I have spent the last 25 years covering sports in North Central Ohio and longer than that watching and appreciating sports of all kind. However, I also love history and have studied it from a young age. I also like to combine those two likes and wonder what if?
Doug Ute is the best basketball player ever produced by Clear Fork High School, but how would he fare against a Gregg Collins high intensity defense that features the great athletes that play for Mansfield Senior?
Shelby’s football legacy was built on the single wing offense of head coach Bill Wilkins. How would that approach to the game match up against the faster, more athletic defenses of today?
Comparing players and coaches from different generations has also been difficult because mainly technology changes. In golf for instance, 50 years ago a 260 yard drive was very rare and now your regular duffer can hit the ball that far on a good day. That’s why comparing Jones, Hogan, Nicklaus and Woods can be so hard.
It’s true in other sports too, such as baseball. Today we have aluminum bats. They came to be in the 1970’s at the collegiate level. Their technology grew to the point were several years ago they had to be scaled back some because kids were hitting the ball so hard that there was a real fear of injury, especially to the pitcher. Balls that were not hit right on the screws still became hits and batting averages went up.
In football, training programs have improved and kids have become bigger and stronger, not necessarily more intense, but more athletic. That has forced defense to adapt. No more is it three yards and a cloud of dust, but rather a spread and defenses were forced to have linebackers and defensive backs that could cover and tackle one on one.
Basketball has become a game for kids that can get to the basket or make the three point basket. The mid range game has suffered. Free throw percentages are lower now than they used to be because they no longer practice those shots as much. Coaching has changed too. Coaches say why make a 16 footer when you can step back a little bit and you get another point if you can make it?
This evolution has been at its greatest degree in girls’ sports. With Title IX, passed by Congress 40 years ago, it was mandated that girls be given the same opportunities to play sports as their brothers did. In the 70s and 80s there were a lot of very good players from this area. Francine Lewis of Mansfield Malabar and Jodi Roth of Shelby come to mind.
And there are many more athletes than their used to be. With the success and popularity of the U.S. women’s soccer and softball teams it has become okay for girls to participate in sports. There are professional leagues for women. Although they are not as lucrative as the men’s sports, you can certainly make a good living,
It has been my experience that a good athlete no matter what the time frame could compete in another. The one thing that all good players have is the ability to adapt to the situation that is presented to him or her. They may not produce the stats to the same degree, but you can bet they will be very competitive.
So, when grandpa tells you how good the Whippets, or Rams, or Warriors or Minutemen of his day were, he is probably right. But your counter-argument, that today’s players are pretty good, has its merit, too.