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Everybody's Friend: Clem McSpadden
Published: 7/10/2008 10:14 AM
Last Modified: 7/10/2008 10:14 AM

A few weeks before his last birthday, Clem McSpadden asked one of his friends to set up an afternoon of talking sports with Pat Jones and John Klein.
He wanted to talk about football, basketball and all of the stuff we spend our lives watching.
However, as anyone that knows Clem can tell you, he's the true star.
For about four hours on his final birthday afternoon, the talk quickly moved away from football and basketball.
Pat, the former OSU football coach, and I wanted to know the same thing. Tell us some rodeo stories. Tell us about politics.
That's what some sports guys, like Pat and I, do in their off time. We don't sit around talking about why a coach ran an off-tackle play on third down.
We talk about other stuff.
Clem was a true Oklahoma legend. On that afternoon, and a couple of later afternoon get-togethers, Clem told an unending list of stories about rodeos, the cowboys, the cowgirls, politics and just everyday Oklahomans.
He recalled state high school basketball tournaments from the 1940s to behind-the-scenes tales of rodeo legends long gone.
We even heard a few stories about Pat Nixon's ability to make a good, stiff drink in the White House.
Pat and I and Clem's longtime friend J.V. Haney, who set up the meetings, are the ones who were treated. Clem McSpadden was a one-of-a-kind legend, a true giant of Oklahoma.



Reader Comments 2 Total
Robert W. Brow (5 years ago)
Then start telling some "Clem" stories.
Robert W. Brown (5 years ago)
Then start telling some "Clem" stories.
2 comments displayed


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Klein's Korner

Tulsa World senior sports columnist John Klein is in his fourth decade of covering sports. He started his newspaper career at The Daily Ardmoreite in 1977 and moved to the Tulsa World in 1978. He served 10 years as sports editor for the Tulsa World before being named to his current position in 2005. He also spent five years as the Southwest Conference beat writer for the Houston Post. He has won many writing awards and is a former Oklahoma Sports Writer of the Year.

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