The day after Penn fell to Drexel by two, it seems like we could all use a feel good, Rudy
-esque basketball story. Penn, meet 73 year old Ken Mink: he is your Rudy.
Kind of.
Standing an even six feet and weighing in at 190 pounds, Mr. Mink might just be the septuagenarian maverick we’ve heard so much about. Kicked off of his own college team (Lees College, if you’re wondering) for an incident involving either the use of shaving cream or soap (sources disagree) to vandalize his coach’s office, Mink has taken to the courts again to finish out his college career.
I would like to pause here and note that unless that shaving cream or soap was anthrax-laden, and “coach’s office” really means some kind of federal agency, dismissal from the team seems a little harsh. Just sayin’.
Anyway, at 73 he’s looking for closure to that fateful season 53 years ago, and with a spot on the Roane State Junior College team, he’s put himself in a position to get it.
That’s all well and good, but the man is 73.
He was born the same year as Frank Robinson - a figure who gracefully bowed out of the playing side of things quite some time ago. Kenny was alive for, and may have conscious memories of, the Second World War. He was too old to be cool at Woodstock, and about the time most of his teammates were born, he was probably welcoming his grandchildren into the world.
Seeing as how he’s actually rostered at an institution of higher learning, perhaps we should embrace him as a member of the student-athlete community. According to his coach, his teammates have already extended invitations to parties, although Mr. Mink will have to ask his wife for permission. I just hope he’s relishing his (belated) college experience and setting right whatever went wrong so many years ago. Or at the very least, I hope he has groupies.
Oh right, the Rudy part? He scored two points in a 93-42 victory last month. Tears to my eyes.
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