A CELEBRATED CASE & SEVEN FOOT GOVERNOR

"Steunenberg was a boyish, impulsive and utterly fearless individual, reckless to the verge of absurdity and incapable of actual crookedness of any sort. He knew perfectly well that he had antagonized a very large class of the community, but did not seem to be at all worried over the fact. He was a giant physically, standing seven feet in his stockings, and his physical strength was as great as his courage."

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Seven feet! Why James Naismith (credited as the inventor of basketball) would have been recruiting the governor to be an early Jayhawk at Kansas University. Often these Haywood trial articles were a strange blend of fact and fiction applied to all sides, further confusing the reading public and only fanning the flames of Labor versus Capital.

Picture to the right shows the Jayhawks in 1899 and Naismith standing far right. No seven footers.

BTW, the governor was 6'4", just about the same as my height. See Cousin George Crookham, Jr. and I in our playing days. Cousin George long before I came along! Click link below.
More Basketball

Since I am on a basketball theme (I haven't been mentioning much about the NBA playoffs this year), my Lakers have stumbled their way into the finals against the Boston Celtics. Although I was kind of hoping to see LeBron James and his Cleavland Cavaliers, the tradition of the Celtics and Lakers brings with it more of an historical flavor. Not sure if the Lakers can stand up to Boston or not, what with seven foot big man Andrew Bynum nursing a bad leg. I wonder if any seven foot governors are available?