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Jim O’Brien: Larouche lucky to still be in step with Penguins

By Jim O’Brien, Columnnist, Pittsburgh Business Times

Pierre Larouche was one of the greatest scorers in the National Hockey League, as a high-flying forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens. He scored 50 goals in a season twice, once with the Penguins and once with the Canadiens, and had 48 one winter with the Rangers.

He was the first player to score 50 goals for two different teams in the NHL, and the youngest (at 21) to do so until Wayne Gretzky broke his record in 1980. Larouche was the first draft choice of the Penguins in 1974 and scored 53 goals a year later.

Sidney Crosby and Yvgeni Malkin have each scored 50 goals in a season, but only once. Larouche was a gifted player with speed and elusiveness and a deft scoring touch.

Yet on this fall morning, Larouche was moving about the glistening hardwood floors of the family room in his home in Mt. Lebanon like a four-year-old skating on ice for the first time. He put his right hand at the base of his spine and complained, “It’s still stiff. I can’t play golf for awhile.”

He was on the mend from back surgery a few weeks earlier. Larouche pulled up a gray Penguins’ sweatshirt and showed the 10-inch scar just above his buttocks. “I’ll be 57 (on Nov. 16) and Mario is 47, and we were just talking about where the time has gone.”

Mario, of course, is Larouche’s boss, Mario Lemieux, one of the NHL greats and one of the principal owners of the Penguins. If Larouche were wearing a black and white tuxedo, as he does at fund-raising dinners, he could be an extra for the movie “March of the Penguins.”

Larouche says he’s been lucky – his nickname was “Lucky Pierre when he played in the NHL – to still be a part of the Penguins, marching stiffly or when he’s rehabilitated his back and is able to play golf again. That’s his passion along with hockey these days. He has a one stroke handicap at The Club at Nevillewood, and once came close to qualifying for the U.S, Open.

He’s a goodwill ambassador for the Penguins and he’s still on their payroll. I suggested he worked hard during his playing days at being a good guy which led to his present position. “It wasn’t work,” he said. “I learned that from my mother. Everybody is important. She taught me to treat people like I wanted to be treated. That’s easy for me. I think you have to get up awfully early to be a jerk.” He tried selling insurance after he retired as a player, “but that wasn’t me.”

Asked to explain his promotional role for the Penguins, Larouche allowed, “My first and foremost job that I do for Mario and the Penguins is to take care of the corporate sponsors. Whether it be participating in any event or fund-raising effort the team is involved in, or making sure all their needs are met while they are at the games, or just playing a friendly round of golf.

“Along with Mario, I am host to any celebrity or government official, including those from Canada, that attend a Penguins’ game and sit in Mario’s box.

“As part of the All-Time Team, I support the Penguins by doing public relations events and attending community affairs. This can range from going to Children’s Hospital to see the kids or signing autographs at The Regatta. I am humbled by the fans that remember my playing days with the Penguins, and wish to share their memories with me. In brief, I have the best job in the world and definitely the best boss in Mario.”

The NHL was in a lockout and the pre-season schedule had been canceled. Larouche hoped the owners and players could settle on a new contract: “There’s a lot of money out there, and you’d think they could figure out a way to share it equitably.”

Pierre and his wife Cindi and Mario and his wife Nathalie will host a fund-raising dinner – A Night of Hope for Mother’s Hope Foundation that supports children’s care around the world –at the Omni William Penn on Nov. 17. Penguins Marc-Andre Fleury, Kris Letang and former Penguin Mark Recchi will appear as well.

Larouche also has a special interest in cancer research because Cindi overcame a cancer scare in 1979, and Mario had two bouts with the Hodgkin’s lymphoma form of cancer, first diagnosed in 1993. The Larouches have no children, yet Pierre will be hosting a golf outing for the 24^th year in New York to raise funds for the prevention of child abuse,

“I’ve been fortunate in my lifetime,” said Larouche. “I like to give back. I’m still Lucky Pierre.”

Pittsburgh sports author Jim O’Brien has a new book out called “Immaculate Reflections.” Check his website at www.jimobriensportsauthor.com. His e-mail address is jimmyo64@gmail.com

Sydney Thornton, Steelers Running Back, 1977-1982

First, how is your health – you had suffered a stroke around five years ago correct?

I suffered a massive stroke about five years ago yes. Since then I have been on a steady course of rehabilitation and am keeping the faith. I’m trying to stay up and positive.

Has the NFL helped at all in terms of financial assistance?

The NFL? No…But one former teammate was at my side and helped me to learn how to go about things when I had no idea. Rocky {Bleier} stood by me and relieved me of the problems I had worrying about money and making sure bills got paid. He was down here at the time for a speaking engagement. He fulfilled that obligation then, without asking me, came to the hospital and was there for me like a knight in shining armor.

Continue reading “Sydney Thornton, Steelers Running Back, 1977-1982”

What Have You Done Now, Eugene? The Story of Gene Mingo

FORMER DENVER BRONCO AND STEELERS GREAT FINALLY GETS TO TELL HIS STORY

Emporia, Kansas– Football fans, and especially those who are fond of the early days of professional football, will be interested in a new book hitting the shelves this week nation-wide. Entitled What Have You Done Now, Eugene? The Story of Gene Mingo #21, the memoir relates the roller-coaster life and career of America’s first African-American place kicker and holder of many Denver Bronco records that have not been broken in over fifty years.

The life story of Gene Mingo was co-authored by Gene Mingo and Glen and Carol Strickland, who have been friends with Mingo since the 1970s when they lived in Denver and developed a close friendship with Gene and his wife Sally. They have stayed close and decided that Gene’s story is one of inspiration, success, and frustration as he fought his way through the beginnings of the American Football League after dropping out of high school and facing many personal tragedies while growing up in Akron, Ohio.

The Stricklands agreed that they wanted to help Mingo tell his story and started gathering information, doing interviews, collecting photos, and writing the narrative almost three years ago. “It took longer than we ever imagined because of the research that was required. We wanted to make this a book that would pay tribute to this great man but that would also tell the true story of someone who has never received the acclaim that he so richly deserves,” explains Glen Strickland. Gene shared many stories that were very personal to him. “I think we asked some tough questions, especially when we were writing about his downfall with drugs and his arrest. He was very open and honest with us, and we tried to put his words into a running narrative that will engage readers of all ages,” adds Carol Strickland.

