‘Don’t look, Ethel’

By Elizabeth Butler

January 26, 2009 04:52 pm

— “What’s the deal with the streaking in the ’70s?” a co-worker in his 40s asked after I printed a column with some of my favorite stories from the 35 years I have been here, including one on the fad in 1974.
One has to understand the mood of the South and the country when the streakings took place, according to Rusty Simpson, a Valdosta State College graduate and former Rebels (later known as Blazers) baseball player who witnessed “The Streak of March 1974.” Simpson had graduated but still followed the baseball team when Mike Hamner streaked across the VSC baseball field and was later arrested. (Mike has given us permission to use his name, and we’ll be writing about him later.)
The Vietnam War had ended, but it took the country about a year to believe that it had. Then the top of the pressure cooker was off — and so were the streakers around the nation.
Two years earlier in the fall of 1972, Rusty’s draft number had been 31 and Mike’s seven when Mike was a first-quarter junior and Rusty a last-quarter senior.
“Mike was a tennis player and in those days tennis players were kind of considered off-the-wall; I don’t know if they are today or not,” Rusty said. “Mike was always interested in having fun. He was smiling almost always and consistently coming up with ways to do something different for fun. I never saw Mike play tennis, but everyone that I talked to that knew the sport said he was really good.”
They had not known each other very long before they began talking about the Vietnam War.
“I apologize to all veterans and especially my deceased father, also a veteran, but we did not agree with the war effort,” Rusty said. “We talked about our status a lot because the bombing was escalating.”
Rusty was at Mike’s apartment on Nov. 6, 1972, when Mike received his draft papers in the mail.
“He said, ‘You ought to join and go in with me on the buddy system.’ I said, ‘Buddy, you’re a good buddy, but not that good.’”
Mike was going to a party that night so Rusty said he could do that with him. Rusty went to his apartment to shower and found his draft papers.
“When I got back to his apartment and told him I had got my draft papers, he almost fell down laughing,” Rusty said.
Rusty was unsuccessful in getting Mike, who was a junior, to ask for more time before going into the military. Instead, Mike went into the army and was assigned to Fort Jackson, S.C. Rusty, a senior in his final quarter, was not given the 30 days he requested, but was allowed to be inducted on the last induction of the year on Dec. 27, thereby giving him enough time to finish college.
“There were only 15 guys going through induction that day. At five minutes after 10 o’clock, 11 of the 15 had been inducted. The sergeant in charge walked in and said, ‘Men, the rest of today has been declared a military holiday because President Harry S. Truman just died. Y’all go home and get in touch with your draft board, and you will be inducted the end of January or first of February 1973.”
On Feb. 8, 1973, at 10 a.m., President Richard Nixon came on the radio and announced that the Vietnam peace agreement had been signed and that there would be no more drafting of young men in the military.
“For several months, people held their breath wanting it to be true,” Rusty said. “Once everyone thought it was true, the mental attitude of the country became, I will say, a lot more lighthearted. Young people became, I will say, a lot more loose — especially mentally.
“Then a guy who had a very different brain arrangement than most from Albany, Ga., named Ray Stevens wrote and sang a song called ‘The Streak.’ ‘Don’t look, Ethel’ became an almost war cry. But what is amazing to me is that a guy from Albany, Ga., one and 1/2 hours from Valdosta wrote and sang a song that spurred people from all over the country to take off their clothes and run not naked but “nekkid” all over the country. I mean, through grocery stores, convenience stores, McDonald’s, colleges or just about anywhere. ...”
It was announced around the Valdosta State campus that people were going to streak on Thursday, March 8, 1974. Estimates of the numbers of participants ranged from 100 to 1,500.
“It was almost like going to the Beverly Theatre and watching people run across the stage nekkid,” Rusty remembers.
“... since ‘The Streak’ was in March, it was the time of year people got kind of funky. Beach fever, laying out in the sun, relaxing and having the laid-back approach was popular. As a result, the major streak happened on March 11, 1974.
“Mike Hamner, being a tried and true tennis player, told too many people that he was going to streak between games of the baseball doubleheader between Clemson and Valdosta State on Sunday, March 11.”
And his friends told everyone.
“Mike, being a man of his word, showed up with only gym shorts and tennis shoes on and a smile. In getting prepared to do his thing mentally, he asked for the floppy beach hat that ... Janice Simpson (Rusty’s ex-wife) had on.”
Mike was planning to cover his face with the hat. He waited for the security guards to move.
“Finally, Johnny Caldwell, who is now head football coach at McEachern High School near Atlanta, eased up behind Mike and snatched his shorts down to his ankles. Then Mike had to run.
“As he ran across the field with his tennis tan shining, people were honking their car horns, screaming, clapping, cheering and hollering. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience or viewing ... He ran on the field, circled behind second base and headed to the left field foul line ... the gate down the left field line was left open. As fate would have it, as Mike got close to the fence, a young boy ran and closed the gate.”
A surprise for Mike.
Mike had to stop and open the gate. He ran through the gate and across the creek over to Pound Hall. His friend, Steve Whitley, was sitting next to Pound Hall in the getaway car, a Road Runner convertible with the top down. But Steve had a surprise for the streaker.
“Steve, being a such close friend, took off and made Mike ‘The Streaker’ chase his car out to the street running between Ashley Street and Patterson Street on the north side of South Georgia Medical Center,” Rusty recalled. “Steve lured Mike The Streaker out to Patterson Street and took a left turn headed to main campus.”
Rusty said Steve finally slowed down enough so that Mike could jump into the back seat of the Road Runner. Mike was taken out of class the following Tuesday and arrested and confined in jail. The fine was $1,000 or 12 months in jail. Mike was eventually released for $400.
The incident has become legend.
Rusty and John Bradley, who played baseball at VSC with him in the early ’70s, were at the Stone Creek Golf Club on Oct. 1, 2008, hitting practice golf balls on the practice tee.
The legendary Coach Tommy Thomas of VSC and VSU baseball fame came up and spoke to them and asked what they were doing. Rusty told him he was practicing for the Lowndes High School scramble golf tournament, while John said he was practicing to play in a member-guest golf tournament in Atlanta with Mike Hamner.
Coach Thomas, without hesitation, said, “The Streaker.”
March 8 is the 35th anniversary of the streak. Will there be another one? Stay tuned.
Elizabeth Butler is the Lifestyles editor of The Valdosta Daily Times.