Bob Barber 1963-67
I wish I could add more to the ’66 Bear Story, but the fearless leader of that ’66 XC team slept through most of the commotion. Larry Kelly woke me up to tell me about it, so I did witness the broken screen door and the dent in the refrigerator after the fact. I’ve heard the version of the fish aroma enticing the bear to our cabin but I trust Roy Hall’s version. What a great way for Ken Rowlett to be introduced to UT Cross Country—before school even started. More painful memories of those Smoky Mountain training trips were running the steep mountains and then the ice cold baths in the mountain stream.
Along comes Coach right through the middle of all the teams, and in his booming voice he yells: “Okay, guys, let’s get in five miles now, so we don’t have as much work to do when we get home this afternoon.” And off we trotted out onto the golf course as a team. A classic “psyche-out moment” in Rohe’s career!
Tough Workouts
I have one Rohe story that I can’t resist telling. At the 1965 SEC XC Championship meet in Birmingham, we had just swept the first six places. After the race all of the teams were situated around the finish chute—some putting on their sweats; some gagging; most dying from their efforts. Along comes Coach right through the middle of all the teams, and in his booming voice he yells: “Okay, guys, let’s get in five miles now, so we don’t have as much work to do when we get home this afternoon.” And off we trotted out onto the golf course as a team. A classic “psyche-out moment” in Rohe’s career!