Monday, June 4, 2012

Maury Wills "A Genuine Superstar"


In this day of mega-buck athletes who seem to forget about the fans who pay their salaries the newly crowned Masters Champion, Bubba Watson, is a breath of fresh air.  He is a sincere gentleman who would not mind being called a role model. Congratulations Bubba!
          Even before the huge salaries that have permeated all major sports many superstars were not approachable or were somewhat aloof in dealing with fans. While attending school in Yuma, Arizona I was fortunate to meet some of the baseball players/coaches who were in town for spring training. The baseball complex and the Desert Hills Golf Course were adjacent facilities so when not practicing many of the baseball players and coaches spent their time playing golf. One beautiful spring afternoon in 1976 I was teeing it up on the first hole with two of my team mates when a gentleman raced up in a golf cart so fast that it slid sideways as he stopped. “Mind if I join you?” said the gentleman who did look a little familiar. Before we could even reply he was out of the cart with driver in one hand and his other hand extended for a handshake. “Hi, I’m Maury Wills.” Having grown up watching the Dodgers on television (OK …more listening on radio than television) I was speechless to have him standing in front of me. He oohed and awed at our tee shots and hit a nice single up the middle himself.  Wills stole 586 bases in his career, was a 7 time All Star and MVP of the 62 All Star game but on the golf course he was just another golfer trying to figure out how to get the ball in the hole. He was interested in our games and asked for swing advice as we played. About five holes in Wills looked at his watch and announced that he had to leave. “Are you guys playing tomorrow?” We told him we had a 2:00 time and only had three players. He said, “I will be there, 2:00, thanks for today.”  As you might have guessed from the start of this story 2:00 came and went and we teed of without Maury Wills. Our thrill of meeting a superstar was totally dashed by a broken promise. We played in silence and were approaching the third tee box when racing over the hill at breakneck speed came the unmistakable visage of Maury Wills. He slid to a stop. “Guys, I am so sorry, practice went a little bit over today!” “Sorry, sorry, sorry!” We teed it up together on the third hole and finished the round and 36 years later I still appreciate a 7 time MLB All Star who kept his word and sincerely cared about three 20 year old college golfers.