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http://www.MyPlainview.com Plainview Daily Herald - <strong>Sun</strong>day, October <strong>11</strong>, 20<strong>09</strong> - Page 3A<br />

CBS Sports/PHS Band Archives<br />

NATIONAL BROADCAST: Members of the Plainview High School Band and A Cappella Choir are shown<br />

as they appeared on CBS TV on Dec. 21, 1969, while performing at halftime during a Dallas Cowboys-<br />

Washington Redskins game.<br />

PHS band, choir took center stage<br />

at Vince Lombardi’s farewell game<br />

By DOUG McDONOUGH<br />

Herald Managing Editor<br />

Performing to an audience<br />

that spanned an entire<br />

continent, 40 years ago<br />

the Plainview High School<br />

Band and Choir took center<br />

stage during a profoundly<br />

historic moment in professional<br />

football.<br />

On Dec. 21, 1969, the<br />

226-member PHS band, then<br />

dubbed “<strong>The</strong> Pride of the<br />

Plains,” and the 65-member<br />

PHS choir spread out<br />

across the turf at the Cotton<br />

Bowl in Dallas to perform<br />

a special Christmas-themed<br />

halftime show for the Dallas<br />

Cowboys-Washington Redskins<br />

game.<br />

As the last regular-season<br />

game between bitter NFL rivals,<br />

CBS made it a regional<br />

game of the week.<br />

<strong>The</strong> contest, which the<br />

Cowboys won, 20-<strong>10</strong>, pitted<br />

coach Tom Landry<br />

against his old nemesis,<br />

Vince Lombardi, who was<br />

coaching the fi nal game in<br />

his <strong>10</strong>-year NFL career.<br />

Lombardi spent nine years<br />

(1959-67) as head coach at<br />

Green Bay, then came out<br />

of retirement to coach the<br />

Redskins during the 1969<br />

season. He died of colon<br />

cancer the next summer.<br />

“I remember that huge<br />

smile plastered across his<br />

face as he walked out to the<br />

middle of the fi eld” during<br />

team introductions, retired<br />

PHS bandmaster O.T. Ryan<br />

recently recalled. “Even having<br />

all the Cowboys fans booing<br />

him didn’t seem to make<br />

any difference at all.”<br />

It also happened to be the<br />

last year for CBS and other<br />

major TV networks to routinely<br />

focus their cameras on<br />

NFL halftime performances<br />

instead of airing game highlights<br />

and scoreboards. On<br />

that particular <strong>Sun</strong>day afternoon,<br />

CBS Sports producers<br />

at almost all the other NFL<br />

games decided to pick up<br />

the halftime broadcast from<br />

Dallas rather than show the<br />

performances at their own<br />

stadiums. That meant the<br />

Dallas halftime show was<br />

broadcast live to Mexico,<br />

Canada and the entire United<br />

States, save for a part of<br />

the Northeast that stayed<br />

with the game being played<br />

in Boston.<br />

“It really was a big deal,<br />

since CBS broadcast our entire<br />

show — all <strong>11</strong> minutes<br />

of it,” Ryan explained. “I remember<br />

the band marching<br />

off the fi eld when it was fi -<br />

nally over and our CBS producer,<br />

Jim Skinner, running<br />

out and shouting, ‘We just<br />

picked up Canada!’ I didn’t<br />

realize at the time what he<br />

meant, so I asked, ‘Was it<br />

heavy?’ ”<br />

It indeed was “heavy”<br />

as evidenced by the huge<br />

assortment of post-performance<br />

congratulatory letters<br />

and telegrams Ryan has<br />

tucked away in a scrapbook<br />

of the event.<br />

“It was a big deal for<br />

Plainview,” Ryan explained.<br />

“And after it was over, we<br />

received a number of similar<br />

invitations. But we’d already<br />

done that, and the time and<br />

effort and expense involved<br />

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Herald File Photo<br />

COTTON BOWL BOUND: Patti Newland waves goodbye from in front of eight<br />

charter buses preparing to depart PHS on Dec. 20, 1969, for Dallas. Newland<br />

was a twirler for the band, which performed with the PHS choir, during halftime<br />

