‘THE COUNTRY CHANGES’
James Arness brought moral complexity to TV westerns in his portrayal of U.S. Marshall Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke. Remembering a TV icon. Also: James Arness’s final letter to his fans.

 

CLASS PERSONIFIED: Remembering HARMON KILLEBREW, Who Played the Game Right
On the field, constant hustle and never a cheap home run; off the field, a quiet, sober humanitarian. At all times, the personification of class.

The pro football world lost four solid citizens in the past month. In this issue we remember:

*JOE PERRY and JOHN HENRY JOHNSON--teammates on the San Francisco 49ers, fast, punishing runners who asked and gave no quarter in their rushes to the Hall of Fame.
*JOE STEFFY, a winner wherever he went, was a two-way star on defense and offense (where he opened holes for “Mr. Inside” Doc Blanchard and “Mr. Outside” Glenn Davis) for Army’s 1945 and 1946 undefeated teams, en route to the College Hall of Fame.
*RON SPRINGS, the Dallas Cowboys fullback who teamed with Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett on three Cowboys playoff teams, left a greater legacy off the field. A victim of diabetes and kidney disease, his Gift for Life Foundation continues to spread awareness of the ailments he battled courageously for the last 16 years of his too-brief life.
*ANDY ROBUSTELLI, a 19th round draft choice out of tiny Arnold College in Milford, CT, who became one of the greatest pass rushers in pro football history as part of the New York Giants’ fearsome defensive front four, from 1956 through 1962. He played in eight NFL championship games as a Giant, was a first-team All-Pro six times and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1971. Said one writer in reflecting on #81’s career: ‘Robustelli will be remembered as the right defensive end of the New York Giants in an era when the nation’s viewing habits in the fall were dramatically changing and pro football was about to become king.’

THE BEST OF TIMES, THE WORST OF TIMES IN SOONERLAND
A week after the University of Oklahoma unveiled a statue of its most recent Heisman Trophy winner SAM BRADFORD, one of the teammates Bradford thanked in his gracious speech died of an overdose of painkillers he was taking for a back injury. AUSTIN BOX, gone too soon.