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Sports Then and Now



Former Bronco Karl Mecklenburg Helps Youth REACH for the Stars 3

Posted on June 06, 2010 by Todd Civin

Mecklenburg is a member of the Denver Bronco's Hall of Fame

“Today a Reader…Tomorrow a Leader” ~ Margaret Fuller

I remember so vividly how my first grade teacher used to assemble the whole class in the reading circle at the back of our room at Pleasant Street School. We’d all carry our little wooden chairs to the rear of the classroom and place them in a circle underneath a big bulletin board decorated with brightly colored construction paper. These were the days before some unnerved “teaching professional” placed tennis balls on the leg of each chair, so each seat made a loud clunk, followed by a screech as it was pushed into position ’round the reading circle.

Ten or twelve of us, at a variety of different reading levels, would sit around the slightly, mis-shaped sphere and learn of the escapades of Dick and Jane, or Horton and his Who or occasionally read rhymes about Mush and Brush and Hush. To the right of our non-exclusive group sat John Higgins.

John was a couple years older than the rest of us and sat in a small rocking chair with a picture book in his hand. He rarely looked at the book, but instead looked out the window and rocked. Every few minutes he would think of something that disrupted our group. Our teacher would look over at John and bring her hands to her lips, shoosh John and encourage him to look at his picture book. Read the rest of this entry →

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      December 11, 2022 | 1:42 pm
      Archie Griffin

      The Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month is the only football player ever to capture college football’s top individual award twice.

      As a star running back for the Ohio State Buckeyes, Archie Griffin claimed the Heisman Trophy during his junior season in 1974 and then was able to repeat the honor the following season.

      Griffin joined the Buckeyes for the 1972 season, which happened to be the first in which freshmen were eligible to play varsity football, and made an immediate impact. After fumbling in his only carry of his first game, Griffin more than made up for it in his second game by rushing for 237 yards against North Carolina. By the end of the season, Griffin had rushed for 867 yards.

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