A Place for Idle Chatter

Posted by Ed Davis

One of our recent guests, Alex Kalinowski, said he thought it might be a good idea to have a thread for nothing more than just idle chatter among the readers of this blog.  Obviously, he has not read all the things Dan Jensen has written or he would see that ol' Dan is the king of idle chatter not to mention often inane verbosity.  Someone may need to translate those words for Alex since he noted in one comment that he was not too good at the old English language.  Did you not have Mrs. Bouton, Alex?

Anyway, I agree that such a thread may have value and so here it is.  When you want to say something that is not related to any of the threads you find in this blog, then just hack away on the computer and add your comments below.  You will find a lot of interested folk out there who are just waiting to hear what you have to say - any subject that is fit for such a family-oriented weblog like this.  There are censors at work here, you know!  So, let's hear what is on that idle mind of yours, folks.  Especially the old warhorses who are so old that their minds are probably pretty idle by now.  We know their computer skills are idle because we hear so little from any of them.

Get to writing now!!!!!!!!!!

Comments

[Dan Jensen]

It was 51 years ago today that I boarded a plane in Houston and headed for Fort Chaffee, Arkansas for basic training. I remember talking to someone on the plane about the good pitch that Brooklyn's Clem Labine made the day before to strike out Stan Musial.

[Ed Davis]

Well, that was some time ago. Proud to know you served our country in those days. And, by the way, Stan Musial is my all-time favorite player in baseball.

I think I followed the St. Louis Cardinals a lot closer then because the old Houston Buffs (went to a lot of their games and rarely missed a broadcast of theirs on the radio with Loel Passe and his favorite saying of "Hot Diggity dog and good ol' sassafras tea!) were a farm team for the Cardinals in the 50's. I remember watching Wilmer "Vinegar Ben" Mizell pitch there a number of times. Ah, the good ole days!!!

[Dan Jensen]

I thought ol' Loel said, "Hot ziggity..." I have quoted that phrase that way a few times on a Baylor message board.

Are you still a Cardinal fan?

[Ed Davis]

I am not sure if it was "ziggity" or "diggity" but I always thought it was the latter. Maybe we could Google it and find out.

When the Astros came to the Houton area, my allegiance switched from the Cardinals to the 'Stros. Now that I live up nearer the Dallas area, I have also embraced the Rangers. But, the Cardinals still hold a special place in my heart and I root for them whenever they are not playing Houston or Texas.

[Pat Jensen]

No need to Google for ziggity vs. diggity. Actually it was neither. It was ziggidy. :~)

[Pat Jensen]

Loel Passe was the only Buff, Colt 45 and Astros fan in history who thought the locals still had a chance to pull it out, even if 20 runs down with one out to go. Anybody remember what he called a Houston Buff homerun? It may have been a Coldt 45 or Astros homerun, can't remember, but it was used during the time the team's broadcasts had a certain sponsor. And how did he refer to second baseman, Joe Morgan, when he was with the Astros?

[Debbie Goodwin Cooper]

Hey everyone,
I don't know if any of you know about the League City School Reunion. I have now gotten on that committee and we are trying to get more people interested in coming.
Marian Fuller is the head of the committee and they have decided to have this year on September 13,2008. It is at the American Legion Hall.
Dress is casual
Times are: 2PM- registration, vistation and snacks
5PM- steak dinner
cost is $21.00 per person
If you are interested in coming please contact Marian Fuller 281-554-2456 or Alice Johnson at 281-332-3209.
They have the early registration as of September 4,2008.
Please think about coming when these people leave us we have to care it on. It is nice to get back toether with everyone. This is the 18th year and I want to help continue it on for another 50.
I know it is late but I just got all of the information and Marian just told me it was open to everyone. So now I'm trying to spread the word.
Thanks for letting me get this out to all of you.
Debbie

[Paul Hackett]

Hey Dan ..I am still here. i just let the hurricane stuff play out as it seemed much more important than my ramblings about days gone by.

