Picture of the Week

A once-a-week look back at some of my favorite photos.

Up on the Crow's Nest (Nov 1980)

McPherson College vs Bethany College

Ahh... the (not so) good old days! Before the tiny old pressbox at Bethany College's Anderson Field was replaced by the current one, a coach from a visiting team that wanted a good view of the football game had to use this crow's nest. To reach it, you had to climb up a pole like a telephone lineman and clamber in through a small opening (partially visible here at the lower right). There was room for two people, but three would have been crowded.

In this photo, a McPherson College coach is precariously perched on top of the safety wall to get an additional three feet of height. The man behind him appears to be filming the game with a 16mm movie camera. Now just imagine doing this this in a late season game, with freezing temperatures and possibly icy rain or snow!

Thankfully, the current pressbox has room for coaches from both teams as well as sports reporters covering the game.

This digital image was obtained by copying the original 35mm negative.

Canon AE-1
Vivitar 100-300mm f/5 Zoom
Tri-X film ISO 400 | exposure not recorded