Vindication can be oh, so sweet

Sportswriters always like to maintain the appearance of being

straight shooters, that they are neutral in all aspects and simply

call it as they see it. And that’s a good thing.

It’s something you strive for, but here are exceptions.

You can’t help but appreciate certain players more than others,

and to form bonds with those who capture your imagination, or are

just simply good guys with whom you enjoy being around.

More so if they happen to vindicate you, ‘cause it feels so good

to be right!

A good case in point is a recollection of John Vallely when the

Corona del Mar High product was at Orange Coast College on his way to

UCLA and the NBA.

It was the Lew Alcindor years for Coach John Wooden and the Bruins

were dominating the college basketball world like none before or

since. Or probably, ever.

Alcindor was in his junior season in 1968 when the Bruins were in

Pauley. First, however, was a game pitting the UCLA freshmen against

Orange Coast College.

Coast lost, 105-83, but Vallely, a sophomore, stood out for the

Pirates.

In the press section for the Daily Pilot was sportswriter Earl

Gustkey, who knew all about Vallely’s potential and the fact Wooden

was quietly recruiting him.

At some point during the course of the evening, Gustkey mentioned

to the writer sitting in front of him, Dwayne Esper of the Pasadena

Star News, “You know, Dwayne, Vallely’s going to be UCLA’s point

guard next year.”

It was just a comment, inside information sometimes shared between

non-competing writers.

Casual friendships in the writing arena can often bring forth a

great tip somewhere down the line. For Esper, a free tip. For

Gustkey, maybe a reciprocation at some point.

But this response wasn’t quite what Gustkey had in mind, if indeed

there was a motive at all, and it came in a split second.

Esper burst out laughing and blurted out for all to hear, “Are you

kidding me?

“He’s going to be playing with these guys [Alcindor & Co.]?”

Esper, considered one of the best track and field public address

announcers of his or any other generation, according to Gustkey,

continued to blare: “This guy here [nodding toward Gustkey] is saying

... can you believe that?”

Needless to say, the focus turned toward Gustkey.

“I was really humiliated,” recalled Gustkey by telephone recently

from his Bozeman, Mont., residence. “He was just going out of his way

to humiliate me.”

It would not be long before Vallely would prove Gustkey’s insight

correct, and Esper wrong, big time.

One of Wooden’s great weapons over the years was the pure shooter

from the corner. The Bruins would be fresh out with Alcindor’s senior

season around the corner, and Vallely’s pure touch fit the bill.

“It felt awfully good when he was starting his junior year [at

UCLA],” said Gustkey. “I don’t ever know of John Wooden bringing a JC

transfer in who came in to play immediately for two years. He wasn’t

that fast, but he was just a great player.”

Not only did Vallely start, he earned All-Pac 8 honors and was

twice named to the all-tournament team at the Final Four when the

Bruins put away Purdue (92-72) in Alcindor’s senior season of 1969

and Jacksonville (80-69) in 1970 with the Sidney Wicks-Curtis Rowe

package. When the chips were down, Vallely was near-perfect.

Three years in the NBA with Atlanta and Houston closed out his

basketball career.

Vallely’s roommate when with the Hawks was Pete Maravich.

What a run for the one-time spindly Corona del Mar High standout

whose major attribute was the perimeter shot in an era before the

arc.

So it wasn’t just the fact that one of Gustkey’s favorites made

it. It was also the great source of vindication.

As a sportswriter, I can tell you, it doesn’t get much better than

that.

One of our favorite stories in the office for a long time was

Sports Editor Glenn White finding a typed note on a small rectangular

piece of green paper in his typewriter from Gustkey the day after the

scene in Pauley.

“Dwayne Esper is a@&#$# - eg.”

That’s all Earl had to say at the time, but as time went on, it

was Earl Gustkey who had it right and we always appreciated that.

The comic relief, I guess, was that the note was very much out of

character for Gustkey, who was a professional in every way.

Not long after that Gustkey joined the Los Angeles Times and for

years was one of the key figures with his work in the outdoors

section, as well as many years on the boxing beat, with USC and

women’s basketball.

We heard from him very early in his career with The Times in

Orange County, and he said of his first story, “They [the editors]

didn’t change a word, not anything.” We weren’t surprised.

A product of Newport Harbor High (Class of ‘58) Gustkey is retired

now, finishing up his college studies at Montana State. He’s spending

a lot of time looking for just the right property to buy into, and is

an avid hiker.

Earl the Pearl, a true gem.

Hey, see you next Sunday!

* ROGER CARLSON is the former sports editor for the Daily Pilot.

His column appears on Sundays. He can be reached by e-mail at

rogeranddorothea@msn.com