The Skunking of Texas Billy

 The Skunking of Texas Billy

     While there was no professional contracts offered Greg was a pretty athletic young fellow. What he lacked in skill he made up for in his will to participate, nomatter what the odds or the game. He was a good baseball player, a willing football player and tried at basketball. Let us not forget his glory as a C shotputter for South Gate Jr. High where he actually won a meet. Like many South Gate kids he learned all the playground games from caroms to tether ball but when it came to ping-pong he had his own table right in the back yard on McNerney. Everybody played ping pong and we were all at about the same skill level except one unbeatable table tennis titan who lived at the corner of McNerney and Tenaya. Bill Gathings was a couple of years older than Jack but he was an outstanding athlete, especially basketball where he starred for the South Gate High team and later ELAC. Bill was a nice guy but highly competitive. He never wanted to lose and would not allow you to win to make you feel better. He also was and is a huge Texas football fan since his grandpappy played for the longhorns back in like 08. Aroung the park and in his neighborhood he was known as "Texas Billy" and he never gave up his hook em' horns loyalty or his trademark booming laugh. No one could beat Bill and Jack and I had failed repeatedly to even make him sweat. Yet, on one Summer day young teenage Greg was nursing a broken arm he suffered in the SGJAA  All-Star game. He had a large cast on his left arm and was restless with toting around this hunk of plaster. We took to the ping pong table to get some teenage energy released and bounced the balls back and forth for a while. In any boomer neighborhood you could hear kid-activity and when Bill Gathings, just a few houses away heard the unmistakeable tapping of the ping pong he showed up in the back yard. So, I tossed him a paddle and we declared a match between the handicapped Greggy and the mighty and unvinceable Texas Billy. Somehow, the stars were aligned in just the right way and Greg was making shots he never had made before. Before we realized it Greg was up 5-0 and Texas Billy was not at all worried. Then 8-0 and closer and closer to a dreaded 11-0 score which would end the game with victory to the overwhelming scorer. Greg returned a serve that ticked the end of table making it an inthinkable 10-0 and Gathings bore down, determined to avoid what was called a "skunking." The rally was exciting as Jack and I yelled encouragements at Greg  and then as if a miracle had happened Bill's return hit the net and fell back on his side to complete the 11-0 final. We danced and screamed like it was the 7th game of the World Series and often repeated the ping pong miracle known as "the Skunking of Texas Billy"

                                                      Texas Billy (center)