KTLA News: "John Wooden of UCLA is presented with the Whitney M. Young Achievement Award" (1973)

[Applause] [City Councilman, Tom Bradley] Well, we're gonna move right along now, we, we, [Applause] [UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden, over applause] Thank you very much. [Applause, music] [Bradley, partially unintelligible] Let's turn it around. [Wooden] Okay. [Applause, music] [Sammy Davis, Jr.] You constantly take care of business. [Laughter, applause, music] [Larry McCormick] Again, let me offer my own personal congratulations to coach John Wooden. And I can only add to that, very, very richly deserved. And, [McCormick] Tommy, let me say to you, what a pleasure it's been, ah, being, [Camera noise] [No audio] [Applause, music] [Bradley] Congratulations. Good to see you here. [No audio] [Tommy Hawkins] It's a beautiful crowd that we have tonight and Larry, it's a pleasure working with you. [McCormick] It's a pleasure working with you, Tommy. This is the first chance we've ever had a, an opportunity to work together, and, ah, [McCormick] I was just looking around Tommy at all the people here tonight and all the people on this dais. And, [McCormick] it occurred to me with so many famous athletes, and, [McCormick] very powerful political figures and famous ministers and businessmen. That, [McCormick] if my wife wasn't here with me tonight and I went home and told her about this, she wouldn't believe me. [McCormick] She'd think that I was lying. [Hawkins] She'd probably ask you why you didn't bring the autographs. [Laughs] You know, Larry has a beautiful [Camera noise] [Hawkins] five evenings a week with, "Talkback," and things have gone so well. [Hawkins] And they've become so dignified, and so looked up to, [Hawkins] that they're starting a new segment in the fall. [Hawkins] It's called, "Channel Five's Dollar Blessing." And the only thing that they ask you, if you call, [Hawkins] is to specify if you want it to be socked to you, by the Father, the Son or the Holy Ghost. [Laughter] [McCormick] You know what occurs to me, Tommy, on an evening such as this, when we're here to, [McCormick] pay homage to a gentleman who has achieved such remarkable success at UCLA. [McCormick] And to another gentleman, [McCormick] yourself, who achieved remarkable success at a prestigious university like, Notre Dame. [McCormick] That I'm about the only nonentity in the crowd. The school I went to in Kansas City, a little tiny private college, [McCormick] with an enrollment of about twenty five hundred. [McCormick] And we were so little known, and so poor in athletics compared to Notre Dame and UCLA, [McCormick] that one season we were undefeated, [McCormick] untied and unscored upon. [McCormick] And then unfortunately the season started. [Laughter] [McCormick] Another year, Tommy, we had such a, [Camera noise] [Davis] that, ah, he insisted that the approach of the Urban League be interracial, [Davis] helping primarily blacks, and minority groups, but, [Camera noise] [Applause] [No audio] [Applause] [Bradley] But I'm not here to talk about myself. I'm really here to, make an introduction. But since I had an opportunity to come to say a word. I simply wanted to take advantage of the evening. [Laughter] To reminisce a lot. Ah, I want to thank you, Duckie [?], and, all those who meant so much to me in the early days of my life. I come tonight, ah, as sort of a surprise, because I come bringing, a resolution from the City Council of Los Angeles, to our honoree tonight. This was actually adopted, it seems now like it was years ago. It was right after you broke that record. Sixty one victories. But as you all know, we couldn't get you down to City Hall. You were so busy, Johnny, that, it just didn't seem to work out. And since, you know, you, we knew you were gonna be here tonight. I figured I got ya! [Laughter] And so I brought it! And Sue, I don't want you, you know, I almost got a hernia bringing this thing over here.  [Laughter] [Bradley] And, Johny, if you'll, [Bradley] just join me here. [Bradley] and for all of you to see. I want to, just display it a little bit. It captures only a few of the things that have already been said about you. [Bradley] And I'm not going to extend this evening by repeating them. [Bradley] But we want to say to a special gentleman, [Bradley] and a gentle man. [Bradley] We not only honor you, we revere you. [Bradley] We appreciate all that you have done. [Bradley] Not just for your basketball teams. [Bradley] Not just for the sport of basketball. [Bradley] But, what you have done, [Bradley] to mold and shape the lives of young men. [Bradley] To help them get a direction in life that will extend far beyond their playing days. [Bradley] To implant that kind of seed, that kind of inspiration. [Bradley] That will make them champions, [Bradley] in life after they finished basketball. [Bradley] For all of that, [Bradley] we want to thank you. [Bradley] We want to wish you, a hundred and sixty one more victories. [Applause] [Applause, music] [Davis] He's a special man for a lot of reasons. And it has been a double night. For those of us who struggled and fought, both times out for Tom, it's a glorious time for us and for, for the country. And, as I heard on KFWB today, [Camera noise] The things they said about him, were true. And there's a kind of a glow about this evening that's kind of special I think. I've been to many occasions where, a gentleman was honored. But tonight there seems to be a sort of a special glow about the evening. I looked at the faces of the young people over here who are on the team.  The ex members, the current members of the team. And they're all beaming, man. They're just kind of saying, "Yeah, it's about time," you know. And these, that's, that, that's the vibes I got, as young people say. And I can only tell you that, that comes, after a long time of dedicated committed work, and caring about human beings. If Whitney was here, and I don't mean this to be in bad taste, but if Whitney was here, he would have selected you. He would have. And I'm sure that the gentlemen, including John and Vernon and everyone else in the committee, picked the right man, because, we have a saying, and I'm sure you've heard it too. We have a saying, it says, "Hey Man, "TCB," you know, "Take Care of Business." [Davis] So, I want to present this award to you, [Applause, music] [Wooden, over applause] I thank you very much. Thank you. [Wooden] For fear I'll, not follow proper protocol, and, and, not being sure about proper protocol anyway. And being aware of the fact that, today it seems that, women's rights and, women's lib has taken over for civil rights. I think I'll merely, say, acknowledge, I should say, our, first lady of our city, ah, Mrs. Bradley, and, the first lady of our university, Mrs. Young, and, the first lady of our, athletic department, Mrs. Morgan. And my first lady, Nell. And ladies and gentlemen, and, hope that includes all. [Laughter, applause] One, this, this, podium has been graced with the most eloquent speakers, but, you know, even Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson, have used a change of pace once  in a while to get by. So I'm gonna be the change of pace.  And, ah, acknowledging and accepting, this Whitney M. Young, Junior Award. I know that it's my reputation, that brought this about. But you don't know what I really am. Because only the individual, knows what we really are. I would hope that, what I am, is worthy of the award, not the reputation. It was, it's been said that, your reputation is what people think you are, and character is what you really are. And we should all be more interested in, our character, than in our reputation. [Applause] All of you, and I think that, it's been somewhat embarrassing, you know. A lot of nice things have been said. And I'd like to be worthy. But, someone once said, "I know that, "I'm not what I ought to be. I'm not what I wanna be. "I'm not what I'm gonna be. "But, I'm thankful I'm not what I used to be." [Laughter, applause] I, I have been embarassed. But, I liked it. [Laughter, applause] As I tell my players when I criticize them. I don't expect them to like to be criticized.  No one likes to be criticized, but goodness we better be able to take criticism, and, when nice things are said about you, take them. Don't let them go to your head. But appreciate 'em. And I do appreciate, the nice things that have been said. The worst thing that I could do would be to,