It was a privilege to be included in the events honoring the 1965 WAC Championship football team during BYU homecoming week. My small part of that eventful era was being Cosmo in 1965, and then recently writing Deseret News articles about the 1965 team and head coach, the late Tommy Hudspeth.
Team members Grant Wilson, Monte Squires, Bobby Roberts, LaVern Swanson, Ben Laverty, Glen Gardner and others put together a meaningful and eventful weekend, including a classy booklet about the season.
The dinner Friday night in the Blue Zone at LaVell Edwards Stadium drew a large crowd of team members and spouses, coaches and families. Honored guests included the legendary LaVell Edwards, Glen Tuckett, Tom Holmoe, Robbie Bosco, Shirley Johnson and coach Tommy Hudspeth's wife Ruth Ann.
The evening included some memorable highlights of the season and some fun stories, but the celebration took on a different tone when the focus turned to those who had died. One by one, life sketches were displayed on the screen of the faithful football fans who died in a plane crash on the way to the championship-clinching win at the University of New Mexico.
After each team member and spouse in attendance were introduced, it was touching to witness the emotional and heartfelt appreciation from fellow team members as the names and lives of the 1965 players and coaches who had died were chronicled. In many cases, spouses and family members were in attendance, which only added to the special aura of the occasion.
Special recognition was given to Ruth Ann Hudspeth and her family. It was ironic that Coach Hudspeth had been looking forward to the 1965 team reunion and had been in touch with the organizing committee for the event, but he died only a few months before he would have been honored in person.
As I left the event I sensed that something unusual had happened. Although we celebrated a landmark season with BYU's first football conference championship in history, ultimately the evening had morphed into a reflection on individuals and relationships, especially about those who had passed on.
On Saturday, the events ranged from a golf tournament to the pregame tailgate party in the stadium parking lot, and then the lighting of the Y. by Ruth Ann Hudspeth, joined by the 1965 team members on the field.
Again, it was the renewal of friendships and special words of appreciation to those in attendance that dominated the day. It was like wishing you could suspend time for a short period, bring a flood of memories forward to that day, and then share them with as many of the players and families as you could.
We were allowed on the field in the south end zone until just before game time. The student section was energized, the 2015 Cougar team looked formidable, athletic and prepared, and the scene and the setting were awesome.
Record-setting 1965 quarterback Virgil Carter came out of the tunnel carrying the BYU football alumni flag, the band cranked the BYU fight song, the flag twirlers were in sync with the sounds, the smoke billowed from the canisters and the student section was in a full-throated roar as we lined the entrance from the tunnel to the field. It was a surreal sight.
The 2015 team then poured onto the field. There was a feeling that you were in the middle of a spectacle that you could only dream of 50 years before. The intensity was electric, and I turned to the student section to wave as we headed off the field toward the stands.
There was a welling of emotion that began to overwhelm me, and I whispered to myself, "Who cries at football games?" I got composed and went on to enjoy the last-minute heroics of freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum in a Cougar victory over East Carolina.
This was a weekend I will always remember and not just because of a BYU football victory. It was a victory for understanding that sports success can bring us together in celebration, but reflection on people and relationships can bring us fulfilling long-term memories and happiness.
Ken Driggs of Mesa, Arizona, is a BYU graduate and served as Cosmo in the '60s. Contact him at kkdriggs@gmail.com.