BRADEN LATEST IN LONG LIST OF COLORFUL CHARACTERS
As the nation was formally
introduced to our beloved Dallas Braden
during the Perfect Game Media Tour these past weeks, it got me thinking about
all the colorful characters I’ve had the privilege to work with during my career
in sports PR. While Dallas is truly one of the most unique
athletes I have ever encountered–(Do you know
anyone else who has a mustache tattoo
imprinted on their index finger!?)–the one common thread to all the sports
teams and leagues I’ve worked for is each has featured charismatic
personalities. It’s why you’ll never get
bored in this industry. So in tribute to
Braden’s recent appearance on Late Night
with David Letterman, here’s my all-time Top 10 List of colorful characters
I’ve worked with over the years (including Braden). Today we’re going to
discuss the first 5, and tomorrow we’ll bring you 6-10.
Tex Schramm,
World League President–Tex, who
launched the NFL’s international league after building a legacy as the
architect of “America’s Team,” the Dallas Cowboys, was kind of the John Wayne of pro sports.
A PR and marketing genius, Schramm was oblivious that there was a
world outside of football. As his
PR man, I once accompanied him on a trip to Milan
where he was attempting to establish a World League franchise in Italy. We drove out to the small town of Monza one day to inspect a possible playing venue and
Tex’s
frustrations bubbled to the surface.
He started grumbling for no apparent reason. Same thing later that evening as he was
perusing a menu at a Milan
restaurant. I finally asked him,
“What’s wrong. You’ve been in a
fowl mood all day.” Schramm, still visibly
disgruntled, responded, “Gee, Rose, everything
here is in Italian! Traffic signs, menus, everything!” After digesting what I had just heard, I
just kind of blurted it out…..”Tex, we’re
in Italy!”
- Eddie “Meat
Cleaver” Weaver, LA Express Defensive Tackle–Eddie was the type of character that a new
football league attracts. He had a
decent college pedigree, having starred at Georgia on the Bulldog teams
that featured Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker. But it wasn’t his football playing that
left the strongest impression. It
was his uncanny resemblance to Laurence Tureaud, better known as “Mr. T” in mid-80′s hit TV
series, “The A-Team.” Of course,
underneath that tough guy exterior was a real teddy bear. But he did love to intimidate when the
opportunity presented itself. One
afternoon at our weekly luncheon with the Los Angeles area media, Weaver was a featured
guest. A rather inexperienced
female correspondent for ABC Radio posed an innocent question to Meat
Cleaver when he took the podium.
“Eddie, with skill position players like Steve Young getting all the media attention, do you ever
feel someone like you is under appreciated?”
Mr. Weaver, in his best Mr. T impression, cast a stare at her,
penetrating her very soul. Then,
retaining his fearsome scowl, responded, “What do you mean, skeeeeeeeel position?” At this point, the reporter was shaking
in her shoes. Eddie, knowing he had
her right where he wanted her, then cracked a big smile and the entire
room burst into laughter.
Bob Zuber,
Pepperdine Baseball Coach–While
this may not be an obvious choice on the Rose character list, the more I
think back to my early college days, the more “Zube” deserves to make the
cut. He arrived at Pepperdine as an
assistant coach after a long stint at USC under legendary Trojan head
coach Rod Dedeaux. What set Zuber apart from any other
coach was he was the absolute best
bench jockey I had ever seen.
Normally, it would be players who traded barbs with the opposing
players or hurled barbs at the team’s pitcher. Not Zuber. As far as he was concerned, baseball was
mental warfare, and there was nothing off limits. Over the course of a game, he would work
himself into a real frenzy, almost in a scary kind of way. “Hey meat, you
know everyone’s watching you so don’t
stare in this dugout!” he would shout as a visiting batter would step
into the box. Then it would really
get good. “What’s it gonna be? Fastball? Curve? Change-up? I
don’t know….fastball, curve, changeup!
I don’t know!” This
would go all game long, and he’d get louder and louder. Zube was a classic.
Darryl
Strawberry, Giants Outfielder–One
of the nicest guys I have ever met in sports, Strawberry had just returned
from a drug rehab stint and seemed to be finally getting his life back in
order. He joined the Giants in
mid-season and I asked his old PR director, the Mets’ Jay Horwitz, what kind of guy he was. I still remember Jay’s response, “Darryl
is a real sweetheart. Not a bad bone
in his body. He wants to please
everybody.” How true those words
were. As we tried to manage his
media exposure during this recovery period as he tried to reestablish his
baseball career, we told him we would have a full-blown, ask-anything
media conference at Candlestick Park when he arrived, then we would limit
media access to only post-game interviews about baseball and nothing
else. Everything seemed to go well
for a few weeks, but I spoke to Darryl just prior to our Mets series in New York. I told him that it was really important
that he stick to our policy and not do any pre-game interviews, because if
he did, then all bets would be off and it would be open season by the New York
writers. Straw assured me he would
follow our instructions. Then the
first day at Shea Stadium, I arrive about four hours before the game,
anticipating there might be a crowd that would gather at Darryl’s
locker. Well, as soon as I step foot inside the visitors’
clubhouse, there’s Steve Serby, the Post’s veteran columnist,
notebook in hand and holding an animated conversation with the former
Mets’ superstar. I politely
interrupted the two of them and pulled Darryl aside. “Darryl, what are you doing? Didn’t we agree that you wouldn’t do any
pre-game interviews?” Shaking his
head sheepishly, he said, “Hey man, I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve known Steve a long
time and didn’t want to hurt his feelings.”
Ken Margerum,
Stanford All-American–On the other
end of those majestic John Elway passes, Margerum was one of the greatest wide receivers in
Stanford history. And much like
Braden, he was one of the greatest free spirits I ever publicized. Sharing an upstairs’ quarters in a
dilapidated house at the campus track with classmate Ivan Maisel, who would go on to Sports Illustrated and ESPN fame, Margerum was equally known
for his adventuresome spirit.
Probably one of the first-ever wind surfers in American history,
Kenny used to drive head football coach Paul Wiggin nuts by deciding it was safe to wind surf under
the Bay Bridge while San Francisco gusts of wind would reach 30 or 40
MPH. And while Stanford is known
for churning out fine student-athletes, Margerum was a category unto
himself. He was the first Stanford
student-teacher-athlete, as he
was the university’s first windsurfing instructor. In a rare flash of genius, I pitched his
windsurfing story to the Boston
Globe when Stanford visiting Boston College one season and can
honestly say, I remain the only PR guy to score a photo of an All-American
football player gliding along Lake Laquinitas on a surfboard in a major
national newspaper!
Tomorrow, in the Clubhouse Confidential, we’ll return with numbers 6-10, so check back in!
Bob Rose
