This past Thanksgiving Day I found myself giving thanks for having had the privilege of being a sports writer for so long as I have. I mean, I’ve met and befriended more outstanding people than there were turkeys gobbled up in El Paso last Thursday.
I’ve also written about many of those outstanding folks, seen them perform, seen them honored.
Sadly, though, I’ve also seen quite a few of them pass away.
ON THE HAPPY side, Bruce Reichman, Del Valle High School men’s soccer coach, received a great honor this month. I’d known about Reichman’s extraordinary record at Del Valle High School for some time but got to know him better when he was inducted into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame then joined the board of directors. He was so capable, so personable he quickly rose to the position of president.
So when it was announced last week that he will be inducted into the Texas Association of Soccer Coaches Hall of Honor I met it with a smile as wide as the Longhorn State. Besides that honor and winning two State titles, Reichman is listed in the Who’s Who of American Teachers.
ON THE SAD side, two of my favorite people I knew so well I considered them friends passed away this month.
One is Granville “Bill” Green, a stunningly handsome man who contributed in so many ways to the growth of sports and the city. He seemed to be everywhere in both business and athletics, even as master of ceremonies at various events.
Bill Green passed away peacefully in his home last weekend at the age of 96. “He loved El Paso so,” his daughter, Gretchen Green Love, says. “It’s so sad to see so many of our pioneers leaving us.”
So true.
ANOTHER GOOD friend who passed away recently is Dick De Bruyn. He was one of the wizards of advertising and public relations that dominated that field locally the second half of the past century. Others included Bob Reid and Johnny McFall.
All had clients connected with sports so I got to know and deal with all three. They were all so friendly, so full of life and so eager to help it was a joy just being around them. I guess it went with the territory.
Both Reid and McFall preceded De Bruyn in death. De Bruyn, a big easy going guy with a great sense of humor, passed away last week at the age of 80. It marked the end of a wonderful era in the advertising business here.
TRIVIA QUESTION: A Detroit Tiger set a Major League record of 18 homeruns in a single season. Can you name him? Answer at end.
THE BOOK about former Bowie High School football coach Buryl Baty written by his son, Gaines, reminded me that there were two other assistant coaches besides Jerry Simmang and Fred Rosas at Bowie High School when Baty arrived to become head football coach in 1950. They were Jim Bowden and Vic Clark. Bowden had quarterbacked UTEP to some of its biggest seasons in the late 1940s and later became UTEP athletic director.
He resigned as Bowie backfield coach after helping the Bears finish first in the district in 1950.
Gaines resurrected a piece I wrote March 1, 1951 when Bowden resigned. I wrote: “The resignation of coach Jim Bowden is quite a blow to Bowie High School’s football fortunes … Bowden resigned to go into farming … Jim is a swell guy, as well as a good coach, and will be sorely missed …”
I found it sort of eerie seeing what I had written more than 60 years ago in the manuscript of the book but the article brought back many memories, some of them very sad.