What’s the Most Memorable Sporting Event You’ve Ever Attended? (Part 1)

“23 August Stadium” in central Bucharest (Romania), site of the bitter annual soccer grudge match between rivals FC Dinamo Bucuresti and Steaua Bucuresti — photo from 1990

What’s the most memorable sporting event you’ve ever attended?

I don’t attend many games in person these days.  That’s because I’d rather watch the action on television.  Ticket prices have become so ridiculously expensive, along with parking and concessions, that I’m no longer interested in spending hundreds of dollars while fighting crowds and blowing an entire day getting to and from the ballgame.  Besides, there are no betting windows at stadiums.

That said, I have attended some really interesting games, although most of the sporting events that I’ve seen took place many years ago.

Listed chronologically, here’s a look back on some of the most exciting games and sporting contests I’ve seen in person.  Today’s list is from 1969 up through 1979.  Part 2 will include memories from 1980 to the present:

1969 New Mexico Lobos team picture

Army at New Mexico (College Football) — 1969

I was seven years old the first time I went to a major sporting event.  While living in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the time, my mother took me to a college football game at the local university.  I don’t remember much, other than we sat on the first row, right on the sidelines.  My mother later told me I behaved so badly that she vowed NEVER to take me to a sporting event again.  I can still remember her trying to explain to me that the team with the ball got four downs, which seemed so confusing at the time.  No, I did not have a bet on the game.

Cotton Bowl at Fair Park in Dallas, late 1960s

Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys (NFL) — 1970

During Christmas of 1970, we flew to Dallas to see my grandmother.  The Cowboys were playing the Lions in an NFL playoff game at the Cotton Bowl.  Apparently, I was such a spoiled brat and threw such a terrible tantrum that the family was forced to take me to the game at Fair Park.  They even bought an extra ticket from a scalper.  I sat on the 5-yard-line by myself, behind one of those posts beneath the upper deck where you couldn’t see the game.  It was the shittiest seat in the stadium.  That turned out to be one of the best defensive struggles in pro football history, as Dallas won the game 5-0, which included just a field goal and a safety.  That was all the scoring.

David Clyde pitches for the Texas Rangers, 1973

Minnesota Twins at Texas Rangers (Baseball) — 1973

The Washington Senators moved to Dallas (actually suburban Arlington) in 1972 and played in a dive ballpark called Turnpike Stadium.  Renamed the Rangers, that horrible franchise included Frank Howard as the star and was managed by legendary Ted Williams.  A season later, I attended my first major league baseball game when an 18-year-old high school pitching phenomenon named David Clyde was signed and started the game for Texas.  By that time, Billy Martin had taken over as manager, just before he left for the Yankees.  On a hot summer night, Clyde pulled off one of the most amazing debuts in sports history.  I sat in the bleachers, where tickets cost just $1.50.  A few months after pitching in high school, he took the mound in front of a complete home sell-out.  In the top of the first, Clyde walked the first two batters he faced, leading everyone to fear he’d flop.  Then, Clyde struck out the side, three in a row.  The Rangers won.  That turned out to be the lone highlight of a sad major league career which soon fizzled out and became the case study of rushing a young arm to the majors too soon and ruining a hot new prospect.

Clint Longley stages comeback in Dallas-Washington game, 1974

Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys (NFL) — 1974

My parents divorced when I was very young.  But I was pretty lucky because both of them had season tickets to the Dallas Cowboys games during all of the 1970s, which were the glory years.  I never missed a game.  One of the most bizarre games I attended was the famous Clint Longley game played on Thanksgiving night in 1974.  The rival Redskins openly announced they’d try to knock All-Pro Roger Staubach out of the game (this is when players talked openly of going after key stars on the other team).  Staubach was as tough as they come, but was knocked out of the game with a concussion in the third quarter.  A rookie quarterback named Clint Longley, still the braces on his teeth, came off the bench and shocked the Redskins by staging a huge comeback, including a long touchdown pass with seconds remaining.  I remember standing at the exit ready to leave to beat the traffic with my dad, as the ball sailed into Drew Pearson’s arms.  The place exploded.  That was the only highlight of Longley’s short NFL career, which was over a few years later.

