Hilarious Mike Quade Spotting on Airplane
Thought I would share this with everyone.....
I went to Sarasota, FL for a couple days and flew home today (i hate winter). After boarding the plane, I immediately recognized Mike board the plane as one of the last passengers. As he passed by I casually said "Flying in for the Convention?" as to which he replied "I guess so.....".
A few minutes later a woman wearing a White Sox jersey was trying to find a place in the overhead compartment for her backpack. I pointed out an empty spot to her and she said thanks. A few seconds later I got a tap on my shoulder from Quade. He asked me in a hilariously serious tone "You helped HER??!".
Awesome.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.
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priceless!!
In Heaven there is no beer, That's why we drink it here, and when were gone from here, all our friends will be drinking all our beer!!
by By Santo's Grace on Jan 13, 2009 6:57 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Cubs On A Plane!
Somebody call Sam Jackson!
"If I ever saw myself saying I'm excited going to Cleveland, I'd punch myself in the face, because I'm lying." - Ichiro
by The Guy Who Accidentally Saved the World on Jan 13, 2009 7:05 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
“Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherf**king Cubs on this motherf**king plane!”
I haz blurg: hotbeans.wordpress.com
by digitalbenjamin on Jan 14, 2009 10:08 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
On the topic of funny Cubs coaches...
One of my friends parents works as security for the Cubs. I’ve found out interesting little tidbits such as the fact that Matt Sinatro drives a V W Beetle…which I find extremely amusing. I am sure the majority of you have also heard about Piniella’s odd actions at Nordstrom’s, taking his shirt off in the middle of the store in order to try on another shirt – without an undershirt. I dunno if I would like to get a face full of that beer gut in person.
by JimboJet on Jan 13, 2009 7:15 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Interesting Cubs story for me
I was at RFK Stadium in the summer of 06. I saw Derrek Lee coming to the dugout, where I was standing with a ball and pen in my hand waiting for him to sign! I wanted him to get the ball so I rolled it across the dugout, but it went a completely different way. He looked at me and smiled, “that’s weak man.” Just when I got my ball back he had to leave which pissed me off (hey, I was 14 at the time!!). But I got Sean Marshall’s rookie autograph, so here’s to him being a dominating starter :D
Erm, well if we are going to call Milton Bradley nicknames, mine is Fischer Price: yes, you heard it here first..
by Chanman25 on Jan 13, 2009 7:20 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
So you were actually in the dugout? How'd you pull that off?
RIP Ron Asheton (1948-2009)
by dat cubfan daver on Jan 14, 2009 10:43 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
no not in it, standing next to it
Erm, well if we are going to call Milton Bradley nicknames, mine is Fischer Price: yes, you heard it here first..
by Chanman25 on Jan 14, 2009 3:38 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
So then why were you allowed to stand on the field?
RIP Ron Asheton (1948-2009)
by dat cubfan daver on Jan 14, 2009 3:48 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
no no no
I was in the stands watching batting practice, standing next to the dugout, Derrek Lee was on the opposite side.
Erm, well if we are going to call Milton Bradley nicknames, mine is Fischer Price: yes, you heard it here first..
by Chanman25 on Jan 14, 2009 5:38 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Ahh, I see it all so clearly now. Thanks!
RIP Ron Asheton (1948-2009)
by dat cubfan daver on Jan 15, 2009 9:42 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
mhmm
sure the RFK lovely men in uniform would not like it if a 14 year old boy at the time jumped on the field during batting practice
Erm, well if we are going to call Milton Bradley nicknames, mine is Fischer Price: yes, you heard it here first..
by Chanman25 on Jan 15, 2009 12:14 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Matt Murton
ran into him at an Orlando mall this weekend…had a few words and he went on his way with wife/girlfriend???
by cozmotaylor123 on Jan 13, 2009 8:04 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Did you hurt him?
ba-da-bum ching!
I haz blurg: hotbeans.wordpress.com
by digitalbenjamin on Jan 14, 2009 10:09 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
What did he have to say?
Does anyone happen to know whether Murton will be given a shot on the A’s 25-man roster? IIRC, he finished the ’08 season in Triple A. Just curious, really.
