Ray Mears and the 66 and 72 Kentucky games

[Savannahbayvol]

someone mentioned Ray Mears in another thread so I thought Tom Mattinglys column on Coach would be enjoyed.

Full disclosure, I have known Tom for over 50 years.

To put Mears' career in perspective we went 4-19 the year before he came down from Ohio. In the next 15 years he went 15-15 against UK and dominated Vanderbilt who was pretty darn good in most of those years.

Tom mentions the 66 and 75 UK games. I attended both, as a freshman in 66 and flew up from Atlanta for the 75 game. Rupps Runts were undefeated and ranked #1 in the country for the last game of the regular season at the old Armory Fieldhouse and Howard Bayne, Ron Widby and Red Robbins beat them 69-62 in one of the greatest games in UT history.

On a side note I got to know Larry Conley in Atlanta , who is just a helluva great guy. Every once in a while I would remind him that the only time I ever saw him play he got beat.

When I was in Atlanta in the 70s, Tom had 2 tickets under the goal at Stokeley. I would pick a game to fly up and he would pick me up at the airport and we would head straight for the Roman Room. So we were pretty well lubed by the 7PM tip off. I picked Kentucky in 75 which just co-incidentally was my 28th birthday. We won 103-98 as I think both teams must have shot about 75% from the field before the 3 point line.

Except for Jimmy Dan Connor who threw up an airball on the first shot of the game. For some reason we thought that was pretty amusing.

Great memories of the Mears years, no telling what he would have accomplished if not for his mental issues.

‘A sackful of gimmicks and a burning desire to succeed’ | The Knoxville Focus

 

[OffTackleVol]

someone mentioned Ray Mears in another thread so I thought Tom Mattinglys column on Coach would be enjoyed.

Full disclosure, I have known Tom for over 50 years.

To put Mears' career in perspective we went 4-19 the year before he came down from Ohio. In the next 15 years he went 15-15 against UK and dominated Vanderbilt who was pretty darn good in most of those years.

Tom mentions the 66 and 75 UK games. I attended both, as a freshman in 66 and flew up from Atlanta for the 75 game. Rupps Runts were undefeated and ranked #1 in the country for the last game of the regular season at the old Armory Fieldhouse and Howard Bayne, Ron Widby and Red Robbins beat them 69-62 in one of the greatest games in UT history.

On a side note I got to know Larry Conley in Atlanta , who is just a helluva great guy. Every once in a while I would remind him that the only time I ever saw him play he got beat.

When I was in Atlanta in the 70s, Tom had 2 tickets under the goal at Stokeley. I would pick a game to fly up and he would pick me up at the airport and we would head straight for the Roman Room. So we were pretty well lubed by the 7PM tip off. I picked Kentucky in 75 which just co-incidentally was my 28th birthday. We won 103-98 as I think both teams must have shot about 75% from the field before the 3 point line.

Except for Jimmy Dan Connor who threw up an airball on the first shot of the game. For some reason we thought that was pretty amusing.

Great memories of the Mears years, no telling what he would have accomplished if not for his mental issues.

‘A sackful of gimmicks and a burning desire to succeed’ | The Knoxville Focus

Ah, great post, thanks! What was your "go to" at the Roman Room?

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Mears had winning records in each of his 15 seasons. Double digit losses in only his first year. Only John Mauer in the 1940s and 1 or 2 coaches from the peach basket era had better winning percentages than Mears. Jerry Green almost caught Mears.

 

[Caspian]

Very fond memories of those Mears teams in the late 60s and early 70s. And there was nothing like Stokeley when it got loud and rowdy. People stomping on the bleachers sounded like thunder.

 

[Vol 67]

Ah, great post, thanks! What was your "go to" at the Roman Room?

Fishbowl, George!

 

[Savannahbayvol]

Ah, great post, thanks! What was your "go to" at the Roman Room?

Ham and American cheese on long white with Mayo and about 3 Tall Strohs!

 

[OrangeBeachVol]

Mears was a bit before my time there but didn't he have unicycles and stuff like that entertaining the crowd? He was a showman for sure.

 

[OffTackleVol]

Ham and American cheese on long white with Mayo and about 3 Tall Strohs!

Strohs! Now that takes me back..........makes me remember Blatz and Shaefer beers. When I lived in Hess Hall in 78-79 and 79-80, there was a food truck that would park outside the dorm. You could buy three chili dogs with onions for $1.10. A quick trip down the hill to a convenience store (next to where Gus's is located) to buy a quart of Shaefer beer for .69 cents and I was ready to watch Johnny Carson.

 

[OffTackleVol]

Very fond memories of those Mears teams in the late 60s and early 70s. And there was nothing like Stokeley when it got loud and rowdy. People stomping on the bleachers sounded like thunder.

I rarely missed a home game while a student at UT. The balcony seats along the baselines were awesome.

 

[Caspian]

I rarely missed a home game while a student at UT. The balcony seats along the baselines were awesome.

Those balcony seats always intrigued me, but I never got the chance to try them out. The lower level seats on the baseline under the balconies were also interesting. The overhang eliminated your view of about 80% of Stokeley with only the playing floor visible.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Mears was a bit before my time there but didn't he have unicycles and stuff like that entertaining the crowd? He was a showman for sure.

Roger Peltz and then Bill Seale rode the unicycle at the conclusion of the choreographed warm ups in the early 1970s. The finale’ was that they’d drive to the hoop and make a layup while riding. Juggling basketballs while riding was also part of the routine.

Peltz became an actor and comedian with another guy named Roger.

 

[OffTackleVol]

Roger Peltz and then Bill Seale rode the unicycle at the conclusion of the choreographed warm ups in the early 1970s. The finale’ was that they’d drive to the hoop and make a layup while riding. Juggling basketballs while riding was also part of the routine.

Peltz became an actor and comedian with another guy named Roger.

Freaking hilarious. If I had a dollar for every time I've watched it, I could probably pay for a couple nights in Key West.

 

[sami]

Very fond memories of those Mears teams in the late 60s and early 70s. And there was nothing like Stokeley when it got loud and rowdy. People stomping on the bleachers sounded like thunder.

I was at UT in the early '80's during the DeVoe/Ellis era, and there was nothing like Stokeley for big games like Kentucky, Georgia (with Wilkins), Auburn (with Barkley), and of course Vandy. Such a cool little bandbox.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

** Stokely