50 Years Plus Club

[spartacat]

Graham 51 and Sawanee Cat seem to be the chiefs of our tribe.Anyone older than 86? Graham 51...is that reference to the great Otto Graham?

 

[rbs]

I remember well listening to Cawood’s call of the game with my dad, mom, and brothers while striping tobacco in the barn with a coal stove fighting the cold breeze from the outside.

 

[Indy Cat]

Seems like a lot of old blue farts on here. How many have been following UK for 50 years plus? I will start. I started following the Year of the Kennedy assassination, 1963.
That year I signed on with the Cleveland Browns, LA Dodgers and LA Lakers. Have followed all through thick and thin.

Listened to Claude Sullivan call the games on the old Ashland Oil Network on a Croseley floor model radio. Wah Wah was our home town hero (Harlan) at the time.

The Fabulous Five
Hagan, Ramsey & Big Lou undefeated in '54 ( and not eligible for the Tourney)
The '58 Fiddlers (Johnny Cox & Vern Hatton still 2 of my all-time favs & how Crigler shut down the great Elgin Baylor)
The Runts & the memory of the heartache after the title game (1st time ever to watch the Cats on TV)
The '75 Cats upset of IU in the Dayton regional
The "Slaughterhouse Five" in 1978 ( Macy, Robey & Phillips, Givens & co.)
96, 98, 2012 & still as rabid a fan as ever.

Hope the Lord lets me see one more title before he calls my number.

God Bless & GO Cats!

 

[dlh331]

Two of my cousins graduated with Gullett from McKell High School.

Remember when Gullett scored 72 points in a FOOTBALL game; 11 TDs and 6 extra points?

 

[BBUK_anon]

Same year for me and about the same age,been a hell of a ride on the Glory Road. Hope we just getting started bro.

It will be a reckoning...no need to walk on water...

 

[BBUK_anon]

Not that it matters in this thread but it is amazing to read your posts and enjoyable.

For my part I started my Kentucky love in 77 as I remember with Kyle Macy..the free throw shooting was highly advertised for those days and I always liked expert skills. I turned into a UK fan then and have never looked back. I was in High School in River Rouge, MI in those days. 16 or so at the time...I forsook Michigan State and Michigan and never looked back as far as fandom...

 

[KyCat]

I first remember being a fan with the Issel years and vague memories of Kentucky playing in the championship game recently but no actual memory of the game itself. Like many here, I kept the 'books' as I listened to Cawood on the call. Was also a huge Reds fan at the time going back to Dave Bristol as the manager with Rose, Mays, Perez, Helms, Johnson... but it was the Cats where my loyalty remained.

 

[TeoJ]

1948 Fabulous Five. I was a young pup.

I was born in 49 so I missed that,I would talk with my dad and he knew it would get me when he would say I watched the Fabulous five at the old Louisville Garden.he knew I had no come back for that.I got tickets at work when they played Duke in St Pete and someone ask my boss if I was crazy at the game,my boss answered he's not the crazy one in the family talking about my dad.[laughing][laughing]

 

[arenk]

Two of my cousins graduated with Gullett from McKell High School.

Since Rupps Runts in 1966. I was 13 then and will turn 68 in October.

 

[HagginHall1999]

I'm 69...started at 11 keeping stats listening on the radio to Cawood.

I am going to be 40 this year. Though I watched the Cats a lot as a little kid I really started following them after Uk/Duke '92, so roughly 28 years ago.

I can vividly remember sitting in front of the radio when we were ranked #1 vs. Vandy in '93 and we were upset...I was devastated.

We didn't have cable until I was a freshman in high school so did quite a bit of radio listening and newspaper clipping as a kid. Still have all that stuff which is wild to think of.

 

[ala_kat2]

I started listening to the Cats on radio about 1958. I’m an old dude! Claude Sullivan and Cawood Ledford (mainly Cawood, he was the best!).

 

[ManitouDan_anon]

I was born in Ky but moved to Ohio at 3. My Parents were both UK fans, but the only thing on Radio (and later TV) was the Buckeyes.

To this day, I still pull for Ohio State (deal with it).

