LOOKING BACK

 It was in the early to mid fifties that I first became acquainted and became friends with a young boy named Jerry Smith and his brother, Terry.

Jerry and Terry lived with their sister and mother on Christian Street here in Corbin. We played together as kids, playing every kind of game that involved a ball and love to follow our favorite teams.

Jerry’s favorite team was the Brooklyn Dodgers and his favorite player was Billy Loes, a pitcher for the Dodgers. Jerry’s loyalty was strong and when the Dodgers traded Loes to the Baltimore Orioles, the Orioles also became a favorite team of his.

It was through Jerry that I too became a baseball fan, but I was a Cincinnati Red fan and a Democrat, my dad was a Cincinnati Red fan and a Democrat, and I am a Cincinnati fan and a Democrat.

It was, however, from my buddy Jerry that my affinity for sports in general grew. It would be a safe bet that between Jerry, Paul Pietrowski and myself, we delivered a Courier-Journal newspaper to every house in Corbin.

It was on many summer mornings following our deliveries that Jerry and I would drop into the Dixie Restaurant and catch up on a monthly edition of Sport Magazine, Jerry would also go cover to cover through the Sporting News and soak up all the state.

As we grew older, Jerry became obsessed with the game of basketball and worked on his game in a gym at every opportunity and in the hot sun outside the old YMCA on Third Street when he couldn’t get into the gym.

All the hard work paid off as Jerry received a scholarship to Furman University, where he became a Helms Foundation All-American. I am proud to say Jerry is still a good friend of mine, and helped generate my interest in sports at a time when I was at a formative stage in my life.

As we enter the summer months, the basketball Redhounds are working hard in open gym sessions as they ready themselves for the 2011-2012 season.

It may seem ridiculous to be making a statement such as that in June, but the work put in during the dog days of summer will pay huge dividends.

The Redhounds will be entertaining several local high school teams in for scrimmages as part of summer basketball over the next two weeks.

I received a call last week from Barry Brooks of the undefeated 1960 Corbin Redhound football team. Barry informed me that all members of that great Redhound team would gather at a lodge on the Cumberland River in October. The ’55 team will gather a few days earlier as they have the past several years at the same lodge. I will have more details with the exact dates and times in future columns.

Congratulations to Curt Hart as he completed the 2011 tennis season, and his career as Corbin High School Tennis Coach with a 21-1 record and state runner-up to St. Xavier.

The Corbin Redhound football program is to be commended for upgrading their schedule by adding such teams as Kearns High School from Knoxville, Tenn., Lexington Tates Creek and Danville.

The schedule also includes 6A power Clark County, and an old rival from the past, 3A district opponent Bell County on Log Mountain.

This should be an entertaining season, and should bring large gates from Redhound home games.

My Redhound from the past this week is B.J. Foley. B.J. was a four-year starter at quarterback, played basketball and was certainly one of the best players to ever play baseball at Corbin High School. B.J. Foley always a Redhound.

Look for B.J’s brother, Brady, to be a top player in the area as well as the state this coming season for the Redhounds.