Those of us who knew Mike (Hutch) have some pretty fond memories of him. I am opening this topic for anyone to share some 'Hutch Stories'. Here is one of mine.
Mike Hutchings is responsible for me failing Freshman Algebra. You have to understand that Algebra was like an enigma to me, and I certainly didn't have the code. I first met Mike in Algebra class. He was quite a big flirt, and would constantly talk to me, and make me laugh in class. It certainly didn't make Mrs. Berlin like me any better. Then she would call me up to the chalk board to do a problem in front of the class. At which time, I would break into a sweat, and completely become stage struck.... think deer in the headlights. Hutch thought this was pretty funny, and so it continued. The end result was that I had to suffer the humiliation of retaking that stupid class as a junior, with a class full of freshmen.
Oh Paulette, you have got to dig deeper than that...You guys dated!
I remember my one date with Hutch. He took me to a 3 Dog Night concert at the Veteran's Memorial Coliseum, the summer after graduation. That's because YOU, Paulette, and Eddie Grant were dating. I think he spent the night wishing I was you and I spent the night wishing he was Eddie. Well, we didn't spent the night, but you know what I mean. A great concert though AND I got to ride in his famous gold Roadrunner!
Some guys in our class were just too cool - and Mike Hutchings surely fell into that category. He walked cool - he dressed cool - he only dated cool girls - his temperature couldn't have been more than 32 degrees. He was also hot before that word came into the vernacular. In this way, he was more than 100 degrees. So he was Mr. Cool and Mr. Hot at the same time.
OK........Diane, you aren't going to get any juicy stories out of me just because Hutch and I dated ;)
I must add that while he pestered me in algebra class, I never once complained to Mrs Berlin, because I was having too much fun, and thought he was a riot. He was a huge flirt, but he was also always a gentleman on every one of our dates.
Ed, that story sounds soooooo much like something Hutch would do. He always had this wild, spontaneous streak, which I just loved
OK........Diane, you aren't going to get any juicy stories out of me just because Hutch and I dated ;)
I must add that while he pestered me in algebra class, I never once complained to Mrs Berlin, because I was having too much fun, and thought he was a riot. He was a huge flirt, but he was also always a gentleman on every one of our dates.
Ed, that story sounds soooooo much like something Hutch would do. He always had this wild, spontaneous streak, which I just loved
If only algebra had been as easy as these verification questions that you have to answer to post a message.......
I remember there being no more competitive basketball player on the THS team than Mike Hutchings (and that's saying a lot because you all remember the stellar team we had!). Mike could do it all: score, make plays, rebound, defense. As well-rounded a basketball player as I've seen, in the style of Magic Johnson or John Havlicek, a tall athletic guard with court presence and a sixth sense about what was going on around him. A winner. Mike had a personal flair like no one else, on the court or in the hallways. Yet, behind the scenes he was not a glory seeker; anytime I talked with him whether in practice or on the bus to the games, all he cared about was helping the team win, not how many points he would score. A man for the ages.
Mike was cool. Cool enough to get me to steal his size 13 Converse Athletic shoes! Yes it was me. Thanks for the shoes Mike. They saved my toes when I ran over the end of the shoe with a lawnmower. It chopped off the toe part, but being big, my toes were still there
I remember there being no more competitive basketball player on the THS team than Mike Hutchings (and that's saying a lot because you all remember the stellar team we had!).  Mike could do it all: score, make plays, rebound, defense.  As well-rounded a basketball player as I've seen, in the style of Magic Johnson or John Havlicek, a tall athletic guard with court presence and  a sixth sense about what was going on around him.  A winner.  Mike had a personal flair like no one else, on the court or in the hallways.  Yet, behind the scenes he was not a glory seeker; anytime I talked with him whether in practice or on the bus to the games, all he cared about was helping the team win, not how many points he would score.  A man for the ages.
I remember there being no more competitive basketball player on the THS team than Mike Hutchings (and that's saying a lot because you all remember the stellar team we had!).  Mike could do it all: score, make plays, rebound, defense.  As well-rounded a basketball player as I've seen, in the style of Magic Johnson or John Havlicek, a tall athletic guard with court presence and  a sixth sense about what was going on around him.  A winner.  Mike had a personal flair like no one else, on the court or in the hallways.  Yet, behind the scenes he was not a glory seeker; anytime I talked with him whether in practice or on the bus to the games, all he cared about was helping the team win, not how many points he would score.  A man for the ages.