RIP Ron Asheton (1948-2009)
by dat cubfan daver on Jan 14, 2009 10:46 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Doesn't look like it
Matt Holliday (left) and Jason Giambi (DH) gobble up the two positions Murton might have been a consideration for. Jack Cust and Ryan Sweeney are also ensured roles in center and right, respectively. My sour opinion on Matt Murton is well documented, so no need to get into all of that here.
by BLou on Jan 14, 2009 10:50 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Cust in center?
wow. there are no other words. just wow.
Lou Brown: "My kinda team, Charlie, my kinda team..."
by ballhawk on Jan 14, 2009 10:54 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
FWIW, the depth chart I posted has Cust as a DH.
Sweeney and Davis are in center.
RIP Ron Asheton (1948-2009)
by dat cubfan daver on Jan 14, 2009 10:56 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, he's really just a footnote in Cubs history at this point.
The A’s depth chart on Yahoo! has Aaron Cunningham backing up Holliday in left and Murton definitely doesn’t really fit the profile of a fourth outfielder. The chart has him listed as a backup DH, but I’d imagine he’d only see action in that role against left-handed pitching.
RIP Ron Asheton (1948-2009)
by dat cubfan daver on Jan 14, 2009 10:54 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Murton is a Triple A player
That’s what he is. Somebody who could conceivably come up for a cup of coffee and help fill a temporary need.
by BLou on Jan 14, 2009 11:18 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
So it appears, so it appears.
RIP Ron Asheton (1948-2009)
by dat cubfan daver on Jan 14, 2009 11:24 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Well, Murton
had a major league bat good enough for SS, 2B, CF, maybe 3B or Catcher and RF in a pinch. Unfortunately, his defensive skills are only good at LF and excellent for DH.
by N Oakley on Jan 14, 2009 11:31 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Yup, his skill set severely limited his options.
RIP Ron Asheton (1948-2009)
by dat cubfan daver on Jan 14, 2009 11:40 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Great story!
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
by Al on Jan 13, 2009 8:14 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Hendry story
Stories of Hendry encounters abound in Park Ridge. My personal favorite is of him at the annual Taste of Park Ridge where he was calmly talking on his cell oblivious to the world as a huge crowd gathered around. He by the way was very friendly and signed 1020239283938912821938290381 autographs.
Personally though if I’m the only one to recognize him I don’t call attention.
Barbara V. October 14, 1941 - December 19, 2008. A great lady who was a friend to all and like a second mom to her children's friends (she was my best friend's mom)
by cubstoseriesby100 on Jan 13, 2009 8:31 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
and my I repeat
" You helped her ???"
"I am not ashamed to say I love Greg Maddux" - Jim Hendry
by Doggie Stalker on Jan 13, 2009 8:32 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
If I said
i took the bag and ran would that make it better??
by AndHart120 on Jan 13, 2009 9:04 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
On an airplane probably not
but perhaps the bag could have just slipped and fallen on her head when you tried to "help " her.
"I am not ashamed to say I love Greg Maddux" - Jim Hendry
by Doggie Stalker on Jan 13, 2009 9:24 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Or said
“I’m sorry. I’d help but I don’t want to get any Wrigley Field rat feces on your personal possessions. I’m sure you understand.”
make*art
by neverAcquiesce on Jan 15, 2009 1:13 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
For what its worth...
…ive met a few current and former Cubs and I’ll share my experiences…
Carlos Marmol – Very awesome guy, very humble.
Angel Guzman – Jerk.
Matt Murton – (It was right after he was demoted once) Jerk.
Kerry Wood – Amazing. Awesome. Gets ‘it’.
Lee Smith – Genuine and nice.
Sean Marshall – Very numble, just a real nice guy.
Ronny Cedeno – Not baseball smart.
Greg Maddux – Patient with fans but not overly friendly.
One thing you learned as a Cubs fan: when you bought you ticket, you could bank on seeing the bottom of the ninth.
Joe Garagiola
by Ryan at Cubshub on Jan 13, 2009 9:06 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
you determined ronny cedeno isn't baseball smart from your meeting?
by aramis on Jan 13, 2009 9:21 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I interviewed him for a local paper...
…and the day before he was part of a triple play. When I asked him about it he said he was happier with the 2-5 day with two doubles than the triple play.
Call me crazy, but going 2-5 isnt that crazy for a guy like him in AAA, but a triple play is rare.
One thing you learned as a Cubs fan: when you bought you ticket, you could bank on seeing the bottom of the ninth.
