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Former teammates meet for reunion to honor coach
Published 10/3/2008 in Sports : GCCC
By MIKE KESSINGER
It all started two years ago when Bill Perry decided it was time to do a search.
A member of the Garden City Community College football team in 1959-60, Perry began looking for former teammates from his days in Garden City when he played running back and end. Through hours of Internet searches and phone calls, Perry started to find teammates. Some he ran into by chance meeting like Darrell Bryant, who lives in Cimarron and Bob Pfannenstiel from Dodge City. Perry, who lives in Leavenworth and coaches football at the high school, was hoping to one day be able to set up a reunion.
On Aug. 27, the man who recruited many of the those players to Garden City, Leland Kendall, died at his home in Broken Arrow, Okla. of congestive heart failure. Kendall was 75. In his two years at Garden City, Kendall was 18-4, leaving him with the highest winning percentage in school history. Perry and some of his teammates took part in the memorial service in Tulsa, Okla., and with that chance to see some of his teammates then, Perry and Pfannenstiel saw an opportunity to finally set up a reunion in Garden City to honor coach Kendall and his assistants Dale Meadors, who lives in Garden City and Dale Roark from Stillwater, Okla. The date for the reunion was set for Saturday. Perry, who arrived Thursday said he expects there could be around 30 to 35 teammates at the Broncbusters football game against Jayhawk Conference rival Coffeyville at Memorial Stadium. The team members who have arrived met Thursday, many of them Perry hasn't seen in 48 years.
"The stories are really flying around," Perry said.
The weekend events will consist of the group playing golf at Buffalo Dunes today, then another round on Saturday morning. Today the group will also have a chance to watch the Busters practice, then will all meet at the Clarion Inn for social time. On Saturday, the former teammates will gather at the Hall of Fame room in the Perryman Athletic Complex.
"All of us are in amazement of the population of Garden City," Perry said. "When we were here it was about 11,000. I can't believe how much it's grown."
One of six players from Strattford, Conn. Kendall was able to recruit to Garden City, Perry said when he left his home and got on the plane at LaGuardia Airport in New York, he thought the Garden City he had been recruited to was in New Jersey. It wasn't until the plane flew over Newark, N.J., that he wasn't going to school any where nearby. Kendall had recruited Perry and fellow classmates in Strattford, when he went on a recruiting trip up the East coast starting at his wife's home in Florida, and trying to get kids to come to Kansas. After leaving Garden City, Kendall went on to coach at the Air Force Academy for 14 years, and then continued to coach and scout from there.
The players from the 1959 and 60 teams will be introduced at halftime of the Busters game. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. GCCC is 2-2 overall and 1-2 in the Jayhawk Conference.
Found 2 comment(s)!
My father, Matt "Buddy" Davis played '60 and'61
Would love to hear from anyone who remembers my dad, Matt "Buddy" Davis. I believe he was there for 2 years and played in '60 and '61.I have very few photos, but i believe i still have his yearbooks. I wish i would have found this website and info sooner. You can Email me at rrsilverspike@msn.com Thanks, Mark Davis
Posted by: Mark Davis on 6/22/2009
Leland Kendall
I was part of Kendall's career at Garden City Juco. In those days my title was team manager (it paid $30 a month) I remember a lot of the guys on teams 1959 to 61. Wold like to hear from the players...e-mail me at rnetwilcox@earthlink.net or (www.anet-ron4homes.com) I also worked the the Garden City Telegram during school (sports writer)
Posted by: Ron Wilcox on 1/8/2009
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