Trumpeting the Father of the Year

Background: With Father’s Day upon us, I’m reprising some of the stories and posts about remarkable fathers that I’ve written over the years. The story below by Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated details the story of heroic father Patrick John Hughes and his blind, crippled son Patrick Henry Hughes.

Trumpeting the Father of the Year

by Rick Reilly

Sports Illustrated, 10/16/06

QUESTION: What has four wheels, four feet, two eyes and one horn?

Answer: Trumpet position number 7 in the Louisville marching band.

Meet Patrick Henry Hughes and his dad, Patrick John Hughes–the only two-person marching-band member in college football.

Patrick Henry, 18–born with a rare genetic disorder that left him without eyes, and with arms and legs that won’t straighten–plays the trumpet from his wheelchair. Patrick John, 45, pushes the wheelchair. You can watch them roll during the halftime show at Cardinals home games. ‘I was a little worried about the endurance factor at first,’ says band director Greg Byrne. ‘Not Patrick’s. His dad’s.’

You think it’s easy pushing a 165-pound man, in full uniform, around a spongy artificial-turf field, trying to keep up with 213 other band members and get to your spot in the A in CARDS and the L in U OF L, while not getting slammed by the person marching behind you–all on four hours’ sleep because you work the graveyard shift loading planes for UPS? You try it.

‘My job is just to get, say, to the 32 1/2-yard line at the exact right time,’ says the older Patrick, who doesn’t wear the band uniform. ‘Every now and then I’ll take a mellophone in the back, but mostly it’s been a blast!’

‘He hasn’t dumped me yet,’ young Patrick says, grinning.

Dad also pushes his son to classes, sits with him and whispers anything written on the blackboard. After band practice they go home and eat dinner, then Dad goes to work at 11 p.m., gets off at 5 a.m., sleeps a little and gets up at 11 for breakfast, classes and band. If this guy isn’t Father of the Year, I’m Liberace. (more…)

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