The Pennsylvania Game
Baseball gold, strange laws & Pithole City
Season 8 Episode 3 | 28m 49sVideo has Closed Captions
What's the rarest baseball card in history? Play the Pennsylvania Game.
What's the rarest baseball card in history? Play the Pennsylvania Game. This program is from WPSU’s archives: Information impacting answers may have changed since its original airing. Promotional offers are no longer valid.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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The Pennsylvania Game is a local public television program presented by WPSU
The Pennsylvania Game
Baseball gold, strange laws & Pithole City
Season 8 Episode 3 | 28m 49sVideo has Closed Captions
What's the rarest baseball card in history? Play the Pennsylvania Game. This program is from WPSU’s archives: Information impacting answers may have changed since its original airing. Promotional offers are no longer valid.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
How to Watch The Pennsylvania Game
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipANNOUNCER: Cameron County is the birthplace of silent film cowboy Tom Mix.
It is also well known as what?
The rarest and most valuable baseball card in history is of what Pennsylvania-born ballplayer?
Find out as we all play The Pennsylvania Game.
[music playing, applause] The Pennsylvania Game is made possible in part by Uni-Marts, Incorporated, with stores in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.
Serving you with courtesy and convenience every day of the year.
Uni-Marts, more than a convenience store.
Now, let's get the game started.
Here's the host of The Pennsylvania Game, the woman who says there's no such thing as a stupid question, only stupid answers, Lynn Cullen.
Thank you, thank you.
[applause] You notice I'm starting to be tentative about those steps?
You see, there's bound to be a time where I come tumbling down.
I made it one more time.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Excuse me.
Something's pulling on my earring.
Welcome to The Pennsylvania Game, where spontaneous things are happening all the time.
So don't take your eyes off that television set.
You never know what's going to happen.
Let's meet our panel.
Oh no, not him again.
[laughter] The-- yes, the irrepressible Brian Allen, back to, well, I guess-- Lose again.
LYNN CULLEN: Yeah, back to lose another game.
The host of Penn State Hoops, color commentator for Penn State basketball, Brian Allen.
[cheering, applause] Oh man, the girls love him.
She has worked as a professional editor, writer for the past 20 years, currently working on a book that says you can be a failure at dog training and still love your pet.
She's also a returning panelist.
Welcome Bonny Farmer.
[applause] And now, the new kid on the block, never been here before.
Lee Grenci is an instructor of meteorology at Penn State, a member of the weather communications group, which creates the daily weather page for the New York Times, and an on-air meteorologist for Weather World on WPSX.
Weather, weather, weather.
Let's see whether you guys can play the game.
First question, please.
ANNOUNCER: Remote Cameron County in northcentral Pennsylvania, where the bear and the elk still roam, is well known as the birthplace of silent film cowboy Tom Mix.
It is also known as, A, God's country, B, the land of milk and honey, C, fisherman's paradise, or D, the divorce capital of Pennsylvania?
LYNN CULLEN: Excuse me.
How did that get in there?
God's country, the land of milk and honey, fisherman's paradise, or the divorce capital of Pennsylvania Cameron County?
Do we-- well, most of us don't know anything, do we, Brian?
[laughter] Exactly, right.
LYNN CULLEN: Yeah, that's what I thought.
I was-- I was fighting either B or D, and I thought the divorce capital of Pennsylvania sounded a little bit better than the land of milk and honey.
LYNN CULLEN: You know, I know you.
So I knew you were going to pick D. You should have asked me.
BRIAN: 'Cause we're here, Lynn.
I know.
BRIAN: We're here.
I know, I know.
It's frightening to me.
Bonny, what did you pick?
I chose, A. Cowboys, white hats-- what else could it be?
LYNN CULLEN: God's country.
Absolutely.
LYNN CULLEN: Lee, your first question, your first answer.
BRIAN: Pressure.
The pressure is on.
Pressure.
Actually, I've driven through Cameron County, and it really is God's country.
