Still in my infancy years
of working in the Big Leagues and having some flashbacks …. There was the time that
Capitals’ owner Abe Pollin called me up to his office to see if I would drive THE
“Swedish Ambassador” back to his Embassy home in D.C. following an office visit
on some hockey players the club was recruiting from his native country. Mr. Pollin did not know of my driving history
(or lack thereof) and most definitely that I was not familiar with the streets
of Washington. So yours truly goes out and after a wrong turn somewhere, Sweden’s
Ambassador is now lost thanks to me! All I remember is that we ended up cruising
by some very poor and rough-looking neighborhoods enroute and needed some directions
(almost reliving a scene from the Chevy Chase movie “Vacation” – HaHa!!) What I
wouldn’t have done back then for a modern-day GPS system installed in my car!
I cannot ever forget my
introduction to the real BOSS … Bruce Springsteen. He had just released his highly
acclaimed album “The River” in 1980 and was on the docket for multiple sold-out
concert shows at the Capital Centre. One his opening night, Mr. Pollin asked
that all Capitals Hockey team players, coaches and administrative staff be at
the show. He wanted everyone to see what true “effort” was all about! He was
discouraged by his team’s play on ice that year and because we were coming off
of a last place finish the year prior in 1979-80. Bruce and his E Street Band performed on stage
for close to four hours that night with no line changes or time-outs! He was
jumping up on top of the piano, running around the stage like a wild man. He even
tossed himself out into his audience as
they passed his body around from one-to-another – yet, he never missed a beat
and kept on singing! He was truly amazing and I’ve been a fan of his music ever
since! As the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart would say: “Bruce Springsteen is one
artist that empties the tank for his audience - always!”
Being that part of my job
was working with the D.C. media, we were blessed to have such a great crop of
writers and TV sports personalities. During my time in Washington, I had working
relationships with George Michael, Tony Kornheiser, James Brown (NFL on CBS
Sports), Mike Patrick (former ESPN Sunday Night NFL play-by-play), and Tim Ryan
(FOX-TV NFL Analyst) as examples. I enjoyed Tony’s columns in the Washington
Post. He always took a humorist slant toward his writings in sports. He once
called me out on his National ESPN Radio Talk Show a few years ago asking
anyone in his listening audience if they knew where “Jimmy Loria was?” He told
his audience that I was someone he missed and wondered where I had ended up
after leaving Washington? Our Sioux Falls radio station that carried Tony’s
show told me about the plug so I called Tony at the Washington Post and we had
a wonderful reunion by phone.
James Brown was a rookie
sportscaster for our D.C. area CBS affiliate. He was a former college basketball
player from Harvard that was just breaking into TV sports back then. I was
happy to have played a small role in helping groom the big fella during the
developing stages of his career. What I most admired about James was his
eagerness to learn the business and even the game of hockey. Not many of the
media would be that way especially with us living in a city that was viewed as Washington
Redskins Country! The Redskins were the darlings of the NFL with so many
personality-plus players on the team and without question, they owned the D.C.
media and the front pages of the Post and TV news. So it was a refreshing
change to have someone like James reach out to the hockey club and for the Caps’
players to take him in like he was family!
Working in an area where the pulse of our country’s
daily news originated was so fascinating to me. Here I was in my young 20’s and
visiting offices like the Washington Post and Washington Times, talking sports and
promoting aspects of the Capitals to the writers and columnists. A few desks away
you knew there was another person typing up a story about President Ronald Reagan
that was about to hit the presses worldwide? That is exactly why my bosses were
so tough on my writing skills during that first year of mine because these experienced
media veterans at the Post were the same guys that rained down on our
presidents, and the other politicians and business leaders.
Speaking of
politics, I will never forget what life was like living in Washington at the
close of the Iranian hostage affair when 52 Americans were released from 444
days of captivity on Jan. 20, 1981 and the celebrations that took place in the
Nation’s Capital and across the country. Frank Sinatra, one of the legends in movies
and music, recruited all of his friends from Hollywood to come out to
Washington where he invited the families of those held captive to a
concert-show of a lifetime at the Capital Centre. It was one of the most
riveting events witnessed in my life! Sinatra
produced the show that featured the likes of Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, Dean Martin,
Sammy Davis, Jr., Ethel Merman and many others. As employees of the arena, we
were treated to the show’s rehearsal so that the entertainers had a live
audience to perform their skits. We sat in the rows next to the stage area. My
eyes were fixated on Johnny Carson and Dean Martin Watching those two go at it
with their barbs and jokes was priceless! They had no cue cards. It was
off-the-cuff jokes! This was a WOW moment in my life!
Back during the 1981 season, the hockey world,
especially the American side of the sport, was in a buzz over Bobby Carpenter, their
first homegrown hero and a Massachusetts high school phenom. Sports Illustrated
even put his face on their magazine cover then and branded Carpenter as the “Can’t
Miss Kid!” The Caps sent their scouts out to see him play and come draft day
our club was going to make hockey history by choosing this high schooler with
our first pick, 3rd overall.
Leading up to this historical selection, the club
did not know if Bobby would sign and turn pro (something no high school player
in NHL history had ever done before) or play college hockey at nearby
Providence, Rhode Island? I’ll never forget the recruiting efforts that our
hockey leaders put in to assure the Carpenter family that Bobby could successfully
transition into the Big Leagues. When this was going on, the club made
arrangements to bring Bobby in for a tour of D.C. and a look-see at our
facilities. He arrived with his family and a special guest – the legendary Bobby
Orr, perhaps the game’s great player and now a family advisor. Being a Massachusetts
native and of young age that was relatable to the family, Roger Crozier had
asked me to join the party and spend the entire day with the Bobby’s –
Carpenter and Orr, and help promote the organization. So, off in a limousine I
went and with their tour around the Nation’s Capital. A few years later in 1984,
Bobby would become the first American-born NHL player to score 50 or more goals
in a season.
One of the proudest moments during my time in Washington was the
year we hosted the NHL All-Star Game in 1982. Back then, this was just a one-day
event and was not presented as a typical week-long festive party like you see in
today’s sports world. I was proud of the fact that the team management asked me
to play a role in the game planning. I helped out with the All-Star Dinner that
was set up at the famed Mayflower Hotel in downtown Washington and featured
Larry King as MC, well known comedian Rich Little and President Regan. One of
my life’s big thrills was to be chosen as the editor and writer of the official
NHL All-Star Game Program! I still have the one last known copy of the game publication
in my possession! I also had the honor of taking the young superstar Wayne
Gretzky on a media caravan around to the D.C. media outlets upon his arrival.
At the time Wayne was just 21-years-old and putting up multiple 200 point
seasons – unheard of figures – even for today!
At the end of the night, Wayne gave me his hockey stick and had his
All-Star teammates sign it! What a great memory for me!
Continued tomorrow …
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