I also have to admit that i am just about out of stuff.

I do have one thing for Terry though. My senior year, we beat sam at the end of the year in OT. One of the critical plays came when one of swt's guys, Nate thomas, was fouled. Archie Porter called a time out. When we returned for the free throw, we sent blond fair complexioned , left handed Tom Mikesell to the free throw line instead of right handed shorter African American ..Nate. Tom made two as Coah Porter and the sam bench went wild.

I wonder if Terry remembers?

I hope all of you came through the hurricane OK. My wife is from Baytown and her parents are buried there in a small cemetery across from Lee H.S. Their headstone was destroyed by a fallen tree.

[Dan Jensen]

Paul, you need to explain how y'all got away with cheating. The game must have been at San Marcos.

Another thing. Would you contact me through e-mail? My address is danandjonelle@cox.net

[Paul Hackett]

The game was in San Marcos. The replacement free throw shooter was , sad to say, a common practice at that time. No instant replay.

Shameful , I guess. Kind of like "Flopping " in today's NBA

[Dan Jensen]

Aw, "flopping" has always been around. The first one to come to mind was John Mann but his falls were legitimate and a compliment to the skill of Bennie Lenox as he would drive the defensive player to the high post and a collision with Mann.

[A comment on the Flop and a Jimmy Littleon product]

While at SWT, I played with a guy named Larry Black. larry wasa skinny diminutive left handed guard from South San and Coach Littleton.

Larry was the master at positioning hiomself for a charge but also providing a little insurance by pulling the offensive player down by his jersey.

Cheating in athletics unfortunately is a relative term. Does anyone remember Gaylord Perry? he is in the Hall of Fame along with a case of vaseline and KY Jelly.

When I was coaching at Liberty we played Humble every year. Sam Mosely was the coach and his son was a remarkable athlete and played quarterback. Mike was a 9.5 sprinter and Humble ran the option. Caoch MOsely freely acknowledged that they taught their blockers to hold on the option because of Mikes breakaway ability.

Maybe sports needs to check its conscience.

I have rambled long enough.

[Dan Jensen]

Larry Black was red headed. He should have died his hair black.

How many yards did Mike Mosley gain a gainst Liberty? He was a good running quarterback but I doubt he was as good as Baylor's Michael Griffin.

Wasn't Mosley a good hurdler in track? Griffin won the Big 12 last spring fresh out of Lampasas High School.

We really ought to discuss this stuff on the "idle conversation" thread.

[Ed Davis]

You are right that we ought to move over to the Idle Chatter Thread. So, I have moved them as you may have noticed.

Now, you meant Robert Griffin, not the former baseball player Michael, and he went to Copperas Cove High School, not Lampasas.

But, you are right that he is a great player that will get even better. He is a difference maker each time he handles the ball. Just needs more experience at the D-1 level and he gets that every game he plays.

[paul hackett]

mike mosely was an allstate football player an outstanding basketball player and a sprinter, hurdler long jumper in track. he was deceptively fast. not quick..fast. we always played humble tough while iwas at liberty but Mike had one truly insane game against new caney his senior year..over 300 yards out of the wishbone.

during my 4 years coaching at liberty , were pretty good and one year we went undefeated and lost to jasper, who we had beaten during the regular season, in bi district. We had a lot of spreed and an outstanding qb named larry haynes who i believe went on to a successful career at kilgore college then lamar. i also believed he coached for several years.

[Dan Jensen]

I have had a great time lately exchanging e-mails with a small group of post-George Carlisle era guys.

They are Lynn Davis, Paul Hackett, Scooter and Ronnie Lenox, Terry and Bubba Mathis, Frank Goodman and ye olde Ed Davis. Lynn ran into Doug McKee today at lunch and invited him to join us.

I hope they will post some of their athletic experiences and/or otherwise at this spot.

And, I hope that anyone who wanders this way will do the same. This blog needs all the help it can get.

