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“There Were Literally No Rules” – Kentucky Derby Fan Joe Cordell Remembers Old School Churchill Downs
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We were very happy to welcome Joe Cordell of Cordell and Cordell on Thursday’s episode of Crossing Broadcast.
You may have missed the show, but that’s okay, because the entire thing is up at our YouTube page and also available in audio format as well, but Joe, who you know for his commercials on sports talk radio, happens to be a huge Kentucky Derby fan.
A Kentucky native, he’s been going to Churchill Downs for more than 40 years now, and he told us a couple of great stories about what the scene used to be like in the 1970s:
Joe Cordell from @CordellLaw talked to us about his cult figure status in Philly, naked pole climbing at the Derby, and who gets the season tickets in a divorce pic.twitter.com/WAedzI204Y
— Crossing Broad (@CrossingBroad) September 8, 2022
“There were literally no rules. The attitude of the police was simply that, look, unless you commit a homicide ‘we’re not gonna take you in.’ The jails were already full from the Derby concert the night before. You have all sorts of crazy stuff, a sort of Woodstock of sorts in the infield.”
It was a fun interview. Joe was great. We talked about a little bit of everything, from his commercials on WIP and the Fanatic, to Smarty Jones, divorce law, and everything in between. This could be my crowning achievement in the field of journalism. If I retired today, I’d be happy.
Here’s the full episode:
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com