Pages Past — May 23

On this date ...

1965: Pro football fans were still talking about encounters with two players who spent the weekend in Clovis.

The Clovis News-Journal reported the Dallas Cowboys’ Bob Lilly and the Los Angeles Rams’ Tommy McDonald spent two days signing autographs at a Clovis sporting goods store.

Both signed more than 1,000 autographs, the newspaper reported.

Lilly, a 6-foot, 5-inch, 260-pound defensive tackle from Olney, Texas, predicted the Cowboys “will be contenders down to the final whistle.”

The ’65 Cowboys finished 7-7, but reached the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, before losing to the Baltimore Colts, 35-3.

Lilly was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.

1970: Albert Christian, who lived 11 miles west of Grady, reported 4 inches of rain fell the night before.

Ivan Rush, Christian’s neighbor about two miles west, reported 3.5 inches of rain.

Most of the region saw less than an inch of moisture.

Transitions ...

1960: Floyd D. Golden, involved with Eastern New Mexico University from its inception in 1934 and its president for 19 years, announced his retirement.

Speculation that Golden would be replaced had been reported weeks earlier.

Golden said he planned to spend the next few years working on a book about the university’s history.

He called it, “The Golden Years.”

Pages Past is compiled by Editor David Stevens. For more regional history, check out his weblog at:

www.highplainsyesterdays.com