OK, well, there you have it.
And as usual, Brian, you're out on a limb all there by yourself in the lonesome.
Might be the place to be.
Let's find out.
ANNOUNCER: The answer is D, the state's divorce capital.
40 marriages are dissolved for every one that's united in this rural Pennsylvania county of 5,900 people.
Lawyers from Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and elsewhere throughout the state discovered in 1982 that they could save time and money by filing their no fault divorce papers in Cameron.
The county charges just $39 to process a new divorce, a fraction of what other areas charge.
Cameron's cottage industry has been controversial, especially among its clergy, but it's also been a bonanza.
Last year alone, the divorce by mail capital processed 6,000 divorces and netted more than $250,000.
6,000 divorces.
I bet there aren't even 6,000 people in Cameron County.
So they have figured out a little niche for themselves.
Strange, didn't know that.
Now you do.
Cancel my tickets to Reno.
I won't be using them.
There's some place closer.
By the way, Pennsylvania's divorce rate is among the lowest in the nation.
There you have it.
Congratulations to all of you still together.
I'm sort of coming apart myself.
Let's do another question, please.
ANNOUNCER: The most valuable and rarest baseball card in history is a cigarette card of a Pennsylvania-born ballplayer known by many as The Greatest Shortstop in Baseball History.
Is the baseball card of, A, Stan Musial, B, Honus Wagner, C, Connie Mack, or D, Roberto Clemente?
LYNN CULLEN: Well, if you're a baseball fan, chances are you're going to be able to figure this one out.
Is it Stan Musial, Honus Wagner, Connie Mack, or the great Roberto Clemente?
Bonny.
Yes, we're going to start with me.
I chose B because it just sounded like an old enough name to be on a cigarette card.
LYNN CULLEN: OK, that's smart.
See, you're using your noggin.
You got to pick up on every little clue.
That's smart.
Lee.
Stan Musial was a first baseman.
Roberto Clemente was a right fielder.
But I don't know about B and C. Connie Mack had a stadium built after him, so I chose B. OK, you went with C. Well, there your baseball wisdom paid off for you.
You know, I know you know basketball and you know baseball.
Of course I know baseball.
Ha!
Of course.
LYNN CULLEN: So what's the answer here?
I'm going with Honus Wagner.
Wayne Gretzky owns it, I think.
LYNN CULLEN: Wayne Gretzky owns the card?
Yes.
Do you think?
BRIAN: I'd play half a million for it.
Don't believe a thing he says.
I don't-- let's find out.
BRIAN: I'm feeling like a brainiac now.
[laughter] ANNOUNCER: The answer is B, Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Wagner, who was religious and non smoking, was upset at the use of his image on a cigarette card.
In 1909, his lawyers forced the tobacco company that issued the card to cease production, but not until 20 cards had already been circulated.
Today, one of those Honus Wagner baseball cards is worth more than $200,000.
Wow, a statue of him outside Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.
Let's get to meet these people a little bit more.
As if I need to know you more than I do, Brian.
Brian, what's this I hear about you meeting with Montel Williams?
Tell us about this.
Oh yeah, I have a friend that's one of his producers.
And I went to the show.
And he came out and he started talking.
And he started talking about scuba diving.
And I told him I scuba dived, or dove, or have has or had dove-- I don't know the correct tense.
But we kind of hit it off.
And he asked me if I had a girlfriend, and I said no.
And he felt sorry for me.
So he said he's going to have me on the show as a eligible bachelor.
You're kidding.
Hey, the pity thing works, the pity thing works.
[laughter] Lonely guy.
So he'll get you a date, finally.
Yeah.
Montel Williams.
We have to go national in television, but we'll do it.
BRIAN: You gotta take it to the top.
It's like a telethon just for you.
BRIAN: That's right.
OK. Bonny, what is this?
You could be a failure at dog training and still love your dog.
Will your dog love you?
That's a good question.
I mostly am designing it for people kind of like me.
