Post by TheShadow on Feb 3, 2006 21:31:42 GMT -5
goerie.com
by Kevin Cuneo
Even for those of us who've been watching Freddy Biletnikoff for a long
time, the guy never fails to surprise.
Freddy grew up here — "in the First Ward," he likes to say. He lived amidst
dozens of Russian families on East Fourth Street, where kids played sports
every day, sun up to sundown.
They took their games seriously, and many top athletes emerged from the
region. One of them, who came out last Friday to see Biletnikoff speak at
the Boys & Girls Club banquet, pulled me aside to deliver what he felt was
important news.
"The thing you have to understand," he said confidentially, "is that the
athletes were so good in the old neighborhood that Fred was only about the
fifth-best player."
I later mentioned this to Biletnikoff, who laughed and said, "Yeah, but
those guys were 14 or 15 at the time. I was only 8."
Freddy was warmly embraced by his neighborhood pals and former Tech Memorial
classmates. Earlier in the day, he stopped by his old school, which is now
called Central High, to spend time with the kids. They seemed overjoyed to
meet the guy their field is named after.
Because none of the kids were alive when Biletnikoff caught his last pass
for the Oakland Raiders, the teachers showed a highlight film featuring many
of Freddy's best plays. The collection was assembled 15 years ago by Steve
Sabol, the NFL films expert.
I remember Sabol telling John Evans, the former TV sports
anchor-turned-state legislator, what a kick it was researching so many great
catches by Biletnikoff. Freddy wasn't particularly big or fast, but he had
great hands, and once he caught the ball, he'd put a little move on the
defender and blow right past him.
NOW 60, BILETNIKOFF'S DAYS OF gridiron glory are long past, though he still
moves with the grace of an athlete.
He seemed to wince when I told him I was 10 when he led Florida State to an
exciting win over Oklahoma in the 1965 Gator Bowl. It was the kind of day a
young fan never forgets: Biletnikoff caught 13 passes for 196 yards and four
touchdowns.
Then it was on to Oakland, where Freddy would star for 14 seasons, earning
election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Several years ago, when John Madden, who'd been Biletnikoff's coach in
Oakland, came to Erie to make a True Value Hardware commercial, he seemed
disappointed that none of Freddy's old gang showed up.
"I wish Snooky was here," Madden said. Snooky is Fred's dad. "He and his
friends used to come to a lot of our games. They were quite a group."
Freddy smiled when I told him the story.
"John was always really nice to my father and his friends," he said. "He was
great to all the players' families; it's one of the things that made him
special."
Unlike some of the other head coaches he's known, Biletnikoff said Madden
dealt with everyone on an individual basis. "It's not easy to do that when
you've got a 50-man team," he said. "But John connected with everyone."
Quite often, while broadcasting games on TV, Madden will recall Biletnikoff
with fondness. Asked about Freddy's style, Madden once said, "Opponents
would look at Fred in his tattered uniform and that long, stringy hair and
think, 'Hey, I won't have a bit of trouble beating this guy.' And then bam!
Freddy's in for six. I can't tell you how often it used to happen."
WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER, BILETnikoff was known for his intensity. Also, his
temper would occasionally get the best of him.
It happened after the Super Bowl in 1977, when Fred was named most valuable
player for leading the Raiders over the Minnesota Vikings. For quite a
while, Biletnikoff had been angry with an Erie businessman who, Fred
believed, had taken advantage of him.
When one of the reporters asked him after the Super Bowl about his fans back
in Erie, Biletnikoff said, in so many words, that Erie could drop in the
lake. Next, he snapped at a local TV sportscaster, and suddenly Fred's
outburst was a national story.
What's not well known is that two months later Biletnikoff returned to Erie
to speak at a communion breakfast at St. Paul Catholic Church.
"Mayor Tullio and some of his people called me and told me to come home,"
Fred recalled last week. "It was good advice."
People were still sore, but Biletnikoff faced them and apologized. Eleven
years later, when a crowd of more than 600 turned out at the Shrine Club to
celebrate Freddy's election to the hall of fame, he apologized again.
And last Friday night, he alluded again to mistakes he's made in his life.
"Luckily, I have friends here who know how I really feel about my hometown,"
he said.
Earlier in the day, Biletnikoff told the Central students that he's made
many mistakes in his life. He said an executive with the Raiders asked him
early in his career, "When are you going to mature?"
It rankled him, he said, but in time he came to understand what the
executive meant.
"In this life, you can only be a kid for so long," Biletnikoff said. "You
have to have a side of maturity. You must take responsibility for your
actions."
That night at the banquet, Biletnikoff rose and spoke from the heart about
his daughter, Tracey Biletnikoff. Four years ago, at the age of 19, she was
murdered by her former boyfriend.
"You hear about families who suddenly have to face a terrible tragedy, and
now we were one of those families," Biletnikoff said.
He spoke about how his family pulled together and sprang into action to
create Tracey's Place of Hope, a rehabilitation center for troubled teenage
girls.
"The most important thing I can tell parents is to grab your kids and hold
them close," he said. "Help protect them and help them make the right
decisions."
It was the latest and most inspiring chapter in the Fred Biletnikoff story.