at a Dallas Cowboys-Washington Redskins game.<br />

were just too much to do<br />

again anytime soon. <strong>The</strong><br />

pressure getting the show together<br />

was immense, and all<br />

those early-morning outdoor<br />

rehearsals in December sure<br />

were cold.”<br />

In spring 1969 the Cowboys<br />

invited the PHS band<br />

to perform at halftime upon<br />

the recommendation of G.T.<br />

Gilligan, band director at<br />

Kermit. As plans for the program<br />

began to materialize,<br />

the invitation was expanded<br />

to include the choir.<br />

“<strong>The</strong> Cotton Bowl had an<br />

exceptional sound system<br />

with speakers all around<br />

inside the stadium, which<br />

worked out perfectly,” Ryan<br />

recalled.<br />

B.C. “Doc” Cross was<br />

president of the Plainview<br />

Band Parents Association<br />

in 1969, and it fell upon that<br />

group’s shoulders to raise<br />

the funds to fi nance the trip.<br />

“<strong>The</strong> band parents used to<br />

sponsor a week-long summer<br />

carnival as a fundraiser,”<br />

Cross explained, “and<br />

we had a number of other<br />

fundraisers including candy<br />

sales and a community birthday<br />

calendar.”<br />

<strong>The</strong> group also made a<br />

number of oversized props<br />

out of Styrofoam for the<br />

performance, including mallets<br />

for ringing chimes and a<br />

seven-foot electrical outlet<br />

to plug in a huge amplifi er.<br />

In addition to raising the<br />

money and building the<br />

props for the trip, the band<br />

parents provided most of<br />

the 50 adult chaperones for<br />

the three-day trip, which required<br />

eight chartered buses<br />

— six for the band and two<br />

for the choir — and a large<br />

rental truck for instruments<br />

and props.<br />

Other Plainview Band<br />

Parents Association offi -<br />

cers that year included vice<br />

presidents Newton Goodwin<br />

(4-A Band), Ralph Christianson<br />

(Freshman Band), Eddie<br />

McConnell (Coronado) and<br />

Louis Bechtold (Estacado);<br />

secretary Mary Helen Cross;<br />

and treasurer Deryl Cole.<br />

“<strong>The</strong>re were an awful lot<br />

of people involved in putting<br />

together that wonderful<br />

trip,” Cross said. “It’s mar-<br />

velous to see how well they<br />

did then, and how the program<br />

continues to grow and<br />

get even better.”<br />

Ryan did most of the choreography<br />

for the show, with<br />

the help of assistant band director<br />

Dennis Teasdale. Jim<br />

DeWese, PHS speech teacher,<br />

wrote the script for CBS<br />

Sports announcer Lindsey<br />

Nelson. Jim Sudduth, Lubbock<br />

Coronado band director,<br />

wrote special music<br />

arrangements for the performance.<br />

John Woicikowfski<br />

directed the choir.<br />

“<strong>The</strong> kids all acted really<br />

well on the trip,” Ryan<br />

recalled, “and they played<br />

very good as well. That’s<br />

what really impressed the<br />

producers and why they<br />

ended up broadcasting the<br />

entire show.”<br />

Ryan’s scrapbook from<br />

the event includes a note to<br />

Skinner of the band’s instrumentation:<br />

<strong>10</strong> piccolos, <strong>10</strong><br />

fl utes, four E-fl at clarinets,<br />

38 B-fl at clarinets, seven alto<br />

clarinets, eight bass clarinets,<br />

16 alto saxophones, six<br />

tenor saxophones, 4 baritone<br />

saxophones, 39 cornets, 13<br />

French horns, 13 trombones,<br />

<strong>12</strong> baritones, <strong>10</strong> basses and<br />

17 percussionists. <strong>The</strong> remaining<br />

19 members of the<br />

group were drum majors and<br />

twirlers.<br />

Another sheet lists the<br />

music performed, “March of<br />

Carols,” “Cathedral Chimes”<br />

(Westminster chimes), “Joy<br />

to the World,” “God Rest Ye<br />

Merry Gentlemen,” “Jingle<br />

Bells” (both traditional and<br />

rock versions), “Fanfare,”<br />

“Here Comes Santa Claus,”<br />

“White Christmas” and “A<br />

Christmas Festival.” Most of<br />

the tunes had to be arranged<br />

for the band by Sudduth.<br />

“We were having trouble<br />

working out the Westminster<br />

chimes until Bill Porter,<br />

who was band director at<br />

Amarillo High, mentioned<br />

