Growing up on boxscores, the Game of the Week, and Sports Illustrated, three longtime Sports TV Producers reflect back on the world of sports through the lens of old issues of SI from 50 years ago. Larry Csonka and the Dolphins; Reggie Jackson and The Swinging A's; The Wizard of Westwood; The Golden Bear and Muhammad Ali are just a few of the many heroes showcased weekly by Scott, Bill and Marc on the Past Our Prime podcast. Stay up to date on what happened in the past as they go back in time and return to the glory days of sports week by week, issue by issue of Sports Illustrated starting in January of 1974
All content for Past Our Prime is the property of Scott Johnston and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Growing up on boxscores, the Game of the Week, and Sports Illustrated, three longtime Sports TV Producers reflect back on the world of sports through the lens of old issues of SI from 50 years ago. Larry Csonka and the Dolphins; Reggie Jackson and The Swinging A's; The Wizard of Westwood; The Golden Bear and Muhammad Ali are just a few of the many heroes showcased weekly by Scott, Bill and Marc on the Past Our Prime podcast. Stay up to date on what happened in the past as they go back in time and return to the glory days of sports week by week, issue by issue of Sports Illustrated starting in January of 1974
It’s the Summer of ’75 and the Eagles’ ‘One of These Nights’ is at the top of the charts while the nation is gripped by a movie about a shark directed by a soon-to-be famous director by the name of Spielberg. Despite Jaws keeping the 2-legged creatures out of the ocean the beaches of Southern California are packed with people looking to enjoy some fun in the sun.
That means plenty of beer, young folks wearing as little clothing as possible and plenty of games… Volleyball, badminton and kicking the soccer ball around are staples of the beach scene, but in San Diego, no place combines the trio of sand, suds and scantily clad women as well as the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club which will put on the annual Over the Line tournament once again. Starting in 1953, the OTL has been going on strong for 22 years and Sports Illustrated’s Curry Kirkpatrick got wind of the tourney and set out to see what it was all about.
What he found were plenty of teams that took the tournament very seriously… and an equal number of teams that did not. Over the Line is a softball game that involves 3-player teams and no running, no bases… The object is to hit the ball on the fly over a line about 20 yards in front of the batter and not have one of the the three fielders catch the ball on the fly… three outs per inning, 5 innings in a game… and no throwing beer cans or disrobing completely on the field.
The tournament had gotten so big, and so out of hand, that it could no longer be played on the beach… what started as an 8-team tournament over a weekend turned into 594 teams playing almost 600 games on 18 courts over two weekends of play… the one thing that didn’t change? The drinking and the shenanigans that ensued that the veteran SI scribe Kirkpatrick writes about gleefully. One of the directors of the tournament took umbrage with the portrayal of the tournament saying, “"I get the impression you're looking for wild stuff. We're not a bunch of buffoons conducting an orgy. This is an athletic event.” Shortly thereafter the man was seen attempting to climb through a dog door.
It was a summer of horror in the water thanks to Spielberg, but a ton of fun in the sun on the beach back in ’75 thanks to a bunch of beachgoers who knew how to have a good time and Curry Kirkpatrick relives his time covering the OTL tournament from 50 years ago that continues to this day… on the Past Our Prime podcast.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Past Our Prime
Growing up on boxscores, the Game of the Week, and Sports Illustrated, three longtime Sports TV Producers reflect back on the world of sports through the lens of old issues of SI from 50 years ago. Larry Csonka and the Dolphins; Reggie Jackson and The Swinging A's; The Wizard of Westwood; The Golden Bear and Muhammad Ali are just a few of the many heroes showcased weekly by Scott, Bill and Marc on the Past Our Prime podcast. Stay up to date on what happened in the past as they go back in time and return to the glory days of sports week by week, issue by issue of Sports Illustrated starting in January of 1974
