John C. Hoffman of The Sporting News went on to report that the John Sherman Lollar name spans several generations. I also sourced a PSA Bio and discovered that John Sherman Lollar Senior was an old semi-pro ballplayer who played catch with his son outside their family grocery store in Fayetteville, Arkansas, starting at the age of three. Senior died five years later in 1932. The great-grandfather fought for the North in the Civil War and started the name tradition in honor of General William Tecumseh Sherman, who passed it on to his son, came to be known as “Sherm.” The name connection is even more appropriate after he proved, as a Major League catcher, to be a dependable field general.
The death of Sherm’s father added additional responsibilities for the entire family. His mother, Ruby, who helped support the family as a librarian, sold the store, temporarily moved to Guin, Alabama, but returned to Fayetteville to work for the Veteran’s Administration. There were three younger siblings, Bonnie, Pat, and Jerry. Despite the disruption in his life, Lollar’s interest in baseball never waned. In 1936, shortly before he turned twelve, he became a batboy for the Fayetteville Bears in the Arkansas-Missouri League.
A 1957 Saturday Evening Post article added, “Sherman would warm up the pitchers between innings and do a good job. The crowds would get a big kick out of seeing this frail, skinny kid catch and throw to second base.”
Hoffman then went on to write: “After graduating from Fayetteville High School, a school that had no baseball team, so his sole sports option was to play basketball, the sixteen-year-old Lollar took a job with J.C. Penney in Pittsburg, Kansas. He played with a team affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce in the Ban Johnson League while also studying at Pittsburg State Teachers College (now Pittsburgh State University). Two years later, after the Ban Johnson League folded, Lollar both played for and managed the semipro Baxter Springs (Kansas) Miners, working as a brakeman in a local mine when he wasn’t playing baseball.”
As Hoffman further reported, “the mining team, managed by Barney Barnett, an old semi-pro player, and played three or four times a week. Lollar had been rejected by his draft board in World War II and one of his teammates was a pitcher named Stan West, who belonged to the Baltimore team of the International League. West was engaged in defense work, but he recommended Lollar to Tommy Thomas, former White Sox pitcher, who was then managing the Baltimore team.”
A cyst on his throat kept him from the service, so he was able to continue to play ball, unlike some of his contemporaries whose careers were interrupted by the war. He had to be thinking of his father, who died in the hospital from a carbuncle or cluster of boils caused by bacterial infection. Sherm’s cyst was not related but it was in a similar part of the body. It might have been related to his premature death at the age of 53 in 1977. Cancer was the cause, and I have medallion in my collection from the Sherm Lollar/Nellie Fox Cancer Foundation. Fox died two years earlier at only 48-years-of-age from skin cancer related to smokeless tobacco that always filled his cheek and became a trademark.
“Lollar joined the minor league Orioles in August, 1943 and caught 12 games before the conclusion of the season. The next season he became the regular catcher for the Orioles but batted only .250 in 126 games. However, he had 15 home runs and drove in 72 runs and was the team’s number one catcher again in 1945.”
Sherm was quoted as saying, “I don’t recall that I ever wanted to be anything else except a catcher. It seems like I was born with a catcher’s mitt on my hand. I can remember playing pepper and catching with my arm was still sore from vaccination. That must’ve been before I was six years old.”
“When the time came for me to join the Baltimore team in Buffalo, mother was pleased. She knew it would have been dad‘s wish that I should be a professional ball player and so she gave me her wholehearted support.”
He went on to say, “the Baltimore club sent me my transportation to Buffalo, but it never occurred to me that I should get any kind of a bonus for signing a contract. I was just glad to get the chance to play.”
“Lollar told, too, how he happened to break into the lineup and then became the regular catcher in 1944. Most of the boys had gone into the service, he said, and there wasn’t there weren’t too many players left. Then in 1944, the Cleveland club, which had a working agreement with Baltimore was supposed to send a couple of catchers to the Orioles, but they were late getting around to it. And by the time they got there, I had caught several games and was going pretty good, so Tommy Thomas just left me in the lineup.”
