So You Want To Be On The Team (1968)

[Music] man wouldn't it be cool to be famous and have kids ask you for your autograph yeah and I give mine to any kid that ask me [Music] the terrific growth of spectator sports in in the last few years in America and the tremendous public support of professional football basketball baseball hockey and soccer teams have created great new demands for talented athletes with the growing popularity of professional competition leagues have expanded more franchises have opened up and more teams have been organized now naturally this has stimulated the search for young fellas who've got what it takes to join the professional athletic ranks hi there I'm Jack bricky speaking to you from beautiful Wrigley Field well you know I guess I've seen literally hundreds of wonderful athletes play on this field and it occurs to me that it just might be helpful to you young fellas who' like to become professionals to learn how you go about it how do you get people to ask you for your autograph huh how are Pros develop where do they get their training how do they get a chance to show what they can do well I figure the best way to go about it is to ask the pros themselves this is Ferguson Jenkins the young 20 game winning pitching star of the Chicago Cubs and this is Randy Hundley Jenkins battery mate senior Catcher And player representative of the Cubs Fergie what does a youngster have to do who wants to play professional ball right now the main objective I think towards the youngsters is to stay in school and get their education if uh he does have a god- gifted Talent either in uh say football basketball or baseball all well and good uh stay in school get your education and now now days they have your scholarships and your bseries that put the younger fellas through school I think that uh if a younger fow can say to himself I have the talent wait a few years get your education and then when you're through school if you still think that Athletics is your field go into it but first of all get your education how important is it to play on a team how important is teamwork well without team worth uh a team cannot win uh you're as strong as you're uh weak gets linked more or less as people say uh in baseball you have to think as a team and work as a [Applause] team Randy how important is this element of practice in becoming a professional well even when I wasn't playing on a little league team I was playing in uh I was playing out in the street or out in the cow pasture as we say in Virginia uh I was trying to play baseball all the time and uh whether it's playing with an organized team or not uh just play play and practice if you have to go out and uh throw rocks up and hit them with a bat I used to do this day after day or throw a ball up against the wall just uh these things help improve and uh to me it was very [Applause] important now let's take a look at the grueling game of professional basketball we know it takes stamina and endurance in addition to quick hands a quick mind and a dead eye [Applause] in practice workouts you'd never know they'd been famous college players they work hard on fundamentals in skull sessions on plays and on teamwork one of the hardest working players is Bob Boozer Bull's captain and leading scorer a former All-American great from Kansas State University 6' 8 in 225 lb we ask him how he got his basketball experience well I got started in basketball when I was a small TI in Omaha Nebraska and Junior High Y and uh high Y basketball then I went to Tech High in Omaha and then to Kansas State University in Manhattan Kanas then on into professional ball in 1959 well when did you decide to become a professional athlete well I never quite really decided it was when I completed my college education that I was drafted by the professionals Cincinnati Royals in 1959 then I started thinking about a professional career but up until that time I had not Bob did you prepare for something after your athletic career ends oh yes I'm in a management training program with the one of the biggest companies in the nation now in Omaha Nebraska so I'm getting myself prepared for the day when I can no longer run up and down the court this is so important because you know your pro career only lasts I think on an average of maybe 5 6 seven years so it's very important to prepare yourself for the days when you can't play any longer how important are the books you got to hit the book to you can't pass you can't play all college coaches use this if you can't pass you can be have no help to them no doubt about [Music] [Applause] it football like basketball drafts his players almost totally from the ranks of college players who have shown their abilities during their Collegiate games outstanding performers are simply invited to Go Pro one who was very much sought after is Gail sers offensive star of the Chicago Bears we asked him how he went about becoming a pro well I got my uh first uh Team experience in Omaha Nebraska we have our league in Omaha and uh it's for seventh and eighth grade uh students and I played uh in ball two years then I played grade school ball seventh and eighth grade then I moved to uh Omar Central High School where I had my four years of uh schooling there and uh playing on team activities then uh I was very fortunate to get a lot of scholarship offer then I went to the University of Kansas where I played four years there then again I was very fortunate enough to uh get a pro off and I moved to Chicago Bears Gail what did you major in in college and how did you prepare yourself for the days when you could no longer play football well I majored in physical education and minoring and speech but uh at the present time I'm being trained to be a stock broker which is uh completely away from my official education but uh getting back to college I know that uh when I first came to college I thought that uh all I wanted to do is play football but I found out during my freshman year that I I couldn't concentrate all on football because as I was doing this I was going down my grades so uh my coach in college coach Jack Mitchell he instill the idea into that in college uh your grades come first in football second so I I start getting my grade and I I think getting better grades made my football ability come up much better also when did you decide to become a professional football player well it's hard to say uh I think back in about 1957 58 well uh I had a favorite football team Baltimore coach I love to see them play but I think always in the back of my mind I want to become a professional football player but uh right now that I am a professional football player seem like a dream because you read about the different Stars john9 berries or Sam HFF but you really never think that you would be able to play against them well finally Gail would you tell us what advice you have for youngsters who want to become professional football players well I don't like to give advice but I think the main thing is to be prepared and uh this means to be prepared in your school work also because if you want to be a professional athlete and if you don't make it well you can't fall back on your education but if you uh do make it well you going to use professional athlete as a stepping stone towards your goal and that's the uh what you study in school that's the thing main thing to be prepared be prepared if you don't pass you can't play get your education College if possible high school for sure all the stars agree no matter how much natural Talent you may have it may not carry you into the ranks of the professionals unless it is discovered and the best way to get discovered is to play on an organized school team the training and the preparation you get there for the time when playing days are over also improves your quality as a player so if you want to be a professional athlete don't take it from M take it from Fergie and Randy and Bob and Gail stay in school go out for the team of your choice but get all the education you can if you're good enough you'll be discovered while you're still in school naturally first of all you have to be a good athlete then you have to play on a recognized team be a member of a team now to stay on the team you have to be successful in school school prepares you for the future after your playing days are over with talent and determination you can become a pro you don't have to be a great star to be on a team but when you are we'll probably be asking you for your autograph well that's it for now I'm Jack Brick House saying along long and good luck [Music]