The year is 1980. I am now 25-years-old and ready to tackle my life-long dream to work in the National Hockey League. I was an official employee of the Washington Capitals and served as the “Special Assistant to the Hockey Department.” My primary function, however, was to serve as Roger Crozier’s personal assistant. He was the Capitals’ Assistant General Manager at the time and the person responsible for my hiring. I would also spend time assisting the public relations director (writing all of the team’s publications, game press notes and weekly releases) and scouting department (tabulating all player prospect reports and taking care of our scouts travel itineraries and expenses).
Upon my arrival into D.C. National Airport on
this Sunday, June 1st, the Caps had someone on staff there to meet my flight and
drive me to the team’s sponsored hotel in New Carrolton, Maryland (which was just
a few miles from the Capital Centre, our hockey arena and offices that was
based in Landover). Max McNab, the team’s general manager, had agreed to lend
me one of his family vehicles (a Monte Carlo) for a week so that I had
transportation until I got my bearings and purchased a car for myself. Max and
his son, David, met me at the hotel so as to leave his car and give me the
keys. I decided to get an early night’s sleep in preparation for my first day
on the job in the Big Leagues that next morning.
As I awoke and made my way out the hotel
door and to the parking lot, I could not locate Mr. McNab’s vehicle. I walked
everywhere and it was not to be found? I quickly notified the hotel security.
They came outside to check around and investigate. The hotel contacted police
for me and within a matter of minutes, I was being told by authorities that Mr.
McNab’s car was indeed STOLEN and found ransacked several miles from the hotel!!!
I had this hollow feeling in me and was worried sick! How was I going to break
the news to my boss?? So, I got a hold of myself. Called the Capitals office,
which I was now way LATE for my first day of work, and broke the news to Max.
He was stunned obviously and I just felt so terrible! What an awkward first day
of work for me in the Big Leagues!
I quickly expedited my departure from that
hotel and was lucky to find a condominium unit that was renting close by to the
Capital Centre in a city called Upper Marlboro. It was a mile-and-a-half from
work. I was fortunate to get a deal done 24-hours after the carjacking episode and
signed off on a one-year lease. On my first weekend off from work, I was
planning to go furniture shopping and was of the assumption that Roger was
going to take me since I had never bought furniture
in my life or set up an apartment? Well, I soon realized the meaning of “tough love” as Roger boldly
told me I had to do this on my very own! I was admittedly nervous to have to do
this big project myself being so new to the area and obviously foreign
behind the wheels of a car but then I thought to myself … “Got to man-up Jim!
Roger’s putting a challenge out to me. A test to see how I would react?” I asked
my two favorite ladies in the Hockey Department (Sharon, our PR secretary and
Ellen, our top aide to Mr McNab) for a recommendation on where to shop for
furniture that Friday afternoon before forging out on my own over the weekend!
Picture me – it was a funny scene. I am
wheeling multiple baskets around this big outlet store in Maryland and picking out
whatever looked good to me including a small bedside lamp that was screwed on
top of an actual deer’s legs (which for some reason reminded me of my love for the
animal kingdom that I had seen up close throughout my time spent living in
Montana … but a certain women who would marry me two years later, LAUGHED AT IT
and still to this day has never let me forget about this goofy looking lamp nor
will she let me shop on my own for our household furniture!)
When the cashier was done ringing up my
purchases, the bill came to $6,700! I then
opened my checkbook to pay in full and you would have thought I killed someone?
The store management pulled me aside and wanted to chat in private. They were
questioning my method of payment? They thought I was an odd ball for not ever
opening up a credit card account and begged me to do so with them? Yes, I
should have vs. killing off 67% of my savings account! After what felt like an
interrogation for 15 minutes and verification of my new employment, the store
accepted my funds and off I went. For the first time in my life I had my own place
and my own furniture. I now felt like a certified adult!
I was a very lucky person to not only reach
my Dream to work in the Big Leagues but to do so under the guidance, love and
support of Roger Crozier. (Besides my wife), he was singularly the most
influential and important person in my life! He taught me how to think. He grew
me up. Molded me into someone that could succeed in the sports industry. Every
day when Roger was in the office, he and I pretty much met at 9:00 AM to
discuss his work calendar, projects for me and most importantly, to give him
one idea-a-day on how we were going to better the Capitals franchise? Didn’t
matter what the theme, Roger expected me to come up with an idea (an exercise
that I will be forever grateful to him for demanding this of me!)
Once the season opened, my game days were
spent working in the PR department, writing and assembling the press
information, supervising our game-night volunteers and managing the TV and
Radio Broadcast crews that would go “live” from our arena. Our club utilized
Larry King as a studio TV host and to conduct player interviews. Back then Larry
was a nationally syndicated and famous talk radio host who’s show was broadcast
from Washington all throughout America late at night. One of my joys – and Larry’s pre-game
ritual – was to share a plate of Nachos with me every night and discuss the
team. Just he and I. Larry was a magnificent storyteller – and he had many to
tell me as well as lessons about life. It was an education that was just
priceless for me!
During my rookie season in the pros, my
biggest adjustment was learning how to write! It didn’t help that every single word
I typed had to be pre-approved by the Capital Centre’s President (Jerry Sachs)
who oversaw the interests of the NHL Capitals and NBA Washington Bullets that
my owner had as his holdings. If you ever wonder where I got my fascination for
post-it notes, Jerry was my example! Pretty much everything I wrote back then
came back with a yellow sticky that said something like “Jim, what do you mean
by this statement? Poor grammar here? Your choice of words is redundant?"
I didn’t know this but at some point as the
calendar year flipped over to 1981, Roger Crozier was brought upstairs to Jerry’s
office to discuss my writing skills. After all, I was the one sending all of
these press pieces to the likes of the Washington Post. Afterwards, Roger met
with me and told me that the management was concerned about my writing and that
they wanted to move me away from this job unless I showed improvement? So,
Roger worked out a deal privately with a PR Agency in Washington and told me
that for the next four weeks during my lunch hour, I had to drive into D.C. and
have this group tutor me on the art of writing professionally. It was somewhat
humiliating at first, but it was one of the BEST THINGS that ever happened to
me! I learned a lifetime in these sessions mostly because I never went to
college nor took English/Journalism classes. Know that I did RISE UP and over
time, Jerry’s post-it note comments seemed to cease; whereas, I was now
starting to receive compliments on my writings!
Like the players, I knew that to work in the
pros I had to step up my game too and make sure every statistic and written
word was as accurate as humanly possible! Roger always preached to me that when
he was being critical of my work, that was meant as a positive because he cared
enough to get the best out of me!
Please don’t be bummed my Facebook and Blog readers,
these lessons of “tough love” were sorely needed by yours truly. I wouldn’t be
who I am today if I didn’t undergo all of this back in 1980!
… Continued tomorrow
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