Sherm became the International League MVP in 1945 after a great season with a league-leading “.364 batting average, and 111 RBIs in 139-games. He also hit 34 homers, 27 doubles and four triples. Half a dozen big league teams, including the White Sox had tried to buy him. Chicago offered $50,000 for his contract but Cleveland had first choice. At spring training, he was one of a dozen catchers and one of them, just out of the service was Jim Hegan. Hegan won the job.”
Sherm Lollar made his Major League debut April 20, 1946, with the Indians, and caught 28-games as back-up to Frankie Hayes, who held a 312-game streak of consecutive games as well as Hegan, just another future catching legend, like his predecessor, somehow ignored by Cooperstown.
I was disturbed to find that although Lollar was born in Dunham, Arkansas and spent his younger years nearby Fayetteville, the Arkansas Department of Tourism website does not even recognize him as worthy of their list of “famous athletes.” This lack of disrespect extends to the Baseball Hall of Fame, where only a handful of catchers are enshrined, despite their key leadership role on their respective teams. At least, there’s a blurb about him in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Thankfully, The Sporting News has been generous on their reporting of his career.
On the next page of The Sporting News was a side-article written with the headline: Top Moment? Game in ‘53 when his bat beat the Yankees. According to the author Hoffman, “it is doubtful if anyone would have detected it, because Sherm Lollar, ace catcher of the Chicago White Sox staff, is never demonstrative, but he was a mighty pleased young man the evening of May 14, 1953. In fact, it was his biggest thrill of his baseball career. The White Sox were behind four to one in the seventh to the Yankees in a game in New York. Teammates, Tom Wright and Vern Stevens were on base when Lollar hit a homer in the left field stands to tie the game. The score was tied again 5-5 in the eighth and then in the ninth Lollar opened with a single but replaced by a pinch runner, Red Wilson, who scored the winning run.”
The box scores that day showed two singles, a home run, and a walk. Lollar also scored twice and drove in three. Perhaps he had a personal grudge to settle against the Bronx Bombers and Manager Bill Dickey, who first sent him to Newark, favoring left-handed Yogi Berra behind the plate. Lollar was then traded the following year after a wrist injury to the St. Louis Browns, despite a 3-4 performance including two doubles in the 1947 World Series. Yogi replaced him in the batting order in Game 3 and hit the very first pinch-hit homer in Series history.
Maybe the Championship ring that Lollar earned that year never fit him comfortably. “I thought I was in after that,” Lollar said, “but I sat on the bench practically all of the next season. I got into only 22 games, and I guess that kind of shook my confidence, but you just have to take the bad breaks with the good ones in this game.” With the move to the Browns in 1949, he earned his first of 7 career All-Star selections.
It wasn’t until he came to the White Sox for the 1952 season before he got a full-time catching job, after spending six of his eighteen years as a non-starter. I was only one-year old at the time, so it wasn’t until 7-years later that I became one of his biggest fans, during the course of the 1959 World Series.
To be continued…..
The Chicago White Sox can use some positive publicity these days, hinging on their historic losing season of 2024. They officially outdid the 1962 Mets, losing 121 games. Only the 1899 Cleveland Spiders compiled a worse record throughout the entire history of the sport. Maybe, they should be known as the “Black Sox” rather than the 1919 gamblers? Where’s my bleach?
As a result of doing such “dirty” laundry, I’ve decided to write a few sparkling articles about my White Sox childhood hero, John Sherman Lollar, inspired by a recent E-Bay purchase for my growing collection. I bought the August 3,1955 edition of the The Sporting News, based out of St. Louis. It was 25-cents back then but cost me nearly $20 with shipping & handling. The tease read: “Lollar Proving White Sox Pillar – See Page 3.“
On Page 3 of the now-yellowed tabloid was an impressive illustration by Lou Darvis of him in a Sox hat and several related cartoons under the title of “As Catcher, Lollar His Team’s Best Pitcher.” An underlined preview just above read “Nabbed 18 of 22 Base Pilferers” and a sub-title stated: His Motto: ‘They Shall Not Steal’. A series of articles by John C Hoffman of Chicago, Illinois were nicely written on the next few pages.