[debbie]

Dear Guys,
I'm sorry that I haven't been keeping up with all of the going on's here but I will try and get caught up I love remembering all of the stories that you all tell.
I have sad news from our family tho. Mom (Betty Goodwin) passed away on March 13,2009 and we took her back to be with dad (George Goodwin) in Little Rock. They are now together for the first time in 28 years. Even tho they didn't have sons they loved watching all of you play and being their friends.
Thank you for all the pleasure that you all gave them and your friendships too.
Debbie Goodwin Cooper

[Dan Jensen]

I have just now seen this. My condolences. I did not know your mother but did know George, of course, from kid baseball days.

This is the type of news that I wish more would keep us updated on in here.

[debbie]

Dan,
I'm so sorry that I haven't been back on to say thank you. It has been very hard on me and on my girls without mom. Dad of course has been gone so long and we had mom to help up cope with his loss and now we just have each other and the wondering why she had to leave us.
Again thank you....
debbie

[debbie]

I just wanted to tell everyone that Laura Lenox Clinch put on her facebook page that her daughter,Bennie's granddaughter has signed with Texas State for basketball. So everyone be on the watch for her....

[Dan Jensen]

Debbie, this is the kind of sterling information that a lot of folks should be sharing in here. Our old warhorses seem to have ridden off into the sunset so we need folks like you in here.

[debbie goodwin cooper]

I didn't put her name it is Demi Clinch and Laura just put on there that her(Demi) high school volleyball team is going to state. So she plays basketball and volleyball.....so it is just not them there Lenox boys it's their girls toooo

[debbie goodwin cooper]

Ok I'm back on here with more deaths to report in League City. Dr Ned Dudney passed away on New Year's Day and JR Reeves passed away on January 5th. JR was in the fire department and worked at the bus barn at CCISD for years. He was also a coach with my dad in Little League.
Also in December we lost Don McFarland. I don't know how many knew him so I added him on here too..
I thought this year was going to be better since I lost my mom last year and now her and dad are together after 28 yrs of being apart....
Sorry that is all I have to report at this time is sad news..

[Dan Jensen]

Debbie, this is information we all ought to know. Keep doing this and I hope others will do so also.

[Dan Jensen]

I note that Bobby Ahr and Jerry Cotten have just posted in here on separate subjects. I have no idea who they are but that doesn't matter. They may not even be Clear Creek guys but I am glad for anyone who stirs up some activity in here. I just wish some of our old warhorses would do so.

[Dwayne "Curley" Lenox]

As is always the case, ranking the best players of any sport in a particular era, college or high school is entirely subjective and/or biased based on individual opinions. Most members of the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches were not even born when some of the players in the 50's, 60's, and early 70's were at their best. As a result, the chances that any of the outstanding "older" players being nominated by members of the TABC has bee greatly lessened.

Personally, I like the members of the UIL staff and have had the opportunity to talk with many of them. The director, Charles Breithaupt, lived in Georgetown across the street from my daughter and her family. He let my grandson be the ball-boy at both the basketball and baseball state tournament games for three or four years. He is a man with a lot of class and is the only one on his staff that I would trust to nominate any player from a particular sport to be on a select all-century team. He is a walking encyclopedia of Texas high school sports. His memory is unbelievable. That alone would make him a reliable source to use when it came to nominating players for the 50's, 60,s and early 70's. If he was indeed a member of the selection committee, I believe he could have done a better job. The other staff members are too young to remember anything except the more recent history of high school sports. Therefore, I don't think they can be depended on for an unbiased opinion, either.

I haven't talked with Bennie about this issue but I'm sure it doesn't mean very much to him. He's happy with his memories of Clear Creek and Aggie basketball, and really tries to ignore other people's opinion.

For what it's worth, though, I took the opportunity to write his name in per the instructions. I don't know if he deserved to be on one of the teams, but I do think he deserved to be nominated. And that's my own selfish and, probably, biased opinion.

