Recently, while watching the Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Ravens by one point I recalled the most famous Nevadan to play for the Steelers, his name was Pat Brady. The late Nevada quarterback Brady was a left-footed kicker, as well an outstanding all around performer for both the Silver and Blue and later for the Steelers.
He set an NCAA record that to my knowledge has never been broken. When he accomplished a 99- yard punt. That record occurred in the Homecoming game at Mackay stadium in 1950, when Nevada faced Loyola. Dropping back for a “quick kick” Brady’s punt traveled some 70 yards in the air and then got the most tremendous “roll” in college history, ending up just two feet short of the opponent’s goal line.
A big strapping quarterback at that time, Brady was probably a precursor to the towering quarterbacks that now proliferate in college and professional football. Despite his heroics, that team of the ‘50s did not have a remarkable record; nonetheless Brady was quickly drafted by Pittsburgh.
At Nevada, he was named a member of the “Team of the Century” for the Wolf Pack and he also received similar honors from the Steelers by being named a member of the “All Time Legends Team” and a member of the “50th Anniversary Team “ for the black and yellow clad Steelers.
I first became acquainted with the ebullient Brady when he went to work for his father-in-law, Harry Frost at Reno Print. Frost himself had been an outstanding football player for Nevada and for many years was chairman of the Athletic Control at the U, an organization that was responsible for Nevada’s Athletic scholarships in the old days, including one for this writer.
As all my printing went to the Frost business, I soon began seeing Pat on almost a daily basis. I noted I had watched him at the University and once when the Steelers played an exhibition game in Sacramento. On the latter occasion, one part of the halftime show was a punting duel between Brady and a rather outstanding Nevada High School player, Tom Knezevich of Manogue. Brady mercifully kept it close and later Tommy said it was the highlight of his Prep football career.
One of my fondest memories of Brady occurred during his printing career when we were doing daily wrap-ups for the Mapes’ Golf Tournament. One of our chores was to update the scoring on all three courses and for the field overall. Because scores and pairings were done well into the evening, once (printing dry time) was up, the sheets had to be cut on a very large machine in the basement of Reno Print that most resembled a miniature guillotine.
During the drying process, Brady and I would spend time in the Coach Room of the Mapes— not exactly “drying out”. As we trotted the half-block to the print shop, the evening was pretty well along and I wondered how Pat would handle the cutting chores in the dimly-lit basement. Not to worry, deftly stacking the sheets he slammed the razor sharp blade down—mere inches from his leading thumb.
Later on, when he had made a local reputation for himself by painting the center stripe on a downtown street “green” for St. Patrick’s Day on an annual basis, he became very active in the political campaign for Governor Mike O’Callaghan. As a result, he was named State Printer. His final professional career was as partner in the highly successful Bonanza Casino in Reno, not far north of his Alma Mater on Virginia Street.
HILLARY RESURFACES.
Recently on TV, Hillary Clinton was teaching a Master Class and she channeled Georgia’s Stacy Abrams, who still thinks she is governor of Georgia, by reading the acceptance speech that she had prepared some five years ago in case she won the election. Her tearful rendition was one of her best acting jobs and it inspired the Liberal Press to wonder if she would be a possible presidential candidate in 2024.
Hillary’s biggest current problem is probably the Durham investigation into the source of the Russian-Trump collusion hoax that hung over Trump all through his presidency. Also, hubby Bill is being more closely linked in the current trial of Epstein’s mistress.
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