Advancements in airline travel had an amazingly profound impact on everyday life in this country.

It brought the eastern and western shores closer together, and created business opportunities that would have seemed ridiculous a century ago.

Trans-continental flights allowed professional franchises to expand into the Golden State of California in the late 1950s and it wasn’t too long before East-West rivalries sprang up, involving teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics.

Bob Ehalt and Tom Pedulla became fast friends when they met on their first day at Fordham Preparatory School in the Bronx, N.Y., in 1970. Bob soon introduced Tom to the joys of Thoroughbred racing.