As long as I can remember I loved any activity that required running, swimming, jumping rope, playing hopscotch, croquet, basketball, baseball, ping pong, badminton, tennis, skating, sledding. Sitting on the couch was necessary to do my homework but playing games and competing with my friends and sisters outdoors was what I preferred to do with free time. Even when there were no people with whom to play after school, I would take the basketball to a neighbor’s backyard and practice shooting just to increase my skill. In the summers, the school would provide a morning program that I attended every morning just to learn archery and to play dodgeball and compete in ping pong tournaments.
Of course, from 1:00 to supper time, I was always in the large swimming pool that was built across the street during the Great Depression. I took every class offered and finished with Life Saving certification. I could dive. I could hold my breath underwater for many yards. Swimming meets were very popular and I was overwhelmed with the abilities of the athletes.
Often in the evening I spent hours watching local baseball teams. Many of the players knew me because I was at each of their games. Even in college, I played on the softball team. I have always been competitive so it is natural I listen intently to sports and read constantly about all types of teams and players.
But what most people do not realize about my interest in sports is that I spent so much time with my father who also loved sports. He was on a bowling team and I went many times to the bowling alley just to watch him play. In the car, Daddy would turn on the radio and listen to the Cleveland Browns, a pro football team. He especially praised Otto Graham.
On Friday evenings, he listened to the boxing matches and he would sit with me at high school football games. When my father’s hearing became weaker, I would listen to every Cincinnati Reds game which was broadcast over the radio. I had to learn all the details of what was happening. I had to know batting averages and what the pitchers were throwing. SO, it is possible that I became enamored with sports because I wanted to help my father.
When Ros and I married we enjoyed watching sports together on television. We watched golf tournaments on Sundays: Ros chose Jack Nicholas and I was a fan of Arnold Palmer. We lived in Washington DC for three years and like everyone else in the city, we were “hooked” on the Washington Redskins. Today, I continue to follow the Phillies and the 76ers in addition to many other teams. I was an avid NASCAR fan for many years and have countless mementos of the retired driver, Jimmie Johnson.
What is so interesting about my love for sports is that it has been an asset enabling me to relate to many men in my pastoral ministry. They don’t expect me to be so informed.
I probably will always be totally involved in watching the standings. It would be fun to just sit and talk sports!