I'M NOT CERTAIN whether to label this a story of perseverance, or madness ... or perhaps some combination-thereof. For years, a boy had regarded former Syracuse University and Denver Broncos running back Floyd Little as his hero – and eventually got a much-desired autograph as a 14th birthday present.
Normally the story ends there, as people get on with their lives. And that that was the case for these two men … except that their lives intertwined several decades later. Did they ever.
I don't care if you like American football (in particular) or sports (in general). Please read the Sports Illustrated article that is the basis of tonight’s Top Comments diary … and I defy you to tell me this is not a human-interest story of the first magnitude (after the jump) ….
… but first:
Top Comments appears nightly, as a round-up of the best comments on Daily Kos. Surely you come across comments daily that are perceptive, apropos and .. well, perhaps even humorous. But they are more meaningful if they're well-known ... which is where you come in (especially in diaries/stories receiving little attention).
Send your nominations to TopComments at gmail dot com by 9:30 PM Eastern Time nightly, and indicate (a) why you liked the comment, and (b) your Dkos user name (to properly credit you) as well as a link to the comment itself.
Floyd Little was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1942 and did not have an easy time. His father died of cancer at age when Floyd was six, he grew up in a housing project, flunked two years in grade school and was made fun of because of his bowlegs.
But he was sent to a military academy (now defunct) in southern New Jersey, where in the early 60’s the school’s headmaster thought Little was mature enough to handle being a racial integrator.
Little was recruited to by Syracuse University as a running back – where he only had to follow mega-stars such as Jim Brown and Ernie Davis. But he became a three-time All-American from 1964-1966, graduating with a degree (for someone who a high school counselor said wasn’t college material). He was drafted by the AFL’s Denver Broncos and – in those pre-John Elway days – was known as The Franchise since the low-performing team had been considering relocating, amazing as that may sound to today's football fans. During his pro career (from 1967-1975) he also earned a master’s degree, then after his career he worked for Ford Motor Company, establishing dealerships in Colorado and along the West Coast.
When he was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983, many would look and say “this was a life well-led” and be happy. And so was Floyd Little ... sorta.
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Across the nation from Denver back in 1970, the African-American football player Floyd Little had an 7 year-old white fan. But Tom Mackie was not from Connecticut, New Jersey, Syracuse or Denver ….. instead, he was a Philadelphia Eagles fan growing up in Delaware, whereupon asking about the blue-orange logo of the Denver Broncos: was told they were lousy and Floyd Little is their only good player. And Mackie, ever a lover of underdogs, eventually makes Little his hero ….actually, more like a god. And has to resort to a great deal of conniving to obtain (as a 14th birthday present in 1977) an autographed photo.
Fast-forward more than twenty-five years to 2003 – and Tom Mackie’s wife, hearing the advertising agency employee talk about Little – oh, numerous times a year – is able to locate Floyd Little at one of his car dealerships in California, and calls to ask if Little would agree to talk to her husband in person for ½ hour … this time, for his 40th birthday present .. to which he agrees.
It goes quite well, with Floyd Little impressed at his visitor’s encyclopedic memory of his career …. until Tom Mackie begins to vent. Vent? Yes, vent … because Floyd Little retired as the 7th most productive running back in history (at the time of his retirement) playing for a poor team that was seldom on national TV … and yet had not been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And Floyd Little, hearing Tom Mackie explain numerous reasons why he deserved to be, probably should have thrown him out the door … but just couldn’t because this tapped into something he felt, as well.
The Sports Illustrated article describes what happened over the next seven years …. when Tom Mackie became a maniac-on-a-mission: quitting his job, spending thousands of dollars for promotional materials (including the preparation of DVD’s), contacting any and all former NFL players he could find to offer testimonials on Floyd’s behalf, placing his own marriage to Emily in jeopardy …. all for naught, year-after-year-after-year ..… but finally culminating in Floyd’s being considered as a finalist before the veterans committee of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Tom Mackie wrote a 47-page(!) brief that was used by the advocate for Floyd (sportswriter Jeff Legwold of the Denver Post) before the committee … and Mackie along with the (now aged 67) Floyd Little and his family had to await the verdict before the Super Bowl of February, 2010.
At this link is the story which only a hard-hearted person could not be moved by (regardless of your interest in sports). And for the last word: in thanking Tom Mackie (profusely) for his efforts, Floyd Little summed it all up: "I was his hero …… he became mine."
Now, on to Top Comments:
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From rjnerd:
From the diary by Casual Wednesday - about a famous birther we know - this comment by On Puget Sound is just priceless ...
"In a related story...Trump demanded today that Hawaii show proof of statehood".
From benintn:
In the Deficit Peacock diary from McJoan - this comment by fwdpost pretty much summarized the real problem in American politics.
From Carolita:
Dauphin comes up with the perfect GOP slogan in Bob Johnson's diary Ask GOP reps from devastated areas if they still back Ryans budget that guts FEMA.
And from Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening ........
In the diary by Desi about the (latest) remarks by Oklahoma state representative Sally Kern - you can almost see Dallasdoc wincing while writing this comment which includes: "I have plenty of ignorant racist relatives there, people who probably are cheering Sally Kern on ... going to take a lot of work and a lot of pain to put this genie back in the bottle".