Those of us involved with the annual Rochester Press-Radio
Club Children’s Charities Day of Champions Dinner are breathing a collective
sigh of relief and basking a bit in the banquet’s aftermath.
This
dinner is always a bear of an event to stage and there are times when the
last-minute, logistical nightmares make you want to yank your hair out and jump
off the palisades at Letchworth State Park.
But it
always seems to work out, and by all accounts this year’s dinner, which
featured a sellout crowd of 1,300 at the Riverside Convention Center, was a
rousing success.
Rock
legend Lou Gramm, a Rochester native, started the evening off with a stirring rendition
of the national anthem, and there were several poignant moments, including when
we honored two fallen soldiers – Devin Snyder and Zach Smith.
Eli Manning, the Giants’ two-time
Super Bowl MVP quarterback, proved to be a fabulous headliner. He was a little
shy, almost reserved at first, but once we got rolling with the
question-and-answer session I conducted with him on stage, he loosened up and did
a fabulous job. He proved to be an engaging and humorous storyteller. Hosting Saturday Night Live two weeks ago no
doubt was great preparation.
The
best part of this dinner will occur in the coming weeks after all the numbers
have been crunched and we learn how much money we’ll be able to donate to local
children’s charities.
We are
an all-volunteer organization, and thanks to the dedication and leadership of
people like Pat Grover and Mike Kauffman, we’ve been able to stage what Drew
Brees, Cal Ripken Jr. and others have called one of the premier sports dinners
in the country.
Kudos
to my fellow club-members who donated their time, services and money to pull
this off. And thanks to the sponsors and the ticket-buyers who made the 63rd
annual Day of Champions another day to remember.
***
I’d
love to have a piece of the action if the New York Yankees do go up for sale,
even though the price tag - $3 billion – is a little beyond my reach. (OK, a
LOT beyond my reach.) But perhaps the Steinbrenner boys might consider opening
it up to a public stock sale, so that moi and other cash-strapped fans might be
able to afford a tiny piece of the action.
You
laugh, but from reading Marty Appel’s marvelous new book – PINSTRIPE EMPIRE: The New York Yankees From Before the Babe to After
the Boss – I discovered that former Yankee owners Dan Topping and Del Webb
considered underwriting a dramatic public sale of the team in the early 1960s.
After exploring that option, they decided instead to sell to CBS for $14
million. The franchise struggled mightily under the network’s stewardship,
opening the door for an unknown, Cleveland shipping magnate named George Stenbrenner
to purchase the club in the early 1970s.
It
might be cool to see a group headed by Billy Crystal and Joe Torre make a
pitch. (Torre was part of a group that recently failed in their bid to buy the
Los Angeles Dodgers.)
Hal
Steinbrenner adamantly denies the club is for sale, but where there’s smoke
there’s fire, so don’t be surprised if there is truth to this rumor.
***
Congratulations
to friends Frank Bilovsky and Tony Wells on their upcoming induction into the
Frontier Field Walk of Fame. Frank has been a great mentor to me through the
years and was instrumental in me coming to the Democrat and Chronicle in 1985.
He is one of the wisest men I know and had a superb newspaper career in
Philadelphia and here as a both sportswriter and business writer. Tony, the
long-time University of Rochester sports information director, has been a
driving force behind many community endeavors, including one that’s
particularly close to my heart – the Challenger Little League Baseball program,
which gives physically, mentally and emotionally challenged youth a chance to
play ball. Tony also proved to be a great source of story ideas through the
years. And the nice thing about them going in together is that they are best
friends.
***
Friend
and fellow author Curt Smith is the nation’s foremost expert on sports
broadcasting history, but he also has deep knowledge about his beloved Boston
Red Sox and its beloved little ballpark. Curt has just published a new book
titled, Mercy! A Celebration of Fenway
Park’s Centennial Told Through Red Sox Radio and TV. I’ve read the book and
it’s chockfull of compelling – at, times hilarious – anecdotes about the Fens.
Tomorrow, Curt makes a pilgrimage to Beantown to talk about his new book as
part of the Great Fenway Park Writers Series. Should be a blast.
***
Golf
legend Ben Hogan and the Hickok Belt Award are back in the news – and not for
good reasons. A replica of the belt won by Hogan after his marvelous 1953
season recently was stolen from U.S. Golf Association museum in Far Hills, N.J.
What’s
interesting about this case is that it marks the second time that Hogan’s award
as the top athlete in professional sports was pilfered. The original belt he
received was stolen from his home club, The Colonial, in Forth Worth, Texas
many years ago and never resurfaced. The belief is that the gems – which
featured a 4 1/3-carat diamond, ruby and sapphire – were removed and sold on
the black market, and that the five-pound, solid-gold belt buckle was melted
down and sold, too.
Members
from The Colonial pooled their resources to have a replica made of Hogan’s
belt. It was not an exact replica, with the buckle being gold-plated rather
than solid, and faux jewels substituted for the real gems. When I wrote my book
about the Hickok award – Jewel of the
Sports World – two years ago I asked two professional jewelers what it
would cost to make an exact replica today. Their estimates were in the
neighborhood of $200,000, and the cost probably is even more now, given the
escalating value of gold.
Obviously,
this second-edition Hogan belt wouldn’t be as valuable as the original, but it
still has to carry a hefty price tag.
Museum
officials are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to its return as
well as the return of the U.S. Amateur Trophy, which was an original and also
stolen.
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