Bleacher Report - Articles by Harold Bell

Teammates Dan Droze and Dave Harris: When Separate Was Equal in America

Harold Bell — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:39:00 -0500

In Washington, DC in 1954 there were two important Supreme Court decisions reached on the same day in May. The decisions were Bolling v Sharpe and Brown v Board of Education. The two decisions changed how public school education was practiced in America.

Dwight D. Eisenhower was the President of the United States and Earl Warren was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

The lead plaintiff attorney on Bolling v Sharpe was George Edward Hayes. The case was argued on the 5^th Amendment (Equal Protection Clause), thus setting up the theory of “reverse incorporation”.

The lead attorney for the plaintiffs in Brown v Board of Education was future Supreme Court Justice, the great Thurgood Marshall . Mr. Marshall graduated first in his class from Howard Law School in 1933. In 1934 he became the lawyer for the Baltimore Chapter of the NAACP.

The Supreme Court ruled that “separate but equal” public school education was unconstitutional. The court ruled that public schools could never be truly equal with blacks attending one school and whites attending another. This would be Mr. Marshall’s battle ground and field of play.

If Attorney Thurgood Marshall had been a NFL quarterback, a three-point shooter in the NBA or a Designated hitter in Major League Baseball he would have no peers. He won 29 of the 32 cases he argued before the Supreme Court. Mr. Marshall was a Superstar in “The Game Called Life.” It is the only game being played in today’s America where the title of Superstar really counts.

If Black America is looking for a hero and role model we have to look no further than Thurgood Marshall, He literally set the bar of how we should measure our heroes and role models in our community. We should be able to go to Webster’s Dictionary and look up the definition of “Unselfishness” and see his picture.

When the Supreme Court finally rendered a decision in 1954 declaring segregation in America’s schools unconstitutional, Archbishop Patrick O’Boyle picked up the ball and ran with it.

The Archbishop played a significant role leading up to the decision that would set the stage for the 1954 All-Star game. He implemented a follow-up action plan. He authorized a scrimmage between all black Armstrong Technical High School and integrated Archbishop John Carroll High School. Carroll had ONE black player, but had several black students enrolled at the school.

The scrimmage took place in August, 1953. The Coach for Carroll was George Washington University legend and NFL Hall of Famer Tuffy Leesmans. The Armstrong High School football coach was the equally talented Ted McIntye. Willie Wood was only a sophomore but he was all over the field. His greatness could not be denied. He would go on to become an NFL Hall of Fame player for the Green Bay Packers.

The real star of the scrimmage, however, was “Red Mike” Hagler who went on to become a star running back at Iowa. He played in two Rose Bowls (1956-1958) for legendary Iowa Coach, Forrest Evashevski. In the second Rose Bowl he scored two TDs. The second TD was a spectacular weaving 66 yard inside reverse. Mike would end his football career playing semi-pro football in New Jersey. He was definitely a legend in his own time.

In 1954 the two All-Star football teams met at old Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC. The number one ranked, undefeated and favorite was St. John’s. The DC Public High School All-Stars were a collection of black and white players. The white players were from Division I (Anacostia, Coolidge, McKinley Tech, Western and Wilson ) and had 22 players named to the team. The black players were from Division II (Armstrong, Cardozo, Phelps and Spingarn) were represented by 11 players (separate but equal).

There was a joke going around during preparations for the game that Division I coach Stewart thought it best to select twice the number of white players in case trouble broke out. The fight odds would be 2-1 (separate but equal).

This was the first ever integrated high school athletic contest played in Washington, DC. There were close to 9,000 fans in the stadium to witness this history making athletic event.

Dave Kane is a native Washingtonian and a 1960 graduate of DeMatha High School. Dave played running back and safety for the stags. He was in town recently to meet with players who played in that game. His brother Jim was a running back and scored the only TD for St. Johns in the 1954 All-Star game. His father was the team doctor.

Mr. Kane is exploring the possibilities of making a documentary film of the historical event. During his visit to DC from his now hometown in Phoenix, Arizona he met with several players who participated in that game.

The interested parties met at the home of Chink and Gladys Hawkins in Upper Marlboro, Maryland a DC suburb. Gladys is the sister of former Armstrong High School and NFL Green Bay Packer hall of fame player Willie Wood.

The DC Public High School All-Stars in attendance were George Carlos, Olin Robinson and Charlie Queen (Spingarn), Willie Wood, and Lowell Wheeler (Armstrong), Frank Sullivan and Alphonso Brooks and John Simms (Dunbar), Kenny Dunlop (Cardozo) Willie’s close friend and jump shooting basketball teammate Frank Smith was also in attendance.

There are so many stories and twist and turns that came out of this game there is not enough time and space to list them all.

For example, the lead plaintiff in the 1954 Bolling v Sharpe was Spotswood Bolling. He was my high school basketball teammate at Spingarn. The legendary DeMatha High School basketball Hall of Fame coach Morgan Wooten was an assistant football coach at St. John’s.

Coaches Sal Hall and Biff Carter, Cardozo and Phelps respectively, were assistant coaches for the DC Public Schools. Mr. Hall was one of the greatest football minds to ever come out of DC. Kermit “Zu Zu” Stewart of Anacostia was chosen to be the Head Coach (separate but equal).

The offense installed for that game was the Single Wing the same offense run by the Anacostia High School football team. The best way to describe the Single Wing offense is to watch today’s NFL’s version of “The Wild Cat Formation.” It is used by several NFL teams. The quarterback is missing in action.

The best player on the field that day was Armstrong QB Willie Wood. He never got a chance to take a snap from under the center, but his presence was felt that day. He was all over the field again. He played defensive back, ran back punts and kick-offs. The final score 12-7 was misleading.

Everyone to a man (player) says “If Willie had been the quarterback that day it would have been no-contest.”

Enter Dan Droze and Dave Harris forever linked together in Washington, DC sports history.

Dan grew up in SE and Dave in upper NW, Shaw/Cardozo (inner-city), they were two players from two completely different worlds only separated by the color of their skin (separate but equal). The All-Star game practices were held at Western High School in upper NW, DC (Georgetown). They had exactly one week to install an offense and defense for their opponent St. John’s.

I recently met with Dan Droze and Dave Harris the two heroes of the game at DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. This was the first meeting between the two All-Star teammates since the game 55 years ago.

Dan and Dave agreed that things went pretty smoothly and there were no signs of racial tension or envy and jealousy among the players (Player Hating). When they walked on the playing field at Griffin Stadium on December 4, 1954 everyone was on the same page and they had one goal----beat St. John’s.

The game was a hard fought contest and the outcome was not decided until the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. St. John’s had the proverbial “Home Field Advantage.” The DC All-Stars were penalized 7 times for 35 yards and according to the game officials St. John’s played a perfect game resulting in no penalties (separate but equal).

Dan (first team All-Met) was a starting running back in the Single Wing offense and Dave (first team All-Met) was a starter at end (wide receiver). Dave played both ways on offense and defense. Dave was also a track star at Cardozo with lightning speed.

There was less than five minutes left in the game when Coach Stewart got smart. He decided to throw the ball to someone other than his Anacostia receiver Ed Vincent who had dropped and early TD pass from Droze.

