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There are many things Mike likes to talk about...family, friends and yes Shocker athletics. He has seen with his own eyes most of the iconic Shocker student-athletes of all time. Here is our discussion of more than one Shocker icons.
SHOXMVC: "Your historic knowledge of Shocker athletics is legendary. Talk about the one athlete in basketball, football and baseball that made the biggest impression while they played at WSU."
Mike Kennedy: " In football, I don't think there is any question it was Linwood Sexton. He was a great player who helped establish a strong tradition in football right after World War II, one which continued into the early '60s. More importantly, the way he conducted himself and the respect and even love he inspired in his teammates opened the door for numerous other African-American athletes at WSU at a time when very few schools were actively recruiting black players.
In basketball, I will go with Dave Stallworth. Cleo Littleton was the first great player at WSU and led the Shockers to their first national stage in the 1954 NIT, and more recent stars like Carr, Levingston, McDaniel, Baker, and VanVleet all had tremendous impact as well. Dave The Rave was a consensus All-American in an era when he was the best player in the best league in the country and brought WSU to a level where everyone in the country who followed college basketball knew Dave Stallworth and the Shockers.
Baseball is a tough call. Phil Stephenson had as good a career as pretty much anyone in the history of college baseball and Joe Carter was another great player. However, the schedules were not as strong when they played, and by a few years later there were a lot more people watching the College World Series on TV, so I think the player who had the most impact, with both his ability and leadership, was Eric Wedge, the catalyst on the 1989 National Champions."
I can't find any holes in his picks. It makes me realize how storied WSU athletics was, is and will continue!!!
SHOXMVC: "Your historic knowledge of Shocker athletics is legendary. Talk about the one athlete in basketball, football and baseball that made the biggest impression while they played at WSU."
Mike Kennedy: " In football, I don't think there is any question it was Linwood Sexton. He was a great player who helped establish a strong tradition in football right after World War II, one which continued into the early '60s. More importantly, the way he conducted himself and the respect and even love he inspired in his teammates opened the door for numerous other African-American athletes at WSU at a time when very few schools were actively recruiting black players.
In basketball, I will go with Dave Stallworth. Cleo Littleton was the first great player at WSU and led the Shockers to their first national stage in the 1954 NIT, and more recent stars like Carr, Levingston, McDaniel, Baker, and VanVleet all had tremendous impact as well. Dave The Rave was a consensus All-American in an era when he was the best player in the best league in the country and brought WSU to a level where everyone in the country who followed college basketball knew Dave Stallworth and the Shockers.
Baseball is a tough call. Phil Stephenson had as good a career as pretty much anyone in the history of college baseball and Joe Carter was another great player. However, the schedules were not as strong when they played, and by a few years later there were a lot more people watching the College World Series on TV, so I think the player who had the most impact, with both his ability and leadership, was Eric Wedge, the catalyst on the 1989 National Champions."
I can't find any holes in his picks. It makes me realize how storied WSU athletics was, is and will continue!!!
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