Gene Mingo observes, “It’s great to see my story in print after all these years. I hope that my life can be an inspiration to some of today’s young people. It would be great if they could learn from my mistakes rather than from their own.”

The book can currently be ordered online from Amazon or Barnes and Noble, as well as from the publisher IUniverse. It is available in soft cover as well as hard cover. Book signings will be scheduled in various Kansas and Colorado cities in the next few months. The website for the book is //www.whathaveyoudonenoweugene.com/

Kevin Guilfoile, Author, A Drive Into the Gap

First, can you let readers know what brought you to write this book and how difficult was it for you to write something so personal?

Before I became a novelist, I was a creative director at Coudal Partners, which publishes the popular Field Notes Brand memo books. When I worked there, I told lots of baseball stories, both from my father’s days as an executive with the Pirates, Yankees, and the Baseball Hall of Fame, and also from my own brief career in baseball PR (with the Bucs and the Astros). When they decided to come out with a baseball-themed edition of Field Notes, they asked me if I would write a short essay and include some of these stories.

That seemed simple enough. But there was one story that was unfinished. It was the story of this peculiar Roberto Clemente bat that had been in my bedroom growing up in Cooperstown. For the last twenty years I had reason to believe that it–and not the bat in the Baseball Hall of Fame–might be Roberto’s real 3,000th hit bat. I decided to chase this story down and find out the truth. But the truth ended up being much wilder than I had expected, with lots of twists and turns along the way. So the essay became a book about baseball. About memory. About my father and his current struggle with Alzheimer’s. And it’s also a detective story about one of the 20th Century’s most iconic pieces of baseball memorabilia.

Parts of it were difficult to write. But somehow using baseball as a metaphor made it a little bit easier. This is a book about memory and stories. And the memories and stories I have of my father are all good.

How did you get started as a writer, and how much of a departure from your normal writing style was this book?

I’ve always wanted to be a writer. In the late 90s, while I was working with Coudal Partners, I started writing, mostly humor, for places like McSweeney’s and Modern Humorist and then later for The New Republic and Salon and The New York Times Magazine. Eventually I sold my first novel, CAST OF SHADOWS, and became a writer (and a dad) full-time.

I had written shorter investigative, non-fiction pieces (including a series on the internet about an infamous Chicago murder a few years back) but this was the first longer piece of non-fiction I’d attempted. The hardest part for me was not ascribing motives to people. When you write a novel you can invent movies for all the characters. In fact you have to. In this case, when I found out somebody did something, it was very tempting to make the leap and try to guess why they did it. I had to remind myself that I really have no idea.

And of course, this time, when I started writing I had no idea how it was going to end.

How can readers purchase the book?

You can read the first chapter and see a short film trailer for the book at //adriveintothegap.com. You can buy a physical copy either with or without a set of limited edition Day Game memo books at the Field Notes site //fieldnotesbrand.com/daygame/. You can also purchase an ebook at the Kindle and iTunes stores.

In researching and writing the book, what surprised you most about what you took away from the writing of the book?

Every day was a different surprise while I was writing it. Tracing the forgotten and hidden history of this bat was a thrill. Talking to people who knew my dad, and listening to their memories of him, was really exciting and gratifying. My sons are too young to have known my father the way the rest of us do, and hopefully this book will be a way for them to see a bit of who he really was.

How did you father become the Pirates public relations director in the 70’s, and as a child, did you appreciate the responsibility/excitement of his role?

My dad had been the assistant public relations director of the New York Yankees throughout the 1960s, and he was hired by the Pirates in 1970. It was really an exciting life for a kid. I spent practically all summer at Three Rivers Stadium. We’d move to Bradenton for spring training–I’d even go to school down there for six weeks of the year. But I don’t know if I appreciated how special it was. I just didn’t know any different. I can certainly appreciate it now.

Your father now suffers from Alzheimers. How difficult was it for you to gather some of those experience he had and how were you able to do so?

A few years ago, at the encouragement of his brother, my father began writing many of his baseball baseball stories. I didn’t even know he was doing it. His father had Alzheimer’s and he always feared that it would happen to him, so I think at least part of the reason was to save those stories for a time when he was no longer able to tell them.

What about the game of baseball do you think makes it most unique from other sports, and what about it helped being you and your father closer together?

I always had a close relationship with my parents, but we all go through those periods as a teenager where we are embarrassed by our dependence on them and want to distance ourselves. And so there were a couple of years there where I’m sure I was a rude little punk. Even so, baseball was something Dad and I could always talk about. Even now some of the times I feel the saddest about my father’s condition is when something happens in baseball–a perfect game or a change in the rules or a winning streak by the Pirates or this summer when Ron Santo was inducted into the Hall of Fame (my father grew up a Cubs fan in Wisconsin) and my instinct is to call him and talk about it but then I remember that he can’t really have that conversation any more.

I have been to hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of Major League Baseball games. My father has been to thousands. But because he was always working in the press box (or I was) I think I’ve only been to four where I sat with my father. There was a Milwaukee Brewers game when I was in, like, first grade. Games Three and Four of the 1986 World Series at Fenway. And Game One of the 1993 ALCS between the White Sox and Blue Jays at Comiskey.

Quality instead of quantity, I guess. And I remember all of them vividly.

Who were some of the players you remember most from those days – especially through your father’s comments and writings – and what about them made them so memorable to your father and you?

There was no one my father admired more than Roberto. We actually had an oil painting of Clemente hanging over the television in our living room. Dad was very close to Mantle, as well, even though personality wise they couldn’t have been farther apart. He loved Bob Prince. He loved being around the game. He loved that you went to work and you won or lost every day. He loved the outsized characters. He loved the pranks and practical jokes, which are a constant threat around the ballpark. He had great friends in the clubhouse and in the press box.