But we moved south to Portsmouth (on the river). And from late 50's on, I was a loyal UK fan (as was my Pop).

NOTE: Young Fans today have no idea what it is like "watching" games through the eyes of Claude Sullivan and Cawood ("Got it!").

Lil bro ' to the Guy DLH is talking about . So shore Ky all the way . ..

Any way I'm got 40 years in nit 50 . Call me a rookie . I have fond memories of the 78 ship' game. Parents were going crazy .

 

[JDHoss]

My earliest memories go back to the 66-67 team and listening on the radio in the kitchen with my dad. The toughest loss since I started following was the loss to Jacksonville and seeing Dan Issel fouling out. Man, back in the day the televised games were few and far between. It was truly a treat when the Cats were on the TVS game of the week. I'd go outside up on the hill and move the antenna around, looking at my dad to give me the OK, and you hoped the signal would be good enough to be able to tell the teams apart.

 

[Catapult_rivals218351]

Became a fan in 64-65 season so over 50 years for me. First game I got to see in person was 70 mid-east regional vs Notre Dame (Austin Carr and Sid Catlett) in the old Saint John arena in Columbus.

 

[spartacat]

My earliest memories go back to the 66-67 team and listening on the radio in the kitchen with my dad. The toughest loss since I started following was the loss to Jacksonville and seeing Dan Issel fouling out. Man, back in the day the televised games were few and far between. It was truly a treat when the Cats were on the TVS game of the week. I'd go outside up on the hill and move the antenna around, looking at my dad to give me the OK, and you hoped the signal would be good enough to be able to tell the teams apart.

Yeah , those tv games were tough. Our antenna was WAY up on a hill and i had to sprint up and down that thing . We had a relay of people hollering until we got it right. Good times.

 

[Catfan in Tn.]

63-64 season hearing Cawood. I was hooked.

 

[uky8unc5]

Remember when Gullett scored 72 points in a FOOTBALL game; 11 TDs and 6 extra points?

Gullett was an incredible athlete. All State 3 sports.
He did that versus Wurtland High School.

The next Friday he played Portsmouth HS (I was there).

Shad Williams (DT who later played for Ohio St) clobbered Gullett on an end sweep and knocked him out of the game.

 

[awf]

Since the early 60's for me.......my buddy's father introduced me to them......been a fan ever since........

 

[YouKay]

1958 for me. I will turn 80 on April 30th. Loved every second of it. Was in the gym watching our high school play Lexington high back in 1958, when coach Rupp came in to watch is son play.

Dang! I was born in 1958. Definitely in the 50 Year Club. My parents had season tickets and the first game I remember going to was when Cotton Nash was playing. I seriously told people when I was 8 that I was going to marry Louie Dampier.

Was just telling Mr. YouKay on Thursday that I was completely disoriented, as I have done nothing on that Thursday in March but watch the NCAA tournament for at least 50 years!

 

[KyCat]

My earliest memories go back to the 66-67 team and listening on the radio in the kitchen with my dad. The toughest loss since I started following was the loss to Jacksonville and seeing Dan Issel fouling out. Man, back in the day the televised games were few and far between. It was truly a treat when the Cats were on the TVS game of the week. I'd go outside up on the hill and move the antenna around, looking at my dad to give me the OK, and you hoped the signal would be good enough to be able to tell the teams apart.

50 years and maybe the mind plays tricks with my memories but I seem to recall that big Dan was running backwards in the back court and ran over a Jacksonville player.

 

[Graham51]

Graham 51 and Sawanee Cat seem to be the chiefs of our tribe.Anyone older than 86? Graham 51...is that reference to the great Otto Graham?

No it is about a mining community in Muhlenberg county.

 

[Backer cutter]

Oh Daddy won’t you take me back to Muhlemberg County, down by the Green River, where paradise lays. Dang I miss those old songs.

 

[KyFaninNC]

1964, plus or minus a year. Although some on this board still think I am a UNC fan, because I moved here in 1985, I reckon. Well, as Ron White said, “you can’t fix stupid”.

 

[spartacat]

No it is about a mining community in Muhlenberg county.

