Career Book
A look into the Career of Rick Broome
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Monday, April 21, 2008 01:33:21 PM
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"FALCON FOOTBALL"
In late 1983, I got a call from the Superintendent's secretary who told me that General Kelley wanted to meet with me in his office. I was still working on my official 1984 Class Painting "GRADUATION PARADE" and excited that the Supt. wanted to see my work in progress.
I had the class painting rolled in a tube and within moments held it up for all to see.
Obviously they were very pleased with my work with hand clapping and a warm pat on the back from the General. After I told them how great the Class of 1984 had been to work with on the project I then gave credit to Billie for her great help too. She has never been one to take compliments but noted that she had indeed posed for me when I painted the “second” pilot of the lead F-16. I actually had painted a different view of the pilot and cockpit on the 1984 Class painting than was captured in the final scene. I had worked with Ron Folgleman on getting photos of one of his pilots sitting in his F-16 to be used as my “model” for the 1984 Class painting. I had first met Ron when he was a captain. He commissioned an original painting of the F-100F from me in 1974. Titled "Misty FAC" the painting was a gift to Colonel George E. "Bud" Day. Ten years later, Class of 1963 USAFA graduate had been promoted to full colonel and was a Wing Commander.His outfit had been chosen to do a missing man formation over the academy for the traditional retreat during homecoming. We set it up in advance for me to meet the jets when they arrived at Peterson AFB so I could get my research photos. I drove my 1963 Corvette out on the ramp and took the photos of the pilot through the cockpit. When the pilot got out of the F-16 he commented that it sure got hot while I did all my photo stuff! After spending at least a week on this part of my 1984 painting it just did not capture the drama I needed to achieve. The pilot was too small in the painting; the cockpit area too large. I had captured the entire canopy section. I decided to scrap the entire effort and took out my gesso paint primer and painted out the original effort loosing all that creative time too.
I decided that the only way to capture the drama was to paint the pilot much larger in the painting. He had to be almost life-size and just show the bow of the canopy glass to capture the true spirit of flight I desired. At that time I also decided that my pilot would be looking at the academy cemetery as a tribute to those who had flown west. I shared this information with the group General Kelly had assembled. When I made that change in my painting I needed a live pilot to pose for me. Billie was volunteered for the project despite her protests. It was her turn to chime in. She was not shy to share that she had to sit on an uncomfortable metal stool in my studio for hours at a time so I could get my painting perfect! It took me at least a week to capture the view of my girl as the pilot flying the jet. Of course this was all true. Billie also noted that not only did she have to wear the flight suit but also was required to wear the heavy flight helmet with oxygen mask attached during the entire session.Someone in the room commented that we better not let the class of 84 know that in truth I had painted a "lady pilot" flying the lead jet in their painting. Laughs and giggles all around as Billie commented that indeed she was the captain of that ship!
We eagerly agreed to do the project with no further discussion needed. The publication and design parameters were provided and the schedule of when both paintings would need to be turned over to USAFA for reproduction agreed upon. It was a tight schedule. Then General Kelley and the group had a discussion about what should be created for the twin covers. He was fond of the F-16 and his first choice was to use a vertical section from the Class of 84 painting for the front cover. I noted that because the painting was a horizontal axis and the catalog would be a vertical axis that a significant portion of the class painting would have to be cropped from the reproduction. I showed the group what would happen and put the class painting on the floor and used a sheet of paper to figure out the dimensions. It would not fit. I also noted that the true essence and “spirit” of the painting would be lost if it was photographically trimmed to fit the 8.5 x 11 inch format of the glossy cover. Although I knew it was going to be a lot of work I recommended creating a totally new view of the Academy in a similar perspective to the 1984 Class Painting with an F-16 flying from left to right. I also recommended that the tail number of the jet be 80-488 (For 88) to symbolize the four years the kids recruited from this catalog would be at the Academy. They group loved the idea while Billie asked if I was sure I could accomplish all this work in the limited time allowed?
