My intention this week was to write about National Newspaper Week Oct. 6-12 and all the good things newspapers contribute to our society.
I’ll save that for next week, because I want to write about my good friend, Paul Jones, who was inducted into the Corbin Redhound Hall of Fame at Friday night’s game with Hazard.
Paul is a graduate of Lynn Camp High School, and he still supports the Wildcats. He was a very good athlete in high school, especially in baseball. Also, Paul has been a big supporter of the Redhounds.
I compliment the Varsity Club for their decision to induct Paul. For many years he ran the Hall-Watson Furniture Store in downtown Corbin.
It was there where I would see Paul and later started having lunch several times a week with him and several other guys.
You wouldn’t know it by being around him, but this month, on Oct. 31, Paul turns 102 years of age. As he has for many years, he will be celebrating his birthday in New Orleans sitting on a balcony and watching all the “crazies” go by on Halloween.
Paul and I have attended many games together. Just recently, we went to see the Reds play and that brings me to the thought about Pete Rose.
He passed away Monday. Rose was one of my favorite players. Nobody played baseball like Rose. When he was playing I followed the Reds more closely than I do now.
The last time I saw him play was at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. One of my friends had six tickets right behind the Reds dugout. They were so close we could almost talk to the players.
All but one of the six of us were Reds fans. The other guy was from Chicago and he hated the Reds. He was rather obnoxious, but we put up with him.
The first time the Reds came in to bat, let’s call our Cub fan “Cubby,” stood up and yelled at Rose with insults.
That caught the rest of us by surprise and it caught Rose’s attention. I noticed him glancing our way. I was embarrassed, and we told Cubby to cut it out.
This continued for about four innings. He would stand up and yell at Rose, and by this time the crowd was booing Cubby. Finally, a woman sitting behind us had all she could take and she poured her cup of beer over his head. Needless to say, the crowd went wild.
This was one of the greatest moments I ever had at a Reds game. After that, we convinced him to keep quiet or he would be walking back to Corbin.
Like so many others, I wanted Rose to be inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame. But now I don’t want that to happen. It would be disrespectful. If they were ever going to do it, it should have been while he was alive.
I have always thought that baseball treated Rose unfairly. You can’t take away from him what he did as a player, and what he did as a player is why he should have been in the Hall of Fame.
Although I watch the Reds games every now and then, I don’t enjoy them as much because so many rule changes have taken away from the game.
RIP Pete Rose. You brought us many enjoyable moments.
And speaking of Hall of Famers, Williamsburg’s own Bill Bryant is one. He was inducted into the Kentucky Broadcasters Association’s Hall of Fame Monday during a ceremony in Lexington. This award is considered to be the highest award given by the KBA.
Bryant is also celebrating 40 years at WKYT-TV in Lexington. He got his start in broadcasting on hometown radio station WEZJ and TV-3.
Congratulations to Bill for this outstanding achievement. We’re proud of you!