December 4^th was Dave Harris’s birthday. Little did Dave and his teammates know it would a birthday long remembered in the annals DC high school sports.

With less than five minutes left in the game St. John was leading 7-6. Dan got the play in from Coach Stewart to throw a “Down and Out” pass to Dave Harris. Dan took the snap from center and 30 yards down field he spotted Dave cutting to the left corner of the enzone. He threw a perfect pass and with two defenders draped all over him, Dave made the catch to remember. The final score was 12-7 and the rest is history.

The black and white players would leave the field and return to their own little worlds. It would take 55 years for the stars of the game to meet and cherish a memory that would be etched forever in their minds.

Dan would travel down infamous “Tobacco Road” to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to play for the legendary football coach Jim Tatum. Dave would travel to the University of Kansas for a culture shock. His first day in class he looked like a fly in a cup of milk. He would make the adjustment when he met another Jay Hawk student/athlete ‘The Greatest’ basketball player ever, Wilt Chamberlain. Wilt and Dave would go on to become great friends.

Dan would later become my teammate with the Virginia Sailors (minor league team for the Washington Redskins). Dave Harris has been my hero since “The Catch.” I would follow him to Griffin Stadium the next year as a freshman receiver for Spingarn High School. Ironically, we would meet Cardozo High School for the DC Public High School Championship. We had upset a great Armstrong team 13-7 with their legendary QB Willie Wood to earn the right to play in the game.

There would be no fairytale ending for me, because I was benched for discipline reasons (academic). I was lucky to be in uniform. My savior Coach Dave Brown taught me an early lesson, no one is indispensable.

I watched my teammates tie Cardozo 0-0. Cardozo was chosen to play in the City Championship game because of a ruling based on something called “Penetration.” The Cardozo team crossed our 50 yard line more times than we crossed theirs.

The great players who participated in that that 1954 All-Star game played a role in my spiritual and mental development as a young athlete. I was very fortunate, I was able to watch and touch my heroes and role models. The Spingarn players were, Olin Robinson, George Carlos, Bill Mayor, George ‘Nochie’ Green, Jessie Saunders, Charlie Queen, and William Peasy Jordan and Thomas Sumlin played for Phelps.

I would sit on “The Hill” after school and watch them practice. I attended Brown Middle School located on the same block as Spingarn and Phelps High school. These guys were athletes from my own neighborhood and school community. I grew up in the same NE housing project (Parkside) as Sumblin and Saunders. They treated me like a little brother and they led by example. In today's inner-city these type of role models are non-existent.

I admired Willie Wood, Dave Harris, Frank Sullivan, Alphonso Brooks, John Simms, Lowell Wheeler and Kenny Dunlop from the stands. Dave and Willie would later become loyal friends and mentors.

Dan Droze and Dave Harris 55 years later found out they were more alike than different (separate but definitely not equal).

Dan went on to have a successful career as a Financial Investment Banker , and has been married to his wife Rose Mary for 44 years they are the proud parents of four, two daughters and two boys. The daughters are housewives, Stasia and Desma and the boys are Drew (Computer Programmer) and Derk who graduated from GWU and played pro soccer in Chile and Denmark.

Dave had a successful career in Pharmaceutical Sales . He has been married for 50 years to his lovely wife Theresa and from that union they have 3 boys and a girl and 4 grandchildren. His son Erik is a graduate of the Naval Academy, David Jr. is a West Point graduate, Dr. Keith Harris is a graduate of Brown University and his twin sister Kim is graduate of Maryland University.

If there are two families who should and could write a book on how to successfully raise children in America, meet Mr. and Mrs. Danny Droze and Mr. and Mrs. Dave Harris.

Despite segregation, the DC Public Schools made a unique mark and contribution in American public high school sports history. Armstrong and Spingarn High Schools are the only public school system with bragging rights of having 4 athletes in the NFL and NBA Hall of Fames. Armstrong NFL inductees are Len Ford and Willie Wood and Spingarn NBA inductees are Elgin Baylor and Detroit Mayor Dave Bing. This story makes it hard to tell who was black and who was white, but Dan and Dave proved they might have been separate but they were equal.

Michael Vick: Right Owner, Right Coach, Right Team, Wrong City!

Harold Bell — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:57:04 -0400

Football players and real sports fans across America are wondering, why would Michael Vick choose the worst sports city in America to try to restart his NFL career?

Philadelphia is called "The City of Brotherly Love"—it's anything but a city that loves brothers!

Racial profiling among the city's police department is on par with the LAPD and NYPD and Prince George's County Police Department in the state of Maryland.

Vick's first appearance in a home game in a Philadelphia Eagle football uniform will set American sports back 52 years. Remember 1947 and Jackie Robinson?

Don't be surprised to see a black dog instead of a black cat released on the field of play. The No. 1 played song on the radio in cities that the Eagles visit will be, "Who Let the Dogs Out?"

Vick and his family will need an armed escort to and from games. The best advice his legal team could give him: "Tell your family and friends to stay home and watch the games on television."

Vick's No. 7 jersey was the biggest seller in the NFL before his dog conviction. It has sold out in Philly, but don’t be surprised to see his jersey being used to start bonfires at Eagles pep and tailgate rallies and parties. Racial tensions will run high in the city during the season.

When the race card in America is played, it's clear that there are no "good sports."

When a man serves 18 months in jail for making a "stupid" mistake and lost $113 million dollars in salary and says, "I am sorry," who are we to say in America, "You don’t deserve a second chance?"

How many times must he say, "I am sorry?"

Baltimore Ravens LB Ray Lewis got away with murder in Atlanta, and WR Donte' Stallworth of the Cleveland Browns walked away a free man after he killed a man with his automobile.

Brendan Haywood of the NBA's Washington Wizards said it best: "When is a dog’s life worth more than a human life?"

The reason Vick chose the Eagles was, the owner wanted him, the coach wanted him, and last but not least, first string quarterback Donovan McNabb wanted him.

The city is another story.

Philadelphia sports fans are known nationally to be the worst in America. Their sports history speaks for itself—ask the guy who played Santa Claus. While he was being parachuted into the stadium, his arrival was met with a barrage of snowballs from every corner of the stadium.

How can Washington Redskins fans ever forget how their NFL Hall of Fame mascot Chief Zee was almost killed when he was attacked after a game in Philly in 1983? He has not been back since and refuses to even fly over the city. He said, "I would not put it past them to shoot planes down."

It has been proven that most Philadelphia sports fans are not as smart as "Fifth Graders."

Philadelphia is the worst among major cities in America when it comes to college-educated adults; less then 21 percent are college graduates.

They are definitely not playing with a full deck.

The Eagles were the first team in professional sports in America to have an on-site jail for rowdy and drunken fans.

Despite the first African-American President in the history of the country, race relations are in a sad state. Before President Barack Obama, U.S. Presidents usually received an average of 3,000 death threats a month. Obama receives 12,000 monthly.

In Philadelphia there is a possibility that Vick death threats might just surpass the President’s.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which has a long history of waging legal battles on behalf of civil rights, warned, "There is a rise of violent and well-armed White Militias. They are driven by the recession and hatred of Obama."