The General already had his idea for what he wanted on the rear cover. He specified that he wanted a McDill F-16 over the Eglin test range dropping Mark 82 high-drags with fins deploying. One of Ron Fogleman's jets would be chosen for the painting. This would not be nearly as difficult to create as the front cover because of the simplicity of the background and focus on the jet. He told the group that he had a vision of this painting and wanted the "warrior" aspect of USAF to be depicted. And that would be that. Heads nodded in the affirmative. We left the meeting full of joy and headed back to the studio. I decided the front cover would be created on a Masonite panel because it gave the best reproduction qualities. The downside to a Masonite flat panel painting is that they take at least 30 percent more time to create than doing my work on canvas. This is because the smoothness of a Masonite panel allows that the paint does not flow easily from the small brushes I work with. For my paintings created on canvas the actual texture of the fabric helps pull the paint out of the brush smoother and with ease and they therefore take less time to complete. I started on the back cover as soon as I got back to my studio and worked nonstop on that original painting finishing it in only ten days. I also started the prep work on the front cover painting so that my color pallet would be compatible. After a few days I was working on each painting for about half of every day. This kept all the color values in balance. Upon completion of the rear cover I telephoned the Supt.'s office and scheduled a time for the committee to review the painting and give me their blessing and approval.
During the time that passed between completion and that fateful meeting I worked hard on the front cover making great progress because of all of the energy I was receiving from not only the Class of 1984 project but also this wonderful opportunity to create paintings that would help the Academy recruit new cadets and certainly be seen by some pretty important folks too. It would be several weeks before I would meet with the committee, however, and during that period of time I kept looking at those high-drags coming off the F-16 and thinking of parents and stuff and decided that the warrior painting was perhaps a little too strong for junior high school libraries. During the many hundreds of hours I devoted to this worthy project I kept thinking over and over again what could I recommend for the rear cover painting without upsetting General Kelley and his warrior concept? The answer came to me as a vision. Create a painting of the F-16 over Falcon Stadium with the famous 1982 victory over Notre Dame as the play on the field. I had lost my voice rooting for the Falcons that day!I personally felt that the run that Marty Louthan had made in the third quarter was the play that changed the game. I still remember that today as if it had just happened. And I always joked that Marty tripped over the chalk line at the five yard marker or he would have scored! That victory was one of the greatest in Falcon Football history. And I had the title for my painting too! I brought both paintings to USAFA and met with the committee feeling like I was in good shape on my time schedule. The front cover was nearing completion so I showed it to the committee first noting what still had to be completed on my painting. Then I rolled out the rear cover for approval receiving thumbs up all the way around the table.
I gently put my oar in the water, explained what I was thinking about kids seeing those bombs coming off the jet and told them I thought it might be great USAFA history for me to create a painting that depicted that historic football game from the view of a climbing F-16. The room remained silent as I roughly sketched out my idea on a clean sheet of paper while talking about that great victory. There was agreement and laughter when I noted my feelings that Marty had indeed tripped on the five yard chalk line. My simple sketch was completed in about five minutes. Silence again took over the room as I presented the sketch to General Kelley, looked him in the eye and said: “What do you think, Sir?” I knew if I said one more word that my idea would never fly. My sales pitch was over. The first one to speak would loose; I took a deep breath. General Kelley looked at my sketch looked back at the McDill bird with the high-drags ejected and then back and forth at both a couple more times. He then looked at the committee folks and said: “I like the idea! What do all of you think?”Heads nodded in total agreement with the only question whether I could complete my newly proposed painting in time for their publication deadline. I told the folks that all I would need was a good aerial photo for reference and to be able to see the game film again as well as any other research information they might have of that historic football game. A call was immediately placed to Athletics and they were asked if such documentation was available. Indeed it was! In fact there had been some actual aerial photographs of that game taken from a Huey plus there were plenty of sideline photos available including that very play. I knew I had a winner with my idea and was truly excited to have this wonderful opportunity to create a more appropriate kind of painting for recruiting purposes.
