by Ray Sanchez 09.27.15
I found out through a very nice email I got from El Pasoan Chris Babcock. He wrote:
“I run the new version of the El Paso Herald-Post that we just started up a couple of weeks back and are trying to bring El Paso-focused stories back to page 1.
“I’ve read most every Herald-Post and have got to tell you, your writing and story telling have inspired me for a long time. I was unable to post your (latest) story over on our site, as you wrote it for El Paso Inc, but will share your post on our Facebook page so everyone can read the wonderful UTEP history.”
The link to the website is http://elpasoheraldpost.com.
CAN YOU IMAGINE? The El Paso Herald-Post is alive again
I worked for the El Paso Herald-Post for 40 years. I started out as most rookies do, covering high schools, in 1950. I did that for 10 years. Slowly, I was promoted to covering golf, tennis and just about every other local sport and after Sunland Park Racetrack opened in 1959 I was assigned to cover horse racing.
I stayed on that beat until sports editor Bob Ingram retired in 1981 and I took over the position. As such, I covered everything from UTEP to Dallas Cowboys home and away games, Super Bowls, World Series games, Triple Crown races, NBA playoffs …
I can’t tell you how breathtaking it was being in the big time and sitting in the pressbox among the country’s greatest sportscasters and sports writers. It’s a memory I’ll always treasure.
So seeing this new El Paso Herald-Post website is quite dazzling.
TRIVIA QUESTION: In 1974, Chris Evert was among the top three money winners in two sports. Besides tennis, what was the other sport? Answer at end of column.
ALL OFWHICH brings me to my recent visit to the new Sports Journalism class at UTEP. Professor Kevin Lovell invited me to a question and answer session about my book, “Basketball’s Biggest Upset,” which chronicles the 1966 Miners’ path to the 1966 national basketball championship.
I like young people so I went. I tried to encourage the students to pursue a career in sports journalism and it was fun answering the students’ questions. They had read the book and were dissecting it. Some of them pointed out the difference between the movie “Glory Road” and the book. The movie was, well, a movie. As students pointed out, the book gave actual facts and many more details. I was flattered.
THE BOOK’S title, by the way, was quite controversial when the book came out in 1991. Some questioned why it was such a big upset since the Miners were ranked second in the nation behind Kentucky that year.
Ah, but besides the fact that Kentucky was overwhelmingly favored in the championship game, I called it basketball’s biggest upset because of what the victory meant to society. It changed everything and even schools in the South, including Kentucky, began recruiting black players.
WHEN I THINK of all my years in sports journalism I shudder. A professor at UTEP once estimated that by writing stories and columns, often daily, for 65 years I have probably written more than three millions words.
Of course, writing so much, it’s inevitable that a slip of the fingers, or the brain, sometimes occur. I’ve had my share of typos and I hope readers understand. I’ve tried hard to keep them to a minimum ‘cause I love our readers.
ANSWER to trivia question: Horse racing. The horse, Chris Evert, won over $500,000 and was named the top three year-old of the year.