Malcolm U. "Buck" Pitt...Thanks-a-Lot

I found out a few minutes ago that Malcolm U Pitt, Jr...aka "Buck" Pitt to anyone who ever was lucky enough to go to Camp Virginia, I found out that he died early this afternoon. I am not sure that Buck would want a lot of fan fare surrounding his death. I am not sure he would want to see a lot of downtrodden looks and despondent mourners. That was not his way. I think that second to my dad, Buck Pitt and his best pal Petey Jacobs had the most profound "adult" influences on my life to date. Buck and Petey, reinforced all the things my dad was trying to teach me about fair play, sportsmanship, doing the right thing even when no one is looking, humility, giving 100% all the time...and a host of other qualities that I still strive to fulfill. Buck Pitt was a living testament to all the things my dad was trying to teach me as a kid and as a young adult. He was 3rd party evidence that the qualities that mattered, did in fact exist in the world and they mattered more than I could imagine.

I am not expert on Buck's life by any stretch and there are many people who knew him far better than me. However, I was one of the lucky few who got to learn from him and see him live his life by the principals he held dear. He came from a generation that took care of business. They did not talk a lot, they didn't have to. Buck let his actions speak for themselves. He was not a self promoter and was always happy to let others take center stage, yet he was always there, supporting, teaching, listening. Buck came from a generation that believed in hard, clean competition. While I never saw him play, I know that on the football field Buck Pitt would knock your lights out with a clean hit during a play, and then help you up and tell you "nice play". He played hard, he played to win, and he played by the rules. His victory was not to be interpreted as your defeat. While I know he wanted to win on the athletic field as badly as anyone who ever played sports, he also did not want have his victory leave his opponent feeling like someone who lost.

Winning was important to Buck Pitt, but the way you played the game mattered more. The world needs more Buck Pitts and Petey Jacobs. While I fear we may not find many more like them, I am heartened by knowing that there are thousands like me who were privileged to know them. They taught many of us the right way to compete, on the sports field and in life.

"When the great scorer comes to mark against your name, he writes not if you won or lost, but how you played the game." I doubt a lot of people have heard this message before, and even fewer heed its call. I know where I learned it. I know who lived it. I am sorry we lost him but eternally grateful to have known him.

Buck Pitt, for what you did to help me and thousands like me, Thanks-a-Lot, we can never repay the debt, but are better for having it.