Sports Archives

May 17, 2012March 3, 2015

Ties at a Basketball Game?

I couldn’t figure out what my old debate partner Pat Sommers was up to. He was in what appeared to be Houck Field House spiffed up in a coat and tie. Check out his front pocket. He was pulling out all the stops. You CAN click on the photo to make it larger, but I’m not sure how much Pat you really want to see.

Now that I think of it, Pat always dressed out of the ordinary. He wore dark sunglasses to a showing of the Beatles movie Help! At least he behaved more appropriately here than he did in this photo. Here’s what a modern version of Pat looks like.

Christmas Tournament

The next frame showed basketball action between Notre Dame and the Eagles. That led me to believe that it was taken during the Christmas tournament that brought mixes of teams to Houck Field House. Pat wasn’t the only one who dressed up. If you look at the crowd, there’s a pretty good scattering of ties. I wonder if high school kids still dress up for basketball games.

Happy New Year

Helping confirm the time of year was a frame on the roll that had a hand-stenciled Happy New Year sign taped to the Steinhoff living room window.

May 7, 2012

Night Football Photo Challenges

I think this was a Central High School football game, but I can’t swear to it. I have a few Missourian clips of high school sports, but none of these photos were in the ones I could find.

Shooting night football was full of challenges.

The fields were too dark and the film was too slow to shoot available light, so you had to use flash.
Electronic flash was better than flashbulbs because you could shoot as quickly as the strobe would recycle. Unfortunately, the more you shot, the more the battery discharged and the slower the recycle time.
Electronic flash duration was very short, so it stopped action very well. Unfortunately, the shutter had to be completely open when the flash went off, so the shutter speed had to be set at 1/60 or 1/90 of a second. The flash would stop the action, but there would be enough ambient light that “ghosting” would occur. You can see it on some of these shots where there is a blurry line around a helmet or arm.
The flash was limited to about 30 feet, so plays down the middle and on the other side of the field were out of range.
You had to guess where the play was going to be so you could set the exposure correctly. You could follow focus as the action moved, but you were pretty much stuck with your exposure.
You had to judge where the action was going to be, give or take 30 feet. Do you stand slightly ahead of the line of scrimmage and hope they run toward you? Do you go down the field and gamble that a pass that will be on your side of the field? When you get close to the end zone, do you stand under the goal posts and hope for a play coming at you or do you drop back behind the line of scrimmage? By the time the game was over, you probably covered as much of the field as the players did.
The goal was to drop off one to three prints at the paper before deadline. Usually there was only room for one in the paper. So, you spent a couple of hours shooting the game; an hour processing and printing it; a drive to the game and to and from the office; film, chemical and photo paper that cost about $1.50. For all of that, you got $5. Oh, I forgot to mention that you had to buy all your own equipment, too. Maybe I should have paid more attention in math class, because something doesn’t add up here.

Football photo gallery

If anybody knows the teams or anything about the game, chime in. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side to move through the gallery.

April 21, 2012

Central vs Perryville Homecoming

This shot of Charlie Duncan and Fanny Clemmons walking off the field after Central bested Perryville 20-6 in the homecoming game was published in the 1965 Girardot.

Duncan was a superb athlete and one of the nicest guys at Central. The Girardot Senior Directory lists his activities as “President, Treasurer of Homeroom; Varsity Club; Football; Track; All-State Honorable Mention, All Conference First Team.”

Fanny was in the Sports Club and was Secretary, Treasurer of the Volleyball Club.

“Glory Comes Late in Season”

The Girardot said “The highlight of this year’s season came in a triumphant victory over the Perryville Pirates, 20 – 6. This being the homecoming and final game, the Tigers would settle for nothing less than victory. Executing brilliant plays and coordinated teamwork, Central took and early lead. The second half showed as much determination as the first, as the Tigers maintained a definite advantage and ended the Pirates’ winning streak.”

Cape Beat Jackson 19 – 0

I remember Jackson as being Cape’s biggest rival in our generation. The Girardot reported on the season’s fourth game: “The rivalry between Cape and Jackson surged to a climax as Central downed the Indians, 19 – 0.”

There were several players with numbers beginning with 5 in the yearbook team photo. Since I can’t read the whole number, it could be Mike Gray (52), Wayne Roeder (50) or Leslie Carlton (56). I know it’s not Bill Jackson (54), and I’m pretty sure it’s not Mike Gray. The girl on the left looks like she might have been one of the Dunklin girls, but I’ll let somebody else confirm it.

CHS lost squeaker to Sikeston

The Sikeston – Cape Central game I covered in 2010 was a blowout, with Sikeston scoring in the first minute and winning 21 – zip. The 1965 Girardot said “One of the most thrilling games was the Tigers’ encounter with the Sikeston Bulldogs. The last 52 seconds proved to be the deciding point when the Bulldogs scored a touchdown, ending the game in a close 20 -19 defeat for the Tigers.

I’m pretty sure # 84 was Jerry O’Connell.

1964 Varsity Scores

The Girardot: “Highlights of Central’s 1964 football season included both disappointments and triumphs.”

CHS vs Blytheville: 6 – 12
CHS vs University City: 7 – 14
CHS vs Paducah Tilghman: 6 – 6
CHS vs Jackson: 19 – 0
CHS vs Poplar Bluff: 0 – 14
CHS vs Sikeston: 19 – 20
CHS vs Chaffee: 34 – 13
CHS vs Charleston: 0 -14
CHS vs Perryville: 20 – 6

The yearbook’s team photo has some of the numbers obscured, but I’m going to guess that #28 was Mike Friese. Girlfriends, unfortunately, didn’t wear numbers, so I’m not sure who the girl was. Ron Riley was wearing #73 in the yearbook.

April 10, 2012May 7, 2021

Night Baseball and Softball

This roll had an interesting combination of women’s softball and what appears to be Kiwanis baseball. I don’t know when nor where they were taken, so give it your best shot.

Photo gallery of night ball action

Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left of right side of the image to step though the gallery. The film was pretty scratched up, so some of the quality is a bit iffy.