A Gathering of Old Men by Gaines Ernest J

Author:Gaines, Ernest J. [Gaines, Ernest J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical, Classics
ISBN: 9780307830388
Amazon: 0307830381
Goodreads: 16071569
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 1983-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

Thomas Vincent Sullivan

aka

Sully or T.V.

Gil and I had just come out of Sci-210 when Cal caught up with us and told Gil that coach wanted him in the office right away.

“I thought we had gone over all that,” Gil said.

“I don’t think it’s football this time,” Cal said.

Gil asked me if I would walk back to the gym with him, and since Cal wasn’t doing anything that hour he walked back with us. Cal was Calvin “Pepper” Harrison, quite possibly the best halfback in the country that year, and already nominated for All-American. Gil was Gilbert “Salt” Boutan, definitely the best fullback in the Southeastern Conference, and many other conferences besides. Cal and Gil were known as Salt and Pepper at LSU. Gil being a Cajun, the publicity people had tried to think of a good Cajun nickname for him when he first came to the university, but after seeing how well he and Cal worked together, they finally settled on Salt and Pepper.

Gil was a football man all the way, and eventually he would go pro, but what he wanted most while attending LSU was to be All-American along with Cal. It would be the first time this had ever happened, black and white in the same backfield—and in the Deep South, besides. LSU was fully aware of this, the black and white communities in Baton Rouge were aware of this, and so was the rest of the country. Wherever you went, people spoke of Salt and Pepper of LSU. Both were good powerful runners, and excellent blockers. Gil blocked for Cal on sweeps around end, and Cal returned the favor when Gil went up the middle. It drove the defense crazy, because both Gil and Cal carried the ball about the same number of times in a game and the defensive team didn’t know which to look out for. Besides that, you had “Sugar” Washington at quarterback, and he was no slouch, either.

Me? Well, I was no Sugar Washington. I was third-string quarterback. My name is Thomas Vincent Sullivan. My hair is red, my face is red, my eyes are green, and most people call me Sully. Others call me T.V.—especially the black guys on the team. Not for my initials necessarily, but for my avocation. I’m a television nut. A vidiot.

While Gil was in coach’s office, Cal and I stood outside talking about the game coming up the next day, LSU and Ole Miss. It would be the game of the year. We knew if we dumped her, nobody else could stop us, and we would host the Sugar Bowl game on New Year’s Day. Already the people had filled all the motels and hotels from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. The national press was covering the game. No matter where you went, that’s all the people were talking about. If you were pro-LSU—and you were crazy if you were not—they said there was no possible way to stop Salt and Pepper. If you were anti-LSU, or

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