Diane and I went to the old Kon Tiki restaurant on Van Buren Road after the Prom. We 'double dated' with some other couples. One of the couples was Hutch and Pat Westphal. Another was Ed Combs and Carol Hurlebaus. And I think John Blue and Linda Hamilton might have been with us too. When we were done eating, the waitress brought the check for our group and we began the task of deciding who ordered what and each paying our fair share of the bill. Just then the girls (as was the custom) all got up to go to the bathroom together. As they were leaving the table, Hutch proudly announced so all the girls could hear, 'Don't worry guys, I'll take pay the bill!' A classic BMOC move!
But what made this a classic 'Hutch' move....after the girls were in the restroom and away from earshot, he tells all the guys, 'you guys can just pay me back later!'
Well, there was no way we were letting our dates think that Hutch was paying the bill when we were paying the bill! So we all awkwardly and loudly made sure all the girls knew Hutch did not pay the bill!!!
Reading these stories made me cry-Where to start with my brother. My freshman year I was painfully shy and since Hutch had already been there for a year and seemed to be known to everyone, the Senior basketball players would follow me down the halls calling me 'Little Hutch' and teasing me relentlessly.
It took me forever to be known as Kim and not 'Little Hutch'.
Those of you who really knew Michael knew that he lived and breathed basketball but his first love had been football. In Oregon we had competitive sports in Middle school. Michael was quarterback for his school and he was very good, but when we moved to AZ, the Dr.s said he had Osgood Schlatter, which is when you grow too fast for your knees, so he was not allowed to play football anymore. That left him with basketball and the rest is history.
WOW ! I am stunned. I promise to have all of those checks out to you soon ! Elson; news of any emminate demise is greatly exaggerated. I will try my best to be there, and thank you all for such wonderful comments and memories
Oh Hutch, you're not getting off that easy! You need to defend yourself or at least give your own version of these stories! I'll bet you have some on us too.
Ed has several more. Says she has to 'pace' himself.
Glad to hear from you!
OK-I guess I will have to keep telling stories about my brother. Michael was devastated after we lost the State Championship-but the night we lost, Linda Hamilton and I went out with our boyfriends-Don Baker and Tom Bunger, who spent the whole night literally crying-not that we lost, they kept saying, 'we let Hutch down'. They cared more about Hutch then the game!
Diane, since you mentioned the famous Roadrunner, I will tell you a story about it. Ned was staying with us for awhile ( I think his parents were out of town) and one night he and I cooked steaks. He was drinking sangria. We took the Roadrunner and went out somewhere-I was driving, Ned got sick and didn't get the window down in time-boy was Michael mad-the Roadrunner never smelled quite the same!!!! Sorry Michael, we tried to clean it up!
Mike I have a story. We were in fourth grade and your family had moved into the neighborhood of Orange St in Tempe from Oregon. That was 1961 I believe. We were attending Ritter school Elementary. The teachers had set us up in a soft ball league and I remember Mike myself and Charley Bolts were on the same team. We were pretty good but no one was able to beat the 'Red Socks'! Leroy Adams and a kid named Scott Lamb were on that team. We lost to them the first time. So here we were the last game of the season and Mike had calculated that if we won this last game against the Red Socks we would get 2nd place. It was tense I remember. The bell rang. We got the victory and mike jumped on me and started screaming. We beat the Red Socks! We beat the Red socks! We were all yelling at that point ! The Red socks were crying. We ruined their perfect record. The teacher jumped on them and told them not to be sore losers. They day they handed out those ribbons in the auditorium Mike was so proud and said 'get up here Richard! Come get your ribbon!! You were so competitive even back then:) I learned so much from being around you. I remember us watching baseball in the living room with you the day Roger Maris hit the big 61 home runs. You were so emotional. You rubbed off on me Mike. More than you realize:) The walks to Tempe Bowl . The one on one soft ball games in our back yards. Playing football against your Dad!! That was hilarious!! He scared us to death! Lol I remember it too well:).
