A STAR IS BORN -2ND EDITION (eBook)

Chapter 2-Archie Early Sr. /The Continuation

Archie Early’s Sr. childhood we do not know a lot about. We do know he was the biggest Early child by physical stature. He stood around 6 foot -3 and 200 plus pounds even in his high school youth days. Early stories say he was the tallest kid in his grade/age from early on. Being the oldest of the Early family, he often took care of the younger Early siblings Grant Jr, Becky, Michael, and Larry. His dad, Grant Sr. again was often gone fishing, hunting, and working 2nd shift. His mother Robin worked all day as well as a volunteer schoolteacher. She only had an 8th grade education but taught grade school. The Early siblings learned responsibility and discipline early on.

From day 1, Archie Sr. was taught to get good grades and set a good example for the family. It was often believed that this came from his mother Robin as she was the rock in the house old. In the future all the young Early’s as well as others in the family often called her Granny ma Early. Even other cousins and people around Gary, Indiana who were not even related to the Early’s did so.

Archie Sr. was a great baseball player and often told his sons when they were young and start playing sports, he would have to bat lefthanded to play with the kids his age. Archie Sr. often told his kids his right-hand batting was too good to be allowed to play with his team, so he batted lefthanded. It was later told that Grant Sr. would never come to Archie Sr’s baseball games so Archie Sr. would often try to break his own records in hopes of impressing Grant Sr to come to 1 game maybe finally. It never worked out and that was the start of something big that would manifest later between the two and even in Early generations of son and father to come. Later, it was revealed that this was part of the strain going on between Grant Sr. and Archie Sr. in his younger adult years. Even young Archie Jr picked this up when he was around 10 years old. Archie Jr. would listen intently as the conversations were very one sided with Grant Sr. asking dull and boring questions and Archie Sr. barely answering back. Archie Sr. was dull and straight to the point and it seemed like both were just going thru the motions in talking to be polite at family get togethers.

Archie Sr. also played football in high school where he was a terror playing on the offense and defensive line. Two great stories came out of this era. A running Early joke is the name Albert Charles, which is the nickname Archie Sr. got as high school freshman. The high school football coach had Archie Sr, tryout with the sophomores even though he was a freshman. The coach changed his name in drills to Albert Charles to make him fierce as he thought Archie was too soft.

One time Archie Jr was in town for a funeral for his mother’s family member who raised her Auntie Essa, when he was around 16-17. As the Early family car pulls up in East Chicago, Archie Sr. got out and a booming voice came across the street. {Albert Charles}. Archie’s mom quickly told the boys see what your father’s nickname was. It was indeed Archie Sr’s nickname that stood for all ages. He also was made fun of growing up like his son would be later. Another Archie Sr. football story is when he made the varsity team as sophomore. East Chicago high school was a powerhouse only losing 6 games in Archie Sr’s whole varsity high school career. Archie Sr. won a state as sophomore tasting success early. Archie Sr. would often tell his sons how powerful his high school football team was despite having no 7 or 8th junior high football feeder program.

Lastly in relation to baseball was Archie Sr’s best sport as a youth, Archie could hit home runs batting left and right-handed. Archie Sr had great hand and eye coordination and was just as good with his left side as he was good as his right. He often told his kids growing up he had no dominate hand. Archie Sr. would write with 1 hand and eat with the other. Shoot with one hand and throw with the other. He told his kids at an early age to be ambidextrous was a definite skill as an Early. He often told his kids the only reason why he made the 7th and 8th basketball team was because he could shoot a left hand lay up during tryouts. All those stories would come into play in book 2 and 3 with Archie Jr and even his kids in today’s world.

Archie Sr. looked around and again saw what was happening around him with the great black players in East Chicago. The high schools were winning state championships, breaking records and the coaches were keeping their jobs longer and getting better jobs. All the while, the great black players were losing out, not going to college, did not have good grades to go to college or were flunking out. Archie Sr. vowed to not to let that happen to him. Grandma Robin always preached education despite only having and 8th grade education. Archie Sr. vowed he would be 1st Early in the family to go to college and he was. With the Early’s being from the southern part of the nation, college and education was not a strong option so most of them went into the military after high school. Often Archie Jr, his brothers and cousins would be at Early family functions and often see the 8 x 10 black and white pictures of past Early’s who were in the Army and Air Force on the walls. Archie Early Sr. bucked the East Chicago trend and the Early trend of not going right into the military after high school. Archie Sr. worked hard to get good enough grades to get an academic scholarship at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. Archie Jr.’s mom Cynthia often told Archie Jr. and his siblings their father played football so hard he would come home with his wrists and arms so bloody and scratched up it looked like he was butchering cows. At Augustana College he played offensive tackle and blocked for one the great quarterbacks of the era Kenny Anderson. Young Archie Jr. often remembers watching Sunday football with his father Archie Sr. slapping the floor and couch shouting at the TV cheering for the Cincinnati Bengals and their star quarterback Kenny Anderson. The snake as he was nicknamed, the snake would wiggle out his way out of sacks and make great plays. Archie Sr. had many college and football stories to share with his kids. Before young Archie and his siblings were too young to go to Augustana’s basketball camp, they always knew were Augustana College was and were proud their dad graduated and played there.

Archie Sr. was the 1st of the Early’s to go to college and graduate and set the precedent for his siblings. This would come into play much later, as he also was a chess champion in college and was by all means a calm man.

Some say it goes back to when in young Archie’s Sr. childhood, he would have to sometimes separate his dad Grant Sr. and his mom Robin from fighting and arguing. It is not known in the family if Grant Sr. would physically beat or abuse Robin but later it was widely speculated by female Early wives and females. There were some stories that circulated that young Grant Jr. would run to find a teenage Archie Jr. and Cynthia out on dates around East Chicago to pull Grant Sr. off Robin. By that time of course Archie Jr. would have been big and strong enough to match Grant Sr.’s brute strength and force his dad off his mom. It is rumored one time Archie Sr. body slammed Grant Sr so hard one time and told his father to never touch his mother again or he would kill him. Grant Sr. never did and maybe that was the trigger of the Archie Sr –Grant Sr feud that lasted many years.

Archie Sr. is often even described by Early family members as a book worm and nerd who had little streets smarts but very much book smarts. Growing up, Archie Jr. often recognized how his dad spoke clearly and used big words and often could hold conversations with anyone on several topics. Also, he recognized how many family members often came to Archie Sr. to discuss business deals or get his take on business headlines. Archie Jr. watched closely and intently how his father commanded and ruled the business side of the Early’s. This will be portrayed more in books 2 AND 3

While In college at Augustana, Archie Sr. married his high school sweetheart, Cynthia. Both grew up together in East Chicago. They never dated then until high school despite knowing each other since grade school. They both even grew up on the same block in junior high school. As college sweethearts Cynthia came to live with Archie Sr. in the last few years of Archie’s college career. She was a year behind him in high school but graduated early to be with her new love.

One part of Archie Sr’s life that only a few knew...