Off-Topic Forum

I was wondering if you got to see a player on the sports field, hardwood floor, skating rink etc. before they became a star. What I mean did you see a star in high school football as he was still an unknown or any other game setting. I often have told people that I bet I saw Ken Griffey  jr. before they did.  I usually win this a majority of the time. The Cincinnati Reds had a promotion in the 1970s called the father son game in which the kids always won. The son team had Pedro Borbon Jr., Pete Rose Jr., Eduardo Perez and Ken Griffey jr. Does anyone else have a story?

I can go one step further. I played against Chris Carpenter (pitcher for the Blue Jays and Cardinals) when I was in high school. He was a grade behind me. During my senior year he pitched against us though I didn't play in that game. Needless to say, he shut us down (a bunch of K's, but at least it wasn't a no-hitter) while hitting 2 homers for himself. I think I still have the news article at my parent's house. To prep for that game the coach moved the pitching machine in a few feet hoping we could adjust to the speed.  

Fun topic! I can't match that, but I do have two short recollections.

The Smurfs, the Washington Redskins wire receiver corps that made it to the Super Bowl included Alvin Garrett from the little Texas town I lived in named Mineral Wells. I played football against him in Jr. High and in Pony League Baseball, and played football with him as a high School freshman. Garrett played fullback for us and I recall in a game he broke his helmet in a head-on collision with a tackler. It was awesome! He came out seemingly unfazed and was given another helmet and returned to the game.

Way before that I lived in Del Rio, Texas, as an elementary age student. I attended a high school football game between San Felipe High (our hometown across the tracks school) against a district rival. The player was Larvell Blanks and he was the quarterback for the Mustangs. He went on to play baseball for the Atlanta Braves and I believe the White Sox or Indians, too. What stands out in my head is about an 80-90 yard punt return for a touchdown he made in that game where he split the coverage and zigzagged past an opposing player from about the 50 yard line for another 15-20 yards before the would-be tackler finally tripped to allow Blanks to score.

I played little league against a future MLB player and knew a few guys when I was a kid who went to the NHL. Details are in this user list.

https://www.tcdb.com/List.cfm/lid/6900/People-I've-Met?C=2

Don Mattingly was a classmate/friend in high school.  His legend as a high quality multi-sport athlete started growing probably in the middle school ages. 

It helped that he had 3 older brothers who were legendary high school and college athletes in our hometown of Evansville, IN. His oldest brother Jerry might have been the best athlete of all - was recruited by Big Ten schools in football (he played HS football with Bob Griese), played college basketball on Evansville's 1965 Div 2 championship team with Jerry Sloan, and was a great baseball player too.  He was unfortunately killed in a construction accident right after he graduated from college.  Next oldest brother Randy was a high school football legend, was drafted as a QB by the Cleveland Browns and played in the CFL a few years.

Growing up, we all knew about the Mattingly boys and we started hearing about Don quite a bit in grade school.  I first encountered him in CYO football, when he led his school team as the quarterback to victories over schools with much bigger programs, including my school, which was probably the biggest Catholic grade school in the southern half of Indiana.  Our school also played Don's in basketball, and he was the best player in the CYO basketball program in Evansville.  He always won the local Punt/Pass/Kick and Pitch/Hit/Throw contests, and one year made it to nationals and was on TV for one of the two programs.  I can't remember which one.

I didn't play in the same Little League or Babe Ruth League as Don, so I did not compete against him in baseball.  Once in high school, Don was clearly the best athlete in our class.  He started on the varsity baseball team all four years, and was a star quarterback in football and averaged 15-17 points per game in hoops his Junior and Senior years.  I jokingly tell people that I gave up playing baseball because I was a first baseman too and I knew there was no way I was ever going to play with Mattingly there.  In reality, I was too dumb to think there were other positions on the field I could have tried!  In baseball, the team went 30-0 and won the state championship as Juniors.  In our Senior year, they won their first 29 games (for a then record of 59 straight) but lost the state championshp game in extra innings.

I do have a funny story about my athletic prowess over Don's.  Our Freshman year in high school, Don was awarded the Athletic Department's medal signifying the best athlete in our class.  Our Sophomore year, I won that award.  It is insane because I shouldn't have even been in the same conversation with Don.  I always attributed my good fortune that year to the fact that in our PE class that year we had to undertake the President's Council on Physical Fitness series of activities.  Those activities were right up my alley.  I could do tons of situps and pushups and run both fast and a long time.  Several years after graduation I learned from one our high school coaches that the Athletic Department also took into consideration our grades in Health and Safety class our Sophomore year when selecting the Athletic Department medal winner.  It still makes for a great story that I was once awarded an athletic achievement award over Don Mattingly!

There's a couple of great articles about the Mattingly family available on the internet.

http://locallegendsonline.weebly.com/the-mattingly-family.html

http://www.evansvilleliving.com/articles/twenty-three

My High School years in Cedar Rapids were 1988-1992.   So I ran track against Kurt Warner and Tim Dwight.  I met Zach Johnson a couple times.  A few other non sport celebs, Aston Kutcher, a few of the boys from Slip Knot. 

I think I've mentioned it before, I played Little League against (unfortunately) and went to high school (2 years) with Glenn Foley (QB Boston College / brief stay in NFL). He was 2 grades behind me in school but barely over a year younger. Terrific athlete. Wish I had more things good to say about him. Maybe he became a better person once he grew up.

I saw Ken Griffey Jr playing for the Vermont Mariners in 1988, the season before he broke it in the bigs. But it was already known then how good he was and was going to be.

I saw Roberto Kelly playing for the Oneonta Yankees in 1983. Had no idea at the time. :)

Dan,

Mattingly played for Oneonta in the summer of 1979.  My mom, dad, and sister went to see him play and talked with him at the game.  I didn't go on that trip.  I still have a photo of him in his Oneonta uniform my sister took for me.

Not exactly stars but I played sandlot baseball almost every day with Franco Harris's brothers Pete and Zeppy when we were kids. Pete played at Penn state. Franco was 5 or 6 years older. Watched him play high school football

The field there in Oneonta - what a relic! The first day my parents and I went, it was baseball night. (We were there for a couple days to go to the HOF, and we stayed in Oneonta - much more reasonable.) So, we all get a baseball as we walk into the park. I decide I'm going to get a ball signed by the home team. I take it down and ask one of the players "Will you please sign this and pass it down the line and get everyone to sign it for me?" (I was only 13 at the time.) He tells me to come on in to the dugout and do it myself! (I didn't think I'd be allowed in.) Afetr they all signed for me (including Roberto Kelly), I took one of the other baseballs over to the other dugout! I got the Newark Orioles to sign the other ball for me! That was the year AFTER John Elway played there.

The Yankees ball:

And the Orioles:

 (Yes, Eric Bell made the majors from that team)