These are some of the very nice emails Shannon received
from Thin Thirty participants and their families. Shannon is also grateful
to those who called him to share their experience about the book and what it
meant to them, including several children of Thin Thirty players.
Susan S., Houston, Texas (Wife of Vince):
I just finished your book last night and all I can say is WOW !
Well, that isn't all I can say but I am so grateful that you finally told the
story of "how it was" ! It needed to be told and that job was yours, sitting
there all those years just waiting for you !!! Like Vince said, you really
painted a great picture of how it was. My mind is racing with so many thoughts
and feelings, I really don't know what to say first !
Actually, a lot of the people ,places and events weren't
new to me as I have lived with "The Thin Thirty" for 42 plus years. I have
always had my own "feelings" about that time and some of them were very
different from Vince's. I just owned them up to being a feminine point of view
most of the time, to not really understanding the male psyche but other times
just knowing that I wasn't that far off from what I believed to be the real
truth. Well, anyway, all that was justified when I read your book and I am
grateful for that because in a way it put all of it to rest, at least for me.
Another thing the book did was give me a better visual of that time than even
Vince could paint.
I believe Vince was mentally and physically strong when he
came to UK or he would never have survived the winter program as I believe the
same of all those guy's that did. The one's that walked away, well I can
understand that too, perhaps even more, had a different kind of courage. To me
, it wasn't the strong versus the weak it was a matter of how much punishment
the human could take and some were not meant to take anymore. I applaud those
boy's, as well !
After reading your book and I can tell you I read it
slowly so I wouldn't miss anything, I was amazed that Vince never, ever
portrayed any negative thoughts, words or feelings for anyone involved. I was
full of them and have been for sometime, about certain events. Especially
his standoff with Foley. That shouldn't have happened and Coach Ford should
not have let it happen. It was within his power to stop it and find another
solution. There is always another solution. Instead Vince has lived with
constant pain for all these years, the injury being the type that can't be
fixed, and guess what? He almost never complains about it and even defends
Coach Ford when I get irate ! Ha! That's Vince. He is that way about
everything, almost, and that is why he made it through 1962.
You did a wonderful service for UK Football History and I
think you told the story and told it so well that will make any football coach
think twice about using those tactic's in today's world. Hard work, discipline
and smart coaching should get the job done.
Ben H,
Rome, GA
I just finished the book last night and can’t adequately
describe all the emotions that I had while reading the book and pouring over
old memories. The book was wonderfully well done and I appreciate the
approach you took about all the scandals.
Doc C.,
Memphis, TN
Shannon, I have been on the go again but got
home yesterday and had the book in the mail.....I read it last night....it is
a good and captures the spirit and the reality of what was taking place.....I
had little contact after the spring of 1962.....I found it informative and
painful.....the hurt, the damage and the cover up (or unwillingness for anyone
to want to know what was going on) all flows from your book.....I had
forgotten the part about Coach Vaught exposure of the illegal aspect of the
players losing their scholarship.....it still feels unreal ...hard to
believe...the football mess , Lonnie and Jim , the throwing of the game and no
one ever reading it to the public until now.
Phyllis M. (Jock Steward's widow) Henderson,
KY
I finished the book last night and saw where you did include what happened
to Clarkie Mayfield. When I sent the e-mail yesterday I had not reached
that part yet. The book was wonderful!! I liked the way you told how all
the players got to Kentucky, why they came, etc. and why they left. (No one
ever talked about the agony it was for the ones who left.)
Since 1962 was my Freshman year, I did not know a lot of the history. The
Bradshaw Days and the things that happened were kinda like the Vietnam War
for those veterans. Most Nam vets that I have worked with in mental health
do NOT want to talk about the war and what happened there. Jock and his
teammates were like that about the "Bradshaw Total Football Philosophy."
Jock said it was terrible and did tell about the vomit boxes, but he rarely
talked about the depth of the brutality as you described in the book. He
held an intense dislike for Coach Bradshaw and Coach Ford and never seemed
to forgive him for what he put the team through. He always spoke of Coach
Collier with fondness and respect. I did not fully understand why until I
read your book. It is a miracle that one or more of the players that year
did not suffer a fatal injury due to the system used. I find it
particularly sad that so many with marvelous talent were turned off of
football forever with that experience.
It explains why Jock was never one to push our son hard to play. He always
said that if Scott wanted to play he would encourage him, but he would not
want to pressure him to the point of ruining the sport for him. Jock
coached at Union County High after the military and was head coach for two
years giving them their first 2 winning seasons. For financial reasons he
left education and went to the quarry to provide a better living for us.
He coached Little League when Scott played. He was a patient coach and more
of an encourager than discourager for the boys. He did not live to see
Scott play his high school ball at Henderson County. Scott was much larger
than his dad and played as a lineman. He went to Hanover and played there
for two years. Jock would have been proud of him, but he always told Scott
he would be proud of him whether he ever played ball or not. Gary (the
grandson) is playing Little League now in Owensboro and Scott is coaching,
so the tradition is continuing in some fashion.
Your book made many things make sense to me that I had not been aware of
since Jock was not prone to be a great conversationalist!----especially
about himself!
Thank you again for a wonderful book.
Bob K., Toronto, Canada
Dear Shannon -- Yesterday, I started
reading your book. I profess I couldn't put it down until it was finished
this A.M.
For years after I left UK, I'd have nightmares of me not being able to study
for an exam due to exhaustion from football practise. Those days inside
didn't help either. I thanked God I knew how to wrestle like Vince did.
There is one other item that the NCAA didn't know about. Before '62's
indoor workouts, CB said something I held him to, and that was he'd see us
graduate if we stuck with the program. In '63, after what I experienced the
year before, I cut back on the school hours that spring. I came back in '64,
after playing a season as a pro, and got a full marriage scholarship,
including a paid apartment, for the term, and finished with my degree. My
feelings toward my "thin thirty days" with CB changed somewhat after that.
Finally, my coach with the Roughriders for 8 of my 9 seasons was a
Kentuckian by the name of Eagle Keys. Ever hear of him?
I've read a lot of books, but never one all night.
Mary D., Oak Ridge, Tennessee (Wife of Howard)
What a great book! Brought back
so many bad memories of that year that Howard went through. He found it
hard to relive that time and has read the book twice. As others have
expressed he too raised his son of not pushing him into sports. Also,
Howard never talked about the bad times during or after. He knew he had
to endure it to get his education.
I am just sorry that the book was
not written while Bradshaw was still living and to see the scandal was
finally exposed. I also wished that the coaches responsible had admitted
to you their regret and expressed their sorry. That somehow could bring
some closure.
It was good to see that most all of
the players that were so hurt went on to have such successful careers.
Thank you again for writing the
book.
From the one player that
would not be interviewed -- he remains anonymous
Shannon,
I just finished
reading your new book on the Thin Thirty. Congratulations, you did a great
job writing it. Your research, and attention to detail were outstanding, I
think that you were very fair to all parties involved. Frankly, I didn’t
believe that anyone outside the program who at least experienced part of
it, could write an objective and accurate account of the events. You
proved me wrong, and I owe you an apology for not giving you an interview
as requested. Best of luck in the future.