Hey Ted!

 Hey Ted!

     There are only fragments of the lives of Ben, Charline and pals in the 1930's but some of the tales remain in my now foggy noggin. It was easy to get John Sheehy to spill out the lore of LA back in their day but occasionally the combination of the two gents would yield the really great stories they never told us for reasons involving role modelling. Yet, some seeped through like the return trip from Indianapolis through Utah with Wilken Family whiskey aiding in the jorney or the tale of "Bloody Dick" Smith. Then, there was the tale of young Ben and John bonding during a supposedly 77 beer and a few tamales at Finley's on foot and farting between watering the landscape out in Florence. What we know is that the country was suffering the terrible depression with a third of the men in America out of work. It seemed like the end of the world as these youngsters set out on their own. Yet, they seemed to find adventure and fun alongside these dire circumstances.They were sports fans and travelled to enjoy events all around the Los Angeles that found new status after the miraculous World Olympic of 1932. The saw boxing at the Vernon Arena, then cold ones at Doyle's bar or watched PCL baseball over at 42nd and Avalon where the Angels battled in Pacific Coast Leagure play. They also hung around the Olympic and the Pan Pacific Auditoriums but the big time was the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. I don't blame him but my Dad was a die-hard USC Trojan fan and went to many games in what once was Exposition Park. He saw the powerful Trojans and the up and coming UCLA Bruins while sipping out of thermoses containing forbidden beverages. Before the Rams came West they watched other attempts at professional ball like the LA Dons or the Hollywood Bears but the big games were college tilts on the Coliseum grass where his ashes were scattered sixty years later. In the 1930's one of the most familiar voices to sports fans was Ted Husing whose distinctive tenor and rapid cadence made him a celebrity among these guys who followed games in every season. Husing was also pretty fond of himself and in a kind of Howard Cossell manor tooted his own horn when possible. So this tale involved John, Ben, Dick Smith and maybe a Galvin brother who managed to get a snootfull at a USC game that encouraged good feeling from the resulting intoxication. As the game wound down the fellas spotted Ted Husing leaving the press box and making his way down to excape the crowd. The cry went up from at least a quartet of the young men "HEY TED! HEY TED! Finally, Husing heard their cries and looked down expecting admirers giving praise but when he focused on the group they all formed a choreographed raspberry with hands to their mouths that signified they recognized him as a horse's ass. Braaaaat!