You know, the sort of person who goes home, sees trash all over the kitchen, dog wedged into the garbage cans, spaghetti sauce from its ears.
Dog looks at you and says, I didn't do it.
It was the cat.
And you believe the dog, even though you don't have a cat.
[laughter] So-- I know people like you.
I usually avoid their homes, too.
Thanks for being here today.
BONNY: Any time.
Hey, Lee, you've written a book too-- World of Weather, Fundamentals of Meteorology.
Sounds like a real snoozer to me.
[laughter] Just kidding.
What is this, Rocky Balboa made his way into the book?
There's a ring of truth to that, yes.
BRIAN: Ooh!
LYNN CULLEN: You remember that, right?
Rocky Balboa is into meteorology?
Yeah.
To explain how precipitation forms in the atmosphere, you need to establish that water can exist at the same time as a gas, liquid, and solid.
And in that famous meat scene where he's pounding the beef, you can see his breath that's liquid.
His breath evaporates, so you know there's water vapor.
And they're in a freezer, so there's got to be some ice there.
So I worked that in into rain, believe it or not.
Wow.
[laughter] Wow.
I don't know about you, but I'm getting out of here right now.
From meteorology to geography.
We're supposed to all be geography nitwits in this country.
Let's find out if you're representative.
The panel, that is.
ANNOUNCER: At 283 miles long, 160 miles wide, Pennsylvania ranks 33rd in size among the states.
How many states share a border with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania?
A, four, B, five, C, six, or D, seven?
LYNN CULLEN: Think about it.
Get that map in your head.
How many states share a border with us?
We really are supposed to be geographically challenged.
I once had a producer who said, how do you get the international operator?
And I said, well, what do you need the international operator for?
And she said, I have to call New Mexico.
[awkward silence] Anyway, you don't understand that.
New Mexico is in the United States.
Lee, Lee.
Well, to show you how my day is going, I wanted to say five, which is B, but I just press C. LYNN CULLEN: Ooh, poor Lee.
Well, I'm sorry, it's C. Do I get partial credit?
LYNN CULLEN: No mercy.
You have a C, it is C. That's it.
LEE: I meant B. I'm tough around here.
You meant B, but he said C. What did you mean?
Well, I went with D, seven.
LYNN CULLEN: Seven.
Yes.
LYNN CULLEN: Uh-huh.
Uh.
Well, never mind.
Just be quiet.
[laughter] Really, just forget it.
Bonny?
I did a quick count of my fingers and toes and came up with C, six.
LYNN CULLEN: Six?
So you actually visualized it?
Mm-hmm.
Uh-huh.
Well, see, she had six, Lee, and she meant to say six.
Only that I meant to say it.
LYNN CULLEN: Six might be right.
Or-- LYNN CULLEN: Maybe.
Maybe.
ANNOUNCER: The answer is six.
Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York.
Only the Delaware River on the east at about 40 miles of Lake Erie in the northwest corner form natural boundaries.
Other state boundaries were established in the charter granted to William Penn by King Charles II of England, although it was 1787 before land and Border disputes were settled and Pennsylvania took clear title to its land.
The most famous border dispute was with the State of Maryland.
That dispute was ultimately settled when the English Crown accepted the Mason-Dixon line in 1769, a border which, in subsequent years, became the symbolic demarcation in the United States between North and South.
There you have it.
Little known that Mason-Dixon, it was named after Jackie Mason and Jean Dixon, I believe.
[laughter] Didn't know that.
All right, let's get the score.
It's time now to check out how these guys are doing.
And you know what?
They're not doing badly at all.
You really aren't.
It's a tie game.
You all have 2, which is OK.
I think we've only asked three questions.
That's very good.
Technically, I only have 1.
LYNN CULLEN: Yeah.
Technically, you only have one, but we're giving it to you.
2, 2, and 2.
All right.
I need the help, not Lee.
[applause] LYNN CULLEN: All right.
