Turpin Time

Memories of the Old Old Press Box

Posted by: Jim Turpin

Wednesday, September 3, 2008 12:17 PM

     Loren Tate and I will host the Saturday Sportsline from 8 to 9:30 a.m. prior to the Ilini home opener against Eastern Illinois.

     We will be the first to broadcast on WDWS from the new pressbox at Memorial Stadium.

     The old pressbox, built in 1967, is long gone.  Games watched and broadcast from that old pressbox provided many thrills  as well as many heartbreaks.

     Not many press people remember the old old pressbox like I do.  They are simply too young and I'm too old.  

     There were no elevators to the old old pressbox.  You got into a golf cart and zoomed up the ramps to the upper deck.   Then you climbed stairs to reach the mostly wooden structure.  A ladder led you to an open walkway which ran behind the radio booths.   Only a wooden railing was between you and the tennis courts below.

     My fondest memory of the old old pressbox came on October 27, 1956.  As an undergrad I had the plum assignment of working as a spotter for Harry Caray.  In those days, KMOX in St. Louis originated both Illinois and Missouri games.

     On that day Illinois upset #1 ranked Michigan State 20-13.   Illinois was down 13-0 at the half before Illini back Abe Woodson took over.  

     Woodson, a product of Chicago's Austin High School, scored on a 2-yard run in the 3rd quarter to cut the lead to l3-6.   Then, in the 4th quarter he tied the game with a 70-yard run around right end.   Woodson followed that with an 82-yard touchdown on a screen pass from sophomore quarterback Bill Offenbecher.   For the game, Woodson ran 20 times for 271 yards and the three touchdowns.

     Harry Caray called the broadcast the most exciting he had ever been associated with in his many years of doing play-by-play.   That's pretty interesting considering the number of baseball games he did in his career.

     So, Saturday morning when we broadcast from the new pressbox, we'll be thinking about the old pressbox plus the old old one.

     It will be quite a day for memories.

    

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