Past Our Prime

Dwight Stones is on the cover of the June 14, 1976 issue of Sports Illustrated, and he joins Past Our Prime to take us back to one of the most electric moments of his remarkable career. That cover came on the heels of a world record in the high jump — a performance that announced to the world that Stones wasn't just a great athlete, he was an event. Being on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1976 wasn't just an honor, it was a cultural moment. In an era before social media, before highlight reels and YouTube, that cover was how America met its sports heroes, and Stones understood exactly what it meant. He had arrived — not just as a world-class jumper, but as a personality, a presence, and a star.

What made Stones different from every other high jumper of his era was that he understood something most track and field athletes never figured out — the competition didn't start when the bar went up, it started the moment he walked into the stadium. He studied Muhammad Ali the way a film student studies Scorsese, borrowing Ali's gift for psychological warfare and applying it to the high jump pit. He talked, he taunted, he performed, and he made sure that every opponent in the building knew he was there and that beating him was going to cost them something mentally before it cost them anything physically. He even pioneered a new kind of dual role in the sport, competing in a meet and simultaneously serving as an analyst — giving new meaning to the idea of a dual meet and blurring the line between athlete and broadcaster in a way nobody had ever done before.

Stones first discovered the Fosbury Flop as a young athlete and never looked back, and the man who invented it — Dick Fosbury — became not just a technical influence but a mentor and a genuine friend. Fosbury changed the sport forever when he went over the bar backwards at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, and Stones was among the first generation to fully embrace and master the technique. He'll tell us what it meant to have Fosbury in his corner and how a revolutionary way of clearing a bar became the foundation of everything Stones built his career on. It was more than a technique — it was a philosophy about seeing the world differently than everyone else, which suited Dwight Stones just fine.

Then there are the two bronze medals — separated by four years and a lifetime of emotion. The first, at the 1972 Munich Olympics, was a stunning achievement for the youngest member of the American team, a teenager who had no business being on that podium and got there anyway through sheer talent and nerve. The second, at the 1976 Montreal Games, is a different story entirely — one that still irks him to this day. Stones joins Scott, Marc, and Bill on Past Our Prime to talk about both medals, the world record, the showmanship, the mind games, and what it felt like to be young, fearless, and on top of the world in the summer of 1976 — with his face on the cover of the greatest sports magazine that ever existed to prove it.

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Alvan Adams was the Phoenix Suns' rookie center during the memorable 1976 NBA Finals run, and he was nothing short of sensational in his debut season. A 6'9" center out of the University of Oklahoma, Adams won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 1975–76 after averaging around 19 points and 9 rebounds per game, bringing a unique blend of size, skill, and passing ability that was ahead of its time for a big man. He was a key reason the Suns — a team few expected to contend — made it all the way to the Finals, and his performance throughout the playoffs announced him as one of the league's brightest young talents.

The 1976 NBA Finals featured the Boston Celtics defeating the Phoenix Suns in six games, widely remembered as one of the greatest series in basketball history. Game 5 in particular is considered a classic — a triple-overtime thriller at Boston Garden that saw the Celtics ultimately prevail 128–126 in what many still call the greatest game ever played. The series was a showcase for Boston's John Havlicek in what turned out to be his final playoff run, along with Dave Cowens, Jo Jo White, and Paul Silas, while the Suns' Garfield Heard hit a buzzer-beater to force the third overtime before Boston closed it out in Game 6 to claim their 13th NBA championship.

Adams would go on to spend his entire 13-year career with Phoenix, becoming the franchise's all-time leading scorer and rebounder at the time of his retirement, and remains one of the most beloved figures in Suns history. The number on his back was a tribute to a player he idolized growing up and battled many times ima his NBA career, and he has openly acknowledged that a legendary player's decision to jump to the ABA helped him win that Rookie of the Year Award 50 years ago — an iconic rookie season that landed him on the June 7, 1976 cover of Sports Illustrated in a battle against Hall of Famer Dave Cowens — an image that perfectly summed up the undersized rookie who refused to back down from anyone.