Here's where we separate the men from the boys, the girls from the women.
The Mystery Pennsylvanian.
Get it on this clue, the first clue, you get three points at the end of the game.
Get it on the second clue, two points.
The last clue, one point only.
He was raised in Altoona, Pennsylvania, the product of a family he describes as being neither musical nor athletic.
See, that's a little clue there, being neither musical nor athletic.
You see that little light bulb just went off in Brian's head.
It doesn't happen often, but-- [laughter] OK, you think about that, OK?
If you get it right this time, scribble it down there on line 1, and you will get three points at the end of the game.
But meanwhile, we must continue.
And here's a doozy just for you.
ANNOUNCER: Pennsylvania lawmakers continually add new laws to our already thick law books.
However, little attention is paid to repealing old laws.
All but one of the following were laws in Pennsylvania until 1992.
Do you know which one was not?
Was it, A, a person may not sleep in a refrigerator in Pittsburgh, or B, it's illegal to carry a skeleton into a tenement house in Erie, or C, no one may throw dead animals into the Schuylkill River between Fiar Rock and Fairmont Dam, or D, no one may boil bones or store dead animals in the 1st or 26th Ward in Philadelphia?
Wow.
LYNN CULLEN: Yeah, wow is right.
Man, they were boiling bones like mad in the 3rd Ward, I know that, and it was perfectly OK. How can this be true?
Three of those four are, in fact-- were, in fact-- let's get the tense right-- laws in Pennsylvania.
Only one of those is a pretender.
I'm not even going to attempt to go through those again.
But one had to do about sleeping in refrigerators.
There was something about dead animals, carrying skeletons, and bones in wards in Philadelphia.
Weird, huh?
[mumbles] LYNN CULLEN: Hey, Brian.
Oh, you're going to put it on me first?
Well, I am.
Which one-- which one of those-- Well, I know I've been cited for sleeping in a refrigerator in Pittsburgh before, so that can't be it.
So I just decided that, C, throwing dead animals.
Now, you can throw it in the Allegheny, but the Schuylkill River, yeah, that had never come up before.
No, absolutely.
Apparently not.
Yeah, C. He doesn't know a thing.
Bonny, what do you think?
They've let me sleep in lots of refrigerators, so I said A. LYNN CULLEN: You did say A?
I said A. LYNN CULLEN: Very dangerous to sleep in refrigerators, Bonny.
Do you sleep in the crisper or do you favor-- I just like the wire racks.
It gives you a lot of support.
LYNN CULLEN: OK, just asking.
Because I have, you know, my what I like to do in refrigerators myself, but we won't get into that.
BRIAN: We'll talk after the show.
Yes, Lee.
I have a lot of skeletons in my closet and I make no bones about it, D. LYNN CULLEN: Argh.
[audience booing] BRIAN: I like that one, I like that one.
That was good.
All right, so what?
So you didn't go with the one about skeletons.
You went with-- Well, the boil bones.
I mean-- LYNN CULLEN: Oh, boil bones.
Boil bones.
LYNN CULLEN: You went with D. Boil bones.
LYNN CULLEN: OK, so we have a C, A, and a D. We have a CAD.
Brian, look that up.
Ah.
LYNN CULLEN: I know.
Let's get the correct answer.
ANNOUNCER: The answer is B.
It is illegal to carry a skeleton into a tenement house, but only in New York City.
The others are just a few of the outdated and unusual laws that were on the books in Pennsylvania until former State Representative Sam Hayes Jr. devised a plan called Operation Repeal, which eliminated all laws that cluttered up the state's law books.
Many of these laws were passed as health and safety efforts in the 17 and 1800s.
In 1992, Act 108 repealed nearly 50 laws in Pennsylvania that were either useless or required payments in shillings and pounds.
Yeah.
Well, listen to this, the penalty for cursing in Pennsylvania is a $0.40 fine.
And if you mention God while you're cursing, the fine is $0.67.