I will get into more details in subsequent posts, but each of the four cartoons surrounding his caricature had an intriguing caption highlighting his early career and touting his quiet leadership skills:
“His dad, an old semi-pro ballplayer, used to play catch with Sherman outside their grocery store…probably started the first self-serve store in Fayetteville.” The Illustrator drew his butcher’s apron-cladded father behind the counter saying to a woman customer, “Would y’ mind helpin’ yourself, Mrs. Skinner? I wanna catch a few with Shermy.”
“Conducts Clubhouse meetings before each series. Instructs hurlers on how to pitch to opposing pitchers.” In this cartoon insert, Lollar’s, wearing shin guards, is pointing to a body drawn on the chalkboard and advising, “Pitch ‘im close an’ high aroun’ the clavicle.”
“At the age of 12, he was a batboy for Fayetteville, in the Arkansas-Missouri League.” Sherm is portrayed by the artist lugging seven huge bats and saying, “Whew! ‘an those guys big guys carry on’y two bats to th’ plate.”
“No. 1 catcher for the white-hot White Sox, Sherman Lollar hit seven homers in ten days earlier this season.”
“Wrote Sports for his local paper at Pittsburg (Kan.) State Teacher’s College” His character is shown carrying a reporter’s notebook and quipping, “Nuthin’ to this racket – I’d rather make th’ news!
As a young fan who followed his career and now a collector of his memorabilia, I was pleased to see that his skills got some attention. The publication was popular because it combined the appeal of a comic book with some serious background information. You could read the articles or just look at the pictures and learn something about the man. The illustrations were worthy of framing. You can’t frame the current digital version of today’s The Sporting News that discontinued print publication in 2012, but I’m sure that they’ve had lots of illustrative fun lambasting the 2024 version of the Chicago White Sox, who with 121 losses with two games to go, have now officially surpassed the 1962 New York Mets as the worst team in baseball since 1899. Sherm would not be happy!
More on John Sherman Lollar in upcoming posts…
Between baseball cards and big games my life seems to revolve around sports. I check the scores every morning, look at all the box scores, go to the Topps Now site every afternoon to see what cards are available, and watch the live action whenever I can, then view a related documentary or read a book like Bushville Wins! about the 1957 World Champion Milwaukee Braves. IU sports, Purdue, other BIG Ten teams, Indiana Fever, the Cubs, White Sox, Colts, Bears, Kyle Schwarber, and Shohei Ohtani are currently my regular interests.
The baseball playoff race is in full swing, IU football is off to an unprecedented start, IU basketball is getting ready to start, and history is being made by Schwarber and Ohtani on the diamond. Sadly, the Cubs will fall short again this year, and the White Sox are a joke, about to lose their 120th game this season – more history of the worst kind!
Hoosier football won their first four games in dominating style, the local Venice High School Indians are 5-0 after a 54-51 victory last night over Cocoa. The WNBA Indiana Fever and rookie sensation Caitlin Clark are solidly in the playoffs and will battle the Connecticut Sun today on ABC-TV. At least, my sports interests are diverse, ranging from high school and college to professional. I follow the Portland Timbers in soccer as well as the IU program, watch the Little League World Series, men’s & women’s softball, Indy Car, NASCAR, and Formula One. If competition and skill or a ball are involved – I’m interested.
The Purdue-IU rivalry has finally taken a twist in football this year, as the Boilermakers look weak. Hopefully that trend will continue in men’s & women’s basketball, as well as the other sports. Purdue is my second favorite team, the result of working in that community for several years, but there’s no doubt as to my favorite when they play IU. The Colts and Bears tangle this afternoon.
