For the first half of the 1970s, Christmas for me came six weeks late.

Or, depending on my perspective, it was celebrated 10 months early.

Either way, the first week in February was always special, because that’s when the Temple Hesed Abraham Men’s Club would schedule its annual Sports Night at the Hotel Jamestown. In the years I attended with my dad, the stars that appeared included, among others, Mickey Mantle, Pete Rose, Jesse Owens, Terry Bradshaw and Roberto Clemente. Before that, Jackie Robinson, Joe Louis, Jim Brown, Ernie Banks and Johnny Unitas found their way to town.

Ultimately, the annual event petered out after 1976, concluding a glorious run spanning nearly a quarter-century, but the memories endure. I’ve often thought how fortunate I was to be able to be in the presence of such accomplished athletes, to have their signatures in my autograph book or to engage in a brief conversation. Unfortunately, opportunities like that are rare anymore. In our neck of the woods, they are pretty much non-existent, simply because the price for the average fan is too steep.

Which brings me to an event next week.

Talk about Christmas in July.

ııı

For those who would like to be in the presence of athletic greatness, might I suggest you carve out time from 9-10 a.m. Tuesday and make your way to The Double Eagle Cafe at Chautauqua Golf Club. Co-hosted by the Chautauqua County Coalition of Women and Girls, and Chautauqua Institution, the event will feature a conversation on “Women and Girls in Sports” with Tara VanDerveer, the coach of the 2021 national champion Stanford basketball team; and World Golf Hall-of-Famer Nancy Lopez, winner of 48 LPGA events.

Moderated by Tory Irgang, the executive director of the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, the interview is a rare opportunity for area residents to hear from two of the most accomplished women in their respective sports.

VanDerveer, a Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame inductee, has a home at Chautauqua Institution and has found her other “home” on the basketball court, a hoops coaching odyssey that has seen her amass 1,125 victories, the most in women’s college basketball history; three NCAA national championships; an Olympic gold medal; and induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Lopez, meanwhile, became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1977; won three Women’s PGA Championships; was named the LPGA Tour Player of the Year four times; and was named The Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year on three occasions.

ııı

Almost exactly eight years ago, VanDerveer spoke to a gathering at the United Methodist House on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution, a place she first experienced with her mom and dad 60 years ago.

Below is how The Post-Journal described a portion of her talk:

“This is a caring place, this is a compassionate place, this is a we-have-time-for-each-other place,” she said. “That’s part of why I’m here. Sometimes out in the world, kids at college do feel it’s a rat race, so I really look at players on our team and a place like Stanford and it’s about community.

“We have some of the greatest achievers at Stanford, but they are the most humble, compassionate, caring people. That, to me, is much more important than somebody’s record, how much money they have or whatever.”

To illustrate that point, VanDerveer recounted the experience she had with Chris MacMurdo, one of her former players, nearly 25 years ago.

Recruited from South Carolina in the late 1980s, MacMurdo, VanDerveer recalled, was No. 1 in her high school class, the senior class president, “just all-everything.”

So as VanDerveer drove MacMurdo on to the pristine Stanford campus for the first time, she quizzed the freshman about “what she was thinking right now.”

VanDerveer expected answers ranging from roommates to being 3,000 miles away from home. What the coach heard was totally unexpected.

“She thought for a second, looked over at me and said, ‘Tara, I want to make a difference in this world.’ “I was shocked. I thought I was going to crash into a palm tree, but this is what it’s all about.”

A few years later, MacMurdo was working in the emergency room at Stanford Hospital the summer between her junior and senior years. VanDerveer recalled how MacMurdo told her how she saved a man’s life one day.

“I said, ‘Well, you’ve made a difference,'” VanDerveer recalled.

VanDerveer and Lopez have made huge differences, too, spanning decades. Now those two women will spend an hour sharing their thoughts on a wide range of topics Tuesday morning.

The cost to the public?

A $10 donation.

Priceless.