Now, what occurs to me is why don't they enforce that?
If that is-- I mean, the state treasury would be burgeoning.
Why don't they enforce that, damn it?
And then they could-- ANNOUNCER: [indistinct] Oh, sorry.
Well, it's $0.40.
It was just $0.40.
It's $0.40 for me right there, see?
Wouldn't that be smart?
BRIAN: I'd be in debtor's prison.
I know you would.
So I want to thank Violet Weber of Lancaster for sending us that wonderful, wonderful question.
How's about another?
Why not?
What else are we going do?
BONNY: As long as we're here.
ANNOUNCER: On September 23, 1938, former state Senator Fred Bailey, a native of Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, unveiled a bronze statue on the green in Wellsboro in loving memory of his late wife Elizabeth.
Was the statue of, a, Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, B, General Ulysses S. Grant, C, the family dog, a Great Dane, Or D, Wynken, Blynken, and Nod?
LYNN CULLEN: Excuse me?
[laughter] What-- how do we get-- Aphrodite, General Grant, the family dog, or Wynken, Blynken, and Nod?
Good.
Who comes up with these things?
This is a good question.
LYNN CULLEN: OK, Bonny, you have it.
Come on.
Get that quizzical, pained look off your face.
I'm sure this is the right answer.
I said D, because in my heart, I know she was a good mother.
LYNN CULLEN: OK, that's it.
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
Lee.
When you mention a dog, you get right to my heart, so I chose C. LYNN CULLEN: OK, you went with the Great Dane.
And you, sir.
Being that I have problems getting dates, I stayed away from the Aphrodite.
I went with Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, which probably described their life in the bedroom.
[laughter] [bell rings] LYNN CULLEN: Excuse me?
Can we just go to the answer, please, now?
ANNOUNCER: The answer is D, Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, written by Eugene field, is considered by many to be the most perfect poem ever written.
To commemorate his wife's love of the poem, Fred Bailey, a former state senator from Colorado, gave the statue sculpted by Mabel Torrey as a gift, especially with children in mind.
By 1989, the statue was in desperate need of cleaning, so a committee was formed to restore and preserve the statue.
In the spring of 1990, work was completed and the statue was restored to its original beauty.
Aw.
It's enough to bring tears to your eyes, so is our score.
[chuckles] No, no, no, no, no.
Actually, Brian, this may come as a shock to you, but you're in first place-- tied with Bonny.
Bonny and Brian both have three correct answers at this juncture.
[cheering, applause] Lee has 2.
And here's an opportunity to get some more, our second clue for the Mystery Pennsylvanian.
This former Penn State defensive tackle received All-Pro honors with the Cincinnati Bengals, the Bengals-- or the Bungles, as we like to call them in Pittsburgh.
OK, raised in Altoona, Pa, product of a family he described as being neither musical nor athletic.
He's a former Penn State defensive tackle, All-Pro Cincinnati Bengal.
Bonny's tearing her hair out.
Brian is feeling like a champion.
And we are going to move on to the next question.
ANNOUNCER: Pithole in northwest Pennsylvania was once a city of 15,000 people.
Today, it is one of the state's many ghost towns.
For what resource is Pithole City known?
Is it, A, lumber, B, oil, C, limestone, or D, anthracite coal?
LYNN CULLEN: L-u-m-b-e-r, lumber, oil, limestone, or anthracite coal?
It's one of those.
The lovely town of Pithole.
Nice name for a town, huh?
Hi, how are you?
I'm from Pithole.
[laughter] Gee.
Well, I'm from Pittsburgh, so I guess not much better.
Who are we going to first?
Lee.
Well, I guess I can dig C. LYNN CULLEN: [forced laugh] [laughter] [booing] Humor him.
Come on, shh.
Limestone.
That's very good.
That's fine, that's fine, that's fine.
Brian, no puns.
Just give me an answer.
Well, I mean, Pithole City, I expected to have, you know, places where Brian Allen lives as a choice, but I'm going to go with anthracite coal.