My interest in Kyle Schwarber stems from his collegiate years at IU, my alma mater as well. He made history again last night with his 15th lead-off home run for the Phillies this season. No one else in baseball has ever accomplished that feat! He did it against the Met’s pitcher, Sean Manaea, who now boasts a 12-5 record and retired 21-24 batters with only three hits, including Schwarber’s 406-foot bomb. Manaea’s pitching gem, however, temporarily stalled the Phillies claim to the Division title.
Shohei Ohtani immediately intrigued my interest when he moved his skills from the Japanese leagues to MLB in 2018. This despite my being neither an Angels or Dodgers fan. The ability to both pitch and hit effectively is a rare art, dating back to Babe Ruth. I started collecting his baseball cards, as I also do with Schwarber, and have been caught-up in his success. After arm surgery late last year, he’s focused on hitting and base stealing this season, reaching the 52-52 plateau the other night with 7 more games yet to play. He could very well get back on the mound in the playoffs, finally on a team that has gotten him into the MLB postseason for the very first time.
Needless to say, I’m looking forward to the next game!
I just happened to tune into the MLB Network last night to watch part of Shohei Ohtani’s amazing historic performance. He went 6-6, with 10 RBIs, 2 steals, 2 doubles, 3 HRs, and 4 runs scored, becoming the first player to achieve membership in the 50/50 Club. Yes, other players have had more HRs or steals, but no one in all of baseball has done what he has done this season – and it’s not over. Although his Dodger team clinched their twelfth-straight playoff berth, he will have played 874 games without going to the postseason, once these last 9-games are in the books.
The Japanese superstar still hides behind his interpreter, although I think that he’s probably somewhat well-versed by now in English. He’d have to do too much talking to the press if it weren’t for this crutch. It’s a defense mechanism that has even protected him from gambling accusations. I also expect that he’ll be back on the mound before the playoffs are over, adding to his baseball mystique. Surgery has allowed him to focus on hitting and stealing bases that has not been a luxury in previous seasons as a two-way player.
I’m not a Dodger fan but I am intrigued with Shoei himself. I’ve been collecting his baseball cards since the 2018 Rookie season that brought him to the Angels and saw him play in Anaheim that year. If he had remained with the Angels this year, he would have missed this playoff opportunity with the rival Dodgers. Who can now blame him for the move? His collection of over 150-cards, and growing, is on display at my local baseball card shop, Blue Breaks. The limited-edition Topps Now cards chronologically summarize his MLB career. Hopefully, this 50/50 achievement adds to its investment value.
I’m moving on to the next milestone, only 500 posts from 3,000. I feel like Pete Rose, aiming for that next hit to earn another record. Shohei Ohtani is in a bit of a stall, throttled by Braves pitching in his quest for 50/50. Aaron Judge, on the other hand, moved out of his funk, and smashed home runs number 52 and 53. The Cubs will probably have to wait until next year, still 5-games out of the last Wild Card spot that now belongs to the Mets. However, the Braves are just a game back, with three head-to-head-matchups in Atlanta remaining in the 2024 regular season. Our neighboring park, Cool Today, just released the 2025 Braves Spring Training schedule. It would be good to see them at least make the Playoffs.
There’s a concert at the Park Saturday night, one of our favorite local bands, Dukes of Brinkley. Tonight, we’re out to dinner with Indy friends at Laishley’s in Punta Gorda and Friday night joining some neighbors at nearby Dockside. “Date Night” has therefore been moved to Saturday night, so we might be able to fit in a little live music.
I’m waiting for the refrigerator repair guy to call with a specific time, although there’s already been several frustrating cancellations. My wife is tired of running to the garage refrigerator during meal preparation. This has been an on-going hassle for several months. She’s substituting again today, so I had Dog Park duty. Once I finish writing, I’ll head to Chair Yoga and the fitness center.