Joe Garagiola
by Ryan at Cubshub on Jan 13, 2009 9:28 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I don't think that's evidence of a lack of baseball smarts
He’ll stick in baseball a lot longer going 2-for-5 than turning triple plays. I do think Ronny’s baseball knowledge is lacking, but your reason is off base.
Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true! --Homer J. Simpson
by Shanghai Badger on Jan 13, 2009 9:39 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Well...
…When I talked to him he just didnt seem like his head was in the game, but it might have just been my opinion at the time.
One thing you learned as a Cubs fan: when you bought you ticket, you could bank on seeing the bottom of the ninth.
Joe Garagiola
by Ryan at Cubshub on Jan 13, 2009 9:41 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Did you interview him in English?
It must be difficult for players to come to the US and give interviews to the media in their second language.
Hey, it's a new century!
by cowsarecool220 on Jan 13, 2009 10:28 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
+1
RIP Ron Asheton (1948-2009)
by dat cubfan daver on Jan 14, 2009 10:57 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I met Matt Murton once...
… found him to be pleasant and very baseball-savvy. He must have been having a bad day after he was demoted when you met him.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
by Al on Jan 14, 2009 4:10 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Surprised to hear Guzman and Murton were jerks.
Especially Murton.
RIP Ron Asheton (1948-2009)
by dat cubfan daver on Jan 14, 2009 10:48 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Little OT
I recently went to a suns game, most of the players are extremely friendly. Steve Kerr is super super cool. Bill Cartwright is a 1st class JackA……….! real jerk.
Dear Santa:: All I want for X-mas this year is an official 2009 Jake Peavy Cubs Jersey. Oh and a Beimel one too. I've been a real good guy for the most part!!!
by cubsluver22 on Jan 13, 2009 9:22 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
I go to church w/ bill cartwright, he's always been a great guy there.
Donates a lot, does a ton of community service. Maybe you caught him at a bad time.
by aramis on Jan 13, 2009 10:12 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Still OT - Kevin Garnett
When he was still with the Wolves, I was in for a morning shootaround interview for the pregame show. Some of the other players were off in another part of the locker room, roughhousing and cussing it up pretty heavy. Another player had brought his 4 or 5 year old son in – nice little guy.
KG told the rest of the players to knock off the cursing while the kid was around. They briefly quieted down and then were back at it. He told them again. Same thing…
He turns to me, standing right in front of him, camera on my shoulder, and points – says “Roll some tape on that, man! Those guys cursing while the little man’s here.”
Dead quiet room in seconds.
Yes, he’s intense to the point of being a near-maniac on the court, but that day, KG was a class act.
by MN exile on Jan 13, 2009 11:14 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Seeing what he is doing for the Celtics
it makes me wish Paxson had pulled the trigger. A guy with that kind of heart is welcome on my team any day.
Brian McRae's 5 o'clock shadow
by PurpleLineToWrigley on Jan 14, 2009 9:43 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Awesome.
We shouldn’t be surprised when megastars have good heads on their shoulders, but it is nice to read about.
make*art
by neverAcquiesce on Jan 15, 2009 1:17 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Cubbies I have talked to in person
Ken Holtzman (great gentleman)
Bill Caudill (hilariously funny)
Greg Maddux (reserved and somewhat cool, which is understandable for any primetime sports celebrity)
Non-Cubbies…
Jim Fergosi (in Clearwater while managing the Phillies)
Larry Bowa (insanely serious)
Darren Daulton (my wife had long-standing crush on the man)
John Kruk (the definition of class clown and exactly what you would expect…I liked him)
by BLou on Jan 14, 2009 10:14 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Can't judge ballplayers by encounters you may have
A lot of athletes and such are naturally reserved and guarded about their privacy. Just because you bump into a ballplayer at the airport or in a restaurant and he doesn’t turn around to acknowledge you or say something doesn’t make him/her a jerk.
Oh, others I have met….
Joe Montana in the Kansas City airport (nicest guy on the planet)
by BLou on Jan 14, 2009 10:16 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
I think sometimes fans forget that we are strangers to celeberties!
We feel like we know them because we see them in TV and movies but we are strangers to them.
How would any of us feel if a total stranger walks up to us? Sometimes we might not react in a pleasant way for a variety of reasons.
