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Eugene Church · 05-27-2020, 04:09 PM

MY LIFE IN 1952
EC's STILL HAVIN' FUN IN '52, TOO!

It's wintertime in Northwest Alabama... after the tragic death of my father Johnny Church... my heartbroken mother is trying to carry on to take care of my 2-year-old sister Linda and me... my Mama continued to stay with my grandparents in a small house on Paxton Street in Florence... apparently my grandparents got together again after a few years' separation... my Mama let me stay in school in Sheffield with my aunt and uncle... this is one of my better years in school... I didn't change schools several times in the same year... after starting the seventh grade in New Orleans at Colton, I finished the rest of the year at Annapolis Avenue Junior High School... I really like that... I always got tired of being the new kid in class... it was nice to settle down in one school.

I have many fond memories of the seventh grade class... John Stonecipher was my best buddy... John was a giant of a guy... really tall... he towered over all of us by a foot or so, I guess... he was tall and lanky... a real good hitter in the softball games we played at recess... John was one of the few guys that could hit it over the fence into the street... he played left field, but he was slow of foot, but had a good arm.

Sheffield is where I developed a love of playing ball... EC was a heck of a shortstop... but just a so-so hitter... as I think I told you, I wore glasses... I saw "double"... yep, I have always seen two images of everything for my whole life... this meant I did not have depth perception, which is crucial for hitting a ball or shooting a basket... both eyes have to focus on the same spot to have depth perception... nonetheless, I played a lot of baseball, softball, basketball and football in my life... played church league basketball and slow-pitch softball until I was 55... had to retire due to bulging discs in my back... yet, I was always one of the better players on my teams... often wondered, how good I would have been with depth perception... I still see two images... one is sharp... the one I see with my good eye... the other is vague and ghost-like... the one I see with my weak eye... believe it or not, my brain is smart... yeah, EC does have a brain... my brain only focuses on the sharp image of the good eye and sort of ignores the ghost-like image... it's been the way since 1942... I just learned to live with it.

And to keep you up-to-date on the wide world of sports, one of the great loves of my life, here's what happened in the 1952 National Football League championship game... it was the Detroit Lions led by coach Buddy Parker, quarterback Bobby Layne and running back Doak Walker... they were opposed by the great Cleveland Browns, coached by Paul Brown and quarterback Otto Graham.

(Special thanks to Wikipedia)

The 1952 National Football League championship game was the 20th annual championship game, held on December 28 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium before over 50,000 fans. The Detroit Lions (9-3) were the National Conference champions and met the Cleveland Browns (8-4), champions of the American Conference. It was the first of three consecutive matchups in the title game between the Lions and Browns.

It was the Browns' third consecutive NFL championship game appearance since joining the NFL in 1950. The Lions returned to the title game after 17 years, first time since their win in 1935.

The Lions finished the 1952 regular season tied with the Los Angeles Rams (9–3) for the top spot of the National Conference. Even though the Lions won both meetings, the rules of the day called for a tiebreaker playoff game. The teams' third game was held at Briggs Stadium in Detroit on December 21, which the Lions also won, 31–21... EC's favorite NFL team was the Rams... I really liked Norm Van Brocklin, Bob Waterfield, Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch and Tom Fears.

In the National Football League title game Layne and Walker led the Lions to a 17-7 victory over the Browns... EC was very happy with the outcome... Cleveland usually beat my LA Rams.

Scoring summary

First quarter
(No Scoring)

Second quarter
DET – Bobby Layne 2-yard run (Pat Harder kick), 7–0 DET

Third quarter
DET – Doak Walker 67-yard run (Harder kick), 14–0 DET
CLE – Chick Jagade 7-yard run (Lou Groza kick), 14–7 DET

Fourth quarter
DET – FG Harder 36, 17–7 DET

05-27-2020, 04:09 PM	#1473
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 36,212	MY LIFE IN 1952 EC's STILL HAVIN' FUN IN '52, TOO! It's wintertime in Northwest Alabama... after the tragic death of my father Johnny Church... my heartbroken mother is trying to carry on to take care of my 2-year-old sister Linda and me... my Mama continued to stay with my grandparents in a small house on Paxton Street in Florence... apparently my grandparents got together again after a few years' separation... my Mama let me stay in school in Sheffield with my aunt and uncle... this is one of my better years in school... I didn't change schools several times in the same year... after starting the seventh grade in New Orleans at Colton, I finished the rest of the year at Annapolis Avenue Junior High School... I really like that... I always got tired of being the new kid in class... it was nice to settle down in one school. I have many fond memories of the seventh grade class... John Stonecipher was my best buddy... John was a giant of a guy... really tall... he towered over all of us by a foot or so, I guess... he was tall and lanky... a real good hitter in the softball games we played at recess... John was one of the few guys that could hit it over the fence into the street... he played left field, but he was slow of foot, but had a good arm. Sheffield is where I developed a love of playing ball... EC was a heck of a shortstop... but just a so-so hitter... as I think I told you, I wore glasses... I saw "double"... yep, I have always seen two images of everything for my whole life... this meant I did not have depth perception, which is crucial for hitting a ball or shooting a basket... both eyes have to focus on the same spot to have depth perception... nonetheless, I played a lot of baseball, softball, basketball and football in my life... played church league basketball and slow-pitch softball until I was 55... had to retire due to bulging discs in my back... yet, I was always one of the better players on my teams... often wondered, how good I would have been with depth perception... I still see two images... one is sharp... the one I see with my good eye... the other is vague and ghost-like... the one I see with my weak eye... believe it or not, my brain is smart... yeah, EC does have a brain... my brain only focuses on the sharp image of the good eye and sort of ignores the ghost-like image... it's been the way since 1942... I just learned to live with it. And to keep you up-to-date on the wide world of sports, one of the great loves of my life, here's what happened in the 1952 National Football League championship game... it was the Detroit Lions led by coach Buddy Parker, quarterback Bobby Layne and running back Doak Walker... they were opposed by the great Cleveland Browns, coached by Paul Brown and quarterback Otto Graham. (Special thanks to Wikipedia) The 1952 National Football League championship game was the 20th annual championship game, held on December 28 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium before over 50,000 fans. The Detroit Lions (9-3) were the National Conference champions and met the Cleveland Browns (8-4), champions of the American Conference. It was the first of three consecutive matchups in the title game between the Lions and Browns. It was the Browns' third consecutive NFL championship game appearance since joining the NFL in 1950. The Lions returned to the title game after 17 years, first time since their win in 1935. The Lions finished the 1952 regular season tied with the Los Angeles Rams (9–3) for the top spot of the National Conference. Even though the Lions won both meetings, the rules of the day called for a tiebreaker playoff game. The teams' third game was held at Briggs Stadium in Detroit on December 21, which the Lions also won, 31–21... EC's favorite NFL team was the Rams... I really liked Norm Van Brocklin, Bob Waterfield, Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch and Tom Fears. In the National Football League title game Layne and Walker led the Lions to a 17-7 victory over the Browns... EC was very happy with the outcome... Cleveland usually beat my LA Rams. Scoring summary First quarter (No Scoring) Second quarter DET – Bobby Layne 2-yard run (Pat Harder kick), 7–0 DET Third quarter DET – Doak Walker 67-yard run (Harder kick), 14–0 DET CLE – Chick Jagade 7-yard run (Lou Groza kick), 14–7 DET Fourth quarter DET – FG Harder 36, 17–7 DET Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 05-28-2020 at 09:38 PM.