Can it Be? Rain on my Parade?

In what has been as mild a winter as I can remember for some time, now there is the prediction of rainy weather for Friday and even, perhaps, Saturday. Normally that would be no big deal, but this year it is a big deal to me and my family. Friday is the day I get honored with a spot in the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, the biggest honor extended to anyone in the sports world in Arkansas.

Of course this is why someone (maybe Al Gore) invented umbrellas. But, I wish it wouldn’t rain, because I have major members of my family who are flying into Little Rock on Friday morning and I would hate for them to encounter any delay.  My only sister lives in Cleveland, Ohio.  She and her hubby are due to arrive around 10:30 a.m.  My only daughter lives and works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  She is due in at 11:30 a.m., also on Friday.  All of us are scheduled for lunch on Friday in Little Rock and arranging that is just one of many details which have absorbed all my free time over the last week or two.

I am so thrilled about being inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.  Folks from Arkansas understand the importance of this honor and I have been fortunate to receive many good wishes and congratulations from my fellow Arkansans.  Luckily one doesn’t have to be born in Arkansas to be part of the Hall of Fame. There are some spectacular members of the sporting community who have been honored and it is a thrill to be included among such a standout group. Going into the Arkansas HOF with me will be Alonzo “Lonnie” Clayton. The African-American jockey is being honored posthumously, largely for his victory in the 1892 Kentucky Derby on a horse named Azra.  Lonnie’s family have worked hard to get him and his career acknowledged and I’m pleased to be in the Hall Class of 2012 with him.  Others to be honored are coaches well known to Arkansans like Raymond Bright, Margaret Downing, Bob Ford, Pat Jones and Bill Keedy.  Keedy made his reputation in Newport, Arkansas, and I understand that the little city of Newport, Arkansas, has bought three tables to handle the townsfolk who want to honor him.  Also included are athletes like Harry Jones, Elmer “B” Lindsey, Lee Mayberry and U. S. Reed.  On top of that great list the Hall of Fame is honoring as a single entity the 1994 University of Arkansas Razorback basketball team which won the NCAA championship that year.

Since Lonnie is being honored posthumously, there’s a good chance that, with all those basketball guys around, I’m going to be the shortest guy at the podium.

For me the honor of being in the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame allows me to become the first member of the Oaklawn staff to ever earn this acknowledgement.  Others from the racing world already in the Hall of Fame are jockeys Calvin Borel, Pat Day and Larry Snyder, owners John Ed Anthony and W. Cal Partee and, of course, Oaklawn owner Charles J. Cella.  That’s heady company.  It’s the kind you dream of joining, but never really expect it to happen.  There are a number of great broadcasters in the Hall of Fame, including two of my personal friends, Paul Eells and Jim Elder.  Pat Summerall is also there, although he is well remembered for his exploits on the football field.  Still, to think that I’m in that company means a great deal to me.

There have been others appreciative of the honor of being inducted into the Hall of Fame, but never one moreso than I am.  My career has been a labor of love and who would ever think that something so wonderful and giving to me as the years I’ve spent in this town, doing what I love to do, would ever earn the kind of warmth and love which is extended to those who are selected for the Hall of Fame.

I hope others I know get this opportunity.  There are many worthy and they need to be honored while they’re still above ground and healthy enough to receive it in person.  I’m only sorry the Hall didn’t get around to honoring Lonnie Clayton while he could enjoy it with his family.

But this will be the first time EVER that all of my family will be together at the same time and I’m telling you, it’s a time I will treasure for the rest of my life and one that I hope has the same impact on those who are with me. I am proud that Oaklawn has chosen to be a co-sponsor of this induction and that many of my friends and acquaintances will be there with me, rain or shine.

Bring out the umbrellas, if we must. When I get back to Hot Springs, we’ll break out liquid which will make us forget the rain on our little parade.  As far as I can see, it doesn’t get much better than this.  The sun is about to shine on me, big time.  You don’t have to pinch me to believe it’s real. Just hold off the rain long enough for everyone to get here.