Mary Lou Retton: America’s darling gymnast

Anyone that watched the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles became absolutely smitten with Mary Lou Retton. Not only did she demonstrate a performance of pure excellence, but she represented everything that was wholesome about the United States. Her original family name of Rotundo was changed to Retton when they arrived at Ellis Island, and Mary Lou is intensely proud of her Italian heritage.

Born in 1968 in Virginia, Mary Lou developed an intense love of gymnastics are an early age. She relocated to Houston, Texas to be under the instruction of Bela Karolyi, the famed Romanian coach. Her cute perkiness, combined with a very compact and strong frame led her to wins at a variety of competitions, including the U.S. Nationals and the American Cup. Her 4’ 9” size was smaller than the standard, but every ounce of her weight was pure powerhouse toned muscle.
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The Debate: Should schools solicit sponsors for their scoreboards?

Sponsors have been an integral part of the athletic experience since the first group of teams got together on a school field. From small towns to mega metropolis areas, the sponsor was not only a method of revenue to help pay for the team, but represented a part of the local community that stood behind their team. Maybe it’s the times that we are in, but, for some reason, school officials are now questioning if sponsorship (ergo advertising) is something that should be accepted in a school sports environment.

I consider myself very lucky. I had the opportunity to split my growing up experience between a small town and a large city. I know what it’s like to live in a community so small that they loving say: “the good thing about a small town is that everyone knows everyone else. The bad thing about a small town is that everyone knows everyone else”. The good part of the town is that no matter what kind of sports event was happening, we had local businesses that supported the teams. Their kids and grandkids went to school with you; you shopped at their stores and saw their ads in the local paper. They participated in every church and school event and, it was common place to see their name or logo on the school scoreboard. In a city environment, it was really much the same. The sponsor names may change and their isn’t quite the same tight relationship as in a small town, but, the sponsor represented a business that was part of the school and team.
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Dave Winfield: Grace, honor and a baseball superstar

Today’s baseball is often a catch up as to who is on what team and who has been transferred. While we all have our favorite teams there are many that have favorite players. It never mattered what team Dave Winfield played with because he was a personal favorite and an all time superstar.

Dave Winfield was born in 1951 in St. Paul Minnesota and his parents divorced when he was three years old. His mother and older brother formed a very close knit and tight bond, supporting and caring for each other in a loving home. Dave held an incredible respect for his mother, who worked to keep their family together. Never going too far from home, Dave and his brother spent a lot of time at the Oxford Playground. It was there that he met the directory of the playground, Bill Peterson. Bill became Dave’s mentor, friend and father-figure and encouraged the boys to play baseball and basketball.
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How a high school is planning on getting their scoreboards for free

You have to admit, there are some pretty smart people at Romeo Community Schools in Michigan and Nancy Campbell, the Superintendent is leading the pack. Ms. Campbell is coordinating an all out effort to get new scoreboards for the school at no cost.

Romeo Community Schools has two rather old scoreboards in the gym at the high school. Circa 1959, to be exact. A schools scoreboard has a major affect on the overall morale of the school as well as the sports teams. An old fashioned scoreboard doesn’t motivate anyone and can actually lower attendance to games. Since there wasn’t any kind of budget allowed for scoreboard upgrade, it didn’t look to promising until Ms. Campbell came on the scene with the new idea.
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Bo Jackson: A Rare Success in Both Football and Baseball

It is a rough road for any athlete to perfect a single sport and very few in the world have the option of becoming the best in two sports. Bo Jackson was one of these rare individuals. His careers in both baseball and football are legendary; and he accomplished it all with a sense of ease. Often described as one of the best athletes in the world, Bo set himself apart by accomplishing a high standard of excellence.

Vincent Edward Jackson (“Bo”) was born in 1962 in Bessemer, Alabama. He was number eight out of a family of ten children and often referred to as “the wild boar hog”. The reason for the reference was simply that he was always getting into unruly trouble. The name evolved to “Bo” and that was what he preferred to go by for the rest of his life. Bo was raised by a single mother, who worked multiple jobs to support her family and Bo was a constant distraction with the trouble he got into and caused. By the time Jackson was thirteen he was forced to change his bad behavior when he had to take on odd jobs to pay for damage he had caused. It was then that he decided to play baseball.
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Katarina Witt: A vision of elegance on the ice

It is rare that you can find such a combination of talent in one person. Katarina Witt has shown that she can excel as an ice skater, business woman, athlete, and television celebrity. She was nicknamed ‘fire on the ice’ and the world had not been taken by storm with the love of a skater since Sonja Henie.

Katarina was born in East Berlin, Germany in 1965; the former communist East Germany. Her love of skating began early when, at the age of five, she was skating at the local sports arena. Her style was apparent and she went under the tutelage of Jutta Mueller, one of the world’s foremost skating instructors. Even though Katarina was a growing girl, she devoted her time to her skating. Between school and 4 hours a day on the ice, she didn’t have any time left to enjoy a family or friends. But hers was a labor of love.
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Wilt Chamberlain: The icon of basketball

Philadelphia has produced a lot of great sports heroes. By far, one of the best and most well-known is Wilt Chamberlain. During his reign in basketball, “the Big Dipper’ became a name synonymous with excellence.

