I was reared in Blythe, California and attended Palo Verde High School. One of my good friends was Richard Klamian. His nickname was Bosco. We both played on a few of the school's sports teams and always had to travel 100 miles or more to find other teams to play.
As kids, we thought we were isolated. In hind sight and as an adult, I now realize quarantined would be a more appropriate description.
Regardless, on the bus trips to Yuma, Indio, Coachella and Brawley, Klamian and I would huddle in the back of the bus and play Mascot Money. We would rotate, asking each other nickel, dime and quarter questions about team mascots and nicknames. A nickel question would be something like, "Name the UCLA mascot." A dime money maker would be, "What is the nickname of Southern Mississippi?" The quarter jackpot question would be, "Blue Hens is the mascot of what university?"
Klamian, who later became the chief odds maker at the Stardust Hotel Sports Book in Las Vegas, was a one-of-a-kind guy. He passed away a few years ago from a brain tumor, but I still have very fond memories of our friendship and golf outings in Vegas.
As high school punks and partners, I always had an advantage on the bus trips because I was playing with house money. I knew that even if I lost a quarter or two, I could get it back when the school fed us after each game. We always had the same meal; chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, salad and iced tea. I could always count on Klamian or some other teammate to buy my tea from me and restore my mascot dignity and dinero.
The high schools we played probably had the most eclectic mascots that I have known or heard of. We played the Yuma Criminals, Indio Rajahs and the Coachella Arabs. Ours was the most mundane mascot of the bunch; Palo Verde HS Yellow Jackets. Feel free to use those mascots if you ever find yourself in the back of a school bus looking for a little extra spending money.
It won't be too long before there will probably be a Hannah Montana High School built somewhere in this country. The perfect mascot would be "The Mullets". A picture of the future mascot can be found above.
Trust me, it is guaranteed to be at least a dollar question and Klamian would know the answer if he was still alive. I would gladly pay that and more just to have another match of Mascot Money in the back of the bus. I miss him.
I remember Klamian wrestling in the heavyweight division when he was lightweight....he was losing badly to his 250 lb. opponent when he busted out with a series of karate chops to the body without much effect, but he caused the crowd to go crazy {kind of like Rocky}. He was disqualified for the chops but became the school hero for wrestling