When Lions Were Kings III

It was Tuesday, November 11, 1958.  If you rode in a car toward Bronco Stadium with your parents, like I did, maybe the radio was on playing "It's All in the Game" by Tommy Edwards, or "Rockin' Robin" by Bobby Day.  If the news was on -- maybe Paul Harvey if it was around noon -- you may have heard that Nikita Khrushchev (did you fear that name like I did back then?) delivered a speech demanding that the United States, France and Great Britain pull their forces out of Berlin.  Three years later the Berlin wall was built.

Here is the official program.  From left to right, Dawn Fannin, the Braves’ running back who would be named a high school All-American a few weeks after the game; his teammate Tom Swindell, who would coach Capital High School to a Veterans day victory against his alma mater exactly 10 years later; John Ahlin, the Borah fullback whose brother Jerry would quarterback who lead the Lions to a Veterans Day victory four years later; and Wanek Stein, who had been the quarterback at Boise high the year before and, in this game, scored the winning touchdown as a running back for the Lions..

So what was going on in late summer of1958? A new high school opened in the capital city, Borah High School, home of the Borah – actually the mascot wasn’t named until late September after school had already started – Lions.

Two of the top-selling books at the Book Shop down were Dear Abby and Kids Say the Darndest Things by Art Linkletter.  President Dwight Eisenhower had a 57% approval rating – ah, yes, such nonsense was thought to be important back then, too.  At the Pinney Theater, Walt Disney’s “The Light in the Forest” starring James MacArthur was playing, while “Vertigo” starring Jimmy Stewart was at the Vista.  Looking through the funnies in Idaho Sunday Statesman one could be entertained with “Moon Mullins”, “Terry and the Pirates”, “Little Orphan Annie”, “Gasoline Alley”, “ Dick Tracy”, “Joe Palooka”, “Pogo”, and the very politically incorrect “Uncle Remus”.

If you wanted to watch television on Sunday, you had to be patient.  KBOI channel 2 didn’t come on until 11:15 A.M. and KTVB channel 7 didn’t begin broadcasting until 3:15 P.M.  At 8:00 P.M. one had to choose between “The Ed Sullivan Show” and “The Steve Allen Show”. 

A new subdivision, Franklin Park, was being built next to the new high school, with houses starting at $15,000 – probably with only one bathroom.  I mean, who needs more than one bathroom.  Boys dress slacks were $4.95, women’s seamless nylons were $1.95 for three pair, a mink stole would set you back $850 at Falks ID Store, while a black and white television might cost you $370.  A combination washer/dryer at Warehouse Furniture on South 9^th Street cost $450.

In sports, the Milwaukee Braves would soon meet the New York Yankees in the World Series, Satchel Paige (in his 50’s) was still pitching, the Cubs’ Ernie Banks had 37 home runs and 99 RBI’s, and the Borah Lions would not get their first Southern Idaho Conference win until October.  Fans were waiting for the first intra-city game ever scheduled for November 11.  After Boise upset defending champion Pocatello late in the season, the table was set for the Veterans Day game to decide the SIC championship.  Sportswriter and later mayor of Boise Dick Eardley wrote excitedly that as many as 8000 people may show up for the game.  It turned out to be over 11,000 in a stadium with a capacity of 10,000.  Both high school bands and choirs, as well as those from the four junior highs, performed a Veterans Day tribute at half time.

The game itself?  It couldn’t have been much more exciting. Borah score first, then Boise took the lead, and then the Lions got a touchdown on a pass by Larry Jeffries just before half.  The Braves took the lead in the third quarter, but Borah won it with Stein’s touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.  For the Lions it was the beginning of a dynasty that would carry into the 70’s.  Here is the Headline form The Idaho Statesman.