Great. I come from a long line of miners. Never been in one but admire people who did.

 

[KyCat]

Great. I come from a long line of miners. Never been in one but admire people who did.

Worked in the mines during summers and winters while going to school (Martin County Coal). Spent five summers shoveling and greasing the belt lines, building cribs, setting timbers, moving belt drives. Fun stuff! No wonder I liked going to college! LOL

 

[spartacat]

50 years and maybe the mind plays tricks with my memories but I seem to recall that big Dan was running backwards in the back court and ran over a Jacksonville player.

Yes . That was probably the worst call I have seen in the NCAA tourney. The ref should have said play on and we may have won a ring that year. Oh well...woulda,coulda shoulda

 

[cathouse_rivals216755]

I did the same thing. Always had three sharp pencils at the ready. Had to catch the pregame with cawood so I could get the opposing teams lineup. Always had the stats ready when dad would ask me what Cotton , Louie, Pat had.

Same here. Started paying attention in 1960 when Roger Newman was on the team with Larry Purciful, Billy Lickert and then really caught fire when Cotton Nash hit the floor his Sophomore season at UK.

Listening to those games with Cawood was a spiritual experience in my family. Dad and his two brothers, all WW2 combat vets gathered at the one brother's home that had a real good Philco and his house sat on a little rise, so reception was pretty good on most nights.

If you were a kid and you wanted to listen to the game, you sat with your ears open and your mouth shut or one of those MEN would shut it for you. And you better be able to tell them how many points Cotton had and how many free throws he had missed and made.
My aunt would pop a dishpan full (for those of you who know what a dishpan is) of homegrown popcorn and cover it up with real melted butter and a ton of salt.
We could not wait for game night. What I wouldn't give to spend one more night sitting around that radio, listening to Cawood, sitting in the presence of real life heroes.
If I only knew then what I know now........

And that is why I am a Wildcat for life.
Far greater men and women than myself were Wildcat fans before me. They just happened to raise me right.

 

[ECCOUGAR]

Started following Cats in 1957. Would listen to about every game, starting when I was in the 8th grade.

 

[Backer cutter]

Cathouse- just want to say I enjoyed your post. Brought back memories for me too.

 

[wildcatwelder_rivals]

I enjoy reading all you older fans' experiences as a KENTUCKY WILDCAT fan from back in the day! Thanks for sharing your experiences.

I can still remember when UK played those dang delayed broadcast games on WKYT at 11:30. Even though it made for a very long day the next day, I'd sit up and watch my Cats until the very end of the game. Of course, the trick back then was to let everyone know you were going to stay up and watch the replay, and to not tell you the score, or anything about the game, good or bad!

 

[spartacat]

Cathouse- just want to say I enjoyed your post. Brought back memories for me too.

Yeah, cathouse hit it right on the head. I used to love hanging out with WW1 and WW2 Vets. To me they were two legged history books. I would sit and listen to their stories until they ran out of moonshine or homebrew .

 

[Calsarmy]

My first game was January 19, 1953. Our probation year. They divided the team in 2 squads. Hagan vs. RAMSEY

 

[MNantz]

I was born in Ky but moved to Ohio at 3. My Parents were both UK fans, but the only thing on Radio (and later TV) was the Buckeyes.

To this day, I still pull for Ohio State (deal with it).

But we moved south to Portsmouth (on the river). And from late 50's on, I was a loyal UK fan (as was my Pop).

NOTE: Young Fans today have no idea what it is like "watching" games through the eyes of Claude Sullivan and Cawood ("Got it!").

Yep and the “Cats are running”

 

[BoulderCat_rivals187983]

Seems like a lot of old blue farts on here. How many have been following UK for 50 years plus? I will start. I started following the Year of the Kennedy assassination, 1963.
That year I signed on with the Cleveland Browns, LA Dodgers and LA Lakers. Have followed all through thick and thin.

The ‘65-‘66 season was my first so this year was 55 seasons following the Cats.

 

[jc2010]

First game I remember listening to was in 1953 and Cliff Hagan dropped 51 on Temple.

