Back Story: Forrest Wood Gets His Props
Memo to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame:
Come on guys, get with the program. I see you just named Forrest Wood to your sports Hall of Fame, 43 years after him and his wife, Nina, started the most famous boat company on the planet. That’s great, if not belated. So now Forrest joins a long list of Arkansas folks whose names resonate through sports history. Well, OK, not all of them are from Arkansas, actually, but let’s not quibble over details.
Forrest is most definitely from Arkansas, having been born in Flippin in 1932. He married Nina, who hailed from up the White River near Bull Shoals, in 1951 and after engaging in various enterprises the couple started a boat business in 1968. You might have heard of it: Ranger Boats. Maybe that’s not the big deal that’s going to put Forrest into your Hall of Fame. Maybe it’s the fact that he fished in the very first Bassmaster Classic in 1971, or that the biggest names in pro bass fishing have ridden in a Ranger, or that Ranger is unique in that it has been the “official boat” of both the Bassmaster Classic and the FLW Outdoors’ Forrest Wood Cup championship. Or maybe it really is because of the Ranger brand: that would do it for me and probably several thousand other fishermen.
In checking Forrest’s background, your induction committee had to be impressed by the list of people whose names are associated with Forrest and Nina, and the pros who won their spurs in a Ranger. If you visit the Professional Bass Fishing Hall of Fame web site (http://www.bassfishinghof.com/2001inductees.htm) and check out the first class of inductees, you’ll see Forrest with some of the guys he ran around with back in the day. Roland Martin is there, though Bill Dance wasn’t present when the photo was taken. Notice the guy on Forrest’s left. He’s the person who made Ranger the official boat of the Bassmaster Classic (and by the way, the fellow on Forrest’s immediate right in the photo is also from Arkansas; ask me about him).
Like I said, I’m glad you decided to put Forrest in your hall of fame. Let’s see, previously there was the Professional Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, the International Game Fish Association Hall of Fame, the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame, the International Boating Hall of Fame, the National Marine Manufacturers Hall of Fame, Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame, Arkansas Game and Fish Hall of Fame, Arkansas Walk of Fame and the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame. And now, you’ve recognized Forrest.
At this point I could say: “What took you so long?” but I’ll let it go. I can see you tapping the mainstream sports guys from football, baseball and basketball first. And, though I don’t get it, you probably had your own good reasons to induct trap shooters and sports announcers and TV hosts before you got around to Forrest, a fishing icon. At least he’s at the door, and maybe he’s going to be the trailblazer for those other born-and-bred Arkansas natives who have helped elevate professional bass fishing to the sport it is today.
In fact, when they’ve got time, I’d like to talk to the members of your induction committee about Larry and George, a couple of other guys I know.