September 21, 2007

From the gridiron to the back nine

Former National Football League stars hit the Villages golf course to raise funds for charities

By Diego Abeloos
Editor

A horde of golfers and former National Football League stars swarmed the grounds of the Villages golf course to help those in need during the Fifth Annual Celebrity Open on Sept. 17.

Former Olympian Larry Livers, second from left, tries to sink a put during the Fifth Annual Celebrity Open at the Villages golf course.

The event, organized by members of the NFL Players Association’s Northern California Retired Players Chapter, raised funds for the Charles Reid Foundation, the East Palo Alto YMCA, SMART Students, Inc, and the Semper Fi Fund. All told, more than 140 golfers, including former NFL players representing nearly every team in the league, took part in a round of golf, as well as silent and live auctions, with the goal of raising $100,000, according to NFLPA Northern California Chapter President Honor Jackson, a former New England Patriot. A final total of finds raised was not available at press time.

Among the former NFL players in attendance for the event included former San Francisco 49ers R.C. Owens, Bruce Gossett, Todd Lewis, Anthony Parker, Cedric Hardeman, Ted Popson and Fred Sosa, as well as former Oakland Raiders Ray Chester, Mervyn Fernandez, Charlie Smith, Marv Hubbard, Clem Daniels, Josh Taves and Fred “the Hammer” Williamson, to name a few.

Jackson, who began work on the event in January of 2007, said he and many of his former NFL colleagues participated in the event as a way to give back to those in need, just as others did for them during their careers.

Former Oakland Raider tight end Ray Chester watches his drive during a round of golf as part of the Celebrity Open. The event raised funds for the Semper Fi Fund, SMART Students, Inc., the East Palo Alto YMCA and the Charles Reid Foundation. Photos by Dan Miranda

“The reason we’re really into this is because each one of us had someone who put their hand out and said, ‘hey, take my hand. I’ll help you,’” said Jackson. “It could’ve been a coach, a father, an uncle, a brother, just somebody. …Everybody, if they think about it, has had that situation. We’re just trying to give it back, to pay it forward.”

To that end, Jackson and a group of his former NFL colleagues made commitments to raising $10,000 in sponsorship each for the event, naming themselves “the Ten Grand Club.”

Aside from a round of golf, the event also held live and silent auctions with items up for bidding such as authentic sports collectibles from San Francisco Giants Barry Zito and Barry Bonds, as well as autographed football helmets from NFL greats Deion Sanders, Brian Urlacher, Joe Montana, Franco Harris, Peyton Manning, and other stars. Other items up for bidding included framed pictures of Montana, Babe Ruth, and Bob Feller, as well as various dinners, tickets to the Peninsula Youth Theater, wines, Diamond earrings and a three-night stay at the Ridge Tahoe Resort, to name a few.

Jackson noted a difference in this year’s event. While the NFLPA usually holds benefits to help organizations geared toward children, the 2007 event also benefited the Semper Fi Fund, which provides assistance to Marines and sailors injured in combat, as well as their families. Jackson said the group decided to list the Semper Fi Fund as one of the organizations benefiting from the event based on a visit by the former NFL players to the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Palo Alto, where they got a first hand look at injured marines and their families.

“We walked in and saw these guys and we talked to them. When they saw us, just knowing that football players came to visit them, their emotions just went sky high,” Jackson said. “…We came to this young man who was sitting in his bed and his mom was there visiting him as part of this program, Semper Fi, and we talked and told him we were NFL players. Oh man, a smile just broke out all over his face.”

Former Detroit Lion Charlie Weaver eyes his shot attempt.

That encounter quickly led to a grim realization about the sacrifices made by those in combat, Jackson recalled.