The greatest ever — Pele, with the New York Cosmos

New York Cosmos at Dallas Tornado (Soccer) — 1975

Pro soccer was a really big deal in the 1970s.  The North American Soccer League (NASL) had several successful franchises and star players who were signed from big teams in Europe.  I started to follow soccer back then, and attended many Dallas home games, where the big local star was Kyle Rote, Jr.  In 1975, the famed New York Cosmos came to town.  Pele, arguably the greatest soccer player in history, was with the team.  He was adored by just about everyone, including the opposing players.  I don’t remember the final score of much of what happened.  But at least I can say I saw the great Pele play once in person.

Barry Switzer, OU’s head coach, who produced some great teams during the 1970s and 1980s

Oklahoma-Texas (College Football) — 1976

I saw a lot of Texas and SMU games in the 1970s.  We went to most of the Texas-Oklahoma games, which were played at the old Cotton Bowl.  The annual game is in Dallas because it’s exactly halfway in between Austin and Oklahoma City.  The night before the game, there would always be dozens of brawls and arrests in Downtown Dallas, where fans from the rival schools would parade up and down the city streets.  The games were always exciting, perhaps none better than a 6-6 tie in 1976.  There was no overtime in college football back then.  I have always liked low-scoring games because every play takes on added significance.  The game can hang on every play.  This was one of the last games between coaching legends Darryl Royal and Barry Switzer.

Texas loses badly against Notre Dame in the 1978 Cotton Bowl

Cotton Bowl:  Notre Dame vs. Texas (College Football) — 1978

I ended up at Texas in 1980, but before that, I had high hopes of attending Notre Dame University since one of my relatives graduated from there many years ago and that seemed like a really cool place to go to school (as it turned out, I couldn’t afford it — so went to a state school instead).  The teams were tanked 1-2 that year and played the national championship at the Cotton Bowl on January 1st.  The Cotton Bowl was a really big game back then, equal to the three other major bowl games — Rose, Orange, and Sugar.  In fact, the Cotton Bowl produced more national championship contests than anyone of them during the 50s to the 70s.  Notre Dame killed Texas that day, which was one of the last times the Longhorns would play for the national title for the next 25 years.  This was running back Earl Campbell’s last game in a Texas uniform.  I sat on the 50-yeard-line with my dad.

Bob Hope and former President Gerald Ford at a golf tournament during the 1970s

Byron Nelson Open (Golf) — 1979

This is actually the most exciting sporting event I have ever seen, bar none (except for a soccer riot which I will tell about in Part 2).  The Byron Nelson Open was a major tournament held in May in North Dallas.  It was right after The Masters.  Back then, they used to have something called the “Pro-Am” which was played on Wednesday right before the tournament started the next day.  The Pro-Am included pros and amateurs.  The best thing about the Pro-Am was, the crowds were small.  You could stand right next to the players while they were taking shots off the fairway or at the tee-box.  It was amazing.  Anyway, it rained heavily one year and they decided to play the Pro-Am anyway.  That meant the course was almost empty except for the golfers and a few fans.  My dad took me that day and we got to hang out with Arnold Palmer, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Lee Trevino, and all the other popular golfers at the time.  But the best foursome was truly amazing.  The last group included — get this — President Gerald Ford (who had just left office two years earlier), entertainer Bob Hope, Dallas Cowboys head coach Tom Landry, and Byron Nelson himself, then close to 80 and still a swinging legend.  Incredibly, almost no one was around.  We got to follow four giants and listen to them banter back and forth for several hours.  The coolest thing about it was Channel 8 reporter Verne Lundquist (now with CBS) was there and was also following the group around — I was maybe 16 years old and got to march the whole course with Lundquist next to me (surely, I was annoying).  I think the dozen or so people who were with the golfers that day all have memories they will never forget.  I even got autographs from all of them, which was ruined when the rain-smeared the ink.

So, what’s the most memorable sporting event you’ve ever attended?

READ:  PART 2

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