Athletics came through with my research material in a flash. When I left Harmon Hall I drove directly to the Field House to review the film. Jim Bowman told me that Fisher DeBerry was real excited to learn of my painting and wanted a few minutes with me after I viewed the game film. Of course anytime I got to spend even a moment with Coach DeBerry I considered an honor and privilege.
As I went to his office his secretary told me to go on in. The door was open and the coach was on the phone but he gestured me in and pointed to a seat pulled up to his desk. I sat down and gazed around the room filled with treasures of Academy football. I was humbled and in awe. A moment later Fisher placed the phone in its cradle and stood up. His hand reached across the desk to shake mine and in classic Deberry emotional style he said: “Gosh Darn it Rick, the Lord sure has blessed you with some talent!” He was thrilled with my idea and offered unlimited help in creating the painting. I had driven my classic 1963 Corvette Sting Ray coupe to the meetings. It was all I could do to hold it down to the legal posted speed limit because I wanted to race home and get started creating “Falcon Football.” I was able to complete my final design analysis of my idea in a matter of minutes and knew it would be best to also do it as a Masonite panel original painting. Within a couple of hours I started “FALCON FOOTBALL” and in thinking back over the project realize that it was pure excitement and the love of the Academy that fueled my passion to create both of these historic paintings for free. I captured the same jet over Falcon Stadium that I had depicted in the official 1984 Class Painting except I changed the tail band color flash to blue in tribute to the class color and also painted a Falcon football lightning bolt in the band. The rest of the story as they say is history.
There are a couple of other things I remember about that wonderful catalog project. For one, Senator Barry Goldwater had been a fan of my art for over ten years and started collecting my stuff in 1978. He had some of my Frontier Airlines Magazine covers framed and hanging in one of his conference offices. He also had collected all of my USAFA Class prints. For some reason the number 222 was significant to him. In 1978 he had reserved that edition number for every signed and numbered print I would ever create. When Senator Goldwater received his advance copy of the USAFA recruiting catalog he gave me a congratulatory phone call. He actually called me on a number of different occasions over all those years. This call meant a lot to me because he was far more excited about “FALCON FOOTBALL” than the view of F-16 over USAFA that was on the front cover. He told me that the Academy had got it all wrong and should have put “FALCON FOOTBALL” on the front cover! I told him that I had actually captured history with the third quarter play I depicted on the gridiron complete with Marty tripping over the chalk line! He really got a kick out of that telling me in pure Goldwater language: “Damn, I always thought he tripped on the chalk too! Broome, I do admire the way you know your history and how you capture true spirit in your paintings, Son. I did not know you had actually captured real history in your painting until you just told me though. Why the hell didn't they publish a story about that in the damn catalog? How the hell is our youth supposed to learn history if we damn well don’t teach em? You can damn well know that when I pass this catalog out I sure as hell will tell people what is in your painting!” I got another call from the Registrars office after the catalog went to second printing. They had decided to create a limited number of “collector catalogs” with a special glossy laminate covering on my artwork. Senator Goldwater had requested many extra boxes of the catalog too. As a surprise USAFA sent him 144 of the second printing issues with the laminated glossy cover. He called me again a few months later and told me he was going to save most of the glossy cover editions because they would be collector items someday. We got a dozen of the glossy cover issues too. Fisher DeBerry really wanted to have “FALCON FOOTBALL” hanging in the Field House. One day his office called to see if I would be willing to loan the painting to Athletics. I certainly agreed to that request because a lot more folks would see the painting on display there than hanging in our home gallery. Arrangements were made to get the painting to the Academy and I got to thinking about how it might be possible for this work of art to be owned by the Academy rather than on loan. I had grown up with Jay Cimino. He was a fan of my work and CEO of Phil Long Ford. I called Jay and told him that