By MONTE DUTTON

When I was a freshman at Furman, when the Colts were still in Baltimore, the Paladins in Sirrine Stadium and Johnny Carson still on TV, I experienced the rites of passage that most young people face when they no longer have parental supervision.

I didn’t feel comfortable in new surroundings where few of my peers grew up on farms and most had more money. I expect football players became friends because they were the most like me. One impact of athletics is that it diversifies a private school’s student body and gives educational opportunities to those who could not otherwise aspire to them.

My four undergraduate years would have been completely different had I not lost an election to be on the Association of Furman Students council by one vote.

In the spring, it occurred to Robbie Caldwell, with whom I refereed intramural basketball games, that I might make a crackerjack equipment manager. He sent me to see Steve Robertson, and soon I was learning the principles of helmet repair and bus driving along with finite math and Western Civ. I missed playing football but had enough sense to realize my gifts were ill suited for varsity play.

That’s the short answer of why I am broke today. It’s also the source of an inordinate percentage of great friends who have weaved into, out of and back into life ever since.

Among peers in the manager-and-trainer ranks, I soon became saddled with the charge of being an Art Baker favorite. As Augustus Macrae later said in Lonesome Dove, “They’s worse thangs.”

We were a resourceful bunch. When short on orange cones needed for the practice field, we took our purple bread truck (equipment van) and swiped a few from road-construction projects. We were careful just to steal every other one from the side of White Horse Road. We didn’t want to cause a wreck or anything.

Don’t ask. Don’t tell. The slogan existed long before gays in the military became an issue. It was an adventurous time, based on what little I remember, but we did not always misbehave.

A group of us played a wholesome game of “Oh, Heck!” a card game similar to hearts, at Ray Parlier’s A Dorm apartment on Thursday nights. Among the regulars were Tim Sorrells, Bruce Fowler, Steve Bishop and Steve Garrison, and Chris Buono every now and then. Chris and Ronnie Cox were among history’s more mismatched roommates, and sometimes he just had to get away.

I became adept at “Oh, Heck” and thought it was going to get me killed by Dinky Williams on a bus trip to Boone. He was a great, combustible fullback who, when he roared into a hapless secondary, preferred not to avoid defenders but rather to seek them out and run over them. Pulverize. Rinse. Repeat. I have several Dinky Williams stories, most of which involve my miraculous survival.

Well, what say let’s touch base with the current century?

Furman men’s golf is off to the Mason Rudolph Championship, which is being hosted by Vanderbilt Friday through Sunday at the par 71, 7,112 yard Vanderbilt Legends South Course in Franklin, Tenn.

This Mason Rudolph was the PGA touring pro of the 1960s and ‘70s, not the NFL backup quarterback.

The 54-hole tournament begins Friday at 9 a.m. with teams teeing off of No. 1 and No. 10.  Furman will tee off of No. 1, beginning at 9 a.m. in round one in a group with Middle Tennessee State and Cincinnati.

Furman is joined in the 13-team field by host Vanderbilt, which ranks third nationally, ninth-ranked Alabama, Ball State, Charlotte, Cincinnati, College of Charleston, Kentucky, Middle Tennessee State, Northern Illinois, No. 5 Ole Miss, South Alabama, and UNC Wilmington.

Men’s tennis begins a stretch of three straight Southern Conference matches at home Friday afternoon when it hosts The Citadel Bulldogs at 3 p.m.

Chuck Kriese, who retired as Clemson’s legendary coach in 2008, is in his 11^th season with the Bulldogs.
The Paladins (9-10, 2-1 SoCon) returned home for the first time in over a month last Saturday and swept a doubleheader over Chattanooga and Emmanuel.

The Citadel (7-18, 1-4) is coming off a 4-3 loss at Mercer on Monday.
The Paladins are facing The Citadel for the 60^th time in program history and own a 57-2 lead in the all-time series.

Dins Day is April 23. It drives participation in giving to “advance the university’s mission of ensuring all students have the opportunity to experience The Furman Advantage.

Cutting to the chase, it raises money.

Alumni, friends and family of Furman can participate in Dins Day by making a gift to any area of the university, including athletics and each of its 18 teams.
Last year Dins Day campaign yielded record-breaking results with Paladin athletics receiving a total of 1,804 gifts, resulting in $511,549.28 in the overall Dins Day effort that netted over 3,000 gifts and $1.4 million for the university.

Anna Morgan (+9) concluded play Thursday at the fifth annual Augusta National Women’s Amateur, shooting 7-over 79 and finished 62^nd of 72.

Thirty-five players made the cut, which fell at 3-over 147.

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