[Dan Jensen]

There's a rumor going around that Lynn Davis has just turned 60. Does anyone know if that is true? I have heard from a very reliable witness that he is gone with the wind and hiding in the tall grass so the rumor very likely is true.

[Dwayne "Curley" Lenox]

Scooter's birthday is August 9 and he will definitely turn 60 at that time. He and Lynn have always been very close friends and I seem to remember that Lynn's birthday was a month or so before Scooter's. I wouldn't bet the farm on it but I believe your source has given you the correct information.

[Dan Jensen]

Scooter has a very good birthday for a baseball player. He was just a few days over the Aug. 1 cutoff date and could play a year longer than Lynn. Too bad his birthday was not Sept. 9 and he would have had an extra year of high school basketball and baseball. That means he would have started first grade a year later. He could have been pretty good in both sports with that extra year of maturity.

[Dan Jensen]

There's an interesting story in the Galveston News today (Dec. 2) about our football playoff history and a discussion regarding the age of the school. The link is: http://galvestondailynews.com/story/195226

But, I wonder how many will ever see it since this blog has become so inactive. Too bad. Too many good stories left to tell.

[D]

I was under the impression that Clear Creek High School received its name when the school opened in either 1956 or 1957. Sorry, but I don't remember the exact year.

Until that time, though, it was named Webster H.S. If true, that would mean Clear Creek H.S. has existed for 53 to 54 years, not the 62 as stated in the paper, and certainly not the 0.

At any rate, winning only three playoff games in either 53, 54, or 62 years of existence, is just plain bad.

Also, on another subject, I watched on television Lamar University play Texas in Austin on Wednesday night. Sometime during the game, I heard the announcers say that one of the Cardinals played his high school basketball at Clear Creek High School in League City, Texas. His name is Coy Custer and stands at 6'11" and weighs in at 265 pounds. Anybody remember him playing at C.C.H.S? He is a senior so that would have to be 4-5 years ago, depending on if he red-shirted or not. Had Buddy already retired by that time? Just interested to know something about the lad. dll

[Dwayne "Curley" Lenox]

Sorry that the previous post did not seem to send my name. It only posted the letter D. dll

[Dan Jensen]

Custer and Lance Pevehouse, now at Sam Houston, played for Buddy Carlisle and they won district. Hopefully Buddy will provide more details.

[Dan Jensen]

Curley, the district consolidated in 1948 with the official name of Clear Creek Consolidated I.S.D. That has always been the name but since the high school was located in Webster, that name was commonly used until the new high opened in League City in 1956.

[Buddy Carlisle]

Dan Jensen instructed me to post something for Curly Lenox who recently saw Lamar Univ. play Texas at the Erwin Center. Playing center for Lamar was 6'11" Coy Custer, formerly one of my players at Clear Creek and graduated in 2006, my last year. Coy was 6'9" in his senior year and was a great success story, playing Freshman B and then soph team and JV as a junior before making first team All district as a senior and helping lead us to back to back district 24-5A titles. He redshirted his frosh year and has been getting more PT each year. Because of his size and shooting ability, rumor has it that he might be able to play overseas after he graduates so we will see on that. Coy was a great student as well and very proud of him. He and Lance Pevehouse at Sam Houston are completing their playing careers this year. Lance is in grad school at Sam.

[Dwayne L. Lenox]

Thanks Dan and Buddy for the information. Times have really changed since 1960 when Bill Doty was listed as a 6'5" sophomore and the tallest player Clear Creek and Webster ever had in their basketball program. People, especially the coaches, were really excited about having someone that big in the line-up. The assumption was that we would never get out rebounded again.

I also remember Louis Qualles from Smiley High School being 7'0" tall during his high school playing years in 1957-59 but he was a really a terrible player and a little bit goofy. During one of the state tournament games, he walked off the court and behind the bleachers to get a drink of water and was awarded a technical foul.Players his size were kind of a freak of nature during those years but not so today. Most 5A clubs have had at least one player 6'10" or over in their history. Like I said, times have really changed. dll

[paul hackett]

I echo the comments about the change in the size of players.

