People in Sports Revered in Death or Retirement Wo Were Jerks

Well, don't leave us hanging. Asshole or ...

 

He wasn't an asshole to me, but his history of assholedom is about as well documented as anything can be. I wasn't an Indiana beat guy or God forbid one of his players, so I couldn't be bullied. Also I like sarcastic people, so we got on great.

 

Can't agree with this one. I covered a pro-am at a LPGA event in the late 80s, and DiMaggio was in it. Didn't know any better, and followed him around the entire course. To me, he was larger than life, and nobody else at the event interested me very much.
After he finished, I followed him into the clubhouse and asked for an interview. I could tell, his initial thought was "get lost". But he thought for a moment, and said "you were out there with me for the entire round, I'll give you a few minutes."
I don't remember much about it, except he appreciated the effort I put in. I think I asked him about the state of the Yankees at the time (not good). When I got to the paper and told my boss I interviewed DiMaggio, he was amazed, and said DiMaggio almost never gives interviews. I had no idea.
But I have to defend the guy.

 

Kirk Gibson. Now that he has Parkinson’s and has made nice with the Dodgers, the organization is slobbering all over him. Opening day pitch, bobblehead, special seats with donations to research.

IIRC, everyone hated him when he played there. I recall broadcaster Ross Porter referring to him as “Kirk the jerk” on a show when he retired.

 

That’s a really cool story.

About 20 years ago, I wanted to talk to Red Auerbach about a local who had played for the Celtics. I tried to go through the Celtics, and they turned me down flat. “Red doesn’t give interviews anymore.” So I go to whitepages.com. Lo and behold, the old SOB has a listed number. He answered his phone and talked to me for 15-20 minutes.

 

Did that in college in the 80s, when he came to speak at my school.

 

I don't know what his reputation is Tampa is, but Steve Yzerman is revered in Detroit. I have heard many stories about his being a jerk to people, though.

 

How about Jerry Lewis? Put on a good face for the public, but he seemed like a miserable jerk in private life.

 

I don't think comedians should count. Most everyone knows that most of them are desperately unhappy and dysfunctional people in many ways. The more dysfunctional they are, the funnier they often are, too.

 

Gibby actually signed an autograph for me when I was about 8. It was at the concession stand at MSU's old Kobs Field between games of a doubleheader his junior year -- players used to get hot dogs and cokes in between games. He was very friendly (he was also with a bunch of girls). It was the only year he played college baseball. I should have held onto the scorecard because it was probably one of the last autographs he signed that he wasn't getting paid for. Once he was on the Tigers, he became a total dick.

 

I realized I forgot to answer this question, so here goes:
1. As I mentioned earlier, stories indicated Earnhardt mended a lot of fences at Daytona, including talking with Kyle Petty for the first time since Adam was killed 9 months earlier.
2. That interview Earnhardt did with DW three days before the race. "I've got it all" was Earnhardt indicating everything was finally in place in his life.
3. Three drivers were killed in 2000 from basular skull fracture, the same injury that would kill Earnhardt. After two of the deaths in 2000, rumor has it Bill France Jr. recognized it wasn't good for business to have top drivers like Jarrett and Wallace questioning safety, so he asked Earnhardt to poo-poo safety concerns. Earnhardt did just that at Richmond in Sept. 2000, declaring the HANS device a "damn noose." I believe Earnhardt realized big changes were needed, but he couldn't bring himself to reverse his strong man public stance. He knew his death -- and his death alone -- would force NASCAR to make the needed changes.
4. The verse from Stevie Waltrip on Earnhardt's dash that day was Proverbs 18:10; "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe."
5. The night before the race, Earnhardt, Terry Labonte and some executives were talking about how Earnhardt would break Labonte's consecutive start streak at Talladega that spring. Earnhardt wanted to make sure Labonte could financially benefit in terms of diecast and trinket sales. Labonte recalled Earnhardt saying "That's if I make it that far." Labonte looked around the group and everyone was chuckling -- except Earnhardt.
6. Reports of Earnhardt getting an extra kiss from his wife, and holding the minister's hand longer than usual before the race started.
7. The weather was beautiful for the 2001 Daytona 500, Chamber of Commerce perfect with plenty of sunshine. Earnhardt always wore his trademark black goggles on days like that. But on that day, he wore clear goggles. Why would the Man in Black do that? The only answer that makes sense to me is he knew he would be right behind his son at the end, and wanted Jr. to see the pride in his eyes.
8. An extra dose of freakiness: During the preseason media sessions, Dale Jr. shared a dream he had that seemed so real: he won the 2001 Daytona 500. A reporter asked where his dad was. Jr's answer: "He wasn't there."
Taken individually, there is some conjecture and odd coincidences. But add them all together, and I believe it shows Earnhardt knew he would die, and he was fine with it.