The Center concluded, "There are at least 50 new militia groups in the nation over the past two years. They are mostly located in the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, and the deep South."

A spokesperson for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) added, "You are seeing the bubbling right now. You are seeing people buying into what they’re saying. It’s primed to grow."

In the meantime, CBS News carried a lengthy report on the groups last week that concluded, "The right-wing extremists, historically motivated by a distrust of government, are now especially angry about the election of America’s first African-American President."

Last week during one of those public forums on Health Care, a woman yelled, "We must take back America."

My question: "Take it back from whom?"

Dog fighting in America is as American as apple pie. Michael Vick didn't bring dog fighting to America; it was here when his ancestors got off the ship. It's still a thriving business today.

Thanks to the overkill in media and its double standards, the Vick conviction opened up Pandora’s Box.

I was watching the popular America’s Got Talent show on NBC television last week. The show is one of my favorites. The show has moved into the semifinal round. The winner will receive $1 million and will headline a show in Las Vegas.

What happened next really confirmed my fears that Vick is in real trouble in Philly.

The host is Nick Cannon (Mariah Carey’s husband), and the judges are Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne, and David Hasselhoff.

A national television audience voted the first four contestants into the semifinals. The last two contestants for this segment were a man and dog act against a talented brother that sang and played a mean piano. Their fate would lie in the hands of the judges instead of the national television audience.

The man and dog’s performance was mainly the dog running through the owner’s legs chasing Frisbees. The dog missed seven out of 10 Frisbees thanks to his trainer. He tossed the Frisbee as if he was drunk. The brother’s performance was flawless.

Osbourne was asked to vote first, but she claimed she was in such a dilemma. She begged Hasselhoff to vote first instead, and he voted for the man and dog act.

Morgan could not believe his ears, and he said, "If this man does not win this competition, the show is a joke." He voted for the brother, and Sharon voted for the dog. Piers sat in stunned silence and disbelief.

This was a sign of the times and a warning to Vick to watch his back in Philly. It's definitely dogs over black men.

This whole issue of white America and dogs cannot be laid at the feet of all white folks. There are some blacks in America that are just as dangerous.

In media there are Juan Williams, Roland Martin, Armstrong Williams, Tavis Smiley, James Brown, Eugene Robinson, and the NABJ (National Association of Black Journalists).

In the case of Vick, these brothers and sisters are sounding more like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Lou Dobbs, Pat Buchanan, and last but definitely least, "Mr. Pitiful" himself, Michael Steele. He is Chairman of the Republican Party (designated gofer).

For example, there was an email exchange between Jamie Zalac, who is the media liaison for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and Barbara Ciara, an African-American television reporter on WTKR News Channel TV3 in Norfolk, Virginia. Ms. Ciara carries the titles of the President of the National Association of Black Journalist and Vice President of UNITY: Journalists of Color.

First, Ms. Zalac thanks Ms. Ciara for contacting her about the despicable acts of Michael Vick, as it relates to dogs in America and asking for a statement from the group.

Ms. Zalac tells her new friend that PETA and millions of decent football fans around the world are disappointed that the Philadelphia Eagles chose to sign a man who hung dogs from a tree! I wonder who took the worldwide poll, Rush Limbaugh?

Where were Ms. Zalac and PETA and her parents when black men and women were being hung from trees all over America from one decade to another? Where was she when law enforcement blew up a whole city block in Philadelphia, killing innocent women and children while looking for a cop killer? Where was she when the city bulldozed the whole block to destroy any evidence to hide this despicable act?

Where was she when white cops in New York City were frequently using black men as target practice? Where were Ms. Zalac and Ms. Ciara when a young black man was denied his right to a judge and jury here in Prince George's County last year? He was accused in the hit and run death of a police officer. He was found in his jail cell dead from a broken neck. No one has been brought to justice, and the cover-up continues.

This hideous act took place in the shadows of the nation’s capital and PETA Headquarters in downtown Washington, DC. There was no outcry from PETA or the NABJ!

Then there is the cheerleading email from Bob Butler, a reporter at KCBS Radio in San Francisco. His credentials read, Vice President of Broadcast for the NABJ and President, Bay Area Black Journalists.

Mr. Butler’s email read, "You go Barbara."

I had to go backtrack and double-check the emails to make sure I had not missed an earth-shattering development that Ms. Ciara had uncovered, like a formula for preventing teenage pregnancy among black girls in our community or breaking news of the first black owner of a NFL team! No such luck.

Mr. Butler thought congratulations were in order because on Aug. 13, 2009, at 7:42 PM, Ciara, Barbara wrote:

"NABJ Family, at this hour, PETA (homebased in Norfolk) has not issued a statement regarding the signing of Michael Vick. However, I would like to note that I along with NABJ member Jummy Olabanji broke the story of Vick's contract with Philly at 7:25 on WTKR NewsChannel 3 a full hour and five minutes before anyone else. We got it first—and we got it right."

Ms. Ciara, I will be sure to nominate you and your station for the upcoming Emmy Awards.

You really must have some slow news days in Norfolk. When I was an on-air personality, I broke community and sports stories days before the Washington Post. It got so bad George Solomon the sports editor assigned his reporters to tune into Inside Sports for breaking news stories.

This dog charade took a turn for the worst when CBS Sports and NFL host James Brown sat down with Vick on 60 Minutes.

This was a bad news day for Tiger Woods and Michael Vick fans on CBS (I am sure the ratings went through the roof).

For the first time in his professional golf career, Tiger lost a tournament going into the final round leading the field. The No. 1 golfer in the world lost to Y. E. Yang, ranked No. 155.

Since the death of Ed Bradley, 60 Minutes has yet to find another black man capable of filling the void he left. He was, in my opinion, the "black Walter Cronkite" of television news.

Ed, like Mr. Cronkite, had an air of honesty and integrity, something rarely found in the news media today. You could carry what they said to the bank.

Brown was like a bump on a log during his one-on-one interview with Vick. He sat there like he had no idea what it was like to be black in America. The whole interview was well rehearsed. Tony Dungy was the only believable voice on the entire show.

The race card never came up during the entire interview; it was like it never existed. It was obvious they were told not to mention race as being a factor for all the hate being shown to this young man.

I am still trying to figure out what the purpose was of showing Vick's legal team (Billy Martin and company) without a word.

The bottom line: Instead of Michael Vick being a spokesperson for PETA, he should be going around visiting schools, playgrounds, and youth facilities in our cities talking to black youth.

Black on black murder. Over half of minority students in America are dropping out school. The youth facilities and prisons are busting at the seams with minorities. Black youth are fouling out of the game of life at record rates.

My advice to Michael Vick: Save a child’s life, and let PETA and the National Association of Black Journalists save the dogs.

MOVE OVER BARACK HERE COMES DISCOMBOBULATING JONES!

Harold Bell — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:53:33 -0400

Oh My GOD!

Those were the first words Henry “Discombobulating” Jones uttered when he first saw the caged mayhem known as ‘Mixed Martial Arts’–UFC style.

Kneeing someone in the face, choking them out, and roundhouse kicks to the temple? The damage done is more serious than in any other sport.