My senior year we had 3 at 6'4"...richard huhn ..bill mcguire and myself and kent rindy at 6'2" and we were pretty big...collectively.

We played wharton in by by district and they had a 6'10" guy but he wasn't even as good as Qualls.

The best post player I played against in High School was only 6'4"...some guy named Jerry kroll..oh yeah...he scored 40 in the All Star game that year.

The best taller players( for the time) that I played against were wayne Doyal from SA Marshall at 6'6" and Mike Sechrist from Kilgore at 6'7" tall.

Then there were all those guys from SFA in college...b ut that is another story.

[Dan Jensen]

Here's more from the Galveston paper about our past basketball tradition:
http://galvestondailynews.com/story/196598

[Dwayne (Curley) Lenox]

I saw in the February 4 edition of the Galveston County Daily News that the 2010-2011 Clear Creek Boys Basketball Team is 20-6 for the year and 10-0 in district as of Tuesday, February 4. They are one game ahead of their rival for this year, Clear Springs (9-1). The two teams will play their last game against each other on February 11 in the Carlisle Fieldhouse on the Clear Creek campus. A win will almost assure the Wildcats of another district championship.

On a somewhat more comical note, the Dickinson Gators, the lifelong doormats of high school basketball, are at it again. They lost another district game, this time to Pearland. That moved their district record to 1-9 and the season record to an abysmal 5-21. Some things never change.

[Dan Jensen]

Sadly, very sadly, very very sadly, Dickinson door matted us just two years ago. It was the all-time low for Clear Creek basketball, losing to the Gators in League City for the only time ever, 49-41. Then in the second round at Dickinson, we were blasted by a 24 point loss, 73-49. That absolute disgrace of a team finished 1-13 in district play.

But we have now won four straight over Dickinson, the latest by 73-41. So things are back to normal in that series.

[Dwayne Lenox]

It has been reported that Clear Creek lost its last two district games and finished the season at 12-2, leaving them tied with Clear Springs. On February 11, Clear Springs beat them in Carlisle Fieldhouse by the score of 45-41. Then, on February 15, Clear Lake soundly beat them at home by 13 points, 66-53.

Other than losing to Clear Creek on January 18, Clear Springs lost to Brazoswood by the score of 55-52 on their last game, February 15. at the same time Clear Creek was losing to Clear Lake.

I assume there will be a playoff game for the district title, either tonight, February 18, or tomorrow night.Unfortunately, I don't know where or when it might be.

[Dan Jensen]

On the cusp of an undefeated district season, our guys suffered a painful and embarrassing collapse in the last two games. The co-championship has a sour taste. We are matched with Fort Bend Elkins in the playoffs.

We need to rally quickly or a good season will end with three straight losses. Otherwise we will be a decided disappointment, deep, dark, dank and dismal.

[Dan Jensen]

Clear Creek basketball coach Chris Romine is moving to San Antonio Madison. He came from Georgetown, where he did not do well, and did not do well in his four years at Clear Creek, although his last team dominated a weak district until running out of gas and losing the last two games before being routed in the playoffs.

In district play, he was 5-7, 1-13, 9-5 and 12-2. The 1-13 team was particularly dismal and included the only home loss in history to Dickinson.

[Richard McDowell, Jr.]

I was browsing texashsfootball.com and noticed that Webster never played League City in football. Were these teams in different divisions? I thought for sure they were arch rivals before they consolidated in 1948.

[Dan Jensen]

The League City Cardinals played six man football and the Webster Wildcats eleven man.

I don't recall them playing basketball against each other or being rivals in anything.

[Mark Varnell]

I have the game film of 1-12-73 between Deer Park and Clear Lake converted from 8mm to digital MP4 format that has Billy Carlisle playing in the game. I can mail this to someone on a CD, and in return I would like to know if anyone has game film of a Deer Park basketball game for the 1971-72 season and the 1972-73 season boys or girls basketball?