DENVER-A New Hampshire delegate and a former college classmate of U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) each called the senator's speech before the Democratic National Convention "courageous."

John Rauh and Kennedy were members of Harvard's class of 1954, and Jim Demers was a backer of Kennedy's 1980 presidential campaign.

"It was an unbelievable experience for all of us," Demers told PolitickerNH.com about the tribute to Kennedy and his surprise appearance. "Everyone I saw around us were trying keep back tears."

Rauh compared Kennedy's speech to one of Kennedy's most famous events in the U.S. Senate.

"The courage it took to stand-up to the nomination of Robert Bork is the courage we saw last night," he said.

Rauh added, "I saw Teddy drop a couple of balls when he played in left field but he hasn't dropped many balls has a U.S. Senator."

Demers said his fondest moment of the 1980 campaign happened at Kennedy's announcement speech in Manchester.

"I remember the day he announced at the Chateau restaurant," Demers said. "My younger brother, who was a track runner, presented him with a pair of Ted Kennedy running shoes."