OK.
Yes.
OK, we've got limestone.
We have anthracite coal.
And we have Bonny Farmer.
Basically, he's just cheating and listening to my answers in advance, because I said anthracite also.
You had anthracite coal, too?
Yeah.
LYNN CULLEN: Well, hate to break this to you, but guess what?
They're all wrong.
Absolutely wrong.
ANNOUNCER: The answer is B, oil.
On January 7, 1865, the first oil well in Pithole City at Holden Farm came in at 650 barrels a day.
Men looking for a quick fortune flocked to Pithole.
And by September of 1865, the population of this oil community had risen to 15,000.
Suburbs such as Balltown, Prather City, and Plummer sprang up on the ridges that surrounded the city to accommodate the people who could not find a place to live in one of Pithole's 60 hotels.
But in barely a year, oil production fell and continued to drop steadily.
Fortune seekers and professionals moved away.
In all, the town went from boom to bust in only 500 days.
Today, only cellar holes, streets, and abandoned wells can be found at the site of one of the nation's greatest boom towns.
Pathetic, boom to bust in 500 days.
Listen to this, one of the hotels caught on fire in 1866.
And they came, and they got water from nearby pumps, And they're pumping away.
And you know what came out of the pumps?
AUDIENCE: Oil.
Oil, yeah.
Not a good idea.
Oh well.
Anyway, out of the fire and into the dead of winter with our next question.
JE Morgan Knitting Mills of Schuylkill County provided the 1994 US Olympic luge team with an important part of their gear.
In fact, JE Morgan is the world's leading producer of this product.
Is it, A, long underwear, B, insulated gloves, C, woolen hats, or D, double-layered knit socks?
LYNN CULLEN: Well, it's the knitting mills.
What do they make?
Long underwear, insulated gloves, woolen hats, or double-layered knit socks?
All of which that luge team I'm sure has wanted at one point or another.
Brian, which one did you pick?
I went with A, long underwear, because, you know, it's cold out there.
LYNN CULLEN: Well, if you're sliding around on ice, I would imagine so.
Yeah, sure.
LYNN CULLEN: Bonny.
I thought my feet would get the coldest, so I said D, double-layered socks.
LYNN CULLEN: OK. And what part of your body freezes first, Lee?
[laughter] Sorry, sorry.
No, I'm not sure, I'm not sure.
LYNN CULLEN: Excuse me.
I think-- I think I like the idea that A really "sleighed" me.
LYNN CULLEN: OK. BRIAN: Oh!
LYNN CULLEN: Oh no!
BRIAN: He's rolling.
LYNN CULLEN: All right, he's out here.
He's out of here.
I think you got it, Bonny.
All right.
We got two long underwears and a something else-- and I don't know.
And let's get the answer.
ANNOUNCER: The answer is A, long underwear.
The JE Morgan Knitting Mills were founded in 1945 in Tamaqua by John Morgan.
JE Morgan is the largest manufacturer of thermal underwear in the United States, and with 1,400 workers, is the largest employer in Schuylkill County.
The company supplied the 1994 Olympic luge team with three sets of two ply stretch thermal underwear for each of the 45 members of the US team which competed in chilly Lillehammer, Norway.
Last chance.
Last call.
Mystery Pennsylvanian.
Final clue.
Well known in country music circles, he received ASCAP's Song of the Year Award in 1986 for Lost in the Fifties.
He was an interesting character.
He's winning Song of the Year awards in '86, and he's also an All-Pro with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Was raised in Altoona.
He says family was neither musical nor athletic.
Who is this musical star football player?
I'm going first to you, Bonny, so finish up that last letter there.
I'm writing as fast as I can.
LYNN CULLEN: All right.
What do you have?
I didn't know.
LYNN CULLEN: What do you mean, you don't know?
You just wrote it.
I wrote like crazy.
I have to go.
Now let's see.
Let me get it.
