Sutphen and Punkin were two of a kind; and my 16 "Punkinisms" to remember him by

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/

FROM KEITH GROLLER

Stan Sutphen's passing on Saturday is another blow to local sports fans who remember a glorious era of high school basketball around here when we had larger-than-life-characters on the coaching sidelines -- people like Milo Sewards, Dick Schmidt, Dick Tracy, Mike Koury, Al Senavitis, Bob Bukvics and of course, the ever-entertaining Sutphen.

It's ironic to me that Stan leaves us just three days after Punkin Miller's funeral.

The two enjoyed each other immensely, and were actually very similar in several ways. When Stan was coaching at Easton and Punkin was doing the scorebook and PA system at Allen, there were some funny exchanges at courtside.

Later, when Stan was an assistant at Becahi and Punkin was working at Parkland, the two would always have a few good lines for each other to break up the tension before a game.

Listening to these two was often better than the game itself.

Sutphen was the Johnny Carson of East Penn coaches, and he'd hold an annual Liars Club session before the season for the media where all of the coaches spoke and gave their predictions for the coming year. No one was funnier than Sutphen. Bill Snyder, the former Emmaus coach, was good, too. But Stan stole the show.

If there's high school basketball in heaven, Sutphen and Punkin are back at that scorer's table again, making each other laugh.

Of course, like Punkin, Sutphen also spoke his mind in a serious way and made his points when they needed to be made. No one was more fearless in wanting to battle the status quo and stir the pot than Sutphen. He was always challenging the system, always looking for inequities to be fixed, but always serving the best interests of his team, league and district.

------------------------------------------------------------

Everywhere I go, people are still talking to me about Punkin and expressing their sympathies and memories.

On Wednesday morning, I was fortunate enough to be able to give the eulogy at Punkin's funeral and got to express my memories of someone I knew, basically, since the day I was born.

I talked about how he took me into the locker room at the Little Palestra at Allen games and how he took me into the locker room at Liberty of the famous Harlem Globetrotters when I was a kid to get a rare, behind-the-scenes of all the stunts Meadowlark Lemon and Co, were going to pull that night. What a thrill. And I remember Punkin making Meadowlark laugh.

And I talked about our times together on the radio show and how when I covered Punkin's Blue Mountain League baseball teams in Egypt, he'd always want to give me a beer after the game. I'd say that I can't have one because I had a story to write. And he'd say: "Better take two then, because you'll need them to make it a good story."

But the core of my eulogy was my 16 "Punkinisms," talking about 16 things Punkin truly believed in and expressed to me many times. Of course, there were many more than 16, but I limited them to 16 because that was the number on the Orioles baseball jersey he always wore.

Here are those 16 Punkinisms:

1. He believed that the best decade of all was the 1950s when the times were simpler and everybody seemed closer and had more fun. He loved shows like the Honeymooners, Ozzie and Harriet and he loved the music, especially that Doo Wop music.  That’s why he embraced the Munopco Theater and the Macungie Minstrelaires and became part of those shows.
2. He believed that Milo Sewards, Jim Honochick, John Donmoyer, Sammy Balliet, Perry Scott, Joe Blankowitsch, Fritz Halfacre, and Butch Heffner were all great people, some of the greatest he’s ever known. And the Lehigh Valley sports scene owes each of them a debt of gratitude. To the day he died, he believed that Honochick deserved to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame and would have done anything to make it happen.
3. He believed that the floor at Milo Sewards Gym should be named in honor of John Donmoyer. He said that Milo would want that to happen and it would be very fitting because Milo and Donmoyer were very close and had almost a father-and-son relationship.
4. He believed that the baseball strike zone should be from the knees to the letters and the players shouldn’t have to adjust to each umpire’s strike zone. The strike zone is in the rulebook and all umpires should adhere to it rather than make pitchers and hitters adjust to a new zone every time out.
5. He believed that if you make a commitment to a team, that you should honor that commitment and not decide you’re going to take a vacation and miss a few games during the course of a season. Punkin didn't even believe proms were a legit excuse for a high school athlete to miss a game.
6. He believed that Pete Rose should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but all of the guys who took steroids and other substances should not.
7. He believed that at big events like the World Series, or the Super Bowl, the PA announcer at that stadium should do all of the introductions and not some hot-shot TV guy. He believed that the PA guy in that stadium deserved that opportunity, something he may have waited his entire career to do,  and it should NOT be given to some hot-shot TV guy like Jim Nantz, Joe Buck or Al Michaels who just happen to be doing the game for the network..
8. He believed that he was Allentown High School graduate, not an Allen grad. The same goes for everyone who graduated from that school before 1959. He hated when someone would tell him he went to Allen. "It was Allentown High School," he's say firmly.
9. He believed that the Lehigh Parkway, where he worked for so many years should not have been tampered with for "Lights in the Parkway." He believed that the beauty of the parkway was something to be treasured and left untouched and not to be tarnished with decorations and lights to make money.
10. He believed that baseball commissioner Bud Selig was basically a bum, but he’d change his mind if Selig would go back to the days when we had World Series games played during the daytime. Punkin thought the late starts for playoff and World Series games was damaging the audience and limiting the number of younger fans baseball was attrracting each year.
11. He believed in the Allentown Fair and in all of the people who made it a special event, including his friends like Dapper Dan and Candy Candido. He didn’t believe that people should leave the Lehigh Valley to go to the Bloomsburg Fair, at least not at the expense of the Allentown Fair. "Support the businesses in your community," he said.
12. He believed that pets were the best friends a man could have. He loved most animals, especially dogs, and especially labs, like his beloved Ripken.
13. He believed in his wife of 23 years, Sharon. He believed he had a gem in her, someone who loved him unconditionally and supported him despite all of his flaws. She was certainly someone who was willing to give up her summers so Punkin could devote his life to baseball and the Blue Mountain League. Even though they would bicker, it was usually done like Ralph and Alice on The Honeymooners, and in the end, there was a deep love that was evident.
14. He believed in pulling together for a great cause, and supporting local businesses, especially ABE Car Care, and he believed in helping kids and treating them with kindness, especially those battlling some kind of illness or disease. Punkin's eyes would water and his voice would crack when talking about a young person who was going through a difficult time because of illness or disease. Down deep, Punkin had a heart of gold and would do anything to help someone in need.
15. He believed in this country and when he was the PA announcer and delivered his trademark line for the National Anthem: “Ladies and gentlemen, please stand and pay tribute to the greatest flag in the world” he meant it from the bottom of his heart. He often talked about how we should pull together and support this country and be thankful we lived here.
16. And most of all, he believed that the greatest thing you could give a person was a reason to laugh. And no one I knew could make me laugh more than Punkin Miller. Even when I was upset and angry, sometimes even at him, he’d tell a joke or two and I’d forget about what I was so angry about. What a special gift. What a special person. We'll never forget him.