The Real Herb Caen

In a recent notice to classmates, I jokingly referred to this blog as "the poor man's Herb Caen."  So at our recent class luncheon, Mike Dotterweich brought me a Herb Caen column from January 1994 which included the following item:

ITEM suggesting that this year will be very much like the last:  Plagued by thefts of wood and marble from the condo he's building nr. 25th and Market, contractor Mike Dotterweich installed a burglar alarm.  It was stolen immediately...

December Birthdays

Some classmate birthdates in December:

December 19 - Dave Fouke
December 21 - Patricia Long Amadeo
Some time in December - Herb Frost, Lenita Johnson Boldenweck, Phyllis Laskey Resnek, and Carl Thomas

November Birthdays

Not many birthdays that I know of in November.  Wait till December.

November 6 - Irene Wilson Whitworth
November 16 - Larry Sciutti
November 23 - Dolly Castellano Brush
Some time in November - George Niemela

Jean & Jerry Nix celebrated big # 75 last month with separate cakes, as always.  Maybe we'll get some photos from the big event.

Author, Author

Al Figone is another classmate who has published.  His book,  Cheating the Spread:  Gamblers, Point Shavers, and Game Fixers in College Football and Basketball was published earlier in hardback.  The paperback edition will be out at the end of the month.  You can pre-order it now on Amazon for $14.93.  An e-book edition is also available.  This looks like a great read, with lots of interest for our class.

Here is the book description from Amazon:

Delving into the history of gambling and corruption in intercollegiate sports, Cheating the Spread recounts all of the major gambling scandals in college football and basketball. Digging through court records, newspapers, government documents, and university archives and conducting private interviews, Albert J. Figone finds that game rigging has been pervasive and nationwide throughout most of the sports' history. The insidious practice has spread to implicate not only bookies and unscrupulous gamblers but also college administrators, athletic organizers, coaches, fellow students, and the athletes themselves.

 

Naming the players, coaches, gamblers, and go-betweens involved, Figone discusses numerous college basketball and football games reported to have been fixed and describes the various methods used to gain unfair advantage, inside information, or undue profit. His survey of college football includes early years of gambling on games between established schools such as Yale, Princeton, and Harvard; Notre Dame's All-American halfback and skilled gambler George Gipp; and the 1962 allegations of insider information between Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and former Georgia coach James Wallace "Wally" Butts; and many other recent incidents. Notable events in basketball include the 1951 scandal involving City College of New York and six other schools throughout the East Coast and the Midwest; the 1961 point-shaving incident that put a permanent end to the Dixie Classic tournament; the 1978 scheme in which underworld figures recruited and bribed several Boston College players to ensure a favorable point spread; the 1994-95 Northwestern scandal in which players bet against their own team; and other recent examples of compromised gameplay and gambling.

October Birthdays

Some classmate birthdays in October:

October 10 - Jean Nix Davis & Jerry Nix
October 24 - Rich Smith
October 27 - Bev Crudo Differding

Wish them Happy Birthday!

Still Acting After All These Years

No one who saw Paul Guaraglia as the Stage Manager in our school play Our Town will ever forget his performance.

He's still at it.  He has his SAG card.  He appeared regularly on the old "Streets of San Francisco" cop show.  When I was in the Bay Area recently, Woody Allen was shooting a film in San Francisco at the time.  Paul had a part in it, directed by the man himself.  I don't know the name of the picture, but look for Woody's next film.   Before that, he worked in an HBO film with Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen.  (Hemingway & Gelhorn???)

Here's Paul with his wife Irene 2 years ago at our 55th Anniversary Reunion:

September Birthdays

Some of our September birthdays:

Angela Bellante, teacher & inveterate traveller
Carl Thomas
Peggy Sorensen Long - September 10

Peggy celebrated her birthday early in July, so family members could attend.  Some Jeff '55 classmates & spouses in attendance:  Jan Toole & Bill Bacigalupi, Jim & Marian Rector, Darlene Haynes Thorne, Ralph & Donna North, Dolly Castellano & Jack Brush, and Yours Truly.

Darlene Haynes Thorne -- Deltiologist

Deltiologist -- what's that?  You might guess if you know Darlene's email address, which is "postcardgirl."  A deltiologist is a postcard collector.  I thought of Darlene when I read one of the many obits of Phyllis Diller, who died recently.  It seems Phyllis collected postcards, too.

But Darlene has an amazing collection, belongs to several postcard societies, and uses her extensive collection to give frequent talks on historical subjects.  She was recently written up in the Mercury News announcing her talk on Santa Clara County, one of her favorite subjects.  Her cards were used extensively in the publication of the San Francisco Bay Area Post Card Club, Facing Disaster:  A Centennial Postcard Album of the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire April 1906, as well as being credited in The Mineral Springs of Santa Clara County, by Ian Sanders, of Morgan Hill.  Other subject areas include the Centennial of Women's Suffrage in California, and Esperanto, one of her latest interests.

"Cry" if you never got to see him.

Great picture from our High School days, taken at Bimbo's 365 Club ca 1955.  Left to right:  Bob Stone, Arthur Gamon, JOHNNIE RAY, Paul Guaraglia, Tony Tapia.  How did they get their picture taken with the big cryer?

Art Gamon

Caught up with Art recently.  Unfortunately, due to back problems, he is no longer able to participate in re-enactments as a Roman soldier.  The clothing and armor alone weigh more than 20 pounds, plus any weapons carried.

Art and his wife Ellen are saving their pennies for a big trip at Christmas time to Adelaide, Australia, where his son is a hydrologist (look it up).  Added attraction:  getting to see the grandchildren.  Art, be sure to send us pictures.

We are still on the trail of Doug Hacker, who seems to be living in Dayton, NV.  Sadly, this clue was found in an obit for Doug's wife Joyce, who died at the end of  2008.

August Birthdays

Trying to catch up with 8 months of tidbits of gossip.  This is a quick one.  Some classmate birthdates in August:
Rich Horsley -- August 3
Art Gamon -- August 16
Georgette Cahill Novak -- August 18 (the same as my mother)
Bill Grupe -- August 23
Roberta "Bobbie" Marks Blowers -- also August 23