When I was in elementary school, teachers would line the kids up by height when we were headed somewhere as a class. Before arriving at the lunch room or the library, it was imperative that we positioned ourselves in order by declining height. I can remember teachers getting very worked up over this. I could never figure out why it was necessary -- maybe to keep an eye on the tall troublemakers? But I know I didn't like the practice because I was a short kid (a perk of Italian ancestry) and found myself in the back of the line every time. While the home room teacher waved her hand over our heads, sizing up our stature, and helping to brand the stereotype in our heads for life that tall was "good" and short was " bad ," I pouted over never being able to be the first to walk into the cafeteria or the gym locker room. This is why I was drawn to players like Pete Runnels. Runnels actually wasn't a short man. He was just shy of 6 feet tall. But he played...
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