Providence College’s Alumni Hall, where the Friars played the URI Rams in 1964, was a showcase for basketball back then.

Providence Journal files

When I was a kid …

•There was no advertising inside Fenway Park, save for a sign high in right field for the Jimmy Fund.

•There were virtually no high school sports for girls.

•Brown football led the sports page every Sunday, win or lose.

•The Celtics were the best team in basketball.

•No one had ever heard of pitch counts.

•Very few kids played a sport year round.

•No one had ever heard of performance-enhancing drugs.

When I was a kid…

•There was no high school soccer in Rhode Island.

•Weightlifting was supposed to be bad for athletes.

•No one had ever heard of Astroturf.

•There was no such thing as a salary cap.

•Or a luxury box.

•There was no sports talk radio.

•No one knew what athletes’ salaries were.

When I was a kid…

•There was no NASCAR.

•Or any instant replay.

•Or Monday Night Football.

•No one wore a Red Sox jersey.

•No one knew what on-base percentage was.

•Tennis players used wooden rackets.

•Ivy League football was prominently covered by The New York Times.

When I was a kid…

•Baseball players wore flannel uniforms.

•The Bruins sold out virtually all their games at Boston Garden.

•There were no Providence Bruins.

•Or PawSox, either.

•PC and URI played twice a year in basketball.

•There was no Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

•Tennis players wore white.

When I was a kid …

•There were no tear-away football jerseys.

•Colleges had freshmen teams.

•No one had ever heard of the red zone.

•Kids played pickup games in neighborhoods.

•There were no TV sideline reporters.

•The Patriots were a distant fourth on the Boston pro sports scene.

•There were no hockey teams in the South.

When I was a kid …

•No one ever went to a Patriots practice.

•There were no Fantasy Leagues.

•Or Fantasy camps.

•Relief pitchers were just relief pitchers, not closers and set-up men.

•The Pittsburgh Steelers held training camp at URI.

•There were Sunday doubleheaders in baseball.

When I was a kid…

•There was a professional hockey team called the Reds.

•The Reds played in the Rhode Island Auditorium on North Main Street in Providence.

• PC played hockey there, too.

•And the Celtics used to play there a half-dozen times a year.

•Even an occasional doubleheader.

•There was no 3-point shot in basketball.

•And college teams played in gyms, not arenas.

When I was a kid …

•Golfers used caddies, not carts.

•There was no Super Bowl.

•The World Series was played in the afternoon, and everyone ran home from school to catch the final innings.

•The Denver Broncos wore socks with vertical stripes.

•There was no union in baseball.

•Nor was there any wild card.

•There was no designated hitter.

When I was a kid…

•Major League Baseball had 16 teams.

•Brown played Colgate in football on Thanksgiving morning.

•College basketball coaches had one assistant.

•There were very few college football games on TV.

•No one ever heard of health drinks.

•And athletes weren’t supposed to drink water during games.

•There were no scandals about videotaping opposing coaches during games.

When I was a kid …

•The Red Sox were mediocre.

•But you could get tickets.

•And afford them, too.

•Baseball gloves weren’t big enough to catch basketballs, like they are now.

•Alumni Hall and Keaney Gym were showplaces.

•Basketball players wore low-cut sneakers.

•And shorts not big enough to put two people inside them.

When I was a kid …

•Pitchers got only three days’ rest.

•There were no male cheerleaders.

•Hitting a golf ball 250 yards was a big deal.

•There was no such thing as a “third down” back.

•UConn’s big rival in basketball was URI.

•Managers didn’t bring in left-handers to pitch to only one batter.

•The Red Sox hadn’t won a World Series since 1918.

breynold@projo.com