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Q: How was it at that time, majoring in English at a school that was primarily engineering and agriculture? W: Well, there were a lot of others that were doing that, too. Although mainly it was known as engineering and agriculture. [A transition on the interview tape] Then Nellie and I were kind of meant for each other. Then Nellie, much to my displeasure, and all that, she dated a lot. She loved to dance, things like that. And I’m away at Purdue, and she worked, and oh, I didn’t like that. And somehow, somehow we both knew that, this would be it. Q: OK. So I think you were talking about what it was like majoring in English at a school that was primarily engineering and agriculture. Was that awkward at all? W: Oh, yes, you can get those courses. Yeah. They passed a law, let’s see, after my sophomore year. Indiana passed a law to coach, you had to have a degree in physical education. Now, Purdue did not have a school of physical education. Indiana University did. And that’s why different players went there at various times, I think, because they wanted to teach and coach. But that hadn’t been my desire, ambition at all. But after they put that in, in my sophomore year, then I knew that I was gonna teach, and I assumed that I would probably be teaching sports too. I took all my elective courses in the new physical education department, which they started, so that I would be eligible to coach in the Indiana high schools. Q: With your time at Purdue, what made it particularly special for you? Other than basketball? Is there anything that really made your time at Purdue special? W: I think just the association with the various students that I did, some of my close friends that I made within the fraternity house. That still carried on. And then the association with the athletes. I got pretty well acquainted with a lot of my -- I taped ankles for football quite a bit. Always trying to make money some way. Get 25-cents-an-hour, in those days. They didn’t cater to the athletes like, has been the custom. If I wanted, I taped for a half-hour, I got credit for a half-hour, not two or three hours as they do in some cases. And so on. But different things, selling football programs and doing things. I was always trying to work out things, where you could make a little to help cover your additional expenses which you were going to have. I didn’t get to see Nellie very much. My folks didn’t have a car, and she didn’t, her folks didn’t. But she had a brother-in-law, older, and they would drive up for some games. And then she, whenever we played at Indiana University, she would come down there. Other than that, whenever I did go back, I always hitchhiked. There was no problem in hitchhiking in those days. You know, people would pick you up. You got, it become dangerous as years went by, but then, if there was room, anybody would pick you up with no problem. Q: So, if I understood what you said correctly, they didn’t have student trainers then? Athletic trainers? For taping? W: Oh, yes, we had a head trainer. A man, and his assistant. But they’d need extra for taping, during the football season, they’d need extras, like we do at UCLA. Even today, we have students that help out. |
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