Going back in the wayback machine to the summer of 1976

Reading the work of Carl Hulse, my college classmate at the Illinois State Vidette, and now the capitol correspondent for the New York Times, today made me think of that great slowpitch softball team for our paper. As the sports editor, it was my job to put together the team for the intramural league. Our prospects were rather slim, as it was only Hulse, myself and Jon Perkins, now a copy editor at the Washington Post. So, Hulse helped me recruit some of his roomates who played football for ISU, and we told the intramural department that they worked in circulation or advertising for the newspaper. We made it to the finals of the league championship, but lost it as several players couldn't find the field on time after attending a party the previous night.

Thanks to the ISU alumni magazine, I got in touch with Carl who told me about Perkins whereabouts, allowing me to visit with Jon, my friend and catcher. One thing about Perkins was that he never ever stopped talking when I pitched. There was one monster named "Hank," that Jon somehow got under his skin. Once Hank was on second base when one of his teammates hit a deep single and he came home to face Perkins with the ball. Our Vidette catcher tagged him out, and he would have won the fight that ensued if the umpire hadn't stepped in quickly.

It's funny that an article by Hulse would make me think of all that this morning. Truthfully, I am proud of the contributions to the new industry that both of them have made.