LYNN CULLEN: We have Richard Rodgers.
We have Big Bear Johnson.
And we have Tony, the Good Old Boy Singing Tiger.
[laughter] It might be right, it might be.
LYNN CULLEN: We'll give you a point for creativity.
That's right.
Let's hear it for Bonny.
Oh god.
He's obviously lost the game.
[laughter] Lee, what do you have?
Oh, I feel guilty about this one.
I went to school with Mike Reid.
LYNN CULLEN: So you're sure of yourself, are you?
BRIAN: Cheater, cheater.
LYNN CULLEN: Mike Reid, Mike Reid, Mike Reid-- 1, 2, 3.
If you get it on the first one, that's three points for this upstart.
What about you, Brian?
Well, the first person that I knew from Altoona was my old teammate, Mike Juzzolino.
But he didn't play football.
He played basketball.
LYNN CULLEN: And then you got Reid on the second.
Well, the second clue was, you know, it's a dead giveaway.
LYNN CULLEN: Now what does that do?
I think-- well, I don't know.
Wait a minute.
Is it Mike Reid?
You guys are awfully sure of yourselves.
I don't want to date myself, but Lee was my professor in college.
And this would be such a thrill if I could beat him.
OK, well, let's see.
It'll be a thrill, for Brian.
Mike Reid?
ANNOUNCER: Mike Reid grew up in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
At age six, he began taking piano lessons.
And by age 12, he had invested in a $1,500 organ.
But by the time he paid it off, football had him in its clutches.
In college, Reid co-captained, the undefeated 1969 Penn State Nittany Lions.
And although he was one of the smallest defensive tackles in the game, he was the Cincinnati Bengals' number one draft choice.
But after five seasons with the team, he had had his fill.
He announced his retirement from football at age 27.
Music once again became his focal point.
He began doing gigs around Cincinnati and even performed for a while with the Cincinnati Symphony.
But his true interest was in songwriting.
In 1981, he signed on with country superstar Ronnie Milsap, who recorded a number of his hits singing Reid's songs.
One of them was Lost in the Fifties, which earned Reid's ASCAP Song of the Year Award in 1986.
Mike Reid, a famous Pennsylvanian.
Yeah, we're just saying, you guys went to school together-- you look alike.
BRIAN: Separated at birth.
[laughter] I'm going to talk to your parents.
Yeah, Mike Reid, also known for writing the Bonny Raitt hit I Can't Make You Love Me.
What an interesting guy.
I mean, great football player and all of that.
But I bet you want to know who won the game, don't you?
BONNY: Wasn't me.
No?
We have a tie, ladies and gentlemen.
A tie with-- AUDIENCE: Arm wrestle.
--with the two-- Arm wrestle?
We're gonna arm-wrestle?
[laughter] We've got both Brian and Lee.
And I'm not sure what we're going to do here with our little goodie bag, because, you know, we do have a prize for the winner.
We're going to give them each one, or we're going to make them fight over it?
Aw.
[applause] All right, hre are the prizes.
And we want to thank Janet Johnson, the owner of JJ's Basket Delights in Mechanicsburg.
A basket full of made in Pennsylvania food products.
[applause, cheering] Thanks to my panel.
[applause, cheering] Thanks to the audience-- a rather noisy bunch today.
And thanks most to you, and hope you join us one more time-- or two, three, four, five, six, seven or eight, come to think of it-- when we play yet again The Pennsylvania Game.
[applause, cheering] [music playing] ANNOUNCER: The Pennsylvania Game is made possible in part by Uni-Marts Incorporated, with stores in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.
Serving you with courtesy and convenience every day of the year.
Uni-Marts, more than a convenience store.
ANNOUNCER: Meals and lodging for contestants of The Pennsylvania Game provided by The Nittany Lion inn, located on Penn State's University Park campus.
[music playing, applause]
Support for PBS provided by:
The Pennsylvania Game is a local public television program presented by WPSU