How do you – and do you think your father – see the game as having changed since your father’s time with the Pirates? And is it for the better?

I think one of the great things about baseball is that, apart from the money and the microscopic scrutiny from 24 hour sports radio and television- it really hasn’t changed that much. I like football and basketball, but the games they play today are entirely different from the ones played by Dick Butkus and Jerry West. DiMaggio would need to get up to speed with today’s conditioning, for sure. But he’d know exactly how to play the game

There was a steroid era, just as there was once a Dead Ball era, but the game abides.

Is the game better? It’s easy to get nostalgic, but I think it is. Think about this: On September 30, 1972, Roberto was sitting on 2,999 hits. It was a Saturday. The weather was fine. The Pirates were the defending World Series champions. They were in first place and headed for the playoffs. Possibly the biggest star in a century of Pirates baseball was about to do something that only 10 people in the history of the game had ever done. But the game wasn’t on TV and barely 13,000 fans came to watch it in a stadium that held more than four times that.

That would never happen today. Never. PNC Park would be packed. Tickets would sell online for thousands of dollars.

Maybe that makes the fans better, but same difference. The game is better because the fans say it is.

Has the sport gotten too mired in statistics and numbers, in your opinion?

I like the statistics. I like the math. I like that you can try to come up with a formula that let’s you imagine what would happen if Roger Clemens faced Honus Wagner. Most of all, I like that you can argue about it all to no end.

You see the team today and it’s back in the playoff hunt. How much is your father aware of the success of this year’s team, and what do you think your father would say about the makeup of the team and organization in general right now?

If you ask him if he’s been following it he’ll say he has, but I know there’s no way that’s true. He can’t really follow a baseball game anymore. He’d love watching McCutchen, obviously. What would he say about the organization? I don’t know. But I know if he thought anything negative he wouldn’t say anything about it to you. Or to anyone else publicly. He was a front office man through and through.

What’s next for you in your writing career?

I’m working on my third novel, which is currently titled NEVERMORE. I hope to finish it later this year.

Any last thoughts for readers?

I was lucky enough to live in Pittsburgh during one of the golden eras of Pirates baseball. Then I left in 1979 and after that it was not so good for awhile. In 1992 I was working for the Houston Astros. Larry Dierker (then an Astros broadcaster and soon to be an Astros manager) knew I was a Pirates fan, so he asked me over to his house to help him set up his new Macintosh computer and watch Game 7 of the NLCS between the Pirates and Braves. And so, like most Pirates fans over 30, I have that indelible memory of where I was–sitting on Larry Dierker’s couch–when Sid Bream, once one of our own, came chugging around third, long arms furiously pumping, to beat Barry Bonds’ throw, sending the Braves to the World Series and the Bucs into a two decade funk.

I’m really loving this season. And, with fingers crossed, I’m terrifically happy for Pittsburgh.

Interview with Founders of Steel City Buzz

Founders of Steel City Buzz

What are your backgrounds and how did you come up with the SCB concept?

Bill Hinchey – Rob Phillips and I went to 1^st grade together in Elizabeth Township just outside of McKeesport and we’ve been friends ever since. Rob’s background is selling data services to large companies and I have been entrepreneur and marketing guy. The idea for SCB was simple – we wanted a social network that was just about Pittsburgh sports. We were tired of all the NOISE that you have to wade through on Facebook and Twitter. So, we built our own and we are psyched to bring Steel City Buzz to Pittsburgh fans all over the world.

Describe Steel City Buzz and why you think Pittsburgh fans will use it?

Rob Phillips – Here is SCB in a nutshell – It is a virtual stadium, where you get to pick who you sit with! We created a place that you can chat with an entire nation of Pittsburgh fans OR just a couple of your friends. We’ve included local media personalities and current and past Pros like Chris Hoke, Louis Lipps and Lawrence Timmons. Our app is free, easy-to-use and you can personalize the experience. That means you can block content, invite and create friend circles, and share posts on Facebook and Twitter. We also provide real-time scores and we will be rolling out new features on almost a weekly basis.

What has been your biggest challenge so far?

Bill Hinchey – Software development is just hard. The end product should look simple-to-use and be “seamless” or “intuitive”. But the process of getting the app to look and feel that way as well as perform at a high level is a major challenge. Oh, and one more thing, you only get one chance to do it right or you’re toast!

You have a lot of celebs and pro players on your app. What has that experience been like?

Rob Phillips – Working with guys like Mel Blount, Peter Taglianetti, Chris Hoke, Louie Lipps has been one of the best parts of this journey. We had ZERO idea if they would want to be a part of a social network or even talk to us. What we found is that they loved the idea of connecting to Pittsburgh fans and talking about the sport that was that loved so much. Each one of them has a great story and SCB gives them a chance to share some of themselves with the best fans on the planet.

How many downloads or users are on Steel City Buzz?

Rob Phillips – We don’t disclose that information but I can tell you that we are seeing a tremendous uptick in downloads, and we built our network to handle well over 100,000 users. We have partners in place who can scale up in literally 24 hours of notice. We will be ready as more of Steeler Nation comes knocking at our door!

What is next for Steel City Buzz?

Bill Hinchey – We’ve built a great platform that is available on the web and on every mobile device – iPhone, iPad, Android phone and tablet. Now our focus is to get the word out to Pittsburgh fans and let them create a social network that is full of great content. Our tag line is Chat, Rant, Rave 24/7 and lately it been more RANT with the collapse of the Pirates and the two Steeler losses. That’s ok. At least fans have a ONE place to go and get it out of their system. We also want to create a charity component to raise money for charities such as The Mel Blount Youth Home. Honestly, we have only shown fans the “tip of the iceberg”; there is so much more to come.

What is the best way to reach you guys?