Now Alvan Adams is coming to Past Our Prime to relive it all. He'll talk about that stunning rookie season, the gut-wrenching triple-overtime Game 5 loss that still haunts and thrills Suns fans to this day, the story behind his number, the coach he has to thank for his path to Phoenix, and the teammate he considers the best he ever shared a court with during his Suns career. It's a conversation decades in the making, and Past Our Prime is the place where it finally happens.

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On the latest episode of Past Our Prime, we dive into one of the most memorable moments in baseball history — the May 31, 1976 cover of Sports Illustrated that captured a dramatic home plate confrontation between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. The cover photograph, shot by Neil Leifer, showed Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk (#27) making a tag out on Yankees outfielder Lou Piniella (#14), with home plate umpire Terry Cooney visible in the frame. Piniella was ruled out at home, but the collision sparked a bench-clearing brawl, and the cover's headline captured the rivalry perfectly: "Head-On Collision in the East — Speeding Yanks Run Into the Sputtering Red Sox." The brawl turned ugly when Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles and Boston pitcher Bill Lee fought so fiercely that Lee suffered a separation of his left shoulder, significantly affecting the rest of his pitching career. It remains one of the most iconic covers in the magazine's history, perfectly encapsulating the fierce and often physical rivalry between the two American League East rivals.

Steve "Psycho" Lyons carved out a nine-year MLB career with the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox — where he was a teammate of Carlton Fisk — the Atlanta Braves, and Montreal Expos. He earned his nickname through antics like playing tic-tac-toe in the infield dirt and famously pulling his pants down after sliding into first base — a blooper reel staple for years. After retiring, Lyons became a three-time Emmy Award-winning broadcaster for Fox Sports, where he worked alongside Lou Piniella, before later joining NESN as a Red Sox studio analyst — proving, as he once said, that he talked about the game better than he played it.

Lyons gives us incredible insight into Fisk, the Hall of Fame catcher, and reveals that for some reason, the serious Fisk would let the younger Lyons give him the business. He recounts how Fisk told Deion Sanders to run out a popup — leading to yet another bench-clearing incident — and how Fisk, as captain of the White Sox, was the hardest worker in the clubhouse. Lyons also takes us inside that iconic cover shot of Fisk and Piniella colliding at the plate and the brawl that followed, and reflects on how the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry back then was a whole different animal compared to today. And he tells us how he wishes he'd had the opportunity to play for Piniella, who brought that same fire to the game that Lyons himself always did — and yes, he sets the record straight on how he really got the nickname "Psycho," and no, it had nothing to do with dropping his pants in the middle of a game.

If you enjoyed this episode, please download, review, and subscribe to Past Our Prime — and help spread the word to every baseball fan who loves the game the way it used to be played.

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Larry Robinson was the cornerstone of the Montreal Canadiens' blue line during one of the greatest dynasties in NHL history, and the 1975–76 season was where he truly announced himself to the hockey world. He had already been part of the 1973 Cup-winning team, but it was the 1976 Stanley Cup Final against the Philadelphia Flyers where Robinson really made his mark. The Flyers were the feared Broad Street Bullies — a team that had built its identity around intimidation and physical play — and Robinson essentially said, not today. He scored a key goal early in the series and was so punishing with his body checking that, as Ken Dryden remembered it, "they had to bring hammers and crowbars to fix the dent in the boards." Scotty Bowman's Canadiens swept Philadelphia in four games, and Robinson's performance was so dominant that he ended up on the cover of Sports Illustrated on May 24, 1976, photographed delivering a check on Flyers forward Mel Bridgman.

And that was really just the start of it. Robinson went on to lead Montreal to four Stanley Cups between 1976 and 1979, cementing the Canadiens as the defining team of that era. The season after the Flyers sweep, he put up 19 goals and 66 assists and walked away with the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman. He could skate, he could shoot, and he could absolutely flatten you if you got near his crease. For a stretch in the late '70s, there wasn't a more complete defenseman in hockey — and most opponents knew better than to test that. After 17 dominant seasons in Montreal, Robinson finished his playing career with the LA Kings before later returning to the organization as head coach, making him one of the more quietly significant figures in Kings history on both sides of the bench.