My leg pain was especially bad first thing this morning but has since predictably gone away. Fosse did not help matters, running off to chase a rabbit, while I limped after. Hopefully, I will get some feedback on the cause of this sciatica with Friday’s MRI. It was in my lower back last night, making our evening walk miserable. The Dog Buggy (stroller) at least allows me some support, and Tally enjoys riding along with us rather than being left behind at home. The pain moves from my lower spine area to my upper left thigh, and into my calf, so it’s been difficult to determine the source of the pinched nerve or irritation. I’ll finally get some answers and eventually some relief. Maybe we’ll even have working kitchen refrigerator by then?
Nothing special to report on this milestone post. I’ll spend the day at the baseball card shop, hoping to reduce the inventory that I just added to yesterday. It’s definitely an addiction, opening packs of cards, sorting them by teams or players, and hoping for the Holy Grail. It’s just as bad as gambling, but at the end of the day after playing slots, there’s usually little to show for it. With baseball cards, I have binders that grow in size and number. Today, I’m looking for buyers and have a table to show off my stock. In fact, my sole exercise will be lugging these binders from my office shelves to my car and then to the table and back. Will they get any lighter at the end of the day?
I finally used some gift certificates that my wife gave me at a Sarasota restaurant, Michael’s on East. I’ll always remember the time my son surprised me by buying a pricy dinner there. My wife and I always claim to be celebrating an anniversary in “fancy” restaurants, and usually earn a free desert. We eat out at least once a week and there’s always something to celebrate – birthdays, wedding or first date anniversaries, pet memories, adoption, and simply days together. Our neighbors across the street are headed out for their 50th wedding anniversary. I can say the same thing, but it’s taken two marriages to get there for me.
The Beatle’s song, “Day in the Life,” comes to mind. “Got up, got out of bed, and dragged a comb across my head.” The painful part of my morning is over now that my sciatica has diminished in intensity until tomorrow, so I tend to routine maintenance – my seven morning pills (some only halves), shaving, and brushing my teeth. The dogs slept in a bit, so I was able to sit for a while with an icepack on my leg while solving another Wordle. It’s a football Sunday, but I’ll be out in the hot sun hawking baseball cards. I’m honestly still somewhat in shock, after the I.U. football drubbing of U.C.L.A. last night. I stayed up late to watch the second-half action from the famed Rose Bowl. I’m used to being on the other side of a lop-sided score, like helpless Purdue’s loss to Notre Dame in the afternoon. It’s good to wake up a big winner!
When Kyle Schwarber was a Cub and in the World Series, I wrote a poem about him, a comparison to “Mighty Casey at The Bat.” (See Post #119). I won’t go to that extreme on this post, but the former I.U. star, Cubs outfielder, Nats DH, and now lead-off DH for the Phillies, has made MLB history.
He reminds me of old newsreels on Babe Ruth, in a leadoff role that the Babe would have never accepted. The Philadelphia slugger hit his 14th lead-off home run of the season this week against the Tampa Bay Rays, eclipsing the 2003 mark by Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees. The 437-foot blast was his seventh of the month, that’s not even half over, and 35th of the season. He’s also compiled three consecutive seasons of 30+ HRs in his time with the Phillies. Plus, “Schwarbs” now holds the record for multiple seasons with 10-plus leadoff moonshots. I’ve followed his amazing career since college.
Schwarber still has a long way to go to catch Ricky Henderson’s 81-career mark, batting from the top of the order, and certainly can’t compare in terms of speed. He runs like he has a piano on his back. This was only the 45th of his career, a tie for ninth all-time with Brady Anderson but only one behind Philadelphia’s legendary Jimmy Rollins that he will certainly surpass soon. Although, he left the game with an elbow injury.
The move to Philadelphia three years ago, has given him Rocky-like superpowers. In 2022 he hit 46 dingers and in 2023 another 47, a career high, while maintaining a solid .251 batting average. Although the leadoff position is not the best slot for RBIs, he’s driven in 95 and has scored 99 times. Will the 100th time to circle the bases be another lead-off shot?
