael Palomar. The former Ysleta High star, who still holds the state record for most rebounds in a game at 41, played for Mexico in the Olympics and in many international games. He played against Jordan in some of the latter.
“Whenever Jordan would get the ball in a game it seemed like the world would come to a stand-still,” Palomar says. “The audience would hold its breath wondering what he was going to do next and there was an eerie silence. And oh, how he could jump.”
Palomar is close to 6 feet 8 but, he says, “Jordan went so high I actually saw the soles of his shoes on some occasions.”
CARILYN JOHNSON, a world class runner inductee who has competed in two world championship tournaments and helped the United States win a silver medal in Italy in 2009, says her career was tougher on her family than on her. She was on the USA 24-Hour Run Team and members of her family would stay up nights to help her train for it. “They would be there to hand me food and water and encouragement as I ran by,” she says.
She is the daughter of former El Paso mayor Larry Francis, who was at the induction banquet. Emcee Kevin Lovell asked him what made him most proud of his children. Francis brought the house down with laughter when he aswered, “They’re all making a living.”
EL PASO’S outstanding high school athletes were also honored at the induction banquet. Luis Zuniga, KINT-TV sports anchor who was inducted in the media category, was in awe of them. “They’re wonderful,” he said. “I wonder why UTEP doesn’t keep more of them.”
Other inductees included former UTEP basketball star Beto Bautista, incredibly successful swim coach Steve Flato, super cross country coach Felix Hinojosa and, posthumously, incomparable runner Kiki Contreras.
All had great stories to tell, too, but space is limited here. I’ll treasure them and perhaps in future columns …