Nick Nickson spent 44 years as the voice of the LA Kings, becoming as much a part of the franchise as any player who ever laced up at the Forum or Crypto.com Arena. Over that remarkable run he called more than 4,300 professional games and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015, receiving the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for excellence in broadcasting — putting him in the same company as his longtime Kings broadcast partner Bob Miller. For a generation of Kings fans, Nickson's voice is inseparable from the franchise's biggest moments, including the call of their first-ever Stanley Cup in 2012, when he memorably declared, "The long wait is over! After 45 years, the Kings can wear their crown!" He retired after the 2024–25 season, closing the book on one of the great broadcasting careers in LA sports history — and his appearance on Past Our Prime was a reminder of just how many chapters of hockey history this man lived through firsthand.

Nickson comes on POP to talk with Scott, Bill, and Marc to discuss Robinson, the Montreal dynasty, the arrival of Wayne Gretzky in Los Angeles, and what that era meant for hockey on the West Coast as well as the two Cups won by the NHL’s only monarchy— the Kings. Nickson had a front row seat for all of it and now he shares those insights with us as we take our weekly look back at the world of sports through the May 24, 1976 issue of Sports Illustrated. 50 years later, Robinson’s dominance is still front and center and with the help of Nickson, we relive it all on Past Our Prime… 

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The May 17, 1976 issue of Sports Illustrated is the perfect time capsule for Past Our Prime, capturing the sports world exactly 50 years ago through unforgettable stories and personalities. Headlined by Julius Erving on the cover, the issue showcased “Dr. J” at the peak of his ABA brilliance with the New York Nets as the league headed towards extinction and its historic merger with the NBA. But the magazine also stretched far beyond basketball, with features on the Flyers Reggie Leach’s playoff explosion, Björn Borg’s rivalry with Guillermo Vilas, baseball quirks, golf drama, and even Japanese baseball culture. It’s exactly the kind of rich, entertaining snapshot of sports history that we love revisiting each week.

On this week’s episode of Past Our Prime, we jumped into that May 17, 1976 issue with author Michael MacCambridge who joined us to discuss his acclaimed book The Franchise: A History of Sports Illustrated Magazine. He took us behind the scenes of how SI rose from near failure in the 1950s to become the gold standard of sports journalism, blending deep reporting, cultural insight, and unforgettable storytelling. MacCambridge explored the magazine’s internal battles, larger-than-life personalities, and its profound influence on how America viewed sports for decades. His book is both a love letter and a clear-eyed history of one of the most important publications of the 20th century.

MacCambridge tells us how as a child in 1976, his favorite player was Dr. J. Despite the fact he had never seen him play. Not in person. Not on TV. Only through the beautiful shots and words of SI. MacCambridge recalls how SI was one of the first magazines to implement color phots and how Henry Luce and Andre Andre Laguerre took an idea and turned it into a cultural phenomenon. He tells us how Sports Illustrated lost money its first 10 years in business before they started to turn the corner.  He compares being on the cover of SI to a musician being on the cover of Rolling Stone and he tells us how “a case can be made Julius Erving was the last truly mythic figure in American sports”

MacCambridsge is a history professor and his subject is Sports Illustrated and he’s teaching a class this week on Past Our Prime. Get full credit by downloading and listening and reviewing wherever you get your podcasts.

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This week on Past Our Prime, the guys crack open the May 10, 1976 issue of Sports Illustrated and bounce all over the sports world of the mid-’70s. We talk about Muhammad Ali looking very un-Ali-like in his sluggish fight with Jimmy Young and how many thought Ali lost this one. We break down the end of Arnold Palmer’s days o the PGA tour when he began to realize his glory days were starting to fade, and we discuss rising stars like ABA star David Thompson and Olympic swimmer John Naber who both were taking over the spotlight. Along the way, there’s plenty of classic POP randomness too — Little League snack shack junk food, terrible 1970s baseball TV coverage led by Warner Wolf, old-school hockey stories and all the weird little moments that made sports back then so much fun.

But the biggest story was on the smallest guy… Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero Jr. stood just 5’3 and weighed a buck 13… but that didn’t stop him from being one of the giants of the horse racing world. The star jockey is still very active today but we slowed him down long enough to have him tell us about his unforgettable ride in the 1976 Kentucky Derby aboard Bold Forbes. Cordero talks about stealing the race right from the start, holding off heavy favorite Honest Pleasure and pulling off one of the biggest Derby upsets of the decade. The guys also look back at Cordero’s incredible career, which included more than 7,000 wins and three Kentucky Derby victories, including wins with Cannonade and Spend a Buck.

