It was just more than a week ago and I was in the basement ironing the clothes I was going to wear to the memorial service for friend and former teammate Ken Crandall.
As my skills with an iron are (obviously) more than a bit lacking, as I was navigating it I accidentally knocked over a dusty box.
A few old cassette tapes spilled onto the cement floor. Since they were not labeled, I put one into the old cassette player/radio I keep in the basement to keep my dog, Rocky, company when I’m not around.
As the tape began to play, the sound of an all-too-familiar voice echoed throughout the basement. The guy was calling play-by-play of a high school basketball game.
It was of a Class AA district semifinal contest at Warren Western Reserve High School between the Jefferson Falcons and the Lakeview Bulldogs.
As the game was being spilled out, I heard the name — “Ken Crandall.”
The same guy those of us in these parts knew and/or grew up with and were about to say our final goodbyes to was being talked about as he played in that game for coach Rick Nemet’s Falcons against Lakeview.
That game was played three decades ago — in March, 1979.
The audio tape of that game had not seen the light of day — or its sound been heard — in the 30 years that had passed.
Until the day we were going to say goodbye to him.
And who did the voice belong to who that was doing the play-by-play?
Yours truly, who was a punk 15-year-old kid back then.
Goosebumps ran up and down my arms as I finished my feeble attempt at ironing and I was a bit shaken.
It was a sign... fate... it had to be.
Want to listen?
When I returned home the next day after working the night shift, I listened to both tapes.
One was the aforementioned district semifinal between Jefferson and Lakeview.
The other was half of the game that got Crandall and his Falcons to that district contest — a sectional championship victory against the Champion Golden Flashes. That victory gave Jefferson only the second boys basketball sectional title in school history and first since the winter of 1946-47.
With that in mind, I had a thought (a novel concept, I know) — why not get the recordings of those games preserved and make them available to anyone who wants a copy?
So here’s the deal — anyone who wants a copy of the two games can have one... for free. I am in the process of getting them inputted into my laptop and will then be able to burn them onto a CD. I will make copies and send them to anyone who wants them — on one condition.
You make a contribution to the Ken Crandall Memorial Scholarship.
It doesn’t matter the amount. If you make a contribution, I’ll send you the CD.
Oh, one more condition — no, um... complaining... about the quality of the play-by-play.
While I have a face made for radio, I have a voice made for... well, not to be heard.
McCormack is the sports editor of the Star Beacon. Reach him at donmac@suite224.net.
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A Don McCormack column: Caught on tape... from 30 years ago
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