VIGNETTES FROM
THE HISTORY OF ESCAMBIA UNIVERSITY
When Things Go
THONG, They Go So Very THONG!
Pensacola's Brush With
Championship Volleyball
Long time Pensacola residents
will recall that the sport of volleyball was invented in the
area. Originally called Valleyball, it was named after the Escambia
Valley. The local founding team eventually saw its prominence relegated
to cult status and eventually found itself ignored by historians. Even
the name was eventually changed to "Volleyball" in an attempt to
cover-up an era most locals find embarrassing.
Dr. Freudlick Potemkin operated
a local psychiatry clinic that soon found itself specializing in the
treatment of men obsessed with exhibitionist tendencies. Dr. Potemkin
apparently had a long standing interest in the activity. He encouraged
his patients to find an outlet for their energy in an attempt to have
them sublimate for the problem. The sport they invented became popular
but also unfortunately gained the region an unwanted exposure, so to
speak.
 A Pensacola player returns
a
serve during a heated match. |
 A local player leaps to
block a ball at the net. |
 A Pensacola "valleyballer"
turns
away while receiving a hard serve. |
 An Escambia County server
prepares to strike the ball. |
 A local player follows through after a serve. |
 Proudly flaunting his
thong, a
Pensacola player poses for the camera. |
Of course the first thing you
noticed was the uniform. Dr. Potemkin's patients claimed that this
thong, as they called it, gave them the correct freedom of movement
they needed. In any event, opposing players were so flustered at seeing
Escambia University's players sometimes leaping free of the loose
fitting garment, they could not perform athletically. The locals often
shut out their opponents en route to declaring themselves World
Champions in the new sport.
You can imagine the uproar in the surrounding counties when the Escambia University team attempted to play in their communities. It was the late 1800's and while Pensacola and the surrounding areas were a "wide open" environment for such things, America just wasn't ready for such activity. Valleyball faded from the scene and was replaced by a more acceptable game called Volleyball. It wasn't until modern times that the original game came back in the form of something called Beach Volleyball.
You can imagine the uproar in the surrounding counties when the Escambia University team attempted to play in their communities. It was the late 1800's and while Pensacola and the surrounding areas were a "wide open" environment for such things, America just wasn't ready for such activity. Valleyball faded from the scene and was replaced by a more acceptable game called Volleyball. It wasn't until modern times that the original game came back in the form of something called Beach Volleyball.
SELECTED STORIES
 Circa 1960, Escambia
University Dance Instructor Chubby Potemkin's New Dance Craze, "The
Twit," Almost Sweeps The Country.
|
 Pensacola And Escambia
County Meet Briefly To Experiment With Joining Together To Form Metro
Government in 1990. The Meeting Was Organized By The Political
Science Department Of Escambia University.
|