He said, “Therein lays the appeal!”

Matches are contested in a eight sided ring called the Octagon. Combatans use a variety of fighting styles, from judo and karate to kickboxing and wrestling, and they come from diverse backgrounds. Brock Lesnaw is the current UFC heavyweight champion. He is an ex-World Wrestling Entertainment title holder.

The sports popularity is on the rise: Last month in Las Vegas the UFC celebrated its 100 event, the poster boy of the organization, Lesnar was the headline act.

The show was the largest yet with 5.1 million dollars in tickets sold, with 10,000 plus in attendance and 1.5 million watching on pay-per-view.

The ultimate Fighter reality TV series, returns next month on Spike TV, the series has been viewed by nearly half (49%) of all U. S. men ages 18-49 over the last 4 seasons.

Discombobulating Jones didn’t really like it the first few times he saw it, and even turned down announcing gigs. He thought it was too barbaric for his tastes.

His thinking, “It wasn’t too far removed from the Roman Arena fights of yesteryear, either thumbs up or thumbs down."

They are gladiators all right, but he had seen too many of the pro boxers carried out on their shields, never to return.

A local promoter out of the Charles town area of West Virginia named Lionel Royer kept coming to pro boxing cards to recruit him to announce his MMA cards.

Finally, he agreed to give it a try.

Mr. Royer said, “My unique announcing style would be a breath of fresh air.”

In the meantime, he did his due diligence and studied the sport by watching and reading everything associated with it.

When he started announcing pro boxing two yrs ago his first MMA bout was in Leesburg, Virginia, in Feb. of 2007. The show took place at a Best Western hotel in front of a standing room only, predominantly white, beer-swilling, and profanity laced crowd.

He said, “To be honest I was a bit intimidated and felt more than a little awkward. The rowdiness turned to an almost deafening silence after I climbed the stairs and entered a cage where the combatants would do battle.”

You could have heard the proverbial pin drop. It crossed his mind how this was happening during Black History Month and that he was both black and would be history after the show.

Suddenly, something magical happened that changed his mind. It also let him know just how much he was appreciated.

He said someone yelled “Hey, I’ve seen that guy announce on television a lot of times. He’s FU^&*%^&NG great! It was as if EF Hutton had spoken.”

The MMA fans around the speaker started clapping and hollering as if his mentor himself Michael Buffer had uttered his trademark phrase, “Let’s get ready to rumble!!”

After the show he was hounded by fans and fighters alike for his autograph, and given kudos of how his ring style had greatly added to the event. This experience may have even made him better.

The one other thing that he learned, “That every black face he saw was not his brother and every white he saw was not his enemy.”

That was a lesson taught by the greatest boxing promoter of all time, Don King, and ego tripping promotions like Butch Lewis and his flunky Rock Newman. World champions out of DC like Sugar Ray Leonard, Shamba Mitchell, Maurice Blocker, Keith Holmes, and William Joppy.

None of them reached back to pull him along.

Since the MMA event, he has traveled around the country with Mr. Royer to places as far away as Cherokee. NC. It was here he had to fly into Atlanta, rent a car, and drove another 3 hrs through winding mountains.

He has come to find out that the participants in this rough sport are no different than the pro boxers that he has formed lifelong bonds with.

MMA warriors also have dreams and aspirations, and want to be recognized as the best at what they do, no matter how violent the action and brutal the consequences.

Discombobulating said, “Being affiliated with this sport has also allowed him to form friendships with some of these ring warriors and also use my Social Work skills in a unique way with youth groups who come to see them battle.”

He has been able to speak to wayward juveniles to get them to make conscientious decisions about their street actions, and to do like he asked the MMA fighters:” Leave your Rage….inside the Cage!”

He is a graduate of St. Paul & Augustine College in Raleigh, NC.

After 21 yrs of announcing boxing, he has become known as the “1^st prominent African-American Ring Announcer in history!”

Thanks in great part to his mentor, Michael Buffer. He says, "Now I am competing for gigs with his brother, Bruce Buffer, how ironic. Now, if only networks which televise the MMA fights would take notice of me as a desired Voice of Choice!"

His professional ring announcing has come full circle.

On August 22, 20oop he will return home to be the Voice of Choice when the MMA makes its debut in the Nation’s Capitol at the DC Convention Center.

For ticket information and fighters on the card checkout www.VFLmma.com or call 304-283-3053

Henry “Dis-com-bob-u-lating” Jones, ‘The Barack Obama of Ring Announcers!’

The World Is Not A Better Place Without Alexis, Arturo & Vernon!

Harold Bell — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 11:50:42 -0400

In July 2009 the world of boxing lost three great champions in violent and tragic circumstances.

On July 11, 2009 Arturo Gatti was found in a beach resort apartment in Brazil handing by his neck, his death has been ruled a suicide. Gatti was truly one of the game’s great warriors he left it all in the ring. You always got your money’s worth with any fight card he was on.

Arturo was called the “Human highlight Film.” He had nine straight sellouts in Atlantic City’s Convention Center from 2002--2007. Four of his fights were chosen as the “Fight of the Year” by the Boxing Writers Association. He fought on HBO 20 times including a legendary trilogy of fights with Mickey Ward. The trilogy was voted the second greatest of all time, second only to Ali and Frazier.

Arturo Gattie was a boxing icon and hero in his hometown of Jersey City, NJ.

On July 25, 2009 Vernon Forest was shot down in an Atlanta gas station while putting air in his tires. It looks like robbery was the motive, he was driving a Jaguar.

During his great career his most memorable fight was when he defeated the unbeaten Shane Mosley in January 2002 for the 147 pound WBC title. Vernon was an underdog going into the fight despite his win over Shane as an amateur. He won a unanimous decision.

He was a gentleman during his great career and never boasted about his victories. Vernon was humble and gracious in victory and defeat.

He will definitely be missed in his hometown of Atlanta, Ga. Vernon was an important part of the Atlanta community. He was a giver and people in Atlanta loved him. He founded a program called “Destiny’s Child” which catered to mentally challenged adults. His friends said, “He was a greater human, than he was a boxer.”

On July 1, 2009 Alexis Arguello was found dead in his home of Managua. Managua is the Nation’s Capitol of Nicaragua. He was the Mayor of the city. His death I took personal.

Alexis was a champion in three different weight classes during the greatest boxing era of my life time, the 80s. Alexis was not only a boxing champion he was a class act, inside and outside of the ring.

I have walked, broken bread, and have been associated with some of the greatest boxing champions of 2Oth Century. They include, Muhammad Ali, George Forman, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Aaron Pryor and Alexis Arguello.

The Heavyweight Champion was once the most recognizable sports personality in the world. With so many alphabet soup divisions the names of today’s heavyweight champions are hardly recognizable. It was once unheard of for the Heavyweight Champion not to be an American.

Muhammad Ali though retired is still the most recognizable boxer in the world. He had my back during his electrifying career and when he retired there was a definite void left in the world of boxing.

The void was quickly filled with some of the most electrifying and excited fighters who were not heavyweights, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Thomas Hears, Marvin Hagler, Aaron Pryor and Alexis Arguello. The little guys had finally taken the spotlight.