Rob Phillips — Fans can download SCB directly from our website at www.steelcitybuzz.com and can follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Other inquires can be sent to us at info@steelcitybuzz.com

Jim O’Brien: Frenchy Fuqua reveals his secret insight into Immaculate Reflection

Jim O’Brien: Frenchy Fuqua reveals his secret insight into Immaculate Reflection:

Pittsburgh sports author and Valley Mirror columnist Jim O’Brien

John “Frenchy” Fuqua is a legendary figure in Steelers’ football history. He was also known as “The Count” for wearing fancy capes with his eye-catching clothing ensembles, for having gold fish in his clear plastic high heels, and for high stepping on the football field, in the locker room and at the infamous Aurora Club, an after-hours joint in The Hill District that was frequented by Ernie Holmes, L.C. Greenwood, Glen “Pine” Edwards and visited on occasion by Moon Mullins and Ray Mansfield.

Fuqua had some fashion face-offs with Greenwood to the merriment of all in the locker room from time to time to determine who was “the best-dressed” Steelers’ player.

Fuqua was the Steelers’ leading rusher for two seasons, 1970 and 1971, and held the record for most yards rushing in one game, with 218 at Philadelphia on December 20, 1970, until it was broken by Willie Parker with 223 against the Browns at Heinz Field on December 7, 2006. Fuqua went 85 yards for a touchdown against the Eagles, the third longest run in Steelers’ history.

He rushed for nearly 3,000 yards in his seven seasons (1970-76) with the Steelers. He worked in the circulation department of The Detroit News in his latter days with the Steelers and on a full-time basis when his ball-playing career came to an end.

Fuqua also gained fame as the middle man in “The Immaculate Reception,” which was voted the No. 1 play in pro football history even though it was a broken play and then some.

Terry Bradshaw was throwing a pass down the middle of the field to Fuqua, one of the team’s most sure-handed receivers, when Jack Tatum of the Oakland Raiders collided with Fuqua, knocking the ball back upfield where Franco Harris found it and grasped it at his shoe tops and raced for a touchdown in the AFC playoffs on December 23, 1972.

Tatum was one of the fiercest, hard-hitting cornerbacks in the NFL at the time. He was responsible for dealing the blow that crippled Patriots’ receiver Darryl Stingley, and he hit Lynn Swann and John Stallworth a few hard shots when they ran crossing patterns against the Raiders.

Chuck Noll once blasted the likes of Tatum and some of his teammates as being members of “a criminal element” in the NFL.

The Steelers beat the Raiders 13-7. It was the Steelers’ first victory in a playoff in the team’s history.

It was a fourth and ten call at the Steelers’ 40-yard line with 22 seconds left to play, and the Steelers trailing, 7-6. Bradshaw ducked a strong rush, but was flattened as he let the ball go and had no idea what happened afterward. A lot of people who were at Three Rivers Stadium that day still don’t know exactly what happened. Many fans were staring disconsolately at their shoe tops, believing the game was lost.

The game was not shown on Pittsburgh television because it was not a sellout.

Art Rooney Sr., the owner of the Steelers, did not see “The Immaculate Reception.” He was on the elevator heading for the team locker room to console his players after a valiant effort.

“Frenchy likes to be coy about it,” said Terry Bradshaw in his book, Looking Deep, in writing about what he termed the pivotal play in the team’s history. “The glory days for the Steelers were still two years ahead, but we buried our past that day.

“If Frenchy did touch the ball first, then the play was voided. In those days, it was illegal for a ball to be touched first by another offensive player. John Madden and the Raiders felt they got shafted, and Madden is still mad as hell about it.

“Frenchy doesn’t want to say and is either going to take his secret to the grave, or write a book about it himself some day.”

It’s one of the most famous and frequently aired sequences in sports history, yet Fuqua is often a forgotten figure in it. He teases people about whether he or Tatum touched the ball first. If he alone had touched it the ensuing catch and run by Harris would have been nullified by NFL rules in use at the time. Back then, the ball could not be touched simultaneously by two teammates on the receiving end. Today it can be.

Fred Swearingen didn’t signal a touchdown right away. He checked a sideline video to help him make the call. There wasn’t any official review of plays at that time. Thus instant reply was born. All TDs are now reviewed by the officials upstairs in the stadiums.

“I always have to tell that story,” said Fuqua when he was in attendance at a gala dinner on the eve of Andy Russell’s annual celebrity golf outing in mid-May of 2012. “I tell them everything that happened, except who touched the ball and how. Jack Tatum had to hit for it to have been a legitimate reception by Franco. But let’s not beat around the bush. Jack didn’t touch it. It’s the only secret I have left in my life.

“That pass was coming to me from the get-go. Ron Shanklin and I had led the team in receiving (with 49 catches apiece) the previous season, and I was considered one of our most sure-handed receivers.”

According to game reports, post-game commentary and Bradshaw’s book, however, rookie receiver Barry Pearson was the primary receiver on that final play. But that was other people’s version of the story, not Fuqua’s.

“When Bradshaw went to the sideline to confer with the coaches before that play, I watched those blue eyes from the sideline to the huddle, and I knew he was going to throw the ball to me. Bradshaw eyed me all the way back to the huddle,” offered Fuqua.

“If the timing had worked out, and the pass protection hadn’t broken down – Otis Sistrunk nearly got Terry – I was wide open. I’d have gotten to the end zone or to the sideline, and Roy Gerela would have had an easy kick for a field goal to win it. I could have been the hero.

“But Bradshaw had to duck under and away from the rush – he ran to the right – and in the meantime Tatum left one of our wide receivers, Barry Pearson, and came up to cover me. The ball came my way. The ball was tipped (ricocheted really) and Franco caught it and ran away with hundreds of thousands of dollars I’d have made on that play. It took 1.8 seconds for the ball to go from my hands to Franco’s hands.

“I’ve watched that play a hundred times. I have it on tape at home. Tatum wasn’t near me, at first, when I went into my hook. I was around their 30-yard line, and I’d have taken an angle, and we’d have been, at the least, in a position where Roy couldn’t miss it (a field goal try).

“Franco should have been nowhere around that ball. But some players just have a nose for it. A guy like him is always at the right place at the right time. I’m glad he was.”

Head coach Chuck Noll had said, “Franco made that play because he never quit on the play. He kept running; he kept hustling. Good things happen to those who hustle.”

John Madden, the Raiders’ coach, was protesting on the other sideline. Madden claimed that Fuqua, not Tatum, had touched the ball and the pass should have been ruled incomplete, having bounced from one offensive player to another.

