BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Dad was a Butler man.
He would talk up the old Hoosier Classic that started its initial five-year run in 1947 at Butler (now Hinkle) Fieldhouse, and liked to claim Indiana eventually exited the event "because Branch got tired of getting beat."
Dad especially extolled the virtues of Butler All-American Ralph "Buckshot" O'Brien, who just passed away in November, as an IU nemesis during three straight Bulldog wins over coach Branch McCracken's Hoosiers while the 1940s wound down.
Mom, an IU alumnus, would scoff. She'd note the nine-game Hoosier winning streak over Butler that had immediately ensued into the 1950s, and rest her case by citing Indiana's overall series advantage.