Randy Smith
I believe that everyone has a relative or two that make life a bit more interesting. When my wife Shelia and I were married, I realized that her family had more than their share of individuals who had a few stories that were going to be passed down for generations to come. Shelia's great-Aunt Maude was married to a wonderful gentleman named Hubert Shirley. The two of them never had any children and since they lived just two doors up from us in Whitwell we became their "adopted" children so to speak.
In the mid-1970s there was a device that came out called the "Pocket-Fisherman." It was a small device with a big handle, about the size of a small skillet. On the end opposite of the big handle was a fishing hook that was tied to a fishing line. The thing was less than a foot long, but when you cast the "Pocket-Fisherman" it would go out just like a Zebco fishing rod. You could actually catch fish on this thing, and literally put it in your pocket when you were through catching fish. Of course you really needed pants with a big pocket. Uncle Hubie's adventures with his "Pocket-Fisherman" soon became legend.
We gave Uncle Hubie his "Pocket-Fisherman" for Christmas one year and since our entire family was headed to Florida with our campers the day after Christmas, Hubie would soon have his chance to try it out.
We camped in a large campground between Sarasota and Clearwater, Florida. We had a small lake just a few yards from our campers, that was supposedly stocked with all kinds of fish, and Uncle Hubie couldn't wait to give his new toy a try. He wandered off to the lake just after he and Aunt Maude had set up their motorhome; complete with a box of worms, his lawn chair and his brand new "Pocket-Fisherman." My wife Shelia and I had a pop-up camper at the time and it took considerably longer to set up than the motorhome, so I told Uncle Hubie I would be along in a few minutes, with my normal sized Zebco.
I picked up my lawn chair and my fishing rod and headed for the lake. As I got closer to Uncle Hubie's spots on the lake, I saw him standing up in front of his chair, pulling on his "Pocket-Fisherman" and looking all around. It appeared his fishing line was hung up on something, so I set my rod down and helped him look for it. After a few minutes we were unable to find any trace of the fishing line, but when you moved the fishing device there was still a lot of tension on the line. After a few more minutes of searching the water and every tree and bush on the bank, Uncle Hubie turned around and I found his fishing line. He had caught himself in the seat of his pants with his brand new "Pocket-Fisherman" and he was very lucky he had thick pants on. After a few more minutes, with the help of my father-in-law, we finally freed Hubie from the grip of his "Pocket-Fisherman."
I wish I could say this was the only incident involving Uncle Hubie and his fishing toy, but it isn't. A few weeks later back at home, Huibie and Aunt Maude went fishing on Nickajack Lake in his boat. He pulled out his "Pocket-Fisherman" again and this time hooked Aunt Maude in the ear.
It wasn't long before the "Pocket-Fisherman" had disappeared from the stores. It obviously had produced more laughs and accidents than fish. A few years later I looked for one in one of the sporting goods departments, and the salesman told me they were forced to top making them. He said, there were too many accidents and injuries with it.
Amen to that!
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Randy Smith has been covering sports on radio, television and print for the past 45 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has written two books, and has continued to free-lance as a play-by-play announcer. He is currently teaching Broadcasting at Coahulla Creek High School near Dalton, Ga.
His career has included a 17-year stretch as host of the Kickoff Call In Show on the University of Tennessee’s prestigious Vol Network. He has been a member of the Vol Network staff for thirty years.
He has done play-by-play on ESPN, ESPN II, CSS, and Fox SportSouth, totaling more than 500 games, and served as a well-known sports anchor on Chattanooga Television for more than a quarter-century.
In 2003, he became the first television broadcaster to be inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame. Randy and his wife Shelia reside in Hixson. They have two married children, (Christi and Chris Perry; Davey and Alison Smith.) They have four grandchildren, Coleman, Boone, DellaMae and CoraLee.
He can be reached at rsmithsports@epbfi.com