I know I have used this one before. My buddy Carl posing in Lake Placid in 2018. He was so proud to be there. So was I.
Some things get better with age. I am one of those and I am not one of those.
Knowing I was alive and well and of an age, 12, to know what a big deal it was, I still rewatch The Miracle on Ice. I watch the MIRACLE movie.
I have told the story before. When I was a college student, I did a phone interview with Herb Brooks. Herb was the coach of the Miracle on Ice team. I was writing a paper about the team for a class. He talked to me. I didn’t get much. He certainly made an impression. He thought the players should be the ones I was calling.
When Carrie and I visited the Herb Brooks Arena where the games were played in 1980, I was told I could sit anywhere I wanted in the team box. This was as close as I could bring myself. Nothing in sports has meant more to me. This team and this event are other-worldly to me.
I came across this photo recently and thought I would share it. The two from the love story of A-Ha’s great song and video Take on Me all these years later. The lead singer and the actress in the video.
Back to 2018. On the way back home from our trip to The Berkshires in 2018, we stopped by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. I swore I would never darken the door until The Moody Blues were inducted. They were that Spring.
One of the coolest things I came across during our visit were storyboard illustrations for the video of A-Ha’s Take on Me song.
If you were a teenager in 1985, you know what I am talking about. This video transcended everything we had ever seen before. I still enjoy watching it.
I wish I had time to dig out some of my football cards to share with you. If I started that at this hour, I would never get this writing taken care of. But I’d dig out my Eagles and my Chiefs.
If you of a certain vintage, you’ll know these names. You kids who haven’t been here since lunch won’t know them. Just like I didn’t know a soul during the twenty-three minutes I viewed The Grammys on TV last Sunday.
These are my Top Ten Eagles!
Ron Jaworski Quarterback. He wore #7 and came over to the Eagles from the Rams. Backup to James Harris who had a handle on the Rams QB job from 73 to 76, the Polish Rifle was a great fit for the Eagles. Led them to Super Bowl XV in… wait for New Orleans! Yes, the sight of this year’s Super Bowl. It was the second time the Superdome hosted the Super Bowl. Super Bowl XII was the first one to be played in the Superdome. That was a Dalla Cowboys victory over the Denver Broncos. The Eagles lost Super Bowl XV to the Oakland Raiders. Linebacker Rod Martin intercepted three of Jaws’ passes.
Harold Carmichael Wide Receiver. He wore #17, all 6-8 of him. Roger Wehrli, a DB for the St. Louis Cardinals was the only guy I ever saw hold his own defending # 17. Harold caught 590 passes during his Hall of Fame career. Tallest WR in NFL history.
Keith Krepfle Tight End. He wore #84. Krepfle caught 152 passes in his 8-year NFL career. 7 of those seasons were with the Eagles from 1975-1981.
Bill Bergey Middle Linebacker. Bill wore #66. He started his career with the Cincinnati Bengals in 1969. The five-time Pro Bowler played for the Eagles from 1974-1980. Talk about a different time. When Bergey was an NFL player, he was also a member of the lieutenant in the Army Reserves. Bergey passed away this past Christmas Day.
Charlie Smith Wide Receiver. Charlie wore #85. An undrafted free agent, Smith played for the Eagles from 1974-1981. He caught 218 passes in his NFL career. When they doubled up on Harold Carmichael, Charlie Smith had sure hands.
Wilbert Montgomery Running Back. Wilbert wore #31. Montgomery was a hard runner. Toting the mail for the Eagles from 1977-1984. In 1979, he was fourth NFL in rushing with more than 1500 yards. In front of him? Try Earl Campbell, Walter Payton, and Ottis Anderson.
David Akers Kicker. Akers wore #2. David Akers kicked for the Louisville Cardinals when Howard Schellenberger was coaching the team and for Ron Cooper the two years after Howard took his pipe and left town because he would not be on the sideline for a team in Conference USA. David Akers scored 1712 points in his NFL career.
Horst Muhlmann Kicker. Horst wore # 16. German born kicker who looked more like an appliance salesman than a kicker. Really, I worked with a guy at Sears who looked like Horst. Truth is I just liked the guy’s football cards. He looked like he was having a good time. Horst kicked for the Bengals longer than he did for Eagles (75-77). I like the name Horst.
Reggie White Defensive Tackle. Reggie wore #92. An All-American at Tennessee, Reggie was All-World for the Eagles. A sack master, Reggie White was just fun to watch. He chased quarterbacks while wearing an Eagles jersey from 1985 to 1992. Sack master I tell you!
Spike Jones Punter. Spike wore #6. He punted for the Oilers, Bills, and Eagles. Three of those years, 75-76-77, were for the Birds. I still take pride in knowing my punting average as a senior in high school was higher than Spike’s in 1976 and 1977. He averaged a paltry 36.6 yards in 1976 and 37.2 yards in 1977. Be sure to know that both of those seasons he placed more than 20 punts inside the 20. That’s pretty good.
Honorable Mention goes to Herman Edwards.
For me all I need to know about the Philadelphia Eagles are within these curtains. These curtains were in my bedroom in our house in Brownstown until we moved from there in 1979. The were hung in my new bedroom in Ramsey that summer. I took this picture today. My old curtains are still there.
Here is where the story gets good. When my little brother, Darrell, was just a toddler, he and I were looking at these curtains one day. I asked him which team was his favorite. He said, “I like the Eagles!”
I looked at him and slapped my hand to my forehead and yelled, “Eagles!” I then feigned a fainting spell, and he just sat there and laughed like only a three-year old can. I sat back up. He looked at me and said, “I like the Eagles!” He looked to see if I was going to faint again. I put on again. He laughed with even more vigor.
My brother Darrell is now 41 years-old and his favorite NFL team has, since that day, been the Philadelphia Eagles. So, you know darn well who I am for.
On February 3, 1959, Buddy Holly was killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa. Don McLean wrote about this, in a roundabout way, inside his iconic tune American Pie. In the song, we know he referenced Holly’s passing as The Day the Music Died.
This is known to be the last photo taken of Buddy Holly that dreadful night. Recognize the bass player to his right? Waylon Jennings.
Five years and six days later, the bunch Buddy inspired began landing via airplane. February 7, 1964, was the day The Beatles landed in New York ahead of The Ed Sullivan Show.
I wish I could have been there. The Beatles are as ubiquitous to me as any group can be. I think the word is timeless. Timeless. A word that gets thrown around at bit for effect. For me, timeless and The Beatles fit. When I was eight, I was listening to The Beatles. The song Got to Get You Into my Life was on a new 45 in 1976. Rock and Roll Music was the album, I guess. Some kind of re-release. I don’t know. The point is The Beatles were a mere six years broken up at the time. But for me, it could have been forever ago. Right at this moment I am listening to The Beatles’ song Here, There, and Everywhere. This song has not grown on me. I hear what I heard in 1977 on the Love Songs compilation.
That is what I am listening to right now. A 48-year-old piece of well-preserved vinyl. And The Long and Winding Road was melancholy then and it is now. The music of The Beatles has not grown on me. This music grew with me. We got along straight away all those years ago.
For those of you who watched The Ed Sullivan Show that night, my hat is off to you.
Buddy Holly showed the way. Writing his own songs. Having a say in the recording process. He knew what Tim Krekel told me many years ago. “You have to do what is right by the song.”
A nod to Tim Krekel.
I was lucky enough to be standing a few feet away from Don McLean one night on a high school football field as he sang American Pie. Don signed my poster after the show.
A cold month that brought so much music to so many of us. Timeless.