Fisher DeBerry wanted me to loan the painting to Athletics and proposed that Phil Long Ford purchase “FALCON FOOTBALL” from me and donate it to the Academy. He asked me to bring the painting to the dealership so he could see it in person. About an hour later I drove our classic 1969 Mustang Grande to the dealership. We bought the Mustang brand new and Jay had always coveted it for his personal car collection. We met in his upstairs office and Jay absolutely loved the painting and my idea for donation. Not only would the dealership qualify for a legal tax deduction but also have the honorarium of presenting it to the Academy. He had his secretary call the athletic department and then talked with their PA guy. His concern was that the dealership would be able to actually present the painting to the Academy and he wanted to do this at a football game. Agreement between USAFA and Phil Long Ford was reached with that single phone call. One of the interesting parts of the entire visit with Jay -- and the quick sale of my painting -- was that we had never talked about how much money I wanted for my original work of art. Jay knew my original paintings were expensive because he had already commissioned a Navy F-4F Wildcat for Mr. Long the year before. “OK, Rick, how much do we owe you for your magnificent painting?” I told him I wanted $10,000.00 although it was worth twice that amount. He said, “How about $7,500.00 and a dealer credit of $3,500.00 for future purchases or extra trade in on your next new car purchase?” The sale was made on the spot, we shook hands, and within fifteen minutes I had a check in my pocket and Phil Long Ford owned “FALCON FOOTBALL.” Jay called his maintenance crew and I helped them hang my painting on the wall in his office a few minutes later. While this was going on he summoned all of his managers to his office and proudly showed off Phil Long Ford’s latest work of art. As I drove home without my painting I felt sad that we would never have it hang in our home again. When I walked in the door Billie asked where our painting was. I pulled out the check and told her of the good fortune that it was hanging in Jay’s office and would be presented to the Academy later in the year at a football game. I saw Jay several more times before the presentation and he told me how everyone who came into his office would admire the painting. He had a special gold plated plaque engraved which noted the title of the painting and honorarium information as a gift from Phil Long Ford. I think the forthcoming date of presentation was also on the plaque. The next fall at half-time the Academy was presented with “FALCON FOOTBALL” at the homecoming football game. All I could think about was the wonderful memories of the great class of 1984 and that historic football game played a year earlier. These were the elements of the true “Spirit” of my painting “FALCON FOOTBALL.” Footnote: The 1984 "warrior painting" General Kelley commissioned of the McDill F-16 dropping high drag Mark 82s was purchased by USAFA Class of 1984 graduate Lt. Colonel Mark "Mullet" Gillott in about 1994. Mark had me change the tail code on the jet to one of his former mounts. At the present time Mark is back at the Academy serving as Squadron Commander for the famed 98th FTS and Wings of Blue. This photo shows Mark next to the warrior painting which was also changed into a great Starlite view.
Also in the first 99 years of Notre Dame
football, 1887 to 1985, Air Force was the first, and at the time only team EVER
to defeat ND 4 consecutive games. AFA did it also in 4 consecutive years. The
next season Miami beat ND for the 4th time, but not in consecutive years. -------------------------------------- The rest of the story of the Falcon Football
Mike Jensen ------------------------------------ When you went with Fisher to Notre Dame in
1984, it was his first season. However, Coach Hatfield and the ----------------------------------- The game date was November 20, 1982, it was the first time the AFA Falcons had beaten Notre Dame. AFA won 30-17. I know because I have a picture of me on top of the goalpost with 19 seconds still remaining on the clock which was on the front cover of the Colorado Springs Sun,. The play in question (from Chuck Peterson) was that the Irish could not stop the option that day. They moved their entire defense to the outside to stop Marty and Company. With the middle of the field left wide open, Marty took it upon himself to run a quarterback sneak. Tapping Center Ricard Smith, Marty rushed up the middle for 50 yards before tripping up on the 5 yard line. The Falcons put that ball into the endzone on that drive, putting to rest any thoughts of an Irish comeback.
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