“It’s so disappointing,” Madden said, “to come down to a whole season and have it end like this.”

Fuqua begs to differ, of course. “That play is shown on TV at least three times a year,” he said, “and my boss at the newspaper always gave me a nod at the office the next day to acknowledge it. But what would have happened if Frenchy Fuqua caught the ball? But I was always a team player, and always thought in the team concept. If I had scored, though, I’d have given the reporters a better story than Franco. The controversy is what made that play.”

Franco Harris was at the head of the table at a quarterly meeting of the Champions Committee that oversees the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the Heinz History Center in July of 2012 when “the Immaculate Reception” was being screened to be part of an introductory film of highlights in Pittsburgh sports.

He asked if it could be shown again, with the accompanying music up louder. He watched it with his chin resting on his hand as if he had never seen it before. “Make sure you catch the ball this time,” I warned him.

He smiled. “It’s more dramatic with the sound up,” he told everyone at the table.

Later, I asked him how many times he has watched that sequence. “Jim, I can’t tell you that,” he said. I swear he was blushing.

“What would have happened if you had dropped the ball?” I asked.

“I’d have been famous one way or another,” he said.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame will stage its first off-campus exhibition at the HeinzHistoryCenter starting this Saturday, Oct. 6. It is called “Gridiron Glory” and it will contain some Steelers’ artifacts as well as over 100 items on loan from the Hall of Fame in Canton. It’s worth a visit to The Strip.

Pittsburgh sports author Jim O’Brien will have a new book coming out Oct. 15 called Immaculate Reflections. For more information contact Jim at jimmyo64@gmail.com or visit his website at www.jimobriensportsauthor.com

Kevin Cook, Author, The Last Headbangers: NFL Football in the Rowdy, Reckless ’70s—The Era that Created Modern Sports

Kevin Cook, Author, The Last Headbangers: NFL Football in the Rowdy, Reckless ’70s—The Era that Created Modern Sports:

First, can you let readers know how and why you decided to take on this subject and how you started doing so?

I was a tyke in 1967, watching the first Super Bowl on a little black-and-white TV. I grew up watching the early Monday Night Football and the great teams of the ’70s. After writing three books that were largely about golf, I wanted to write about the number-one sport.

It’s easy to forget that pro football didn’t always dominate the sports landscape the way it does today. It was a process—an evolution that’s really fascinating, full of epic games, crazy plays and vivid characters.

What makes the book unique in its coverage of those 70’s teams?

I think Headbangers is the first to suggest that the NFL took on its modern form in the ten-year period between the sport’s most famous plays: the Immaculate Reception and The Catch. Back in ’72, rookie Franco Harris actually hitchhiked to practice. Terry Bradshaw sold used cars in the off-season. Andy Russell and Ray Mansfield carpooled to work to save on gas that cost 55 cents a gallon. Monday Night Football was new—an experiment that only last-place ABC was willing to try.

By the time Dwight Clark snagged Joe Montana’s pass in 1982, the NFL was America’s dominant sport. Thanks mostly to TV, teams were getting rich and players were making ten times what guys earned a decade before. Rules changes favoring the passing game helped Bill Walsh’s 49ers usher in a more efficient, scripted style of play—the modern, corporate, huge-money NFL we watch today.

How did you research the book and what surprised you most as you did so?

I watched a bunch of grainy ’70s games, read everything I could find on the subject, and then started phoning ’70s players, coaches and broadcasters. What surprised me was that the vast majority of those players went on to other careers. They were the last NFL generation that wasn’t set for life by virtue of playing pro football. Some have struggled financially as well as physically. And then there’s Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson, who screwed up his career by abusing drugs, and then won $28 million in the Texas state lottery.

How can readers purchase the book?

It’s at Amazon.com as well as Barnes & Noble, independent booksellers and the bookstore near you.

Were some players reluctant to discuss their experiences with you? Why/why not, do you think?

Most were eager to share their memories. I expected Henderson, for instance, to be tight-lipped about drugs, but he told about hiding liquid cocaine in his uniform during the Super Bowl. I expected Roger Staubach to be a stiff, but he was one of the most candid, interesting interviews I had in more than a year of working on the book. Talking to Staubach could almost make you root for the Cowboys…I say almost.

How do the players you spoke with look at the way the game is being played today? What were their thoughts on today’s rules regarding hits and the way today’s players handle themselves – both on and off the field?

Most of them think today’s players are spoiled. They hate seeing preening, prancing me-first guys do touchdown dances on TV. And they think the rules have changed so much that quarterbacks aren’t really football players anymore—QBs are more like kickers, playing a specialized, protected position. Or ballerinas. But don’t quote me—I don’t want Jay Cutler kicking me with his toe shoes.

Concussions and head trauma and the issues many former players deal with as a result of those injuries are a big topic today How did you find the players you spoke with on those issues. Angry at the NFL, accepting of them as a game risk…?

I think they’re scared. Worried. But while many ex-players are suing the NFL, others shrug and say they knew the game was risky. I’m hoping The Last Headbangers leads more fans to support former players who risked their futures to help build the game. The NFL and the NFLPA are starting to recognize the debt they owe the Headbangers generation, but haven’t done nearly enough.

How in your opinion does/can the NFL successfully manage the need to keep a certain level of “old school” physicality in the game for fans while better protecting players today?

I think it’s crazy when people talk about banning NFL football. Twenty or so years ago we began hearing about Dementia pugilistica, the brain damage boxers suffered from getting concussed. But we didn’t ban boxing. I applaud the NFL’s efforts to deal with players’ health issues. The next step is twofold: The league needs to put more of its wealth into pensions and medical care for former players; and it needs to keep improving concussion detection.

If a player shows concussion symptoms, team doctors need to keep him off the field. For years, players were expected to “shake it off” and stay in the game. That decision—in the NFL as well as in college, high school and every other level of football—must be taken away from players, so they don’t feel pressured to say, “I’m fine.”

Who were some of the biggest characters of the headbanger days and what made them so? Any examples?