that he had the music in his<br />

band library and let us have<br />

it.” <strong>The</strong> entourage left Plainview<br />

early Saturday, arriving<br />

at the Marriott Motor Hotel<br />

that evening. <strong>The</strong> group had<br />

<strong>10</strong>0 rooms reserved for two<br />

nights, with the group re-<br />

turning home on Monday.<br />

At <strong>10</strong> a.m. <strong>Sun</strong>day the<br />

group rehearsed at the Cotton<br />

Bowl for Cowboys and<br />

CBS offi cials. After that they<br />

ate lunch — courtesy of the<br />

Dallas Cowboys — on the<br />

grounds of the Texas State<br />

Fair. After lunch the group<br />

was ushered to groundlevel<br />

end zone seats for the<br />

1:30 contest, although they<br />

couldn’t take their instruments<br />

into the stands. A Cowboys<br />

team band performed<br />

during the actual game.<br />

Sonny Jurgensen was<br />

Washington’s quarterback<br />

while Craig Morton called<br />

the signals for the Cowboys<br />

in what was Roger<br />

Staubach’s rookie year.<br />

Other notable Cowboys on<br />

the fi eld that day were Walt<br />

Garrison, Calvin Hill, Bob<br />

Hayes, Lance Rentzel, Mike<br />

Ditka, Pettis Norman, Chuck<br />

Howley, Lee Roy Jordan,<br />

Bob Lilly and Jethro Pugh.<br />

“We didn’t do any precision<br />

marching that day,”<br />

Ryan explained. “Since<br />

it was a Christmas show,<br />

the band formed bells for<br />

chimes, an electric guitar<br />

and speakers, and fi nally a<br />

giant Christmas wreath with<br />

a bunch of helium-fi lled<br />

balloons for Santa Claus. I<br />

guess the TV producers liked<br />

what they saw and heard at<br />

our rehearsal because CBS<br />

broadcast the entire halftime<br />

show.”<br />

Most of the entire North<br />

American continent saw the<br />

PHS band and choir’s performance<br />

from start to fi nish,<br />

except for the Lubbock<br />

area. KLBK-TV, the CBS<br />

affi liate in Lubbock, inadvertently<br />

clipped the fi rst and<br />

the last of the halftime show<br />

— including the group’s introduction<br />

— to make room<br />

for commercials from a<br />

Plainview furniture store.<br />

That local merchant had<br />

arranged to purchase the entire<br />

block of advertising during<br />

halftime specifi cally so<br />

that there would be no commercial<br />

interruptions during<br />

the band’s performance.<br />

(Contact Doug Mc-<br />

Donough at dmcdonough@<br />

hearstnp.com or 806-296-<br />

1350.)<br />

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Back In Time<br />

Oct. <strong>11</strong>. 1939: FFA<br />

members voted to pay<br />

transportation costs for<br />

Wendell McClure, district<br />

FFA reporter, to attend the<br />

national meeting at Kansas<br />

City.<br />

•A debate on whether<br />

or not Runningwater has<br />

suffi cient school ground<br />

equipment was given by<br />

C.L. Jones and J.U. Wiggins,<br />

high school pupils,<br />

when the PTA met with<br />

Mrs. J. Jolly presiding.<br />

•Grisham Motor Co.,<br />

advertised a 1932 Olds<br />

Coupe for $75.<br />

•Guards watched actor<br />

Henry Fonda’s house as<br />

police disclosed a secret<br />

investigation into reports<br />

of a plot to kidnap Fonda<br />

and his 2-year-old daughter,<br />

Jane.<br />

Oct. <strong>11</strong>, 1969: A photo<br />

montage honors eight motor<br />

route carriers of the<br />

Plainview Daily Herald:<br />

Raymond Moon, Lee Raulston,<br />

Roy Eldred, Jimmy<br />

Hanson, Steve Cothron,<br />

Etta Gilbert, Pat Cook and<br />

Christine Dees.<br />

•Open house will be held<br />

at Lakeside Country Club<br />

in Hale Center to celebrate<br />

completion of $149,490 in<br />

park improvements. Ronnie<br />

Bailey is golf pro.<br />

•Lockney native Morris<br />

Don Schacht, 25, of<br />

Dumas was killed when<br />

the light plane he was fl ying<br />

crashed and burned in<br />

Kismet, Kan. He is a former<br />

Miller Flying Service<br />

employee.<br />

•Mike O’Neal scored<br />

on three touchdown runs<br />

to lead the Blue Dogs in a<br />

Crime of the Week<br />

<strong>The</strong> Plainview/Hale County<br />

Crime Stoppers Committee<br />

will pay a reward of up<br />

to $750 to anyone with information<br />

that leads to the<br />

arrest and indictment of the<br />

