"E-ZINE" Profile- Great Ram In The Sky(GRITS)Add yourself to The HERD's Official Roster (guestbook), if you think you are man enough!
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I was born in Southern California in April of 1956 and grew up in Los
Angeles County. My parents were from the midwest and moved to my
hometown by the ocean in the early 40's. Mom's parents were from
Minnesota, but had a farm in Delta Colorado where she spent her childhood living the
country life and with her two sisters. Mom's family moved to Southern California
just before she entered high school and when she was 18 years old she met my father who
was in the Navy at the time and stationed in San Diego. They knew each other about
three months before they decided to get married.Dad's folks were regular Oklahoma dust bowlers. You know, "Grapes of Wrath" type people who had no choice but to come west. Grandpa had been a roughnecker on the oilrigs in Kansas and Oklahoma when he met my grandmother who is fullblood Indian. Half Cherokee and half Chawtaw to be exact. I guess I get my size from my mom's side of the family because my dad is only 5'9". Infact most of the men on his side of the family are under six foot. All his brothers anyways. Mom's dad though was 6'5" and fingers like bananas and the biggest hands you ever saw. Could have been a great tight end with that size and those huge hands.
I'm the youngest of four kids with two older brothers and a older sister. Sis is 6 years older then me and the oldest boy is 10 years older with the second being 8 years older.
My infatuation with sports and the Rams in particular started in 1969 with that wonderful George Allen team that began the season 11-0. I don't like to think about that season much beyond that point because it is all bad news. My oldest brother is the one who really introduced me to football. He'd come home from the Air Force on weekend leave or on 30 day leave and every Sunday was battle royal with my mother who wanted him and the rest of the family to go to church. So we watched mostly afternoon games and still caught hell because my mom just hated football. Although she loved to watch the world series even though she wasn't that much crazier about baseball either. I guess your not American if you don't like the world series. But, you can go ahead and hate the sport the first 162 games and playoffs. Of course maybe my cousin Gale Hopkins being a pro baseball player is why mom would atleast relent for the World Series. Gale's rookie year was 1968 with the Chicago Whitesox and the very first pitcher he faced in his debut was a well known 30 game winner at the time by the name of Denny McClain. Gale later went to the Kansas City Royals where he spent most of his career and then finished his stay in majors by backing up Steve Garvey and Steve Yeager on the 1974 Dodgers and got to play in the World Series against the Oakland A's.
The high school years were pretty good for me. The Rams were winning under Chuck Knox and my high school team was the undefeated LA City football champs in 71 and 72. We lost to our rivals the final season in 73. Infact the only two games we lost all season was to this team and the LA City Championship was an all Marine league affair.
It was also during high school that I met one of my closest friends for many years to come. He also happened to be my journalism teacher, Bill Geyer. Well, let me tell you for a kid who was a stone cold Rams fan you couldn't have had a better friend. Mr. Geyer was a native Angelino. Growing up in LA proper and his dad a cop on the LAPD during the 30s and 40s. His brother Jack Geyer was a sports writer for the LA Times in the 50s and it was his bi-line on the story of the 1958 game between the the San Francisco 49ers and the Rams in which the largest walk-up day crowd in the history of the old Colisuem happened. 101,000 people (may have been more) just decided to go see a football game one Sunday afternoon. Hugh Mclhenny ( a local kid from Manual Arts High and the University of Washington) was one of the best backs in pro football at that time and he played for the 49ers. Of course the Rams had guys like Van Brocklin and Bill Wade and Big Daddy Lipscomb. Anyways I'm getting off track here. So knowing Mr. Geyer was a blessing in disguise and just fueled my fire for the Rams.
As for me personally, there is not much to tell. I trained as a marine pipefitter and worked in the local Navy yard and then at Todd Shipyard in San Pedro for nearly 10 years. In my early 30s I decided to change my career focus and retrained as a word processor and then moved on from there. Today I'm a bid and contract administrator for a well known manufacturer who makes bioresearch and clinical diagnostic instrumentation and systems.
Just recently I purchased a really nice home in South Orange County where me and my wife, stepson and little girl live today.
Well, as they say, thats about it.
Grits
I've known Jerry for several years now, and no one knows how to stir things up better than GRITS!! I've always had the utmost respect for what he brings to the table as a poster who tolerates very little BS and lets you know in a heartbeat how he feels about any particular subject that he sees fit to comment on. I think that part of that comes from being a So. Cal. Rams fan. Don't ask him about Georgia or the 49ers unless you are ready for an ear full!
Thanks for the bio Jerry, you are one of the fans that makes The Rams Board and Fadler's list so special.
-Ramsrule