And from there, the conversation turns into something even bigger than horse racing. Cordero talks about what it meant to become the first Puerto Rican jockey to win the Kentucky Derby when he got into the winners circle with Colonnade and how that helped open doors for so many riders who came after him. He also shares some great stories about his friendships with baseball legends Roberto Clemente and Orlando Cepeda, especially Cepeda, whom he considered like family. It’s one of those conversations that perfectly fits what Past Our Prime is all about — great sports stories, bigger personalities and a chance to revisit an era that still feels larger than life 50 years later.

Join us for another great Past Our Prime show as we cash in a winning ticket once again this week with Hall of Fame jockey, Angel Cordero Jr. Listen, download, review, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Giddyup.

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On the May 3, 1976 cover of Sports Illustrated, Mike Schmidt was exploding onto the national scene as the Phillies’ young power-hitting third baseman. Fresh off tying a major league record with 11 home runs in April — and just weeks after smashing four homers in one game on April 17 — Schmidt was quickly becoming must-watch baseball. In true Past Our Prime fashion, we dove right into that magical spring of ’76 when one of the greatest third basemen ever was just starting to flex.

We also broke down the classic “Clouts and Outs” article, which perfectly captured Schmidt and Dave Kingman as the ultimate “power whiffers” — guys who could crush the ball a mile but paid for it with mountains of strikeouts. Schmidt was brutally honest with himself about it, while Kingman basically said, “This is who I am — deal with it.” Classic 1970s baseball drama at its finest.

Our special guest, Jamie Moyer, brought the episode to life with great stories about facing Schmidt. The man who won 269 career games and pitched brilliantly at age 45 for the 2008 World Series champion Phillies had nothing but respect for Schmidt’s longevity, work ethic, and professionalism. Hearing Moyer talk about competing against one of the all-time greats was pure Past Our Prime gold as was when he reflected back on when he took a no-hitter into the 9th innings against... his home town Phillies.

We also touched on everything else from that issue — the Kentucky Derby trail, wild NHL playoff violence, Olympic hopefuls, beanball wars, and even the rise of Sportianity in sports. Another fun trip back to the spring of 1976 with plenty of laughs, memories, and great conversation. That’s exactly why we do this show!

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Evonne Goolagong Cawley was on the cover of the April 26, 1976 issue of Sports Illustrated, a fitting spotlight for one of tennis’s most graceful and naturally gifted champions who was reaching the #1 ranking in the world in late April 50 years ago. Goolagong’s presence on the cover also reflected a much broader impact—not just as a star player, but as a trailblazer for Indigenous Australians in international sport.

The winner of 7 Grand Slam singles titles, Evonne also won 6 more in double… and this week on Past Our Prime, we’re honoring Goolagong by playing a little doubles ourselves with not one, but two guests to reflect back on the brilliance of Evonne.

Peggy Michel, Goolagong’s frequent doubles partner, was one of the top doubles specialists of her era and won 3 Grand Slam titles with Evonne at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in ’74 and the Aussie Open again in 1975. Goolagong could have teamed up with more well known players on the circuit, but she and Peggy were a formidable duo for many years.

Peggy Michel, Goolagong’s frequent doubles partner, was one of the most accomplished doubles specialists of her era. Known for her sharp net play and tactical awareness, Michel complemented Goolagong’s smooth baseline game, helping the pair become a formidable team in major tournaments. Michel’s consistency and experience made her an ideal partner, and together they showcased the chemistry and coordination that define elite doubles tennis.

Australian player Pam Whytcross was a respected contemporary of Evonne Goolagong Cawley in the 1970s and helped open up the world of tennis to women across the world when in 1973 at the age of 19, she was part of a meeting led by Billie Jean King that helped lay the groundwork for the formation of the Women's Tennis Association, underscoring her role in a pivotal moment for women’s tennis.

Michel and Whytcross give us a keen insight on one of Australia’s greatest athletes , Evonne Goolagong, who was much more than just a tennis star… she was a mother. One of only three women to win a major while also holding done another full-time job… being a mom! Past Our Prime is going down under as we relive one of the best to ever do it—Evonne Goolagong.