Sugar Ray Robinson was the last “Little Guy” to hold the spotlight of the boxing world. No one has ever dominated the middleweight division like “The Original Sugar Ray.”

There was never a dull moment when the little guys of the 80s stepped into the ring. Their fights often left you breathless.

I had up close and personal moments with Leonard, Hearns, Duran, Pryor and Arguello.

Sugar Ray was the darling of the boxing world and the game’s “Cash Cow.” His fights with Hearns, Duran and Hagler were all classics and controversial wins. He sometimes won under suspicious circumstances and this was all done without my friend the notorious Don King as his promoter.

The most controversial title fight during that era was the showdown fight between Aaron “The Hawk” Pryor and Alexis Arguello. These two would be forever linked in boxing history. Their two showdown fights in the 80s are now boxing folklore.

Aaron Pryor and I became friends when he came to Washington, DC to be trained by Dave Jacobs the former boxing trainer of Sugar Ray Leonard. Dave had been fired by Sugar Ray Leonard and someone had suggested that Aaron and Dave become a team. The combination was “Oil and Water,” not compatible.

It had always been rumored that Dave was overrated. I think this was because like all great champions, Sugar Ray called his own shots.

Aaron was from the streets of Cincinnati, Ohio and he is the greatest example of; “You can take a brother out of the ghetto but you can’t take the ghetto out of him---meet ‘The Hawk.’

There was no denying Aaron was an awesome talent and was going places in spite of himself.

He dominated the great Thomas Hearns in the 1975 Golden Gloves. His star was definitely on the rise, but he stumbled when he failed to make the 1976 Olympic Games. He lost to the eventual Olympic Gold Medal winner Howard Davis.

The lost to Davis cost Aaron a major contract but that did not stop his pursue of a World Championship. He tore through the professional ranks with an eye popping 24-0 record. The boxing stars in his weight class like Leonard, Hearns and Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini ducked him. He was Warrior and no one wanted to fight him. His style was relentless you never had to look for him.

Dave Jacobs invited me to the gym to meet Aaron and asked me to help find a place for him to live.

I took him into DC and introduced to my friend Maurice “Mo” Tighman. Mo was the resident manager of the Naylor Gardens’ apartment complex.

I asked Mo to do me a favor and find a place to house Aaron for a couple of months. As luck would have it there was an apartment available. One of our friends a long time tenant was going to be out of the country for several months. He was looking for someone to rent his apartment while he was gone. Enter Aaron Pryor.

The first night in the apartment he was on the streets looking for drugs. He then imported another problem in from his hometown, his common-law wife. This was my fault because my friend at the time Boxing Promoter Don King had forewarned me (Aaron was bad news). I thought about my source of information and decided to take a chance, big mistake.

The fights that took place in that Naylor Garden apartment between Aaron and his common-law wife were the talk of the complex. According to my brother Earl a police Sergeant in the district “The Hawk” was no longer undefeated on some of those nights.

My brother had to referee several of the knockdown drag out fights. As a favor to me my brother never arrested the couple. He was once the Heavyweight Boxing Champion of Germany while serving in the Army.

Aaron finally had to send his live-in lover back to Cincinnati so he could concentrate on his training.

When our friend arrived back from out of the country he didn’t even recognize his own apartment. The apartment was declared a disaster area.

The next time I saw Aaron was at the weight in for his fight on the undercard of the Michael Spinks and Saad Muhammad middleweight title fight. The weight in was held at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel in downtown DC.

He gave me a wink of his eye and pretended he didn’t know me. He never paid for the damages and never said thank you. Once again “You can take a brother out the ghetto but you can’t take the ghetto out of him.”

In the meantime a fiasco developed at the weight-in between flamboyant Promoter Butch Lewis and Saad Muhammad. There was a problem with Saad making the weight limit. Saad threaten to knockout Butch. This confrontation caused fisticuffs between the entourages.

Thanks to the incompetent DC Boxing Commission led by Chairman Cora Masters Barry the fight was called off. Ms. Barry was later arrested and convicted of taking brides and stealing money from the Commission.

The tragic death of Alexis caught me completely off guard. He was found in his hometown of Managua with a bullet through his heart. His death has since been ruled a suicide.

Alexis like Pryor came out of a life of poverty. There the resemblance ends. Alexis was a class act during his entire career. He was intelligent, articulate and had a heart as big as the ring that he fought in.

Aaron was more like my friend Don King, selfish and ghetto treacherous and his word did not mean a thing.

The fight that made Alex Arguello a household name in the United States was his fight with Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini. This was a great brawl. It was my first close up look at the fighter from Nicaragua. He gave Mancini a boxing lesson. The thing that impressed me the most was, after this brutal fight he embraced Mancini and wished him well. He was not caught up into himself.

Alexis was a tactician in the ring. He had a style where he stood straight up with a powerful jab. He could end a fight at anytime with a powerful right hand or a devastating left hook.

Alex Arguello was 77-5 when he met the undefeated Pryor on August 12, 1982. He was going for his forth World title in 4 different weight classes. It was a fight of epic proportions. They both were considered two of the best pound for fighters in boxing. They would split three million dollars a record at that time in the division.

I was rooting for Alexis. “The Hawk” had flown the coop!

The fight lived up to its advanced billing. Aaron set a fast pace with his in your face style and won the early rounds. His style made for a difficult first half for Alexis. But Alexis found his second wind and fought back to put “The Hawk” on the defense.

Aaron had only gone beyond ten rounds once in his pro career and Alexis had traveled beyond ten rounds on many occasions.

The question was who could hold on the longest and it looked like the question would be answered in the 13th round. Alexis caught Aaron with a devastating right hand to the jaw. It looked like he was going down for the count but Aaron somehow managed to stay on his feet.

Aaron staggered back to his corner for the infamous 14th round and the equally infamous “Black Bottle.”

In Aaron’s corner was the controversial trainer Panama Lewis. Panama made a move that has since gone down in boxing history. While they were trying to revive Aaron for the opening for the 14th round, Lewis was seen and heard yelling “Give me the other bottle, the one I made up.” He was rejecting the regular water bottle they had been using throughout the fight.

We still have not figured out what was in the “Black Bottle” but whatever it was made Aaron come off his stool like the ‘Energized Bunny.’

With just a minute gone in the 14th round the great Alexis Argüelles failed to respond to a volley of 24 straight punches and the fight was stopped. Aaron Pryor was now “The Disputed Champion,” of the world.

Alexis, never recovered from that controversial lost. It took a lot out of him as proud man and equally proud boxer. There was return match with Aaron but be was knocked out in the 10th round.

Aaron would go on to self destruct. The last thing I heard was that he had found God. I hope it is the other way around and God found him. If Aaron found God---God is in trouble.

I last saw Alexis at a Don King celebration in Atlantic City over a decade ago. He looked good and we laughed and talked about the good times. He was still humble and a gentleman and that is how I will remember him.

Sports in America: There Are No Even Playing Fields!

Harold Bell — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 09:48:01 -0400

Some of the Worlds’ greatest playground basketball players have come out of New York City. Hoop stars like Connie Hawkins, Nate “Tiny” Archibald, Pop Gates, Jack DeFares, John Isaacs, Carl Green, etc.

