Back in the day, we bulk-loaded canisters, so it was only about $1 a roll for b/w film.

Just as you suggest in your post, there came a day when the editor started focusing too much on the 6-8 rolls instead of the GREAT shots I consistently delivered. So he decided to ration the film – 1 roll per game.

So I went to the local camera store and bought 5 more (about $4/roll at the time), proceeded to the game, and brought back an AWESOME flying tackle shot that was used front page of the section.

Editor followed up the next day with a comment along the lines of, “see, you didn’t need more than 1 roll.” That’s when I informed him the shot on Page 1 came from roll #5 from the batch I bought, and handed him the receipt and a reimbursment form.

He paid it. And I never heard another thing about film rationing.

Reminds me of my previous career as a sports photographer. I’d burn up 6-8 rolls of film to get one GREAT photo for publication.

Well done, Bill….thanks for the reminder!