EXCUSE MY........

     Sorry but I can't let this go.

     The NCAA Women's Basketball run is over and because of the Iowa Women's great success I'm sure many very casual fans, even those who have NEVER been interested, felt compelled to even take, at least, a brief television "look." After all, for a period of time, it was the extreme "talk" of the entire state of Iowa.

     While watching the tournament, at least for Iowans, star Iowa player Caitlin Clark drew the most eyes. HOWEVER, who could ever  watch, without noting, the wardrobe and the sideline antics displayed by Lousiana State coach Kim Mulkey?

     Here's the gist of this story. I, Morris D. "Mo" Kelley, aka the Kornerman, have a past connection with Kim Mulkey.

     The date was July 2, 1986 and the scene was the Riveria Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas, NV. That day, I served as the Master of Ceremonies for the annual National Federation of State High School Associations banquet.......introducing and reviewing the accomplishments of several inductees into the National High School Hall of Fame.

     One of the inductees was a very young Kim Mulkey, who was being honored for her achievements as a great high school player at Hammond High School and, later, at Louisiana Tech University. In 1984, she became a member of the victorious U.S. Olympic basketball team.

     Since then, of course, there have been many other honors, including her just concluded fourth national championship as a women's collegiate basketball coach.

     Yes, her appearance during the recent tournament stirred up some memories from long ago. The result was a revisit to some archive material I have from the eight years I served as the M.C. for that event. What I found were a picture of the two of us. She appeared very young and pretty. I won't go into how I looked although, admittedly, it was better then than now. In addition to the post banquet visit and photo op we had, she very kindly autographed my program with some added complimentary words about my M.C. work.

     Thanks for letting me share this and other memories of those times. The assignment allowed this guy from Boone County Iowa to get up and close with some of the nation's greatest athletic names of those times.........John Wooden, Tom Landry, Arnold Palmer, Bart Starr, Johnny Bench among others, along with numerous Olympic champions.

    I have pictures of and autographs and complimentary comments from all of them I inducted. But for a period of time, they have been buried deep in my closet. Thanks to the recent TV appearances of Kim Mulkey, the fire was lit and I did some deep digging, bringing back some great memories of this honor I was accorded, whether deserved or not.

K-----K

     Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 928 South Jackson, Boone, Iowa 50036-4932. Phone number is 515-432-1530. Leave a message. To email your stories/memories/comments/death notices.....

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