“I was thinking to myself, ‘he’s fine. Why is he in this bed?’ Well, then I started to look and I let my eyes go down to his torso and (his legs) had been blown off; his legs were gone,” Jackson said. “He wasn’t down, he wasn’t saying, ‘why me?’ or any of that. He didn’t complain one time about fighting in a war. He didn’t complain about what happened to him. He said, ‘that was my job, that was my duty.’ …It’s not a political thing, but we need to support these kids. They’re over there giving their lives. We came out of there and we said, ‘you know what? We’re putting them on (as fundraising beneficiaries) no matter what, and we’re going to feature them.’”

Shortly thereafter, Jackson said the group decided that a large chunk of the money would go toward the Semper Fi Fund this year. All told, said Jackson, the event was definitely worth it.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Jackson. “It only takes a smile, like the smile that was on that young man’s face. That’s all it took. …Our mission is to help as many kids as we can in Northern California.”

Chester, who played tight end for the Raiders from 1970-72, and again from 1978-81, said the giving ways of his former NFL alums are unique.

“These guys are special, and they’re not just special because they were great athletes,” Chester said.

And while on the golf course, several of the former NFL players also took the event as an opportunity to reunite and swap stories about their playing days. For Chester, reuniting with former teammates and opponents is a point of pride.

Former San Francisco 49er R.C. Owens, inventor of the alley oop pass, was all smiles at the event.

“The overwhelming feeling you get is of respect and pride,” Chester said of reuniting with some his NFL alums. “It’s good to see just the tremendous athletes who are here and some of the great careers that these guys produced. But the overriding element is respect and admiration for each other. It’s something that I wish the younger athletes in every sport today would pay more attention to and begin to understand because all we have to do is keep on living. Everybody’s going to be a former player, or former CEO, or whatever. I’ll tell you, mutual respect for the accomplishments and the failures of others is what makes life worthwhile.”

Trading old stories about their playing days, however, also provided a good case of humor, and in some respects, bragging rights that never go away.

“The grass always gets longer and greener, the older the stories are,” said Owens, who is commonly known as the inventor of the alley oop pass, made famous during his playing days with the 49ers. “…There are a lot of stories that are told about who did what, and when. We always talk about our own teams about being the best ever, so it’s almost like a fraternity.”

Owens shows off a pair of Super Bowl rings given to him by the team after his playing days ended. Owens has worked in various capacities for the 49ers since 1979. Photos by Dan Miranda

In some instances, noted Jackson, the stories get grander and grander each year.

“The biggest thing is that these guys are trading old stories. Lies really,” Jackson said jokingly. “There’s stories about what happened, and when. It’s so much fun. …The story always grows the following year. It get exaggerated a little bit more of what he did on this play, or how he hit this guy so hard his helmet flew off. The next time, it’s his shoulder pads. It keeps getting bigger and bigger. It never ends, but it’s all in good fun.”

Jokes and old NFL stories aside, Jackson said, the real reason for the convergence of his NFL alums at the Villages golf course was to pitch in and help those in need.

“This is something that’s from the heart,” Jackson said. “Everyone here feels it from the heart and they want to do it. It’s a mission for them to do it, to help the people and the kids.”

Sponsors for the Fifth Annual Celebrity Open included: Union Bank, Joseph Albanese Concrete Construction, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, Associated Lighting Representatives, Inc., Zoom Eyeworks, Don Tucker and Sons Trucking, TBI Construction, Akins Body Shop, KQED Public Broadcasting, Amberwood Products, Pacific Underground Construction, Vance Brown, Inc., Comcast Cable, and North Venture Partners, LLC. Individuals and organizations donating items for the silent auction included: Dick Hickman, Jackie and Ira Berman, Rita and Howie Blumstein, Sharon and Mel Goldstein, The Professional Culinary Institute, and Uta Peckman, to name a few. Tee sign and raffle prize sponsors included: Plaza Dental Group, Downey Savings, Heritage Bank of Commerce, Wayne Weather State Farm Insurance, Grand Dell Saloon, DBK Wealth Management, Jackie and Ira Berman, Bob Lee of Legion Properties, T&H Body Shop, Fred Lettenberger of Windermere Properties, Hyatt Hotels, and Bernal Partners/Super Cuts.