There was another playground basketball player visiting their city recently. President Barack Obama was there to address the NAACP on their 100th Anniversary.

He didn’t bring back memories of those great players. The left-handed jump shooter’s cross-over move to the podium in the ‘Big Apple’ made Earl Monroe’s move look mediocre.

President Obama made it clear from the very beginning of his 37-minute speech, that his recent historical move into the White House proves there have been some improvements in race relations in America. He also reminded us there is still plenty of work to be done.

He clearly understands in 2009 that when “White America” catches a cold, ‘Black America’ catches pneumonia. We are the most murdered; most incarcerated, and suffer more unemployment then any other group of people in America. We are the victims of all of these things in a country that we help build.

The day after his speech, a front page story in the Washington Post read, “Obama addresses the Race Issue in America for the first time.” Where is a better time to address race relations then in front of an organization that has spent the last 100 years fighting racism or at Ben’s Chilli Bowl eating a hamburger?

It was in 1947 in New York City that the great Jackie Robinson kicked racism in the butt. He kicked in doors of America’s No. 1 past time, Major League Baseball.

Brooklyn Dodger owner Branch Rickey pleaded with Jackie to “Turn the other cheek” until white folks were comfortable seeing him on their ‘Field of Dreams.’

He had baseballs thrown at his head, players would slide into second base with spikes high, fans yelled “Nigger go home,” they spit on him, and released black cats on the field to dishonor him and Black America.

He kept his word and held his temper and made all of us proud. He died at the young age of 53 of a broken heart. He held in his anger too long.

The Jackie Robinson Foundation recently held an awards ceremony at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

They presented Washington Post sports writer Michael Wilbon and WJLA TV 7 anchorwoman Maureen Bunyan awards in his name. I wondered how and why? Jackie Robinson was a man of integrity and kept his word!

"The many of us who attain what we have cannot forget those who help us along the way. We have got to remember there are so many others to pull along. The farther they go, the further we all go."
JACKIE ROBINSON

Jackie must be turning over in his grave to see the state of Major League Baseball in 2009. Black Americans on the field play have become an “Endangered Species.” Their numbers have dwindled to a precious few.

He would not recognize the billion-dollar stadiums, where there were once signs reading “Whites only” on water fountains. A bottle of water would now cost him $5 and a cup of beer $8.

With his salary in the 1950s he could not afford to buy a beer and bag of peanuts in today’s ball parks. Today Major League Baseball players are the highest-paid professional athletes in American sports.

Fifty-two years after Jackie Robinson, there are still no Black owners in Major League Baseball.

Frank Robinson, the one player who had all the fire, skills and characteristics of Jackie has been banished to the front office of Major League Baseball. The reason: he refused to “Turn the other cheek.” The same cheek Jackie Robinson turned 52 years ago.

The Washington Nationals are now the laughingstock and worst team in Major League Baseball since his departure.

I applaud Frank for not allowing the Washington Nationals team owners to throw him a bone after firing him. They wanted to give him a day in his honor at the stadium.

He politely told them to stick their day where the sun didn't shine. There are no "Even Playing Fields" in Major League Baseball.

Black men were the first professional athletes in America. They carried the colors on the plantations during slavery. The slave owners became fat, rich and bored. Some decided they needed some leisure time and felt there was a need to be entertained.

The slave owners organized competition between the plantations. There were boxing matches (fights to the death), track and field events, horse racing, etc.

Money and sometimes plantations and slaves were a part of the wager process. Some outstanding performances won some slaves their freedom and cost others their lives.

The Kentucky Derby is the showcase of the racing World, a former slave Isaac Murphy won the first three. He is now in the Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

Black jockeys once dominated the sport. Much like baseball, an American black jockey is a rare sight in the saddle in the world of racing today. There are no “Even Playing Fields.”

Thanks to the late Red Auerbach and Boston Celtic owner Walter Brown, the NBA is the most integrated team sports’ franchise in America. Despite that fact, the “Plantation Mentality” still exists among the owners and Commissioner David Stern.

This is the pro sports league that came up with the slogan “The NBA Cares.” They can’t prove it by me.

Last month I had a group of children located here in Prince Georges County who earned the right to travel to Florida to play in the Regional Basketball Finals. The lack of finances put their travel plans on hold.

I encountered their coach, Felix Wood, in a Safeway Food Store parking lot in Bowie, Md. Felix was once a Kid In Trouble and was a benefactor of my community youth programs. We had not seen each other in at least 30 years.

He told me he was now working with youth as I once did with young men like him. He made feel proud when he said "Mr. Bell, I am only following your lead.”

I called on several organizations (NBA) and associates (benefactors of Kids In Trouble, Inc. and Inside Sports) hoping they would help finance the trip for the youth.

I was not surprised by the response that came from the NBA, what really surprised me was the feeble excuse they gave for not helping.

The e-mail response came from the office of Brian McIntyre. He is the Vice-President of Media Relations for the NBA. Brian is not a bad guy in his role as the PR man but it has made him a part of the problem. He is just a product of his time.

There are times when white folks don’t know that they are being racist. It is often an honest mistake, the simple fact and reason, they have never been black. So how can they know?

For example; the NBA pick and choose who "The Good Guys and Bad Guys" in our community based on information they receive from their ‘In House Negroes.’

Brian does not know me and David Stern does not know me. He based his decision on not helping those kids on “He says, she says.” That is the system and I understand it, but I don’t agree with it.

The NBA for example; is a multi-billion dollar corporation, Brian's e-mail response said, "Harold I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the recession has hit us, too. I am sorry we can't be of some help. I will contact the Wizards and see if they can help out."

I didn’t hold my breath waiting for a response. The kids would have had a better opportunity for success if he had contacted David Duke.

Brian did even try to fake it by writing his own check for $2 to help a child. He has the mind set of most; he thinks he is helping Harold Bell.

The NFL is also misguided. American dog lovers want to continue to punish QB Michael Vick for bad judgment. His conviction on cruelty to animals (dogs) was little over the top.

Black men in America are being murdered by rogue policemen every day and they never see the inside of a jail. Guess who brought dog fighting to America and the sport has not missed a beat? White men in America!

Back to the NFL, the Colts WR Marvin Harrison was once a suspect in using a firearm in an assault in his hometown of Philadelphia. You would have thought he was “The Son of Sam” the way the media and the NFL came down on him.

The gun case of Giant WR Plaxico Burress was also overkill and now they are trying to Blackball him out of the league.

Ben Roethlisberger, a two time Super Bowl-winning QB, was recently accused of rape by a 31-year-old VIP casino host at Lake Tahoe, Nev., in July 2008. The big story here is that ESPN the leader in sports in America tried to suppress the story. I wonder why? I hope it had nothing to do with his blue eyes and blond hair.

Movie producer and actor Tyler Perry was right on the money with his anger in a letter directed at a swim club outside of Philadelphia. The incident in Philly involving inner-city black youth at the all-white Valley Swimming Club plays out in cities all over America each and every day (they have since changed their position).

We all need to put ourselves in a position to do what Tyler Perry did recently for those children from "The City of Brotherly Love." Show some REAL love!

