Chasing Hardware

Gene Tenace could have played football for Woody Hayes at Ohio State but opted instead to play in the Majors as a Catcher and First Baseman. He won 3 World Series with the Oakland A's, earning MVP honors in 1972. He won another title as a key backup for the '82 Cardinals. Even today, he ranks 3rd all time for catchers in OPS, and 4th in On Base Percentage. Listen for some great stories from those Charley Finley-era Swingin' A's.

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Steve Bartkowski was an All American in both baseball and football at Cal. He would be the #1 overall pick in the 1975 NFL Draft, and despite some early injuries, he would lead Atlanta to its first three playoff appearances. The Falcons were an exciting team which seemed to always be pulling out a last-minute win, with many of the heroics orchestrated by #10. He is still one of only 10 men in league history to throw 30 TD's in consecutive seasons. Listen in for some great stories.

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From high school through to the pros Lester Hayes played virtually every position but QB. His All Pro career at Cornerback was greatly influenced by his time as a Linebacker at Texas A&M ("I'm a linebacker mentally...playing cornerback.") A lot of the receivers he played the bump and run against would agree. Great stories from a legend. The Judge holds court once again.

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Listen as Randy Cross tells some great stories about growing up in LA in the 60's, playing at UCLA and winning the Rose Bowl in the 70s, and then being an anchor on the offensive line in San Francisco for the 80's as the Bill Walsh dynasty won 3 Super Bowls. Fun stuff about actor/QB Mark Harmon, Dick Vermeil, Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, and so on.

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Lance Parrish had to decide between a football scholarship at UCLA or a career as a Catcher in the majors. Detroit Tigers fans are happy he chose the latter as he was an 8x All Star, he won 3 Gold Gloves and 6 Silver Sluggers, and he hit the deciding home run in the final game of the '84 World Series to clinch the title. Great stories from a legend.

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Legendary basketball coach Digger Phelps led Fordham to the Sweet 16 before embarking on a 20 year run at Notre Dame that included a Final Four, 2 Elite 8's, 7 Sweet 16's and 6 Top 10 finishes. He learned about the media from none other than Howard Cosell and used that knowledge to enjoy a 20 year career in broadcasting when his coaching days ended. Great stories from the Undertaker's son.

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Peter Stastny grew up in what was then Czechoslovakia, helping that country win 2 World Championships in the 70's. He then fled to North America in a cloak and dagger escape that is the stuff of movies, and embarked on a Hall of Fame career in Quebec with the Nordiques. For an encore? As GM he led his native Slovakia to a World Championship of its own in 2002, and then served a decade in the European Parliament representing his country. Truly amazing.

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Joe Washington talks about his legendary high school career in Texas, his years at Oklahoma on some of the great NCAA teams of all time, and then an NFL career that included Pro Bowls, Super Bowls, and playing for and with Joe Gibbs, Mercury Morris, Bert Jones, Joe Theismann, and John Riggins. He also tells the story behind those iconic silver cleats.

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Buck Williams tells some great stories about growing up in rural North Carolina, playing in the cauldron that is ACC basketball at Maryland, and then an NBA career that included long stays in New Jersey and Portland playing with, for, and against, some real legends. Fun stories from one of the greatest rebounders of all time.

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Hall of Famer Paul Molitor is considered one of the greatest post-season players of all time. The '93 World Series MVP is also one of only 5 men in MLB history to bat .300, get 3,000 hits and steal 500 bases. Listen for some great stories as he talks about playing with Gorman Thomas, Rollie Fingers, Robin Yount, Dave Parker, Joe Carter, Kirby Puckett and many others. None other than Ted Williams said 'I see Joe DiMaggio' when he watched Molly bat. Doesn't get any better than that.

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