Hey, it's a new century!
by cowsarecool220 on Jan 14, 2009 10:40 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
One more thing about Joe Montana
The wife of a co-worker went to Notre Dame while Joe Montana was there. They actually were friends at the time and were in a few of the same classes. Needless to say Joe Montana while being a nice guy is dumber than a hockey puck. Which led to this woman agreeing to complete a lot of Joe’s homework assignments and actually helping him to cheat on several tests during class. Fun story.
by BLou on Jan 14, 2009 10:47 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I met SWL once outside a Burrito Beach a few years back...
guy was a total megalomaniac
I haz blurg: hotbeans.wordpress.com
by digitalbenjamin on Jan 14, 2009 10:38 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Well, asking him to autograph...
…every single one of his BCB images that you have bound in that gold-trimmed binder may have freaked him out a bit.
RIP Ron Asheton (1948-2009)
by dat cubfan daver on Jan 14, 2009 10:50 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
stay out of this, you!
I haz blurg: hotbeans.wordpress.com
by digitalbenjamin on Jan 14, 2009 11:19 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Funny how benjamin
didn’t mention the restraining order. Stalkers never do though.
by N Oakley on Jan 14, 2009 11:32 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
glad I didn't show him my tattoo

I haz blurg: hotbeans.wordpress.com
by digitalbenjamin on Jan 14, 2009 12:39 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Look, it's not that I don't like the attention...
but let I guy finish his kittten burrito before you start asking him for his autograph…

As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Jan 14, 2009 12:33 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
OM NOM NOM NOM
I haz blurg: hotbeans.wordpress.com
by digitalbenjamin on Jan 14, 2009 12:46 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Met many sports and Cub figures
Walter Payton was the most grounded and personally extraordinary person, always held himself as being blessed and he was quite intelligent and perceptive. Knew him through a non profit board and business associations.
Michael Jordan was quite ambitious and willing to use his station in life to advance his personal agenda. He understood the score and could be the most focused person. I laughed that he loved playing at exclusive North Shore Country Clubs that were silently bigoted where he was often the only African-American outside the kitchen or valet attendants using his celebrity status to get in as a guest but knowing he was precluded from joining the clubs, he enjoyed taking member/friends $$ on golf bets.
Mike Ditka was an interesting and quite opinionated sort from a working class grounding.
Billy Williams is a genuinely affable regular guy where I have talked with him without reserve or pretension, where I first met him at the Western Open. Since then have run into him in various situations and his personality remains the same. Cubs never should have traded him.
Ron Santo, he is a real personable guy, his radio persona is what it is in person.
Tony LaRussa, he is a very serious competitor and his eyes can cut you like a laser. He is all about winning.
Bob Knight is probably the most competitive person I have ever met in or out of business or sports, extremely intelligent and learned, as opinionated as Ditka but holding to deeper basis of his opinion.
Have also met and talked to Larry Bowa, Ryne Sandburg, Scott Sanderson, Rick Wilkens, Kevin Tapani, Jim Riggleman , Jim Abbott, Milt Pappas, Doug Buffone, Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers, Quinn Buckner, Glen Grunwald, Steve Lazkowski, Isaiah Thomas, Doc Rivers, —I have known Billy McKinney, Larry Bird, Jerome Whitehead, Scott Stohoviak, Mike Wagner, Bob Svete, Gary Hallberg, Dave Ogrin, Steve Stricker, Jerry Kelly, among others…including Olympians and even a family member in that category
Here is my overall assessment. The anecdote with Mike Quade is interesting since Mike was playing off the point that most of the time he is an anonymous person and part of MLB’s fraternity where now he is a Cub and he noted that you must be a Cub fan in knowing him and mentioning the convention and then found it amusing you helped the rival fan.
Most athletes are competitive and are different. They possess a singular commitment that most regular souls don’t have towards life and their pursuit, they compete with themselves and the world of their sport. Murton is probably trying to figure out how to stick and succeed, out work, out improve where he has hit the wall. Often their minds are there and not here. So if someone is a jerk, they might not actually being a jerk but are distracted, preoccupied and because they don’t know you or have any business with you, it is like any stranger that might comes up to me. Now in public I can strike up a quick quip conversation with anyone, but if you are trying to sell me something and initiating that conversation in public by seeking something of me….I can be abrupt—if my wife is not there—-rude. Now I am nobody but if you are bothering me….touche.