He stepped up to the plate when he heard the racist news reports and actions taken by the all-white Valley Swim Club barring black children from the swimming pool. The decision was made after the swim club signed a contract to accommodate the group.

Tyler grabbed the bull by the horns and contacted the inner-city organization and gave all involved an all-expenses-paid trip to Disney World.

Unlike some black men in America, Tyler understands that when you help others, you help yourself, and he understands there is no such thing as an “Even Playing Field.”

Swimming is much like golf and tennis, a country club sport. The country club scene in America has always catered to a predominantly white clientele. These clubs are used to develop the Michael Phelps of the swimming world.

The fathers of Venus and Serena Williams (Tennis) and Tiger Woods (golf) are a clear indication of the type of athletes that are waiting in the wings in the black community.

The Williams sisters and Tiger dominate their sports and never belonged to a country club. All they needed was an opportunity. Their fathers saw that they got it.

The Valley Swim Club was just making sure that the children from Philadelphia were not given an opportunity on their watch. There are no “Even Playing Fields.”

President Obama was right on the money as it related to the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates in Cambridge, Mass. This was "Racial Profiling" at its worst.

There are some folks up in arms because the President used the word "Stupid" in describing the racist reactions of Sgt. James Crowley, the cop. The act was stupid and beyond.

Please don't get President Obama mixed up with Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Michael Wilbon, Sugar Ray Leonard, James Brown, etc. You will never hear President Obama deny his blackness.

The others are the ones who share complimentary tickets with other black folks to Wizards and Mystic basketball games and Nationals and Orioles baseball games.

This is their claim to community service. There are intelligent black folks who are accepting their misguided and safe acts as community involvement.

They have a built-in excuse when you ask them why they don’t get involved in the community, “I don’t think there is a need to let everyone know what I am doing.”

Translation; ‘I don’t want white folks to know I am helping to pull my brothers and sisters up by their bootstraps.’

I recently saw Sugar Ray Leonard on the Fox television show “Are You Smarter then a Fifth Grader?” I knew immediately he was in over his head and he didn’t disappoint me. I was there up close and personal during his boxing career and watched his financial transactions with his agent Mike Trainor.

Trainor took him to the bank (his own) and walked away just before the Hector Camacho fight. I knew Sugar Ray was definitely not smarter then a fifth-grader. The good news is, Sugar Ray made so much money Trainor could not take it all.

James Brown (CBS) says, “I am no longer friends with Clifford Alexander (former Secretary of the Army) because he tried to tell me how to spend my money.” Cliff remembered when he didn't have any money.

Clifford Alexander was the one who got him into Harvard and help get him into the business. How soon we forget!

Mr. Gates had every right to be agitated and upset after he identified who he was (the home owner). The Public Servant, Sgt. Crowley, should have removed himself from the property owed by Mr. Gates. It made no difference whether Mr. Gates talked about his mommy and grandma and screamed from the top of his voice.

I think I need to mail Sgt. Crowley a recording of Oscar Brown’s music classic “Signifying Monkey.” He would then better understand Mr. Gates and exactly what he meant.

All The Public Servant had to do was walk away, but his gun and badge gave him a false sense of security and power. Plus, his “Gang” was only a cell phone call away.

This type of Plantation Mentally is still prevalent in black communities all over America. Sgt. Crowley’s act of racism undermines all the great works and sacrifices made by both black and white Americans in the Civil Rights Movement.

The show of force by the Cambridge Chief of Police and the Police Union should have never influenced the President’s decision to apologize to one of the worst organized “Gangs” in the United States of America.

The history of police departments around the country proves they have been nothing but ‘Bully Pits for racist and power hungry cops.’

They have waged war on the black community throughout our history. I live in one of the worst police jurisdictions in the history of law enforcement (Prince Georges County).

President Obama’s about-face and diplomatic invitation to Mr. Gates and Sgt. Crowley to meet at the White House for a beer is really rewarding the officer’s racist act. Why reward this "Good Old Boy" with a White House photo op?

They claimed that Sgt. Crowley was one of the cities’ most decorated officers and had taught a class on “Police Profiling” for the past five years. This proves that President Obama’s assessment was right on the ONE, he never learned anything from his own class.

I am familiar with his kind I have worked with and around his type for over 40 years in the inner-city. I had two brothers in law-enforcement (DC MPD and U.S. Marshall Service). I have been there and done that!

I made sure my brothers understood, they were Public Servants and not Overseers!

In Chicago, President Barack Obama's hometown, 40+ young people have been gunned down in the streets this summer: all black. We need to be apologizing to those parents and inviting them to the White House.

A white child and a black child born on the same day in the same hospital, the white child will outlive the black child by eight years. A black child is five times as likely to see the inside of a jail then a white child his age.

I said earlier, we are the most unemployed, murdered, and incarcerated people in America. Professor Henry Louis Gates and President Barack Obama are angry and I understand exactly why.

I recently reminded an Attorney associate, the reason for my anger and why he needs to take a look in the mirror. I told him in so many words "Brother, if you are not angry about the state of Black America, you need to see a psychiatrist." He is another one of those fake brothers who think he has it made in America and all is well.

With the cop in Cambridge and brothers like the ones mentioned above, there will never be an even playing field in “The Game Called Life” in our lifetime. Black life will always be an uphill battle.

We are often asked by misguided white folks “When are you going to get over slavery?” Thanks to Sgt. Crowley and his kind, we are finding it very difficult.

Barack Obama’s historical move to the White House proves “That every black face you see is not your brother and every white face you see is not your enemy,” but there is still plenty of work to do in race relations in America.

No Cheerleaders in the Press Box, Please: First Whitlock and Now Wilbon!

Harold Bell — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:43:47 -0400

A sports column written by Jayson Whitlock (Fox News Sports) last weekend titled “Jim Brown My Hero” must have had legendary Washington Post sports writer the late Shirley Povich turning over in his grave.

A press room at deadline is still the most segregated institution in America, with a church on Sundays running a close second.

Mr. Povich was the author of a best selling book titled “No Cheering in the Press Box.” I admired and respected the man. He and Sam Lacey, sports editor for the African-American newspaper, stood for something and did not fall for just anything.

I dared not miss their commentaries and columns here in my hometown of Washington, D.C. Their kind in sports writing have become endangered. They inspired me to to write commentaries for my radio sports talk show: “The Original Inside Sports.”

Jim Brown once said, “All Sam Lacey did was cover Jackie Robinson; he never really covered the NFL.”

I wonder why? In the late 40s and 50s, Jackie Robinson was the most important black athlete of our time.

Mr. Whitlock's ill-timed and idiotic column defending Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan against Jim Brown's accusations as “Do nothing Negroes” was cheerleading at its worst.

You would think Whitlock's column would make the next sports columnist think twice before following in the same path. Enter Washington Post columnist and ESPN's PTI co-host, NBA Playoff analyst Michael Wilbon.

I know this may sound familiar to some, but let me let Michael Wilbon introduce me in his own words, “Harold, I have not forgotten when I came to the Washington Post as a 22-year-old right out of college, I didn't know diddly.

"You took me under your wing and had me on your sports talk show Inside Sports. You sit me down and made sure I knew the Good Guy” coaches in the city.

