[SPECIAL EDITION OF READLARRYPOWELL.COM] — SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 1971! That was such a stunningly surprising day.
But to get to 1971, we have to start with 1970.
We’ll spotlight 1971 — FIFTY YEARS AGO — in just a moment.
And this really has not all that much to do with football. Or with the wedding of my fundimpledspouse Martha to the guy with the black hair and beard. [The story may help explain why my once-black hair and beard are now the color of my dog Porche's dominant coat. Porche notes that she had nothing to do with the wedding or the expectations of Jan. 17, 1971, and, she says, "My hair looks better than your beard, smart guy." Please read on.]
Everything seemed to be going well during the year 1970. I had a steady job and was continuing to build a newspaper career. The Dallas Cowboys were marching toward an NFL championship and would go to the Super Bowl on Sunday, January 17, 1971.
The Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars had not yet been invented. And soccer-as-an-adult-American-sport was still trying to establish itself in Dallas. It did well: the Dallas Tornado won the North American Soccer League title in September of 1971. City’s only title that year.
Cable TV was in its pioneer growth-spurt era. Without it, most towns had 3 channels and some had 4 — ABC, CBS, NBC and Public Television. All was going well on the tube.
And, the newspaper business was vibrant. Dallas had two daily papers — the Morning News and the Times-Herald — and Fort Worth had two — the Star-Telegram and the legendary tabloid The Fort Worth Press.
Back in Texarkana, there was one daily paper, the Texarkana Gazette. I was a columnist and editor in 1971.
The expectant mom, my bride of 3 years, was, as they say in the Twin Cities of Texarkana, “coming along nicely.” The ladies in the newsroom threw a baby shower for Carolyn and me in the fall of 1970. She was enjoying most of the aspects of being pregnant. Heck, we were both in our early 20s — what did we know?
Her doctor kept telling her that “the baby” was “coming along just fine.” The families were excited — my parents and brothers; her parents and sisters and brother. First pregnancy for both families’ oldest kids. Everything was coming along just fine.
Gonna be a big baby, the doc said at some point in late fall. Made sense. The guys and some of the women in the families were substantial people. DNA, you know. Yes, things were coming along as we were enroute to the “SUPEREST SUNDAY OF ALL.” Click HERE to see how things were coming along 50 years ago. A hint? I didn't have a hint of what was to come -- I'm not giving you a hint, either. Now, really! CLICK HERE AND READ ON. There are photos.
