I remember when … in 1947 Natchez High had all mighty fine athletes on its football team.

Outstanding runner Buzz Ratcliffe comes to mind right away. But not just Buzz; Bubba Kaiser, David Eidt, Gene McGehee, Billy Parks, Charles Kelly, Platte Phillips, Buster Schilling, Bill Zimmerman, Fred Schleet, Fred Foster, Billy Irby, Claude Porter, Ralph Thompson and others also quickly come to mind. Honest, now, I haven’t named nearly all of the fine athletes on that team.

In fact, NHS in 1946 won eight games, lost one and tied one. Coach A. I. Rexinger’s Rebels beat Rolling Fork, Magee, Biloxi, Brookhaven, Yazoo City and Kosciusko in succession before tying Moss Point. Then they beat Canton, lost to Vicksburg and beat Columbia to finish the season.

I wish I could recall more about the ’46 season, but I just can’t. I guess you could say I simply like to talk about what I CAN remember, and leave it at that. I remember good things about Cathedral and NHS, but I can’t always nail down the exact facts.

Just remember that I’ve been there and done that as regards to attending probably more than 300 Natchez High, Cathedral and old Washington High football games. And that’s not to mention Ferriday and Vidalia high schools. Plus old Washington and Meadville way back when.

You know I had the bug or I wouldn’t have missed sleep, etc., running behind Natchez’s local high school athletic teams (football and basketball) all those years. The truth of the matter is that I simply loved it, that’s all. I don’t apologize for being turned like that.

Tiger is a tiger &045; Tiger Woods is phenomenal, you know it? The still-young professional golfer has the ability to shatter all of pro golf’s records before he’s through. Just raw talent, I guess you could say. He sure doesn’t act like someone lucking out often, although some like to say &8220;ole Tiger’s not THAT good!&8221;

Take his performance in the prestigious Western Open in Illinois this past weekend, for instance &045; Tiger faced up to the challenge, kept his cool, and simply moved front and center to take the title, his fourth victory of 2003 and 38th career triumph.

Hey, there’s simply no stopping Tiger in my estimation. He’s got it and he’s young enough to keep it for awhile. Raw talent is raw talent. I will say this, though &045; all naturally endowed golfers don’t retain that cutting edge always.

But it’s beginning to look like Woods will be tough a long time. Winning-tough that is. Think of the heat he has felt already in his career, and look at how well he’s done.

Nick Price led wire-to-wire in the 1993 Western Open. Now Tiger Woods has done it in the ’03 event, but Tiger has led wire-to-wire five times in his career.

But look at the sum total. Whatcha gonna do? Saw his legs off? His 21-under 267 for the tournament matched the event’s best-ever record set in 2001 by Scott Hoch. An 11-foot par putt he missed on the 18th hole would have given him the new record.

Tiger’s just got it, that’s all. He’s one of those naturals, other professionals are saying, and they ought to know. He’s now won all but two of the 31 tournaments he led after 54 holes.

Boy, he’s made a wad of money, hasn’t he?!

Glenvall Estes is a longtime columnist for The Natchez Democrat.