TBT, no surprise, its a good bet mine will be sports or music related about 90% of the time. Going through pictures and memories came flooding back so I thought I would share a few. A program from the 94 PGA Championship. I was able to marshal the tournament with my friend Rick Hash. I got a fantastic job of escorting the players from the practice green to the first tee, so I had about 5 minutes alone with every player. Golf was my dads passion and his 2 idols were Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. It was Arnolds last PGA as a competitor and I took time to tell both of them about my dad as we made the walk to tee #1. Both were as kind and authentic as they always looked on T.V. . As a marshal, we were not allowed to ask for autographs or pictures but both took balls out of their pockets and slyly signed them and stuffed them in my pocket. I have been a Cardinal fan my whole life, also as a result of my dads influence. He took me to several games growing up so I have incredible memories of many players. One of the most vivid memories was attending a game in 1968 when Roger Maris had been signed by the Cardinals to play right field. I was 13 years old but can still remember how excited I was, watching Bob Gibson pitch with Roger Maris in right field. My favorite shortstops are Cal Ripken and Ozzie Smith. Ozzie is also as kind a professional athlete as I have ever met. Other than the Mic, my favorite MLB player that I was able to meet is Bob Feller. He was a pilot in WWII and I was honored to meet him several times. He had a great memory and remembered my name into his 80s. He would always hold out his arms and hold Sean like he was his own grandson. The next time I planned to see him, he promised we were going to rent a plane and fly together. He passed away about 6 months after I last saw him. I never met Ted Williams but always wanted to. What a personality. Awesome hand,eye coordination and a great story teller later in life. Our friend Mickey Mantle was an Oklahoma jewel. My only regret was not having pictures taken with him and my dad during the times we played golf with him at his charity tournament in Joplin after he retired. Dad had some great stories about playing ball against Mickey growing up in Miami, Oklahoma. Dad pitched several years and struck Mic out a few times but he also hit some bombs off dad that are probably still flying outside Commerce Oklahoma. He too was a generous and kind man who was just a good ole Oklahoma boy that made a mark on baseball that will never be forgotten. I guess not having pictures is ok when I think about it because he was always able to relax with his buddies from NE Oklahoma because he knew he didnt have to put on a show for them. The pictures in my mind are most important and special, seeing my dad and Mickey cutting loose and laughing at each others stories about the true good ole days.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Apr 2014 14:58:58 +0000
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