A trip yesterday to Wrigley Field with some of my best childhood friends prompted this trip down memory lane.
Purdue Football--Oct. 29, 1966. Purdue 25, Illinois 21. It was the original Brees to Morales moment as Bob Griese, despite throwing five interceptions, led a furious fourth quarter comeback from a 21-10 deficit. Griese capped it with a game winner to Jim Finley in the closing couple of minutes and the game kept the Boilermakers chances for their first Rose Bowl trip alive. I was six years old, and I remember the pumpkin diagram by the Purdue car section in the north end zone and also thinking later that Purdue should win every Purdue game like this.
Purdue hoops--Dec. 21, 1966: Purdue 79, Army 69 (OT). I like to tell people that it was my first game but it might not be factually correct. In this game, I know I was confused of which team to root for as Army had Gold and Black uniforms. It also makes for a good story as Mike Krzyzewski was Army's point guard and Bob Knight was its 26-year old head coach. I do remember my favorite part of going to those games was the tip-drill Purdue did right before the game as in a lay-up line players would tip the ball on the backboard and then a 6-foot-3 sophomore named Herman Gilliam would finish it by dunking it. The 1966-67 season as the last year (for a decade) that dunking was allowed in college basketball.
In reality, my first Purdue basketball game I ever saw live might have been six days earlier when Purdue beat St. Joe's from nearby Rensselaer or four days earlier when coach George King's second Purdue team beat Washington in a close one. I really don't clearly remember and after 53 years sometimes you remember what you want to remember.
I do recall the dirt track in Lambert Fieldhouse (actually it was called the Fieldhouse then as it wasn't named for Lambert until about five years later) and that all the buzz was Purdue's freshman team that had Rick Mount on it. Yet, I don't recall seeing Mount in a freshman game that season though those were memorable games too.
Purdue Football--Oct. 29, 1966. Purdue 25, Illinois 21. It was the original Brees to Morales moment as Bob Griese, despite throwing five interceptions, led a furious fourth quarter comeback from a 21-10 deficit. Griese capped it with a game winner to Jim Finley in the closing couple of minutes and the game kept the Boilermakers chances for their first Rose Bowl trip alive. I was six years old, and I remember the pumpkin diagram by the Purdue car section in the north end zone and also thinking later that Purdue should win every Purdue game like this.
Purdue hoops--Dec. 21, 1966: Purdue 79, Army 69 (OT). I like to tell people that it was my first game but it might not be factually correct. In this game, I know I was confused of which team to root for as Army had Gold and Black uniforms. It also makes for a good story as Mike Krzyzewski was Army's point guard and Bob Knight was its 26-year old head coach. I do remember my favorite part of going to those games was the tip-drill Purdue did right before the game as in a lay-up line players would tip the ball on the backboard and then a 6-foot-3 sophomore named Herman Gilliam would finish it by dunking it. The 1966-67 season as the last year (for a decade) that dunking was allowed in college basketball.
In reality, my first Purdue basketball game I ever saw live might have been six days earlier when Purdue beat St. Joe's from nearby Rensselaer or four days earlier when coach George King's second Purdue team beat Washington in a close one. I really don't clearly remember and after 53 years sometimes you remember what you want to remember.
I do recall the dirt track in Lambert Fieldhouse (actually it was called the Fieldhouse then as it wasn't named for Lambert until about five years later) and that all the buzz was Purdue's freshman team that had Rick Mount on it. Yet, I don't recall seeing Mount in a freshman game that season though those were memorable games too.