In short I have found most athletes and celebrities no different than any neighbor, they are individuals with their own personality and if your worlds are coming parallel, they are like individuals just like anyone else. The one that gets the most surprise by others is Bob Knight. His public persona is so cemented into a caricature and my experience is that he is not the same person described by the media. His main problem is that he needs time to decompress after a highly competitive contest, but the business forces him to meet the press and he is not emotionally ready to do that. Oh sure he might have a temper or say something too honest for some but he was always nice and polite with me and those I was with.
One anecdote: I was being treated for a lung problem that was more serious than I knew and still a mystery to the doctors when I was his guest at a college game in Boulder. He gave me seats right behind the bench where my brother-in-law was my guest, he was a high school asst coach for a freshman team and this was a dream for him. Now he made certain I was given access to elevator even though he was supposed to be preparing for the game, but he made certain I was taken care of.
Now I didn’t think that we could be heard sitting behind the bench during the game as . TTU got behind early, 19 the first ten minutes and my brother-in-law was enthralled by seeing a HOF coach up front and manage a game, Knight started going down the bench to see who was willing to play the game his way. At a time out I bet my brother-in-law that TTU would have a chance to win the game before it was over. Knight eventually found a rotation of players who began to cut into the lead and the final minute they got it down by 6, and then with 4 sec remaining CU missed a FT when up by 2 and TTU’s star got the ball and got off a shot with a good look from 25 feet…it bounced off the back of the rim. Much later upon thanking Knight for the tics, he turned his attention to my health and then he joked if I had collected on my bet—-then he said I needed to get healthy.
My moral is that fans often view their sports teams and players like they are in a fish tank but they are human beings partaking in a profession or exercise that we dream about. My niece who is an Olympian hopeful has awoken at 4 AM most of her life to skate up to 6 hours a day. When I played golf in college few people respected that I had to wake at 6 AM and be at the course every weekend morning by 7 AM to compete or that I went to class and then had to be at practice by 1:30 PM through 6 PM every day.
The fact is the commitment to sustain and then improve one’s skills is immense. This commitment also involves mental preparation. Coaches or managers have the same issue so when I hear that Lou takes his shirt off in Nordstroms it is funny—-but I bet he was also pressed for time and had to buy something for some event.
Piniella: "This is a tougher job than I thought it would be, I'm going to be honest with you."
by Ivy Walls on Jan 14, 2009 12:38 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
wow...break this up into chapters for me.
As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Jan 14, 2009 12:45 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Murton was struggling and distracted,
SWL is a DB.
by N Oakley on Jan 14, 2009 12:46 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
LOL
sigh
I haz blurg: hotbeans.wordpress.com
by digitalbenjamin on Jan 14, 2009 12:58 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
DB...
Da Bomb?
I haz blurg: hotbeans.wordpress.com
by digitalbenjamin on Jan 14, 2009 1:26 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Drug Baby

As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.
by santoswoodenlegs on Jan 14, 2009 1:43 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Or at least go all Tolkien on us...
and make it a trilogy. Geez!
RIP Ron Asheton (1948-2009)
by dat cubfan daver on Jan 14, 2009 1:01 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Ditka takes the Bear Bus to Mordor.
He now wears the Eye of Sauron as a beltbuckle.
make*art
by neverAcquiesce on Jan 15, 2009 1:22 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Interesting take.
Must say I’m in shock at learning of the passing of Michael Jordan and Mike Ditka.
just kidding
by N Oakley on Jan 14, 2009 12:45 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
sorry about the past tense
and to those who disliked the detail or length…..don’t read it….
Piniella: "This is a tougher job than I thought it would be, I'm going to be honest with you."
by Ivy Walls on Jan 14, 2009 3:54 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Interesting stuff.
Thanks for the post.
by CubsWin!Oregon on Jan 14, 2009 6:57 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Quite a number of local sports stars...
… have come in to our station over the years for interviews, or when we used to do a Sunday late night sports show.
Years ago, Walter Payton came in every Sunday when the Bears were home. He was my size — but a zillion times more muscular. His handshake was crushing. He was friendly and personable to the crew.
Don Zimmer used to do the same during baseball season when the Cubs were home. He never, ever wore a tie and was always somewhat disheveled. But oh, did he have great baseball stories.
I met Warren Spahn once when he came in for an interview. He seemed friendly enough, though a bit distant (he was over 65 by this time).
