As the years roll by I’m more and more impacted by the people who have passed. It’s been 17 and 18 years now since my own mother and father passed away. My mother was a journalist and my father an engineer who served in the Air Corp in WWII. There are also those who have passed away that made an impression on me over the years. I see it as a privilege having lived in the same time period that they lived and for having known of them.
Please forgive me if we also take this day to remember others who have passed before us… even though they didn’t serve in the military. Chiefs greats, who have passed on will never be forgotten. Players like Derrick Thomas are still etched in our psyche because of his passion for the game. The tragedy that took Joe Delaney’s life has stuck with me as well. How brave do you have to be to go into a lake to save a child’s life knowing that you probably can’t save your own life… because you can’t swim. And Mack Lee Hill? After being drafted by the Chiefs in 1964, Hill was just beginning his career, his life. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve personally gone into surgery and been told of the possible complications but Hill went in to have ligament surgery on this right knee just two days after he injured it… and died suddenly. So, here, today, we honor these men by making sure… we don’t forget to think of them.
In the past year or so, the following people have passed on, most of them sports related personalities. All of them though were significant individuals each with their own gifts. Gifts they were willing to share and it’s those gifts that set them apart and made us aware of them… and forced us to know them… each, for good reason.
Tommy Nobis
September 20, 1943 to December 13, 2017
As a kid who’s father and mother both attended the University of Texas, it was impossible to not know who Tommy Nobis was. I’m a bit surprised we knew so much about him when you consider that all we had was the L.A. Times, LIFE magazine and Sports Illustrated to learn about sports figures in those days. Nobis was a player who grew up in the San Antonio area and went to UT where he played both ways as an offensive lineman and a linebacker. He averaged 20 tackles per games for a couple years in a row at Texas and won all three awards: the Knute Rockne Award, the Outland Trophy, and the Maxwell Award given to the best player in college football. Nobis went on to star with the Falcons winning rookie of the year and going to the Pro Bowl 5 times.
Chuck Knox
April 27, 1932 to May 12, 2018
Chuck Knox served as a coach in the NFL from 1963 to 1994. He served as head coach for three different NFL teams including the L.A. Rams twice. Knox was one of the best coaches the league has seen with a .559 winning percentage and won Coach of the Year three times in 1973, 1980, and 1984. True to the old-school way of playing the game, Chuck Knox played on both sides fo the ball when he played the game as a youth. Knox got his start in the NFL under Weeb Ewbank with the N.Y. Jets in 1963 and helped build the offensive line that protected Joe Namath and eventually led to a Super Bowl III victory. That victory was the first by the upstart AFL league which led to the eventual melding of the two leagues, the AFL and the NFL.
Dick Enberg
January 9, 1935 – December 21, 2017
Dick Enberg had a 60+ year career calling college and professional games including Wimbledon. He worked for NBC, CBS and ESPN. In the late 1960’s Enberg started calling UCLA basketball games just when the Bruins were beginning a 12 year dynasty. Having grown up in the L.A. area I would make sure not to listen to UCLA games on the radio so I could stay up late and watch the pre-recorded games in which Enberg had the call. His classic voice and minimalist style produced such lengthy catchphrases as “Oh My!” What you need to understand is that Enberg delivered his two-word trademark in a loud voice at the height of a play and was said more like this: “OOOOOHHHHH MY!!!” I can still hear him in my head to this day! Enberg played college basketball at Central Michigan where he was also the Student Body President.
WR Terry Glenn
July 23, 1974 to November 20, 2017
Terry Glenn was a wider receiver in the NFL for 12 years but was only 43 years young when his car rolled over in Irving, Texas last November. Glenn had 8,823 receiving yards on 593 receptions while playing for New England, Green Bay and Dallas. He produced the most ever receptions for a rookie, at that time, with 90 in 1996. He signed a 6-year, $50M contract extension in 2000 but one year later was deactivated during the season by Bill Belichick, a season that ended with Tom Brady leading he Pats to their first ever Super Bowl victory. Terry Glenn won the Fred Biletnikoff Award in 1995, made the Pro Bowl in 1999 and was also named to the New England Patriots All-1990s team.
Jerry Van Dyke
July 27, 1931 to January 5, 2018
Jerry Van Dyke was perhaps most notably remembered for his role as Assistant Coach Luther Horatio Van Dam on the TV show “Coach” which aired from 1989 to 1997. My memory of him has more to do with him being Dick Van Dyke’s brother. Jerry Van Dyke actually had his TV debut on the Dick Van Duke show playing Rob Petrie’s brother Stacey. Jerry had a long and successful career as a character actor with appearances on: The District, Diagnosis Murder, The Drew Carey Show, Fantasy Island, That Girl and The Andy Griffith Show among many, many others.
Y.A. Tittle
October 24, 1926 to October 8, 2017
Y.A. Tittle’s pro career spanned 17 season from 1948 to 1964 but it’s not his longevity that he’s remembered for. Many will claim that Tittle ushered in the age of passing. He threw for more than 33,000 yards in his career and although he had more INTs than he did TDs he spent 14 seasons in the top ten of passes completed. Tittle started out with the Colts but moved to the 49ers where he played most of his career then finished with the Giants. He was named League MVP in multiple years: 1957, 1961, 1962, and 1963 which may have had something to do with him having so many game winning drives (he finished in the top ten 13 seasons of his career). Y.A. Tittle is a league legend and deserves to be mentioned anytime the subject of the QB GOAT is talked about.
Frank Broyles
December 26, 1924 to August 14, 2017
Frank Broyles was a football star in the 1940’s but was more popularly known as the head coach for 19 years at Arkansas from 1958 through 1976. What many don’t recall is that Broyles was first the head coach for the Missouri Tigers in 1957 before being named the Arkansas HC. Perhaps Frank Broyles greatest achievement on the football field was leading the Arkansas Razorbacks to a National Championship in 1964. However, Broyles spent more than 30 years as the Athletic Director at Arkansas but it’s his144–58–5 record as a head coach that no other coach has been able to top or match which makes Frank Broyles an Arkansas legend for life.
Ara Parseghian
May 21, 1923 to August 2, 2017
The Ara Parseghian era of Notre Dame football represents perhaps the finest era ever for the Fighting Irish. That era extends for 11 years from 1964 to 1974 and includes two national championships: one in 1966 and the other in 1973. Both with Notre Dame. Parseghian began his college career as a halfback at Miami (OH) and then played for the Cleveland Browns. As a Head Coach, Ara Parseghian’s overall winning percentage was .727 with a 170-58-6 record. He won too many Coach of the Year Awards to mention. Parseghian quit school to join the Navy in 1941 and the Navy promptly transferred him to the Naval Station Great Lakes for training which happened to be near Chicago and what was more happenstance was, Paul Brown was the coach of the service team there. Parseghian became the team’s starting fullback and took to Brown’s stick methods of teaching like a duck to water… and the rest is history, as they say. Ara Parseghian was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1980.
I’ll be visiting my parents grave sites today. May I suggest you honor your passed family members in a similar way… if possible. Peace.
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