Written by Tim Hamilton
This week, The Bison welcomes alumnus and retired assistant professor of communication Tim Hamilton to reminisce on some of his biggest moments as a sports cameraman.
Has your favorite sports team ever suffered a loss that was so painful that you wondered why you continued to be a fan? The Marty Robbins song “Some Memories Just Won’t Die” seems like an appropriate description of what we go through as fans. I have convinced myself the highs outweigh the lows.
The 1995 SEC men’s basketball tournament finals between Arkansas and Kentucky tops my list of most disappointing losses. The Razorbacks led by as many as 19 points in regulation and by nine with just over a minute to go in overtime and lost the championship 95-93. Working the camera for KATV Channel 7, it was an emotional locker room for postgame interviews. Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson said it was a game he didn’t think would ever end.
I have always been interested in what game might keep a coach awake at night years after they have retired. I had the opportunity to ask Richardson that question a few years ago. He told me it was the 1995 national championship contest against UCLA. The Razorbacks were behind one point at the half and lost by 11, 89-78. What was it that hurt Richardson the most about the loss to the Bruins? He wanted to win back-to-back titles. Arkansas had topped Duke 76-72 for the 1994 championship. Only seven programs have done it since 1939. John Wooden led UCLA to a record seven in a row from 1967 to 1973.
I had thought Richardson might say the most painful loss for him was against Kansas in the Elite Eight in 1991. Arkansas led 47-35 at the half. Kansas rallied for a 93-81 victory. A win would have sent the Razorbacks to back-to-back Final Fours. Richardson had also told me that the 1991 team was his best at Arkansas.
One of those “some memories just won’t die” moments occurred when Kansas received their championship t-shirts. There was a line drawn through the A and R in Arkansas indicating that Kansas was advancing to the Final Four.
Our KATV crew was standing outside the Seattle Kingdome before Arkansas and UCLA played for the 1995 national championship. A t-shirt vendor was nearby, and we asked him what would happen to the shirts of the team that was runner-up. He told us they wouldn’t be sold and the NCAA would ship them overseas.
That evening after Arkansas had lost to UCLA, we were preparing for our late newscast. Photographer Larry Potter walked up with a big smile on his face. He had secured four t-shirts that said the Razorbacks had won back-to-back titles. The vendor had changed his mind. KATV sports director and “voice of the Razorbacks” Paul Eells received a shirt. Potter kept one and gave one to producer Randy Dixon. I have the other, and I’m still not sure what to do with it after all these years.
I might mention that “The Game of the Century” between the Razorbacks and Longhorns in football on Dec. 6, 1969, came close to being number one on my “some memories just won’t die” list. Legendary ABC Sports producer Roone Arledge convinced Arkansas coach Frank Broyles and Texas coach Darrell Royal to move the game from October to December. Arledge wanted the game to celebrate the centennial of college football. It did not disappoint — unless you were an Arkansas fan.
Texas was No. 1 and Arkansas was No. 2 in the polls. Both teams were undefeated. President Richard Nixon was in attendance. The Razorbacks shut down the Texas wishbone for three quarters and had forced six turnovers. Arkansas led 14-0. A gutsy fourth down call led to a 44-yard pass play from Texas quarterback James Street to tight end Randy Peschel that set up the winning touchdown. Texas won 15-14. Frank Broyles claimed he never watched the game because the memories were too painful. Arkansas wide receiver Chuck Dicus told Kelli Stacy of The Athletic on the 50th anniversary of the game, “I don’t know that I’ve ever gotten over the loss.”
It’s probably impossible to improve upon the famous sports line used in the opening of the ABC program “Wide World of Sports” from 1961 to1998. The words by Jim McKay say it all: “Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”