The ’70s was the most colorful time in NFL history. Mean Joe, Franco, Bradshaw, Jack Lambert, Lynn Swann (who never got enough credit for his toughness), Stallworth, Vietnam hero Rocky Bleier, Frenchy, Ham, Blount, Webster, Fats Holmes, Greenwood, White, Gerela—and that’s just the Steelers! You’ve also got O.J. Simpson slashing downfield, and the crazed Raiders and glitzy Cowboys. I can’t imagine any time in any sport that ever had a better cast of characters.

In your discussions with former players, how much did they discuss the difficulties ex players have on adjusting to post-NFL life, and what’s you find separates those that struggled to do so from those that did not?

That’s a mystery. It’s clear that one or two bad concussions make you more likely to suffer more in the future. But why are some people more prone to concussions, while others are resistant? Raiders linebacker Phil Villapiano used to bang his head on a cement wall before games. Villapiano had a bunch of concussions, but 40 years later he’s as lucid and healthy as can be, while plenty of guys he played with suffered far greater damage. Some were senile at 50. Others died before they turned 50.

I think the next frontier in sports science is discovering why some of us are more prone to concussions that others.

Without revealing too much, what players and stories were the most powerful, from your perspective. And why?

I really enjoyed talking with Franco Harris, who turned out to be as thoughtful and sharp as I expected. But his old rival Villapiano was my favorite: a great conversation, funny and profane. And Phil provided an important, powerful end to the book, because he’s got a son, Mike, who plays football. Quarterback Mike Villapiano led his team to the New Jersey high school state championship. Mike and his dad talked about what he should do if he “got his bell rung.” They agreed that Mike shouldn’t tell anybody. He wasn’t going to get a Division I scholarship sitting on the bench; he had to stay on the field.

Were they right? Were they risking Mike’s future for a shot at a scholarship? I think they were right, because Mike’s goal is to find out how far he can go in football, and that can’t happen unless he stays on the field. But I could be wrong…

What’s next for you?

Two movie producers are working on films of my previous books, Titanic Thompson and Tommy’s Honor. Here’s hoping somebody wants to make a movie of The Last Headbangers. Other than Jim Caviezel as Staubach, I’m open to casting suggestions.

Any last thoughts for readers?

I hope they’ll buy the book rather than just reading excerpts online. We authors gotta make a living! I spent almost two years of my life on Headbangers…but it’s bigger than me.

I hope the book brings a great NFL era back to life for a new generation of fans.

Lanny Frattare, Pirates Broadcaster, 1976-2009

Lanny Frattare:

First, can you let readers know about your work now at Waynesburg University – how you got started there and what you enjoy most about the position?

I have been an assistant professor of Communication at Waynesburg University since 2009. I find it exciting to help create the next generation of communicators. I teach two sections of sports announcing at Waynesburg, one section of announcing and two sections of public speaking.

I know I am learning as much from my students as they are learning from me. Advice for young broadcasters? To be successful in the competitive business of sports broadcasting, you must make a major commitment to developing and improving your style and skills. I ask my students, “do you want it badly enough?’

You started off working as a broadcaster for the Pirates in ’76. How did you get started with the Pirates and what advice would you give to others trying to get into sports broadcasting today?

From the time I was twelve years old, my goal was to become a major league baseball announcer. I was most fortunate to realize my dream at the age of 28 and blessed to announce for the Pirates for 33 years. The wonderful people of Pirates territory opened their hearts and homes to me. They allowed me to share their summertime memories with them.

One of my fortunate breaks was when I was hired as the announcer for the Charleston Charlies in West Virginia (at the time, the triple A affiliate of the Pirates). I announced minor league baseball for six months and announced minor league hockey in my hometown of Rochester, New York, the other half of the year.

Bill Guilfoile, then the Public Relations Director of the Pirates, invited me to visit the Pirates after the minor league seasons end in 1974 and 1975. Bill introduced me to Bob Prince and Nellie King. During each of my stops in Pittsburgh, Bob and Nellie invited me to announce an inning of play-by-play. This was another major break because I was exposed to the Pirates listeners. Despite the fact, that I was one of the individuals who replaced Bob and Nellie, they both were extremely helpful. As a novice announcer, I needed and wanted advice and they gave me much of it. There were many critics of Milo Hamilton and me, but most of the backlash ended up in Milo’s lap.

You eventually replaced Bob Prince which caused some backlash. How did you weather that storm, and how looking back were you able to maintain such a long career and resonate so well with fans?

I was patient and persevered. Admittedly, some of the criticism was mean and unfair. But, also, I knew that as a young broadcaster I had a great deal to learn and I hoped that through hard work and dedication, I would be successful in the long run.

Who were some of the other sports broadcasters you most admired, and why?

I grew up as a Yankees fan and listened many nights to Mel Allen. When I got to the major leagues, Jack Buck, Vin Scully and Harry Kalas were valuable mentors.

As an employee of the Pirates, how did you walk the line at times between giving honest analysis of the games versus staying positive about the team during broadcasts when the team wasn’t playing well?

In my early years, my lack of knowledge hindered my ability to handle the analysis of the games. My main goal as a baseball announcer was to do a great job of describing the action. I hoped that when people talked about my announcing, they would say, “with Lanny, we always know whats going on and we always know the score.”

My career was enhanced dramatically when Jim Leyland became the manager of the Pirates. I developed a strong friendship with him and his third base coach Gene Lamont. I learned a great deal about the game from them. Most nights on the road, I would visit with Jim and his coaches in Jim’s hotel suite. They trusted me with off the record information and I found ways to give my listeners a taste of the information without violating the trust they had in me.

From your perspective, who were some of the most memorable and most under-rated Pirates, and what made them so?

Jim Leyland, Chuck Tanner (who showed me how a positive outlook could lead one to accomplish remarkable things), Willie Stargell, Kent Tekulve (Teke and I came up from Charleston together and have been friends since 1974), Phil Garner, Bill Robinson, Ed Ott…

Humor often plays such a big part of teams to help curtail boredom and keep the team loose. How did humor play a part on those Pirates teams you worked with and who were the biggest characters any examples of the hijnks?

