Showing posts with label Passings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Passings. Show all posts

Saturday, March 23, 2013

On the Passing of Victor McClinton

I want to join the many who are honoring the life and memory of Victor McClinton.

Near the end of 2012, it was front page on the Pasadena Star News and the most viewed article for days -- Pasadena Comes Together to Remember Victor McClinton.   McClinton was director of the Brotherhood Community Sports League.    At the age of 49, he was tragically killed on Christmas Day.

A recent Pasadena Weekly article aptly titled "One Very Good Man,"  again brought Victor to mind. 

I knew Victor only for a season - a football season.   Like thousands of area kids, my son participated in Brotherhood Crusade sports.   One year, he had the privilege of playing on a football team Victor coached.   So, I knew Victor as a dad knows a coach -- mostly from the sidelines.  But, I saw and  heard enough to know my son was fortunate to cross paths with this man.  

Though I did not know Victor well, I have known men like him -- men who are there for the kids month after month, year after year, consistent, resilient.   They get the keys to the gym or the field and they make sure the kids play.   They are more important than we realize.  

Well worth reading is a moving tribute to Victor written by his longtime friend, Danny Bakewell.    Over the years he led Brotherhood Crusade Sports and coached, Victor touched the lives of 20,000 area kids.  Few can say as much.   His was a monumental life.  "One very good man" who will be remembered by thousands for years to come..