I (Wayne) decided to turn out for Spring football at “Prin” during the Spring of my Freshman year in college. “Prin” was in NCAA Division III, hence, a week of Spring football was allowed. The coaches had me practice with the defensive team (defensive end), in addition to the offensive team (guard). The coaches informed me that they wanted me to play both ways the following year.
During that week, prior to one of the practice sessions, a student-athlete turning out for a sport other than football, approached me and asked if I was from the Pacific Northwest? I said “yes”, and he told me that the well known distance runner from the University of Oregon will not excel at the international level in future years. His comments were offensive to me, so I made a $5 bet with him that Steve Prefontaine would win a gold medal at the 1976 Olympics. He accepted the bet… Several weeks later, while in my dormitory room, there was a knock on my door, and he informed be that I better turn on the radio, because the aforementioned runner was involved in a tragic traffic accident. I turned on my radio, and it was in fact being reported on the radio in the mid-west news. I remember sitting in my dorm room for a period of time that day staring at the radio in disbelief.
About a week later, after finals, I flew back to Portland, OR and returned home for the summer [in Southwest Washington]. The aforementioned accident affected me much! If you have not read Reference 1, it is well worth reading.
References:
1. “PRE!", by Tom Jordan, Fourth Printing, March 1991
Note 1: The “Illinois" web page can be viewed by selecting Sitemap->States (US)->Illinois from menu bar at top.
Note 2: The “My College Football Photos [Part 1]" web page can be viewed by selecting Sitemap->States (US)->Illinois->My College Football Photos from menu bar at top.
Note 3: The “Sport of Track & Field" web page can be viewed by selecting Sitemap->Sport of Track & Field from menu bar at top.
Note 4: The “My College Football Photos (Part 3)" web page can be viewed by selecting Sitemap->States (US)->Illinois->My College Football Photos (Part 3) from menu bar at top.