person or persons responsible<br />

for the following crimes:<br />

•On Saturday, Sept. 19,<br />

someone entered a residence<br />

at 607 W. 30th. Taken were<br />

a 72-inch DLP Mitsubishi<br />

television and a PlayStation<br />

2 video game system. This<br />

case is being investigated<br />

by Capt. Manual Balderas.<br />

He can be reached at 296-<br />

<strong>11</strong>87, or callers can contact<br />

the Crime Stoppers Hotline<br />

at 293-8477.<br />

•Either <strong>Sun</strong>day, Sept. 27 or<br />

Monday, Sept. 28, someone<br />

entered Garza Construction,<br />

located at 700 S.W. Third.<br />

Several DeWalt power tools<br />

were taken. This case is being<br />

investigated by detective<br />

Al Longoria. He can be<br />

reached at 296-<strong>11</strong>89.<br />

Crime Stoppers will pay a<br />

reward of up to $350 to anyone<br />

with information on the<br />

following crimes that leads<br />

to the arrest and indictment<br />

of the person or persons responsible:<br />

•On Sept. 21, someone entered<br />

a residence at 1600 W.<br />

<strong>11</strong>th. Entry was gained by<br />

breaking a window. Taken<br />

was a 42-inch LG plasma<br />

television.<br />

Sometime between Saturday,<br />

Oct. 3 and Monday,<br />

Oct. 5, someone took a yellow<br />

and red fi berglass calf<br />

from in front of McDonald’s<br />

Restaurant at 815 N. I-27.<br />

Fugitives: Crime Stoppers<br />

will pay a reward of up<br />

to $250 for information that<br />

leads to the arrest of the following<br />

persons. A warrant<br />

has been issued for their arrest.<br />

Callers can contact the<br />

Hale County Sheriff’s Offi ce<br />

Warrants Division at 296-<br />

2724 or contact the Crime<br />

Stoppers Hotline:<br />

•Dewayne Jordan, 30,<br />

black male, 5-foot-<strong>11</strong>, 215<br />

rout of the Lubbock Coronado<br />

sophomores.<br />

Oct. <strong>11</strong>, 1979: Newlyelected<br />

offi cers of the<br />

Edgemere Shopping Center<br />

Merchants Association<br />

are Nelson Rockwell, Earl<br />

Brown and Jean Wood.<br />

•Customers of Mr.<br />

Burger 1 and Mr. Burger 3<br />

will see double when they<br />

are waited on by Roy and<br />

Johnny Tilley and Brenda<br />

and Glenda Shaddix, two<br />

sets of twins employed at<br />

separate Mr. Burger locations.<br />

•<strong>The</strong> home of Mr. and<br />

Mrs. Glen Thomas of Hale<br />

Center will be the fi rst<br />

home on the annual Extension<br />

Homemakers council<br />

home tour.<br />

•Patti Frisbie will be<br />

crowned queen of PHS<br />

during the football game<br />

Friday night by Kevin Igo,<br />

president of the PHS executive<br />

council.<br />

Oct. <strong>11</strong>, 1999: Ronnie<br />

Sherrod has been named<br />

interim manager of Hale<br />

Center Co-op Gin.<br />

•Terry Wright, Sally<br />

Wright and Elia Madrigal<br />

start the KVOP morning<br />

show at <strong>10</strong>6.9 FM radio<br />

tomorrow.<br />

•Local scouts held a Cub<br />

Scout Fun Day at Regional<br />

Park on Saturday.<br />

•Two 24-year-old Lockney<br />

men, Joe William<br />

Adam and Jacob Lee Jones,<br />

died in a wreck when their<br />

car rolled over in a cotton<br />

fi eld near Idalou.<br />

(Contact Nicki Bruce<br />

Logan at 806-296-1362<br />

or nicki@plainviewdailyherald.com)<br />

lbs., black hair, brown eyes:<br />

wanted for forgery.<br />

•Brenda Perez, 24, Hispanic<br />

female, 5-foot-4, 190<br />

lbs., brown hair, brown eyes:<br />

wanted for evading arrest/<br />

detention in motor vehicle.<br />

•Steven Lopez, 20, Hispanic<br />

male, 5-foot-<strong>10</strong>, 150<br />

lbs., brown hair, brown eyes:<br />

wanted for motion to revoke<br />

probation/possession of controlled<br />

substance under 1<br />

gram.<br />

Anyone having information<br />

on these or any other<br />

crimes occurring in Plainview<br />

or Hale County can<br />

contact the Crime Stoppers<br />

Hotline at 293-8477 (293-<br />

TIPS).<br />

All calls will be confi dential.<br />

You can now leave a tip<br />

directly from your cell phone<br />

by texting “PLVCS” plus<br />

your message to 274637, or<br />

on the Internet by logging on<br />

to http://plainviewhalecounty.CrimeStoppersweb.com/<br />

login.aspx.

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