I worked for many years with Steve Blass and no one handles humor in a broadcast better than Steve. I cannot tell you too much about the happenings in the clubhouse. I never allowed myself to violate the sanctity of the major league clubhouse.

Do you follow the Pirates today? if so, what are your thought on the team’s direction?

Do I still follow the Pirates? Not really. After 33 years and some 6,000 games, I want to care about something besides major league baseball. Now, I can spend more time with my children and grandchildren. I check out the scores in the paper and read some of the stories. I want the franchise to be successful for many reasons, including the fact that the baseball fans of Pittsburgh deserve to have their loyalty rewarded.

If you could change anything about the game today, what would you change and why?

What have been the best and toughest memories over the course of your broadcasting career, and what makes them so?

My all time favorite game? the game in St. Louis in 1990 when Jim and his team clinched the first of the three consecutive division titles.

Any last thoughts for readers?

One final point! I enjoy doing play-by-play and for the past two years, I have been announcing high school football, basketball, softball and baseball for the MSA Network.

I love it and I work as hard to prepare for the high school games as I did when I was broadcasting in the Bigs.

Jim O’Brien: ‘Immaculate Reception’ was a lifesaver for Pittsburgh video photographer

Pittsburgh sports author and Valley Mirror columnist Jim O’Brien

The Immaculate Reception was a lifesaver for the Steelers in the 1972 AFC playoffs, but it was really a lifesaver for video photographer Les Banos.

The 2012 season marks the 40^th anniversary of the amazing catch and run by Franco Harris of a pass from Terry Bradshaw that caromed off the colliding bodies of both Steelers’ running back Frenchy Fuqua and Oakland Raiders’ defensive back Jack Tatum.

You are going to see that historic sequence – voted the No. 1 play in NFL history even though it was a broken play and then some – this fall when the Steelers promote their 80^th anniversary of the team’s founding by Art Rooney Sr. and the 40^th anniversary of “The Immaculate Reception.”

In Pittsburgh and Puerto Rico, this year is also the 40^th anniversary of the death of Roberto Clemente. He was killed in an air crash on New Year’s Eve, 1972, as he was accompanying a cargo of relief goods from his native Puerto Rico to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua.

Les Banos was supposed to be on that airplane. He had promised his good friend Roberto Clemente that he would accompany him on the flight to photograph the event.

Banos was a video photographer for both WQED and WTAE in his long professional career, and he did stints as a photographer for the Pirates, Steelers, Penguins and the University of Pittsburgh department of athletics.

He also filmed games of the Pittsburgh Valley Ironmen of the Atlantic Coast Pro Football League, a minor league team that played its home games in Duquesne, Pennsylvania. They were preceded by another semi-pro team known as the Duquesne Ironmen.

I know the latter first-hand because I was the publicity director of the Ironmen during my senior year at the University of Pittsburgh, in 1963, and again the following season before I was drafted into the U.S. Army.

Banos and I used to get together on Sunday afternoons, the day after the Ironmen games, to edit some highlights that would be used on Pittsburgh TV on Sunday evenings. We both liked to talk, so it took us longer than it should have to do that task.

Later, in the mid-80s, I worked again with Banos at Pitt. He and I and Pat Hanlon, my assistant, joined with Banos and others at WTAE to put together a highlight film on Pitt football. Banos went to pre-season camp with the Panthers at EdinboroUniversity. Hanlon, by the way, is now the vice-president for communications for the New York Giants Football Team, and a real success story.

Hanlon worked with Joe Gordon and Dan Edwards with the Steelers’ publicity office. Hanlon had a great time exchanging barbs with Les Banos.

Banos loved to tell stories, and he had some good ones. He told us, of course, how the Immaculate Reception saved his life. He told us about his days in his native Hungary when he was a spy who infiltrated the Nazi regime, and managed to save many Jews from the death camps in Poland.

Pat Hanlon and I used to tell people in jest that Banos had been Adolph Eichmann’s chauffeur. Eichmann, of course, was the Nazi general who oversaw the concentration camps and was brought to justice as one of the central figures and criminals by the Nuremberg Trials. It wasn’t politically-correct humor, no doubt.

Banos was born in Hungary, but he had some Jewish bloodlines, and he was always an enterprising fellow. He was short in stature, about the same size as Myron Cope, maybe 5-5 or 5-6 at best. Like Cope, he puffed up his chest and came at you like a bantam rooster. He talked with a heavy accent.

Les liked it when I told him I had played for a team called the Hungarians in the Hazelwood Little League, and that there was a Hungarian social club in my hometown. It closed a couple of months back and was the only ethnic or service club remaining in the community.

I also told him I remembered that in the mid-50s there were a lot of Hungarians who left their home country, then under siege by the Russians, and relocated in our community. There was a sandlot soccer team in Hazelwood that had all Hungarian players.

A weekly newspaper called Magyarsag was printed a block from my home by a Hungarian ex-patriot named Eugene Zebedinsky. His son was a classmate of mine in high school.

Cope, by the way, was the one who popularized the phrase “The Immaculate Reception.” One of the callers on his popular sports talk show suggested the name. Cope checked with his Catholic friends to make sure no one would be offended by the phrase, and went with it.

Cope’s other creation, of course, was “The Terrible Towel.”

Like Cope, Banos was fun to be around. I recall being in Montreal with him at a sidewalk café, enjoying some wine and food when we were there in 1967 to chronicle the entry of the Pittsburgh Penguins into the National Hockey League. Banos picked up a check, unusual for any member of the media, and did a double take when he saw the high tariff on the bill.

Banos was the only one in our party who could speak and understand some French, which is always good in the bilingual community of Montreal. It didn’t help him to get out of paying the steep bill. His brown eyes bulged at the numbers on that bill. I think the waitress brought us a bottle of champagne by mistake…maybe by mistake.

Banos befriended many of the athletes he covered in his duties as a TV cameraman. Franco Harris was one of them. Roberto Clemente was another.

When Banos died at the age of 86 on April 22, 2012 it brought back memories of this little man with the big heart and such wonderful stories.

