Fifty years of friendship and counting
Honoring the relationships that started at Ohio University
This feature appears in the fall/winter issue of Ohio Today as part of "The Common Thread," a series celebrating relationships that had Ohio University as their starting point. In the coming days, we’ll share vignettes from this collection.
By Stephen McKean
Bob Wren must be pulling his ears from a third base in heaven.
The legendary baseball coach passed away a few years ago, but "the Bird" still gives signs to former players who reunite every year to celebrate the commitment to teamwork and, more importantly, to one's teammates, that he instilled in them.
Gathering at golf courses around Ohio since 1979, these old jocks have seen a few swings go south, and they’ve lost some of their compatriots. But come hell or high water or heart trouble, they shoot a few rounds, drink a few rounds and hearken back to a golden era of Ohio sports.
Don Lundstrom, a shortstop on the Mid-American Conference champion baseball teams of '54 and '56, says it all goes back to the iconically bespectacled Wren, BSED '43.
"It was really our coach who kept us together," says Lundstrom, BSCOM '56 and BSME '56. "He was such a great guy."
Another person who has helped maintain the friendships is former All-American outfielder Dick Murphy -- one of the four original progenitors of the gathering (along with Vince Costello, BSED '53 and MED '60; John Such, BSCOM '51; and Bill Bevan, BSED '53).
An indefatigable organizer, Murphy yet again gathered his mates for the most recent outing held July 20–21 at the Black Hawk Golf Course in Columbus.
"We just had a great camaraderie," says Murphy, BSCOM '55. "And it's still apparent to this day."
One thing the guys talk about is how much things have changed. There were, perhaps, more intertwining narratives back in the old days. Football coaches coached basketball, and baseball coaches coached golf. It may have been a time of the single wing and wooden bats, but one of the most remarkable things about the era is how they supported each other regardless of the sport.
"After 50 years, it's really good to get together with the guys you went to college with," says Chuck Bell, AB '55, a halfback on the '53 MAC championship football team.
Canton-based artist Lundstrom, who immortalized his old coach with a bronze statue in front of Bob Wren Stadium, puts it this way: "When Coach Wren was around at the golf outing, he used to say, 'You honor each other by being here.'"
In that spirit, Murphy is probably already organizing next year's event.
Stephen McKean, BA '98, is a writer based in Athens.
Return to main page of "The Common Thread" series.
Posted 11-02-2007
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