I remember a 10 year old Mike Hutchings singing 'mackey's back in town' in front of the class. I must have heard it 10 times after that.. Lol he kept getting requests from my sister and the neighborhood kids!:) lol
Hutch, Basketball Man is alive and will meet you at the Mill Pond Apartments. I would like to see you if possible. Call me if you wish at 865-693-4283. Hope your are doing ok. I always enjoyed your friendship. I spoke to Ned and Greg Campbell and all of us are worried about your health.
And he's baaaaack! You're right Hutch. I keep trying to reply to a specific comment, and it doesn't work for me. You must still be in my head.....distracting me. Thank goodness I'm not being graded on this ;)
I guess that I should set the record straight. I have no idea how my medical condition came to light; although I have my idea. I have congestive heart failure that's pretty well run it's course. It's becoming too much work on my heart to keep going much longer. I contracted the desease about 10 years ago. I was ailing from an upper respitory infection that spread to my heart. There! Now you know the truth! I can't begin to thank everyone for this blog and your thoughts and prayers ! It has been a lifetime honor to have been a Tempe High Buffalo, and to have friends and memories that truly enlighten my life. I am so hopeful that I will be able to attend the 45th in October. If not, I will be with you anyway! Iwsh all my classmates and their families peace and well-being !
While it's nice to hear from you Hutch, Ed & I are sorry to hear of your CHF. 10 years is a long time to struggle with that debilitating disease. As a nurse, I've cared for several patients over the years and am familiar with the struggles it presents.
We pray for healing & that we'll see you at the THS 45th Reunion in October.
Please continue to write in and keep us posted on your well-being.
Love,
Diane & Ed
P.S. If your ever up for visitors, we'd love to see you.
I don't quite know where to begin with this post. The news of your illness makes me sad beyond measure. Mike Hutchings, you are one of the most lively, vital human beings I have ever met. I can still see you on the basketball court at Tempe High, or on the floor, either way you were a dynamic force ;)
You have a very quick wit, and are always cooking up some crazy venture. I suspect you burned the candle at both ends, throughout your life, my dear friend. While cheering at basketball games I was always the one to get the lines..... Hutch, Hutch, he's our man if he can't do it,______ can. It always made me proud to sing your praises :) Certainly hoping to see you at the 45, if not sooner.
I remember getting Mike a job at the Baskin Robbins in downtown Tempe. We did not get paid much (I think it was actually less than a dollar an hour) but we got all the ice cream we could eat or hide in our shirts when we got off work! I remember they monitored the inventory by calculating a 'dipping percentage' so that if we were making the scoops of ice cream too large ownership would tell us to make the scoops smaller. We both ate our share of the owners profits, but Hutch was really good at telling all the girls he knew to come by when he was working for some free ice cream! Suffice it to say, when Hutch and I were working there, the dipping percentage was not good.
I remember one summer night when Hutch was working and we had a Summer League basketball game at East High School. Hutch had forgotten to request he not be scheduled for work that night. So when game time came, he asked me to come by the store to pick him up. No way was he going to miss a basketball game! He simply left whoever else was working that night to cover for him until he got back from the game a couple of hours later. As we were driving back to Tempe after the game we ran into Diane Hull and some other cheerleaders coming back from a cheerleading clinic in Phoenix. The race to get back to Tempe first was on! We jostled back and forth all the way from East High School to the intersection of Curry and Mill Avenue. Hutch and I were in my dad's little red Fiat Spider convertible. As we approached the intersection I noticed the curb lane on the right was wide open. I timed the light perfectly and Hutch and I sped by the girls (and all the other cars waiting for the light to turn green) guaranteeing we would win the race. As we sped thru the intersection, Hutch stood up in the car and yelled to the girls in Diane's car. We were celebrating our shrewd move and our victory until we got to the other side of the intersection...and noticed a policeman was sitting in the intersection and had witnessed the entire episode. Our hearts went from rejoicing our victory to fearing we'd be put in jail in a nano-second! Fortunately, the policeman never came after us or if he did he didn't catch us.
So now I take Hutch back to the Baskin Robbins store, figuring he would just slip back in and all would be well. But that is not what happened. The owner either came by for a surprise visit or the employees called him so he was there waiting upon Hutch to return. The store was swamped so the owner was working behind the counter, undoubtedly covering for being one employee short. Hutch walked into the store, the owner just looked at him, told him to gather his things and leave...Hutch was fired on the spot!
