TV advertising introduced us to “The Most Interesting Man in the World.”
One step down is my endless search for the most interesting Tennessee basketball player.
For years, John Fulkerson has had that spotlight to himself. He is a natural gladiator. He has given us many dramatic dives and slides in pursuit of balls trying to get away. Some he captured. Some efforts resulted in injuries.
Fulky is said to be multi-talented. Rick Barnes has said that several times. He is also said to be older than the average NBA player. ESPN gave us that information.
Fulkerson has an honest, outgoing personality. He once told Mayfield face to face that their whole milk, filled with essential vitamins and nutrients, was a good product but the reduced-fat variety was fake. He said it is the same as water.
His NIL is with Pal’s Sudden Service, a hamburger and hot dog restaurant in Kingsport, his hometown. His reward is free food.
Why not free “Fulky fries” and autographs in orange for all fans when John first scores 30? Or maybe a “Fulky shake” when he blocks 10 shots?
Nobody ever inferred that John is the second coming of Bernard King, or as good as was Ernie Grunfeld, but he is very interesting.
With no putdown intended, I decided to dig deeper in the well. I thought of Tom Boerwinkle, first made famous by Stu Aberdeen’s coaching broom. He made a pro career out of picks and passes.
I thought about lead point guard Rodney Woods, who seemed to know what Ray Mears was going to call before the coach made up his mind. And then I hit a winner: Orbie Lee Bowling.
Orbie Lee had the advantage of being from Sandy Hook, Kentucky. He said it was unique, relevant to time and place.
“It is so far back in the sticks that Saturday Grand Ole Opry doesn’t get there ’til Tuesday.” That was the first time I heard that. Kingsport never had a chance.
Orb was a transition player between the John Sines era and Mears. Bowling got a chance to be a Volunteer because he wasn’t good enough to be a Wildcat.
In the summer of ’58, Associate Coach Ralph Patterson was driving the back roads of Kentucky in search of scrap iron. He had heard of Bowling and was trying to find him. He encountered a tall, slender man, 6-10 ½ if he was an inch, walking a gravel road.
“You from around here?”
“Uh huh,”
“Ever hear of Orbie Lee Bowling?”
“Uh huh.”
“Know where he lives?”
“Uh huh.”
“Please tell me.”
“End of this road.”
Patterson said thank you and drove on. He found the house. Obie Lee wasn’t there. The coach waited. Eventually the player arrived.
“Strange meeting,” said the coach. “Very strange meeting.”
Bowling knew his role on the court. He averaged just over 9 points and 7 rebounds per game during his Tennessee career. He once almost had a double Fluky.
Orb could be funny without trying. The professor in his music appreciation class told students to bring in classical recordings for discussion. Orb brought the newest bluegrass ditty by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. He had heard it was an instant classic.
International incident: The Volunteers were in El Paso for the Sun Bowl Classic and good Texas hosts took the Tennesseans shopping in Juarez. Pat Robinette and Bowling spent 50 cents each on big straw sombreros.
“Several players were in a station wagon, Orb and I in the back seat facing backwards,” recalls Robinette. “The driver briefed us on what to expect at the border, that the guard would ask nationality and we should answer ‘American’ and he’d wave us on through.
“As the border agent approached, Orb whispered ‘Listen to this’ and to the question of nationality, he said ‘Russian.’”
The Mexican guard blew his whistle and help came running from several directions. Orb, ordered out of the station wagon, recognized the error of his ways. He repeated several times that he was an American, from Sandy Hook, Ky., no less, an honest-to-goodness student at the University of Tennessee.
“Orb must have looked awfully big to those smaller Mexicans,” said Robinette. “There was more whistle blowing and more reinforcements. We were surrounded. Our host thought sure we had ignited a full-blown international incident.”
After extensive explanations and several appeals, Orb was apparently forgiven and the team moved on.
Said Robinette: “Orb was very quiet the rest of the way.”
Orbie Lee went on to play professional basketball for the Washington Generals, including a game in front of the Queen of Great Britain. He averaged almost 2 points and 3 rebounds per game.
Orb married well. He became an investment banker. He became wealthy. He was prominent in the development of businesses around Rupp Arena.
At 70 he was still throwing up 3-pointers and chasing some of the misses in a noon league in Memphis.
Interesting? You bet. One of the good guys? One of the best.
Marvin West welcomes reader comments and questions. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com