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The April 19, 1976 issue of Sports Illustrated had Ray Floyd on the cover after he absolutely ran away with the Masters, winning by eight shots at 17-under par in a wire-to-wire masterpiece. The story made it clear this was a different Floyd — more mature and more locked in than ever— while still giving props to guys like Ben Crenshaw who finished second. It was classic Augusta in the middle of the Bicentennial spring.

On the baseball side, SI was excited about the Giants’ fresh start after new owners kept the team in San Francisco and packed the house for Opening Day. But while there was new found enthusiasm in SF, Brooks Robinson's days were nearing an end in Baltimore. The greatest defensive third baseman ever, was still grinding at the plate even as his hitting had slipped from his MVP days. quite a bit.

The issue also had some wild stuff — a diver going into the giant shark tank at the New England Aquarium, Honest Pleasure looking like a Derby monster, and notes on the Yankee Stadium renovation. It was a fun snapshot of spring sports in 1976, mixing big moments with the raw edge of the era.

And speaking of raw, the NHL section delivered with the “Week of Disgrace on the Ice,” where multiple Philadelphia Flyers players were charged with assault after a violent playoff game in Toronto. The piece also introduced readers to Pete Demers, the longtime head trainer for the Los Angeles Kings, who later earned his place in the LA Kings Hall of Fame, the PHATS Hall of Fame, the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame, and the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. Demers was the guy stitching up faces and taping ankles through all the blood and chaos of 1970s hockey — a true behind-the-scenes legend.

Pete joins us on the podcast to talk about his time in the NHL, how tough the players were that he treated back then and how the players lined up at his door for treatment in order to play. He talks to us about how Wayne Gretzky almost cost him his job after his trade to L.A. and how the difference between owners Jack Kent Cooke and Bruce McNall. And he tells us how a beer he kept in his drawer for almost 20 years was the best tasting beer he ever had in 2012.

It's a week of golf, horse racing, baseball, and the crazy days of 1970's NHL action relived by a man who saw it all... Pete Demers on the Past Our Prime podcast.

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In the April 12, 1976 issue of Sports Illustrated, Joe Morgan is portrayed as the driving force behind the modern Cincinnati Reds’ dominance, embodying the perfect blend of speed, discipline, and power that made him one of baseball’s most complete players. As the Reds’ second baseman, Morgan’s ability to control games with both his bat and his baserunning helped define “The Big Red Machine,” and the article emphasizes how his intelligence and patience at the plate separated him from more aggressive hitters of the era.

The piece highlights Morgan’s unique approach to the game, particularly his selective hitting style and his knack for drawing walks, stealing bases, and delivering in clutch situations. It also underscores his leadership on a star-studded Reds roster, where his presence elevated the team’s offensive and defensive consistency. Morgan is framed not just as a great athlete, but as a cerebral player whose understanding of situational baseball made him invaluable during Cincinnati’s championship run.

Joe Morgan’s impact in the article is tied directly to his MVP-caliber performance and his reputation as one of the most complete players in baseball history, a status that would eventually earn him back-to-back MVP awards in 1975 and 1976 and a spot in the Hall of Fame.

Tim Kurkjian brings a Hall of Fame-level reputation of his own in baseball journalism to the Past our Prime podcast. Over almost five decades of covering the national pastime at ESPN and Sports Illustrated, Kurkjian has become one of the most respected and insightful voices in the game, known for his deep knowledge, storytelling ability, and passion for baseball history. Plus,  he’s also just plain funny with a keen ability to poke fun at himself. He tells us about working with Joe Morgan and how Joe made it clear who the real Hall of Famers were. He goes on to tell us about his first time meeting another Hall of Famer, Orioles Manager Earl Weaver, who had a unique way of introducing himself to baseball’s version of Tiny Tim. He recalls when he did one of his first live reports, and forgot in the middle of it the subject he was reporting on and he tells us what we can expect about the 2027 baseball season and the impending work stoppage. 

It’s a Past Our Prime you won’t want to miss with two little Giants of the game… Tim Kurkjian and Joe Morgan.

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