In the summer of 1987 I took my two sons to a cards show in upstate Connecticut. Whitey Ford was signing at the show but there was literally no one in line for his autograph. I bought a baseball and took the boys over to meet him and get his signature. Since there was no line we chatted a while. He had gone to spring training with the Yankees that year to work with a rookie pitcher named Al Leiter. Whitey told me that Leiter's biggest problem was not throwing first pitch strikes. To cure this he struck a bet with Leiter. Every time Leiter threw a first pitch ball he owed Whitey a beer; every first pitch strike Whitey owed him a beer. Thought this was a great story from one of the greatest clutch pitchers of all time and a real hero of mine when I was growing up.
I used to throw celebrity dinners for my company's clients and had the pleasure of spending time with Mickey Mantle, Jim Brown, Dick Butkus, Roger Staubach, Chuck Bednarik, Randy White, John Riggins, Jim Plunkett, Lynn Swann and Wilt Chamberlain. Mickey was a little quiet till he got a few drinks in him and then he was great. All the others, with the exception of Lynn Swann, were a real pleasure to be around. Staubach was a true gentleman, Brown a remarkable off the cuff speaker, and Butkus exactly the way you would envision him. Wilt was the most outgoing and really the life of the party.
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