“Never lie. Never cheat. Never Steal. This was the way Jim Harbaugh claims he was strictly raised. Yet, the University of Michigan always seems to be in the NCAA rules violation spotlight. When you’re the National Champion, everyone wants to take a cheap, credibility shot. Anti-Wolverine fans probably outnumber the supportive alumni. However, he’s now a Charger, but has left behind a cloud of suspicion. He’s now slipped out of the grip of the Big Ten and the NCAA like Houdini and seems to be one that prospers!
Back in 2023, as head Coach of the 49ers, he was all over the performance-enhancing drug infractions of division rival Seattle Seahawks, quoted as saying “Cheating won’t be tolerated.” As we’ve already covered, there are many forms of cheating. Harbaugh also faced charges related to illegal contact with student-athletes during the Covid-19 “dead period.” Denial. Denial. Denial.
He left the 49ers in 2014 to take the job at the University of Michigan. Sherrone Moore then took over in an interim capacity in 2023 after Coach Harbaugh was suspended for 3-games by the Big Ten for “conducting an impermissible, in-person scouting operation over multiple years, resulting in an unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of competition.” Isn’t that the very definition of cheating?
His replacement, now the new Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore, is one of seven members from the 2023 Championship football program accused of violating NCAA rules. Harbaugh naturally claims that he did not participate and was not aware or complicit in these allegations. “Moore could face a show-cause penalty and possibly suspension for allegedly deleting a thread of 52 text messages with former Michigan staffer Connor Stallions in October 2023 on the same day that media reports revealed Stalions was leading an effort to capture media reports revealed Stalions was leading an effort to capture the play calling signals of future opponents,” according to ESPN. It’s just another example of how history repeats itself with another sign stealing incident. Cheaters Unite!
Cheaters become repeaters. In the previous installment, I’ve already pointed out where history repeats itself (See Post #2591). It’s also worth pointing out that “cheating is not an accident. It’s a choice.” Gamblers often see cheating as a way to beat the system, so it’s an encouraged practice. If you can get away with doing it, it’s considered fair game. This is why states like Hawaii and Utah have completely banned all forms of gambling. Critics argue that it “leads to increased political corruption, compulsive gambling, and higher crime rates.” Others feel that there is a Mafia or organized crime influence. Dating back to Roman times, gambling was periodically outlawed, but exceptions were made for holidays. Even today’s laws waver with the wind.
Gambling in the States dates back to 1612 when King James (not LeBron) established the first lottery in Britian, an event that would play a key role in the funding of the Jamestown Colony. Similar public and private lotteries played a vital role in U.S. development, leading to our country’s first public buildings, colleges, roads, canals, and religious structures. In 1776, the First Continental Congress approved a lottery to kickstart the Revolutionary War.
British settlers brought their passion for horse racing to the New World that soon led to 1665 construction of the first racetrack on Long Island, New York. Then, it was Westward Ho! as expansion spurred a rise in poker and other card games. San Francisco took advantage by licensing limited forms of gambling while many other gambling establishments were frequently ignored by authorities. Beginning in 1787, gambling was largely outlawed but was permitted to raise revenue via lotteries or raffles. Naturally, scandals began to surface. By the end of the 1830s, there was a state-to-state push to ban gambling activities. Oddly, even today, lotteries remain banned in Nevada. The invention of the steamboat blurred the state gambling regulations and quickly gained a reputation for dishonest gaming through the emergence of crafty “riverboat gamblers.”
Following the Civil War, legal lotteries reemerged to fund Reconstruction in the American South. Ironically, whenever there’s a need for money, gambling all of a sudden becomes tolerable, and cheaters once again prosper. State constitutions were rewritten, and bans lifted, or the rules simply ignored. Casino-style games became popular but fell out of favor since the odds were rigged in favor of the operator. Poker games were more difficult to fix. Lottery scandals created more gambling suspicion, especially when word spread that Louisiana Lottery officials tried to pay off the state legislature.
