es nicknamed him preacher. Something told Oral that he was a child of destiny.As a teenager he joined the Methodist church. He did so out of peer pressure and not from religious faith. By the time he reached high school he was tall and a good athlete. He played baseball for a local team which included future major league pitcher Harry Brecheen. The girls were crazy about Oral. His reputation was that he was too fast to date the daughters of the mare careful parents. At the end of his sophomore year he had dreams of athletic fame, university study, a law degree and a political career.Oral left home and moved about 50 miles away to play basketball. His parents threatened to send the police after him. Oral said that if they did he would just keep leaving until they let him go. They all prayed together and Oral left. Oral realized years later that he had left because he was sick and tired of being poor. He began to believe that his parents’ religion was a roadblock to his ambitions. He resented the fact that his parents’ made him attend church and Sunday school. To him Christianity seemed repressive and confining, he ran away to get away from the lord.When Oral moved to the new school there was new success. He was elected class president, he was a honor student, editor of the school newspaper, cheerleader for the football team and a member of the basketball squad. In addition to his school activities he also held three part time jobs and completely supported himself. He lived in the home of a local judge. There he built fires and did chores in return for room and board. He also worked in a store and became a reporter for his hometown newspaper. While Oral was living with the judge he started to hang out with the wrong crowd. He taught Sunday school but basically he taught the kids how to play ball. He also started drinking and becoming an immoral person.During the final game of the Southern Oklahoma basketba...