 

[Ukatz1_rivals211116]

I turned 68 last month. The first time I remember really following the Cats I believe was 1968. That was about the time Dan Issel and Mike Pratt started. I also went to see them at Freedom Hall when they played for the Ky. Colonels along with Artis Gilmore.

 

[anon_013cn8yrfncx2]

Family moved to Paducah in 1954 when I was 10. Had just seen my first college game on TV a few weeks earlier. It was Kentucky at Vandy and they talked about the Man in the Brown suit during the telecast.

Suddenly, I was a UK fan listening to Cawood and Claude Sullivan call bb and football.

Happy Days

 

[Indyadolph]

These are precisely the kinds of memories that make being 63 years old so sweet...we've lived through and cherished so many of the highs associated with UK basketball for a glory road of over 50 years! How amazing to have those wonderful moments, some of them you speak about here, locked in the brain. I too have that record, an awesome compendium of recordings by Claude Sullivan, Cawood, and Adolph Rupp himself. I remember that he enjoyed going through the stats on the radio with Cawood after the games. His voice...I can still hear it. We revered him even in his last days, and of course Cawood was the very best. These were two superstars of the star-studded program along with guys like Issel, Pratt, and Casey, Dampier, Conley, and Riley before them. Cotton Nash even could be considered one of the greats of all time in college and yet is so unknown to most of America. And, we're not even talking about the guys in the 40s and 50s. There is really no question about which program sits at the very top and if you're from Kentucky with gray or hair, you've been suitably entertained for ions! What a blessing to be card-carrying members of BBN!

Well said, Blue Max, well said, sir!!

 

[MychalG]

I am 63..I started with the '66-'67 team. My dad, his uncle and his cousin were all from the mountains of KY. Vicco & Prestonsburg. My great uncle and aunt were the first to move to So. Indiana to get away from the mines. My dad, mom, sister and a few more relatives followed him. I was born in Indiana but grew up knowing that I had the mountains and the love for the 'Cats in my blood. I thought Cawood and Coach Rupp were relatives that I had not yet met, as those two names were mentioned in our house alot. The men used to go to a small grocery store in the small town we lived in, where they would go to the back room of the local grocery store when the 'Cats were playing and sit around an old pot belly stove, chew tobacco, drink a little whiskey and listen to Cawood call the games. My dad took me there when I was 9 and let me sit with them, drink a coke and eat a candy bar. The first couple of times I went, I was more excited about getting a coke and some candy.
On about the 3rd or 4th time, the 'Cats were getting ready to play Vandy. They were all talking about how much the Cats were going to win by.. I spoke up and said, "I don't care if they win by one point. I just want them to win." My great uncle looked at my dad and smiled. He then slapped me on the knee and said, I believe we got our selves a new KY BB fan. I remember that moment like it was yesterday and I have been a fan ever since. After my great uncle died suddenly of a heart attack, we stopped going to the store to listen to the games. My dad and I used to sit at the kitchen table and listen to the games while I kept individual stats for each player in a note book. I cherish those memories more than any others. My dad passed along alot of things to me but the best were his love of the 'Cats and his love of the Reds. I have carried on with my love for each..May they all RIP and to this day, I miss each of them dearly. When may dad passed away, I put a UK cap, T-Shirt in the casket and had the funeral director play the UK fight song..as the pall bearers carried him out of the funeral home..to his resting place.

 

[Kampus Korner_rivals164031]

Seems like a lot of old blue farts on here. How many have been following UK for 50 years plus? I will start. I started following the Year of the Kennedy assassination, 1963.
That year I signed on with the Cleveland Browns, LA Dodgers and LA Lakers. Have followed all through thick and thin.

I started in1959 when I saw my first basketball game in Memorial Coliseum with my Dad. I remember we were sitting about 3 rows from the court and there was a man sitting in front of us cursing all throughout the game. Up to that point, I had never heard so many bad words said in my life. He was yelling them mainly at the officials but also at some opposing players. At half time when the man got up to walk around, I asked my Dad why that man was saying so many bad words, my Dad said, that’s Happy Chandler, he’s the Governor of Kentucky and he’s mad at the officials for not calling a fair game.