Past Our Prime

In 1974, the UCLA Bruins dominated college basketball like no team ever has. Looking to win their 8th straight National Championship everyone wondered who would be the team to end their run.

And in Greensboro, North Carolina we found our answer: North Carolina State.

On the Past Our Prime podcast, Monty Towe, the 5'7 point guard joins us to talk about that Final Four win over UCLA... his bond with that Wolfpack team, how great David Thompson was as a player and as a teammate, and the invention of the 'alley oop' between Towe and Thompson.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Babe Ruth changed the sporting culture in America when he went to New York and blasted his way into the record books. But what is it about the Sultan of Swat that we don't know about? Stephen Lang attempted to answer some of those questions about who the Babe was when he didn't have a bat in his hand in his portrayal of the legendary slugger in a TV movie in 1991 called... Babe Ruth. The versatile actor has no limits starring in theatre, movies and TV and although Lang may be most known for his roles in Avatar, Tombstone, Gods and Generals, and Gettysburg, both Ruth's daughter and granddaughter say Lang's portrayal of the American icon is a Home Run. We'll talk with him about how he got the role, how Rod Carew helped him get the swing down, what it was like to share the screen with Pete Rose and why this was the most physically grueling role of his career.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Babe Ruth is on the cover of the 3/18/74 of Sports Illustrated as SI did a 3-part series on the Bambino. He's been dead for over 75 years but did you know he has a granddaughter that is still very much alive? Linda Ruth Tosetti sits down to tell us tales of her iconic grandfather, arguably the most famous athlete in history. Linda, and her fact-checking husband, Andy, are working to keep the Babe's legacy in tact. We know about the home runs and the Yankees dynasty... but what about the man when the pinstripes came off? Linda has stories about the man she never met, but knows extremely well and she shares a few of them on the Past Our Prime podcast.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gordie Howe's hockey career was so legendary it earned him the nickname, Mr. Hockey. After 25 seasons with the Red Wings he turned up in the WHA in Houston with his two sons, Mark & Marty, and won a championship and the MVP. Now, 50 years later, his good friend, Chick Kaiton, who broadcast games from Gordie's final season in Hartford in 1979 tells us how tough Gordie was, how you didn't go after his boys or you'd pay a price, and how he met the man he idolized as kid growing up in Detroit. Chuck was the Play-By-Play man for the Whalers/Hurricanes for 39 years, never missing a game... and he's got the stories to prove it!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

He was one of the first bad boys of tennis, but boy could he play. Sports Illustrated's Curry Kirkpatrick covered Jimmy Connors right when the young tennis star was breaking onto the scene and before his run at being #1 for 160 weeks in a row. Now, 50 years later, Kirkpatrick tells us about Jimmy's upbringing, his relationships with Ashe, Smith and McEnroe as well as Chris Evert... and his unbelievable run at the U.S. Open in 1991. It's a great hour of talking tennis with a Hall of Fame writer who was in the middle of it all back in March of 1974.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Oregon Ducks and Center Gerald Willett were on the cover of Sports Illustrated February 25, 1974 after shocking the UCLA Bruins in Eugene, OR. But the story of them beating Wooden, Walton and the kids from Westwood pales in comparison to some of the events Willett has been through since then. From surviving a 32,000 airplane nosedive, a riot in Barcelona on the night the Dictator Francisco Franco died to a near-death experience after being electrocuted, Willett has lived quite the life since being on the cover of SI. And that's the key word---lived. You may not know who Gerald Willett is, but you'll never forget him after this incredible interview on Past Our Prime.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bob Ryan knows a thing or two about the Boston Celtics. The legendary Globe writer started covering the team in 1969 and was there for their run at banner number 12 in 1974. The insights and stories he has of Dave Cowens, Tommy Heinsohn and the guy on the cover of the 2/18/74 issue of Sports Illustrated, John Havlicek are both entertaining and informative. His knowledge is 2nd to none when it comes to the Celtics and the NBA in general. Join us for a fun hour of hoops talk as we look back 50 years ago to when the Celtics won their first NBA title without Bill Russell.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the February 11, 1974 issue of Sports Illustrated, the WFL was making a move on the NFL, and the draft was their target. One year later, a 25-year old Leigh Steinberg entered the sports world when his UC-Berkeley friend Steve Bartkowski was the #1 overall pick of the NFL Draft and asked Leigh to be his agent... and with that, the door was opened for Leigh's incredible career. A record 8 times he has represented the top pick in the NFL Draft... and his clients include a who's who of NFL all-time greats from Warren Moon, Steve Young and Troy Aikman to Patrick Mahomes. We'll talk with Leigh about the impact he and his clients have made, his time as student body president and how Ronald Reagan influenced him in negotiating with both the NFL & WFL, being the character the fantastic film Jerry Maguirre is based on, and being 13 years sober. It's a great hour from one of the first Sports Agents ever.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two heavyweight titans Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier fight for the 2nd time in their trilogy, with Ali winning the rematch. Mark Kram, Sr. covered the fight for Sports Illustrated 50 years ago, but it's his son, Mark Kram, Jr. who wrote the book on Joe Frazier... literally. The author of Smokin' Joe: The Life of Joe Frazier joins us to discuss this great time in boxing history, what it meant when Frazier would give some 'love' and where Mike Tyson would have ranked with the heavyweights from back in the day.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Larry Farmer played for three seasons under John Wooden at UCLA winning 3 National Championships while losing just one time in 90 games! Truly one of the most successful players in the history of college basketball, Larry then became the first African-American Head Coach at UCLA at the young age of 30. Now, 50 years after Notre Dame ended the Bruins record 88-game winning streak at South Bend, Farmer looks back at his time with Wooden, Walton and Westwood on the latest episode of Past Our Prime.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices