Sports

In the early 1960s, ABC aired a sports anthology show called “Wide World of Sports” where viewers were treated to the “thrill of victory and agony of defeat.” It came on every Saturday evening and my whole family settled in to watch. Mom would prepare a smorgasbord meal ahead of the show. In spring and summer, there would be potato salad, sliced leftover meat (ham, chicken, roast beef and meatloaf), bread (to make sandwiches), lettuce, tomatoes, celery, onions, carrots, radishes, green peppers, olives (green and ripe), pickles (bread and butter, dill and sweet), and anything else she found in the refrigerator. In fall and winter there were soups and stews in crock pots or tureens, casseroles kept warm on hot plates, and again, anything Mom found in the refrigerator or pantry.

The family would line up just before show time, load up plates and bowls, and settle down behind a TV tray to enjoy the weeks offerings. Football, basketball, baseball and field hockey were high school staples but there were many other sports to explore. We were introduced to different styles of swimming. We were familiar with the breaststroke and backstroke, but how about the butterfly, sidestroke or freestyle? In swimming, we cheered for Donna de Varona and Mark Spitz during the Olympics while learning about the different swimming methods. Of course, we had to try them all. Not being much of a swimmer, I am not sure how I managed not to drown!

We learned that diving into the water was more than attempting a jack knife off the diving board at the local pool or lake (usually ending up in a spectacular belly flop). High board, spring board and many different aerial feats were presented to us.

There were car sports besides racing around an oval track. Indy Races were on crooked tracks with sleek, bullet shaped cars. Drag races had fire-breathing funny cars and long rails standing on two wheels streaking down the track. There were road rallies snaking through the countryside. Demolition derbies where you destroyed each other’s cars. Motocross motorcycle races and tractor pulls. (The modified tractors were a cross between funny cars and rails with multiple car motors breathing fire and standing on two wheels as they attempted to pull the weight sled.)

Water skiing, snow skiing, ice skating, boxing, track and field events, the list goes on and on. Inside, outside, men’s, women’s, individual, teams, well known, regional classics, all were there on the Wide World of Sports. Even rodeos and horse shows.