Wilt Chamberlain was born in 1936 and by the time he reached high school he was already a towering six feet, eleven inches. Chamberlain grew up in a racially mixed neighborhood, enjoying a relatively good childhood. His performance in basketball was supreme. He played for three years, scoring over 2,200 points at Philadelphia’s Overbrook High School. Wilt, however, had not stopped growing. He finally topped out at seven feet, one inch and everyone called him ‘the Big Dipper’ because he had to dip down to get through the doorways.
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Lou Gherig: A legend and an American hero

There isn’t a person in the country that doesn’t know the name of Lou Gehrig. A baseball icon that never let the stardom go to his head, he became one of America’s most famous players. His record breaking averages were only overshadowed by the ALS illness that he brought to the forefront of medical attention.

Lou was born in 1903 from hardworking German immigrant parents and of the four children in the family, he was the only survivor. His mother emphasized the importance of a good education and work ethics. Always excellent in sports, he had a football scholarship to Columbia University. However, when baseball scout saw him play, he was brought into the Yankees team.
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Michael Jordan: More than just a basketball hero

The name of Michael Jordan conjures images of the broad smile, the friendly voice and the sports hero for kids around the world. Jordan’s image and integrity has been maintained throughout his playing and post basketball performances. He has set himself apart as one of the greatest sports icons in history.

Michael Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1963. His family relocated to Wilmington, North Carolina to raise their kids. Early on, Michael fell in love with sports, but his choice was baseball rather than basketball. Although good at baseball, his older brother was his personal hero and played basketball; so Michael wanted to follow in his footsteps.
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Jackie Joyner-Kersee: One of the top athletes of all time

The 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles brought about many changes. Not only was the city of Los Angeles rearranging every aspect of their existence to be a host city, but there was an entire buzz of new athletes that were entering the fold. One of these athletes was Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

Born in 1962, Jackie was named after Jackie Kennedy. Little did her parents know that their daughter was destined for greatness. Jackie excelled in all kinds of sports, but in high school proved her worth by qualifying for the 1980 Olympic Trials in Long Jump competition. But it wasn’t until she watched the movie about Babe Didrikson Zaharias that she made the decision to train for the track and fields event. This is a multiple disciplinary level and is considered one of the most difficult.
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Albertus Magnus School Scoreboard to be dedicated to 9/11 Fallen Alumni

It is difficult to believe that ten years has passed since the horror of 9/11. Each and every American citizen felt helpless on that day. Loved ones were lost without apparent meaning or reason. Our dazed moments turned to the understanding that we had to do something in honor of those that were gone. Albertus Magnus High School, in Bardonia, NY lost five of their alumni members on that sad day, and they have decided to dedicate a new scoreboard in memory of those that had fallen. Five of the Albertus Magnus High School Falcons have been given a place of honor: Brian Novotny, Kevin Reilly, Michael McHugh, Michael Roberts and Sean Fegan.
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Jim Thorpe: An athlete for all time

Almost every school curriculum includes the history of the Olympics and Jim Thorpe is a name that tops the list. Against all odds, Jim Thorpe became an accomplished football and baseball hero as well as an Olympic medal winner. Talented beyond description, Thorpe has been described as the greatest athlete in the world.
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Nancy Lieberman: Showing that women can get the hoops

If you were a basketball aficionado in 1986, you couldn’t blink without seeing Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan or Larry Bird in every publication and media channel. But 1986 was also a banner year for women and changed the face of basketball forever. This was the year the first woman joined an all male basketball team, The USBL (The United States Basketball League). This was the year for Nancy Lieberman.
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Nadia Comaneci: The little gymnast the took the world by storm

The 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada brought a number of ‘firsts’ into athletics. One of the most surprising was little Nadia Comaneci, of Romania. The tiny powerhouse from the oppressed country entered the Olympics, becoming the first person to win with a perfect ten score and she won our hearts.

Born in 1961, Nadia became entranced by gymnastics by the young age of 6 years old. She was discovered and then trained by Bela Karolyi, the famed gymnastic coach. Karolyi and his wife were impressed with Nadia’s talent, but also her work ethic. Her own personal memories of that time included the fact that she continued to try, even though she fell a lot. She was only seven when she was entered into the Romanian National Junior Championship. While she finished in thirteenth place, it gave Nadia a taste of getting close to winning.
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Are Electronic Scoreboards Replacing the Game?

There are some fans that seem to begrudge the newer technology, high quality scoreboards; indicating that they feel they are taking over the game. You probably know some of these people, they do not buy-into new tech very quickly (if at all) and seem to always be longing for ‘the good ol’ days’. If they are homesick for times gone by and were an avid fan of any sports team or concert event, they were also probably one of those people that were lucky enough to have seats in the first twenty rows. As one of those that often sat in the ‘nose bleed’ areas, I can tell you that the good ol’ days, were not that good. Thanks to the electronic scoreboards, all of us can now not only see a game or concert, but feel like we are actually participating in the moment.
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