“It is significant that he passed our way,” said Harris at the HeinzHistoryCenter, where Banos had appeared the previous holiday season with a collection of his photos of Clemente. There are 50 of these photos on display in the RobertoClementeMuseum in lower Lawrenceville.

“It is amazing what Les accomplished when you look at his history and have seen his photos,” added Harris. “He was a great guy, always enjoyable, a kind and gentle man. You never would have expected what he went through by how kind and gentle he was.”

Banos addressed everybody as “Mister,” and he liked to get up under your chin like an undersized boxer, again like Myron Cope, and tell you his stories. Banos was a dapper dresser.

Banos was busy filming the Steelers’ game against the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium on December 23, 1972. When the Steelers won that game, 13-7, on Franco’s frantic catch-and-run with a deflected ball he picked off his shoe-tops for the game-winning touchdown.

It meant the Steelers would be playing another game the following weekend, on December 31, 1972, a day that will live in infamy in Pittsburgh and Puerto Rico. The Steelers lost that one, by 21-17, to the Miami Dolphins, victimized by a fake punt by Larry Seiple of the Dolphins that was a game-changer.

So Banos had to stay back in Pittsburgh to work that game for WTAE-TV instead of accompanying Clemente on his mercy mission to Nicaragua. It ended the life of Clemente, all too early, and gave Banos a bonus 40 years.

Pittsburgh sports fans were disappointed, of course, by the defeat suffered at the hands of the Dolphins, but they were far more shocked by Clemente’s death. Fans over 50, and some as young as 45 or 46, can tell you where they were that New Year’s Day when they were the news. What a way to start a year.

If you go to a Pirates’ game at PNC Park these days you might be surprised to see how many fans still wear Clemente’s name and number (21) on their backs to the ballgames. Andrew McCutcheon and Neil Walker are the two most favorite uniforms, with Clemente a close third.

There’s a statue and bridge outside PNCPark to memorialize the man from San Juan who came to our city and set new standards for a baseball player, on the field and off the field. Young fans are fascinated by his story and the way he died, trying to help his fellow Latin Americans when they were in trouble.

It’s a shame more of them didn’t hear those stories as told by Les Banos.

Pittsburgh author Jim O’Brien is working on a book called Immaculate Reflections, which will be out in late October. His website is www.jimobriensportsauthor.com

Jim O’Brien: Mike Wagner now a safety for well-heeled FNB clients

By Jim O’Brien, Columnnist, Pittsburgh Business Times

On a clear day Mike Wagner can walk from his office to PNCPark and Heinz Field. So he remains close to the playing fields of Pittsburgh. He’s had offices before where he could see Heinz Field on the horizon, and before that he enjoyed a close-up view of Mellon Arena.

It’s been 32 years since he retired from playing safety for The Steel Curtain defensive unit of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he remains interested and involved in the city’s sports scene. Wagner, at 63, is the vice-president of the Private Banking Group for First National Bank, with headquarters on Federal Street.

He can walk out the front door and see statues of Willie Stargell and Roberto Clemente. He was starting his career with the Steelers when they played for the Pirates. He was with the Steelers for ten seasons (1971-1980), four of which they won the Super Bowl.

“Fans in this city treat Steelers well, past and present,” he said. “I’m proud to have played for the Steelers. I have no complaints.”

He was an 11^th round draft choice in the Class of 1971 that is regarded as the second greatest group in Steelers’ history, right behind the 1974 class that included four future Pro Football Hall of Fame performers (Lambert, Swann, Stallworth and Webster). He started from the first game of his rookie season, and was regarded as one of the most intelligent, resourceful and sure-handed tacklers in the National Football League.

He’s one of the best-looking, best-dressed Steelers ever, and he looks like a financial advisor. At 6-2, 175 pounds, he is still taller than most of the current defensive backs on the Steelers.

He’s been in the financial world over 30 years. He started out, with his accounting degree from WesternIllinoisUniversity on his resume, with Russell, Rea and Zappala at TwoNorthShore.

Former Steelers’ Pro Bowl linebacker Andy Russell recalls those days: “I think Mike was the best safety the Steelers ever had. He was intelligent. He came to work for our investment bank firm, and we sent him through his MBA program at Pitt, and then he really provided us with quality work before going off on another opportunity.”

Rocky Bleier says of Wagner. “Mike is a nuts and bolts guy, just like he was with the Steelers. He’s prepared and he comes to play hard.”

John C. Williams, the president of First National Bank, has over 40 years in the Pittsburgh banking business. He hired Wagner. “Mike has always had a great reputation in our field,” said Williams. “He has the experience and contacts we can use on our team.”

Wagner provides personalized services for affluent households. These customers aren’t looking for autographs. They are looking for sound financial advice.

“Having been with the Steelers helps,” said Wagner. “I’ve worked with some of these people before. My clients need something and it’s my job to figure out what they would like to have. What I learned from football is that nothing comes easy. You have to keep grinding away and good things will happen. You do the best you can.”

Wagner admits he remains a highly competitive person. “Sometimes I have to ratchet that back a bit,” he admitted.

“You always have a responsibility to whomever you work for, whether it’s the Steelers or some company you represent later on. You have to protect the brand name, whether it’s UPMC, Highmark, PNC, PPG or US Steel. That’s just common sense.

“I’m not sure if there was some statement that told us what was expected of us or something that was in the team playbook as to how we should conduct ourselves, but we knew we stood for the Steelers and that meant something.

“The Rooney family wanted us players out in public functions representing the team, and helping non-profits raise money. I had the opportunity to meet a lot of special people in the community and I realized it was important.”

To that end, Wagner serves on several boards here, at the HeinzHistoryCenter where he helps organize a golf event, EconomicsPennsylvania to teach kids about economics, and the Blind & Vision Rehabilitation Services of Pittsburgh.

“That was one of Chuck Noll’s favorites,” said Wagner, “so I am still aware of his presence.”

Jim O’Brien has written 20 books in his Pittsburgh Proud series, including “The Chief” and “Steeler Stuff.” His website is jimobriensportsauthor.com and his e-mail address is jimmyo64@gmail.com