Morrow's Musings
- By Jeff Morrow
509-582-1507
Posted Jan. 4, 2000
Top 100 stories shows Mid-Columbia rich in sports history
Things to think about while I try to figure out what I'm going to do with $10,000 worth of canned foods in my garage (just kidding):
Well, it's over.
For 100 straight days, the Herald sports staff ran a feature a day concerning the top 100 Mid-Columbia sports stories of the century, culminating in No. 1, the late Ray Mansfield, on Dec. 31.
When I first thought of this project in November of 1998, I thought it might be a large undertaking.
And when staffer Eric Degerman came back from a trip to Scotland last May, telling me the London Times was doing a top 50 countdown, that's when I knew I was in trouble.
If 50 was a lot for the London Times, 100 might be a tad bit much for the Herald.
But the key was having a good group of people voting on the nominations.
Last January, I asked for nominations for the top stories.
By the time I received those nominations, adding things through research that hadn't been nominated yet, the final total of story ideas numbered 450.
Packets were sent out to 85 people around the Mid-Columbia region, with the only requirement being those people had to at least lived in this region for 20 years or more so that they had a sense of history.
Those people were to narrow the 450 story ideas down to 100, then rank those 100 from top to bottom in importance.
Fifty packets were sent back to me. Considering the amount of time it took to vote on this - some people said it took them six hours - I was ecstatic with that number.
Those people who voted on this will always have my utmost appreciation.
By August, I took those packets and added up the number of points assigned to each story, and that's how we came up with the order of stories.
The response has been great. Some question why a certain story didn't get in, or did get in. That was the beauty of the project - no one will ever totally agree with it.
One person sent an e-mail wondering who was No. 1. He lives in Ohio, and spent a few weeks in December in the Tri-Cities, but he had to return to Ohio before the series ended.
And some readers have told us that they already miss the project.
Well, we miss writing them. At first, a lot of staffers weren't too excited with this project. By the end, it's safe to say they all had a good time with it.
And we found that the Mid-Columbia region is incredibly sports-rich, that even the series we just completed can in no way cover it all.
Herald management is also considering putting all of the stories into one package.
But there are still 350 - and likely more - stories that didn't get in.
Columnist Jim Riley asked last week to call in if you thought our committee missed something.
I'm asking that, too.
Near the end of this month, we'll use some space for your suggestions for what should have been in the top 100.
E-mail us at jmorrow@tri-cityherald.com or jriley@tri-cityherald.com; fax us at 582-1510 or 582-1410; or leave a voice mail at 582-1507.
In addition, in February, we'll begin a twice-a-month series featuring events, teams, athletes and coaches.
Most people love history. And for most of us sports fanatics, appreciating the past accomplishments of those before us is a worthy endeavor.
* * *
Connell's Gabriel Flores continues to makes waves in amateur boxing.
Flores qualified for the USA Boxing Championships last month by doing well at regionals in Tacoma.
Flores leaves Sunday for Colorado Springs, and he'll be seeded fifth at 132 pounds. The tournament runs Jan. 10-15.
The past year has been a big one for Flores, who was able to represent the United States in competitions against Canada and South Korea.
If he can finish first or second in Colorado Springs, he qualifies for the Olympic Trials.
- Sports editor Jeff Morrow can be reached at 582-1507 or via e-mail at jmorrow@tri-cityherald.com
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