Lottery fraud has become commonplace. Several common techniques include using a forged, altered or stolen ticket. There are also many examples of insider fraud, involving employees or agents who exploit their positions. Unsurprisingly, scammers take advantage after informing their victims of falsified prize winnings. Scam, cheat, repeat!
The Twentieth Century marked the expansion of legalized gambling. Changes in the law allowed Nevada to emerge as a gambling destination, while Indiana reversed course. The popular French Lick sight, where the mob hung out in May each year to bet on the Indy 500 and Kentucky Derby, became a ghost resort. Instead, the desert began to draw the crowds. In 1964, state lotteries also began to get popular again. Atlantic City New Jersey also capitalized on becoming a legal gambling destination. Slowly, casinos began to pop-up around the country as other states followed suit, as did the Indigenous Nations where U.S regulations did not apply. As of 2022, only the states of Hawaii and Utah did not agree that the revenue benefits outweighed the potential harm. Anymore, however, you can gamble on your phone or computer, visit a nearby betting parlor, or work with a licensed broker. This same individual, not too long ago, was referred to in a derogatory sense as a “bookie.” By the way, I need to call my guy.
Next, we’ll look at University of Michigan football, with repeated allegations of cheating, even in transition between coaches.
To be continued….
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Thanks
The Fever have become the new darlings of Indiana basketball, supplanting I.U., Purdue and the Pacers in the hearts of fans. Their playoff drought officially ended after seven seasons, after just clinching a treasured spot in the postseason, the first since 2016. Number One draft pick, Caitlin Clark, ironically from the college-rival Iowa Hawkeyes, takes over for the long-retired Tamika Catchings. There were grave doubts, as the Fever started the season 2-9, but since then they’ve gone 15-7, including impressive wins over 10 of their 11 league opponents.
Clark has been putting up unprecedented numbers in her inaugural season. She tallied the first rookie triple-double in WNBA history, led the league in assists per game, broke the rookie assist record, and had the most single-season double-doubles by a guard in WNBA history. Guard Kelsey Mitchell, a seven-year veteran, responded with some of the best basketball of her career, making her and Clark a nearly unstoppable backcourt duo.
As far as creating lofty 20-24-25 I.U. Basketball expectations, Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook was the first major publication to pick the Hoosiers to win the BIG Conference. They also gave several preseason honors to incoming transfer Oumar Ballo. In addition, Mackenzie Mgbako was featured on the regional cover of Lindy’s Sports.
While I count the days until Hoosier Hysteria and the first exhibition basketball game against Tennessee, Fever playoff action and the rejuvenated I.U. football program under new coach, Curt Cignetti, had me mixing another pitcher of Kool-Aid. On the gridiron, Hoosier football reached 60 before their Western Illinois opponent, and went on to win 77-3, breaking a scoring record that stood since 1901 when they defeated Franklin College 76-0. Earlier in this book, we already accounted for the other handful of instances where the “Magic of 60” applied to I.U. football routs.
Western Illinois came into the game with a 25-game losing streak, so it was no surprise that the Hoosiers prevailed, but no one expected that large of margin. The team improved to 2-0, with the previous week’s win over the Florida International Pitbulls 31-7 and set another program record with 701 total yards against the Leathernecks. Reality will probably set in next week when they travel to U.C.L.A. for the first Conference game. Starting QB Kurtis Rourke, a veteran transfer from Ohio University, completed 15-of-17 attempts for 268 yards and 2 touchdowns before being replaced by back-up Tayven Jackson, brother of former I.U. basketball star Trayce Jackson-Davis, now a Golden State Warrior.
The Bears won their opener against the Titans thanks to the defense, while the Colts fell short to the Texans. My son’s fantasy team is also poised for a victory and the Oregon Ducks eked out a victory against Boise State. Purdue did not play. The biggest upset of the weekend, perhaps the century, was Northern Illinois over the highly favored Fighting Irish. Reportedly, Notre Dame paid $1.4 million for the loss. There was certainly no magic in South Bend.
