Curry built his talk around "the huddle" and how America today is like "a football huddle," dependent for its future success on everyone else in "the huddle." How true!
What attracted my attention was a quote attributed to Curry. "Curry said," Kinney wrote, "You're unique, whoever you are. You have a gift that God gave you that you have the capacity to develop, to give to a cause greater than yourself, to develop in the context of having to listen and to relate to people who are different from you." Curry's quote reminded me of the words King Benjamin once said, "When you are in the service of your fellow man you are in the service of your God." Curry's life reminds me of King Benjamin's words, a life of serving his fellow man throughout his fabulous career.
Kinney's column resonated with me because Bill Curry had been to our home on several occasions, doing just what he was preaching about at the Rotary Club, transforming "a throw away-nobody-kid into a somebody man." That "nobody kid" was Sam Bracken, a kid from Las Vegas, who Curry recruited and took under his wing and tutored for five years while a member of Georgia Tech's football team, the team that beat my alma mater, Michigan State, in the 1985 All American Bowl in Birmingham, Ala.
Towne Lake residents will remember this "somebody" - Sam Bracken - who lived in our community for several years. Sam was actively involved in the local youth football and baseball programs during his years here in Towne Lake. Local high school football enthusiasts will remember the potential of Sam's son, Beau, at Etowah. They may also be interested in knowing that Beau was named first team all-state center in Utah last fall and received a Senatorial appointment to West Point this spring.
How did Sam end up playing football at Georgia Tech under Coach Curry? And how did Sam end up in the home of Don and Joan Conkey?
In 1981, Coach Curry was rebuilding the once famous Rambling Wrecks of Georgia Tech, and Curry needed football players. Big football players, and Sam was big at 6 foot, 5 inches and weighing about 275 pounds. Recruiting football players to Georgia Tech was difficult in 1981 because Tech had lost the luster of its winning teams under Coach Heisman and top football talents were being recruited by winning teams such as Georgia, who had just won a national championship.
And this is where "the huddle" comes into play. I used the term "throw-away" to describe Sam. He was literally a "throw-away." Sam was thrown away, not out, but away by his mother. A drug addict, she told Sam, when he was in the 10th grade, she could not support her drug habit and him, and he would have to go.
It nearly crushed Sam, but the family of his best friend took him in (the huddle). He lived with them until he graduated from high school, joined their church, and hoped to play for Brigham Young University. But he blew out his knee and was rejected by BYU. Having been named all-state in high school, Sam's coach (the huddle) took an interest in Sam and sent film to coaches all around the United States.
Coach Curry took a look at Sam's film and invited Sam to visit the Georgia Tech campus. After meeting Sam, Curry saw potential in Sam and offered him a scholarship (the huddle).
Sam accepted. And in the spring of 1981, with his entire belongings stuffed into his "Orange Duffel Bag," Sam headed for Atlanta, at age 18. On his first Sunday in Atlanta, he looked up his church and took the bus to its Ponce de Leon chapel. As a lay leader in this ward, I sat on the stand during the services. Spotting a stranger, a big stranger, in the audience, I invited Sam home for breakfast. Sam accepted.
During breakfast, we talked and I learned he had no family in Atlanta and that all he owned was in his "Orange Duffel Bag." Since our large family was now gone, and we had several empty bedrooms, my wife, Joan, and I invited Sam to make his home away from Tech with us (that huddle again). Sam accepted our offer.
Now nearly 30 years later, Sam is still a part of our family. He calls me Dad (he never knew who his father was), and his four children call us Grandpa and Grandma. We watched as Coach Curry helped transform this "throw-away-nobody-kid" into a "wonderful somebody." Curry not only touched Sam but he touched our lives, too. Following Sam's graduation from Tech, with honors, Sam swapped a potential pro football career to serve a church mission in Canada where his met his wife, Kim. Today, Sam is using that God-given talent Coach Curry saw in Sam to motivate people all around the world, giving back to mankind in kind what he had learned from Coach Curry.
Thank you Coach Curry for allowing us into your huddle.
Donald Conkey, a retired agricultural economist, lives in Woodstock.
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