“Squeak-Squeak-Squeak”

Over the course of my career in public and private education I saw thousands of games; because when you are a school administrator it is de rigueur to show up to provide supervision, schmooze the parents and support the athletes.  I have watched frosh, soph, JV and varsity contests in fall, winter and spring, both men’s and women’s teams, from the pre-seasons to the playoffs, observing the cheers and tears that go with high school sports.  Plus, I have neglected my wife plenty by watching the NFL, The Dodgers, The Masters, College Gameday and every minute of every match of the Canadian Women’s Winter Olympics Curling Team; and I was in attendance at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on May the 7^th 1959, high up beyond the left field fence, when 93,000 people lit up their matches and lighters to salute the Hall of Fame Dodger catcher, Roy Campanella.  

Yet my number one sports highlight did not take place in a stadium, arena, gymnasium, field or golf course, but in a modest apartment in the San Fernando Valley.  My brothers and I were there, thanks to the winning bid at a charity auction for “Lunch with The Wizard of Westwood.”

After lunch at Coach’s favorite haunt, we returned to his apartment, hoping to hear some hoop stories and perhaps some scoop on notorious coaches; but before we got started there was a knock on the door.  Bill Walton dropped by for a visit with his cherished coach, and he is just one of a stream of UCLA players who have continuously showed up to honor the man who led them to ten NCAA championships, and more importantly, taught them how to live off the court and after basketball.

Coach deflected the conversation away from hoops, preferring to talk about his devotion to faith and family.  Oh, the joy on his face when he showed us the present from his great-granddaughter, given to him on his 89^th birthday just two months before. 

The coach signed one of his books, which I had had picked up that morning at the local Borders, and which I took that evening as a gift to my young friend Dave.  Sitting by his bedside, I read to him deep into the night; although I am not sure how much he took in.  He had been sent home just two days before with hospice care and a morphine pump and passed away two weeks later at the age of 36. 

A dedicated teacher and a total gym rat, Dave was an acolyte of his coaching idol and steady practitioner of the “Pyramid of Success” on and off the court.  Months later Dave’s parents gave that very book back to me — a priceless gift and a memory of two extraordinary men of my acquaintance.  

Whenever I hear the “squeak-squeak-squeak” of sneakers on a gym floor, it reminds me of my bygone friend, taken too soon, and what is written on the title page of the book:

For Coach Dave Marshall with the best wishes of another ex teacher/coach. John Wooden 1 Cor. 13

Notes:

-The title of the book is…

Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court 

-There was a breath-catching moment of poignancy while reading the book to Dave.  There are six introductory letters from sports glitterati, and to me, the most eloquent elegy of all was written by Bill Walton.

-An abbreviated version of this story appeared in the Los Angeles Times on Monday, November 18^th of last year.  Houston Mitchell, sportswriter, invited readers to send in their favorite sports moments to be published in his column.  Frankly, it was electrifying to see it in print, and was a big impetus for me to start this blog.    

-Roy Campanella was the all-star catcher for the Dodgers from 1948 through 1957, their last year in Brooklyn.  In January of 1958 he sustained a tragic injury which confined him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, and his paralysis prevented him from ever playing for the Dodgers in L.A.  Widely regarded as one of the finest catchers in baseball history, he is enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.