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
by Al on Jan 14, 2009 1:52 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
More on Walter and his handshake
I guess I am one of those guys who touch people on the shoulder/upper arm when shaking their hand and Walter Payton’s arm and shoulder’s were like granite or marble. I used to joke with him about it and he deflected it saying he was born that way.
In fact when he found out I was from Indiana U he said that one of the young college players he had working with him in his back ravine obstacle course that was his workout place was a aspiring tight end from IU. Of course I was fat and out of shape and he said that he never lifted a weight until he got into the NFL, that he was born this way. That after the first year he was so bruised and battered by the NFL he realized he had to workout and build more muscle. This grew as he could outwork anyone which he said he grew his ceiling and became the durable superstar that made all those records. The ravine work out course was the natural course that he hated working out indoors.
Now I have shaken many hands, sports or otherwise, Jordans would swallow your hand, wrist and upper arm and why his hand was out of scale for even a 6’6" basketball player. But Payton was like shaking the hand of Hercules, he was a rock—-period.
Piniella: "This is a tougher job than I thought it would be, I'm going to be honest with you."
by Ivy Walls on Jan 14, 2009 3:49 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Payton was my first sports idol ....
and the first sports figure that I can remember. Hearing these great stories bring back some fond memories. My father had the opportunity of meeting him and said that he was the classiest guy you could imagine. I am not ashamed to say that I cried my eyes out when he passed.
"I don’t believe that things go your way," said Lou Piniella, the Cubs manager.
"I believe you make things go your way."
by Basman on Jan 14, 2009 4:04 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
For me I felt I lost a friend, he had a big impact and I thought he could have been a Senator
Walter who was a rock of a man was so fair that he refused to consider using any celebrity status for a new liver.
Last time I drove by his place in Barrington I tip my hat.
Piniella: "This is a tougher job than I thought it would be, I'm going to be honest with you."
by Ivy Walls on Jan 14, 2009 6:37 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I can remember three distinctive handshakes in my sports celebrity encounters
Wilt Chamberlain – it goes without saying my hand disappeared in his. btw, I looked him straight in the eye when I shook his hand. I suppose I should mention though, it was at a book signing and he was sitting down.
JR Richard (post-stroke) – it was at an old-timers game/ceremony in Cleveland. It’s been said he could hold something like 5 baseballs in one hand. After shaking hands with him, I’d have to agree.
Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe – wow. simply incredible. smooth old leathery hands, fingers all gnarled, one pinky bent out almost 90 degrees from hand. Yep, you could tell he was a catcher…
Lou Brown: "My kinda team, Charlie, my kinda team..."
by ballhawk on Jan 14, 2009 4:27 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I worked at a bank in Lincoln Park...
and had the opportunity to meet a couple people. Glenallen Hill (anyone remember that bomb he hit a while back ? WOW!!) came in to open up an account with us and I was his personal banker.
He was a really nice, down-to-earth, friendly guy. Gave us some tix to a couple games. Funniest part is when the bank manager, who was an older woman who did’nt really follow sports, made me verify his employment. I had to call the front office to do so and felt like a moron. A few weeks later, we were in the break room and the Cubs were on with Glenallen at the plate, when I turned to the manager and asked her if that was verification enough.
I also worked met Wayne Messmer while at that job and he was a very nice guy as well.
"I don’t believe that things go your way," said Lou Piniella, the Cubs manager.
"I believe you make things go your way."
by Basman on Jan 14, 2009 4:01 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
I also saw Wayne
at a Portillos once, but chose not to bother him at all.
by AndHart120 on Jan 14, 2009 6:11 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Wayne and his singing sister are all from WI
just north of Burlington WI. Met him and his family at the Pick-n-Save buying a roasted chicken before the season in the ’90’s.
My wife was so embarrassed as in the check out line I recognized him and began singing the National Anthem out of key…..he laughed and we struck up a conversation—-not many Cub fans up here.
Piniella: "This is a tougher job than I thought it would be, I'm going to be honest with you."
by Ivy Walls on Jan 14, 2009 6:33 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Very, very funny
AndHeart!
I love it.
He’s from my hometown! (Evanston)
Unlike some folks, I am not an “autograph hound”. I’d much rather shoot the breeze or express appreciation (or scorn), like AndHeart120. Just would rather let the dudes get about their daily lives – most of the time I just smile and do a “head nod”.
by The E-Man on Jan 14, 2009 6:43 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

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