Four Sports Heroes Steve Walker Has Actually Met

The Earthsaver and The Destroyer become friends, in August 2011.

Dear Fellow Earthlings,

I have been an enthusiastic sports fan for many years. During all of those years I have had the privilege of actually meeting with and talking to only four athletes of repute:

1. George Mikan

2. Ervin "Magic" Johnson

3. The Destroyer

4. Sadaharu Oh

Many of us are looking for heroes, hoping that someone can contribute to improving the situation: saving Earth, protecting the weak, fostering decency...

Quite often people's search for heroes ends up with their choosing one or more sports heroes...

I am one of such people.

In this installment I am taking the opportunity to explain the thrill I had -- and the pleasure I felt -- the 4 times I have actually met with and spoken to famous athletes.

On a certain evening in 1974 when I was in Hawaii working at the Le Chateau restaurant (See installment 522.), former NBA star and former Commissioner of the American Basketball Association George Mikan was one of our guests. It was a slow evening. So George and I engaged in a lot of small talk. We talked until nearly 1:00 a.m. After George left the restaurant, I thought to myself how I had just had a lengthy conversation with one of the most influential NBA players of the first half of the 20th Century!

About 3 years later (in 1977), I had the opportunity to talk with someone destined to become perhaps the most influential NBA player of the second half of the 20th Century: Earvin "Magic"Johnson:. I was in graduate school at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan – and working part-time at a convenience store just off campus. One afternoon I was working alone in the store when a tall, slim Earvin Johnson, recently graduated from nearby Everett High School -- and sporting the "Afro" hairstyle that was so popular at the time, entered the store and said to me:

"I'd like to get an ice cream cone."

Earvin asked me if I minded if he "stood here" and I replied that that would be fine. I did not say that I knew who he was -- but I knew who he was because his name and face were all over the local newspapers, radio, and television.

I learned that Earvin liked vanilla and told him that as for me I preferred chocolate. After a chat of 5 or 6 minutes, Earvin was on his way out the door. What a great experience that had been for me.

It would be another 30 years or so before I talked to my next hero -- an American by the name of Dick Beyer -- known in Japan as the masked wrestler "The Destroyer". In 2011, the year of the great earthquake and tsunami in Japan, The Destroyer had gone to Japan to convey his feelings of solidarity with the Japanese people in the aftermath of that disaster.

For many years the Destroyer had worked in Japan as a pro-wrestler. He was well known for his epic battles with Japanese pro-wrestlers.

By chance, The Destroyer and I were on an August 28, 2011 Tokyo-to-Portland flight as we were returning to the United States from Japan. I was on my way to check up on my land in Oregon; he (with his wife at his side) was on his way back to the United States after making his aforementioned visit to Japan. On the plane, The Destroyer told me all about his life story -- including a stint early in his life as a National Football League player. I am fortunate that The Destroyer put his mask on after we arrived in the United States and allowed me to be in a picture with him. So, at least I have that photograph to show as proof that I did indeed meet "The Destroyer".

And, finally, what list of sports heroes would be complete without Sadaharu Oh? Not long after my meeting with The Destroyer, I returned to Japan -- and was walking down a street near my office in Ginza late at night -- when I saw a slim gentleman emerge from a car, the door opened by his personal driver. I recognized him immediately as the all-time baseball home run king Sadaharu Oh. I gathered up my nerve and asked (in Japanese)?

"Aren't you Sadaharu Oh, the home run king?"

Mr. Oh signalled to his driver that all was well -- and then entered into a conversation with me, asking me where I was from. When I told him that I was from St. Louis in the United States, we immediately started talking about Stan Musial. I mentioned to Mr. Oh that along with Stan, I held him in esteem as one of my two favorite position players in baseball.

I had my cell phone with me but dared not ask to take a photo. Instead, I asked if I might shake Mr. Oh's hand. He said okay and we shook hands. What a warm handshake Sadaharu Oh gave me! His eyes sparkled and he looked wonderful! Not only is he a great athlete -- he is really a nice person!

I don't know whether I will meet any more sports heroes such as Mikan, Magic, The Destroyer, or Mr. Oh. But I am satisfied to have actually spoken with these four wonderful people, these four fellow Earthlings!

Steve Walker

Earthsaver and Jingles Creator