Through these old eyes, it does not appear that the new year is off to all that fine a start.
A celebration of life for the late Gene Tormohlen, 81, all-time great Tennessee rebounder, is scheduled for Thursday in Norcross, Georgia, and Saturday in his hometown of Holland, Indiana.
Distinguished sportswriter Jay Searcy, 84, will be remembered on Saturday at the Community Church in Tellico Village.
Services for former Colorado and NFL star Bill Brundige, 70, late of the Alice Bell community, will be Friday at Bridges Funeral Home on Rutledge Pike.
Tormohlen died last week in Spring Hill. Memories live on. The Bumper, 6-8 and 230, was one big bully under baskets. Some opponents, recognizing the risk, gave him space. Some he knocked out of the way.
He came forth to play for the Vols in 1956-59, in the Emmett Lowery era. He was twice all-Southeastern Conference and once an all-American. He played 10 years in the NBA, was an assistant coach for eight and a professional scout for the remainder of his working life. He is most often linked to the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers.
The Bumper still holds some Tennessee rebounding records – single-season average of 17.7, career rebounds (1,113) and career rebounding average (16.9). He and Bernard King are the only Vols to have scored at least 1,000 points and gathered at least 1,000 rebounds.
There are few greater basketball honors than to be voted into the Indiana Hall of Fame. Gene got his in 2009.
Jarrell Searcy learned to read and write in Oak Ridge when the city was still a secret. His parents worked at Y-12.
Jay stepped into professional journalism with the Kingsport Times, moved on to the Chattanooga Times, moved up to sports editor, became a feature writer and copy editor for the New York Times and peaked as executive sports editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer during the 1980s.
At heart, he was not an office person. He was a story-teller with great interview skills and a delightful writing touch.
I remember when he was writing five columns per week in Chattanooga. Sometimes, when short of subjects, he improvised. He spent a night at a homeless shelter, parachuted out of a rickety, single-engine plane and played 18 holes against a blind golfer.
That made one delightful story. Searcy hit a drive into an unlikely place and lost the ball. The blind man found it.
Jay had a splendid sense of humor. He could laugh at himself. I remember his description of the round: “I’m still not sure if that man was really blind.”
In my library is a copy of Searcy’s book, “The Class of 1952 comes home to the Secret City,” a vivid recollection of those who gathered for a historic reunion. The personalized inscription makes it a treasure.
Brundige was a physics major in college. He was nominated for a Rhodes Scholarship. He was a 6-5 and 270-pound defensive end at Colorado who caused a crisis by skipping spring practice to put the shot for the track team.
He escaped the doghouse in time to win all-America football honors in 1969. He made 27 tackles for lost yardage.
Bill was drafted in the second round by the Washington Redskins in 1970. He played in 107 NFL games. His career highlight was a blocked field-goal attempt by Garo Yepremian in a Super Bowl game against Miami. That play turned into a bizarre fumble-touchdown.
Three good people gone. Say a prayer that the year gets better as it goes along.
Marvin West invites reader reactions. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com
