Clydesdales come to Canton

Generally, Argos recognises three classes of animals: dogs, people, prey. I don't know whether he has encountered horses before.  He was fascinated.  Clydesdales are not prey.

These are draft horses, but they are really show ponies. They are constantly being groomed.

Budweiser has three hitches for America: one for St. Louis Missouri, one for the east, and one for the west. Each contingent has 10 horses, and two Dalmatians. Eight pull at once, and they rotate with the other two. The horses have positions (lead, swing, body, wheel) as in team sports. The bigger boys are in the back. They came here for two weeks. Saturday past, they were hitched up for the big hot air balloon show. Forty-seven balloons were scheduled, and a very popular one was Cosmos the spaceman. He looked as if Charles Shultz drew him. Saturday next is the big parade. On most days they were at Kent State Stark campus, where they could be seen by the public.

Lily is a three month old coach dog. She was friendly with Argos.

Dogs need to be rested.

Karma and Argos wondered how life would be on the beer wagon.

wagon wheel

Ferris wheel 

The last few years the area around the stadium has had new construction of a tourist village. It is ongoing. [foto JZ]

While we were there, the Hall of Fame logo was being painted on midfield. In 2016, a paint was used that made it unsafe to play, and the game was cancelled. Fawcett Field, now Tom Benson Stadium, is the largest high school stadium in America. It is the home field for the Canton McKinley Bulldogs. Earlier this year, the field was used to play games for a spring football league. [foto JZ, my battery had died]

Marion Motley was from Canton McKinley. In WWII he was in the navy, and played for Paul Brown. Brown coached the nearby Washington Massillon Tigers, who play Canton McKinley every year. In 1946 Paul Brown coached Motley again, this time for the Cleveland Browns. They continued together until 1953.

Motley was one of four black players that re-integrated professional football in 1946. They all received nasty abuse. Spyro Spondyl designed the statue. Motley is seen trampling picket signs of hateful words, and insults. The statue was unveiled in August 2022, and is an Italian bronze.