On July 1, Michael's column in the Washington Post was titled “Tiger's Actions Speak Volumes.”

Let me clear the air from the very beginning, I like Michael Wilbon, he is really a good person, but he is a go along to get along guy. He has never stood up for anything, including himself.

He has no track record of ever doing anything in the community before the Washington Post, but he should not feel like the Lone Ranger; he has plenty of company in the media.

In our long association, he has always been a gentleman and he has always kept his word with one exception.

During my radio days in the 70s and 80s, I had a pipeline into the Washington Post newsroom. My radio talk show, "The Original Inside Sports" was the No. 1 rated sports talk show in town.

Long time sports editor George Solomon was my “Go to guy” in the sports department. George was a pretty smart guy, and much like Jim Brown, he thought he was smarter then anyone else.

My show was like a “Watering Hole” for writers and sports columnist at the newspaper.

Longtime Washington Post High School Sports Editor Donald Huff once said, “George Solomon runs the sports department like a Nazi Concentration Camp.” Despite that assertion, there were some great writers and reporters who worked for him. My favorites were Byron Rosen and Tom Callahan (class acts).

If George wanted to know the latest on the Black Athlete or something going on in the black community, he knew he could hear it on Inside Sports.

He was a consistent contributor, he participated in-studio, and there were long distance calls from Wimbledon and track meets and golf courses from around the World.

My community programs became one of his favorite hangouts, celebrity tennis tournaments, Christmas toy parties for needy children, etc.

His staff followed his lead: Rosen, Callahan, Wilbon, Dave Dupree, Donald Huff, and Dave Aldridge all became regulars on Inside Sports.

Somewhere in the 80s, I became a regular on the first televised Comcast Washington Post sports talk show.

Good Old Boys like Tony Kornhiser, John Feinstein, and his hatchet-man, Leonard Shapiro, kept their distance.

I clearly remember Shapiro taking a gamble to come on Inside Sports to plug his bogus book titled “John Thompson: The Real Story.”

My first question to him was how could this be the Real John Thompson story when you didn't interview him, or anyone in his family and you never interviewed me? I am sure that was the longest hour he ever spent on radio.

I have known John Thompson since he was in middle school. During his playing days on the playgrounds in Northeast DC. He could have easily played the role of the Tin Man in "The Wizard of Oz" (no heart).

I used to chase him off the basketball court and make him sit on the hill until his bodyguard arrived (Sandy Freeman). He wanted to be a jump shooter instead of a rebounder.

John Thompson's NBA basketball claim to fame: “I backed up Bill Russell.”

Red Auerbach put him in the expansion draft after his first year, his NBA career was over and down the drain in two years. He could not play dead.

He was also overrated as a college coach. Media Scoop: With Big men like Pat Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, Michael Graham, John Turner, etc., he should have easily won three National NCAA titles.

When he was first hired at Georgetown, he could not buy a story on any sports page, or time on any radio or television station to promote Georgetown basketball.

I gave him a five-minute time slot every Monday evening on Inside Sports (W-O-O-K Radio) to promote his team.

He is another "know it all" in the media community with no community track record. I assisted his wife, Gwen, in her divorce case.

He tried to intimidate her. He would show up unannounced and sit in a parked car and hide behind trees in front of her residence late at night (in the black community, we call this Tree Boxing).

She took him to court and to the bank to the tune of $6 million. It could have easily been $12 million but she wanted him out of her life.

John was a millionaire before he left Georgetown. He was taking money under the table from sports agent David Falk. That is the Real John Thompson story.

Dave Dupree was the first to write a story on my community involvement (Christmas toy parties hosted by the Washington Redskins), but he started to smell himself after he became a columnist.

We covered the Washington Bullets together during the 70s. The Bullets' media press table was divided into two sections starting at half-court. White media sit to the left and those of us who where black sit to the right.

Dave and I fell out of love in the visitor's locker room after a Bullets' game. I jokingly asked him why was he a no-show on Inside Sports and he had a curt response, “I don't work for Harold Bell.”

I mistakenly took it as a Dis aka disrespect. I slapped him in his mouth and all hell broke loose.

Several of our colleagues stepped between us and I was hustled out the locker room. I still regret the incident. Dave was not really a bad guy.

The late Mark Splaver was the Director of Media Relations for the Bullets. One home game I arrived late after he had passed out media press guilds for the team. During half-time, I reminded him I had not received a press guild, he walked away without responding.

He returned in the third quarter and threw the guild on the table in my direction. I went after him for an explanation but Jerry Sachs the Vice-President of the team stopped me and asked me to let him handle it and I did.

The next home game, Mark came to the press table and apologized.

There was still a problem, I was appalled by the media seating arrangements, here it was in the late 70s and blacks in media were still being treated like second-class citizens.

In 1954, Rosa Parks had refused to get up and give her seat to a white man on a bus, and in 1968, the Rev. Martin Luther King gave his life in Memphis fighting for our civil rights.

Here we are in the late 1970s, Dave Dupree (Washington Post), Ron Sutton (WHUR Radio), Greg Mosso (WHUR Radio), Chuck Taylor (TV 20), Gerald Burke (Afro-American) and me still sitting in separate but equal seats at the press table in the Nation's Capitol. Something was wrong with this picture.

In 1975, I established a monthly Media Round Table on Inside Sports at W-O-O-K radio with members of the local media. It was here Edward Frankovic, a white sports writer, and I decided we would switch seats at the next home game.

We met in the press room and walked down the steps to our seats, he went to the right and I went to the left. No one batted an eye.

It was integration without a protest sign or march, we just did a sit-in. The following season, the press table was fully integrated. Edward and I gave each other a High Five to celebrate.

My problem with Michael Wilbon started in the Green Room on the campus of Howard University. We were killing time waiting to go on a television talk show together.

It was here he confided in me that he didn't like the way his editor George Solomon was constantly looking over his shoulder and changing his columns.

Wilbon said, “He never does that to Tony Kornhiser. I am thinking since I am now a columnist, I should be free to write my own stories.”

Jill Nelson, a former Washington Post writer, wrote a book in 1993 titled “Volunteer Slavery/My Authentic Negro Experience.” She said, 'the Washington Post is The Plantation on the Potomac.'

For a better understanding of his Trials and Tribulations with George Solomon, I am sending Wilbon my copy of the book. I think that he is still without a clue.

My advice to Michael in the Green Room at the time was to take George to lunch away from the paper.

There he could let him know he appreciated his personal attention, but thought that he could manage his column by himself.

I also advised him to leave George with the impression he had no problem calling on him if he got stuck.

It looks like Michael decided to kiss George's butt instead. He is now saying “Harold Bell, how do you like me now?” I wonder was it worth his peace of mind?

When I see Michael on television playing the “Expert” on anything and everything, I don't find him believable.

I am thinking much like James Brown, he has been brought and sold several times over. There is a great possibility the system is still telling him how to say it and when to say it.

Much like Jayson Whitlock's column on “My Hero Jim Brown,” Michael Wilbon crossed the line over and over again. For example; He managed to kiss Tiger's butt and Jim Brown's butt in the same column.

Check out the the third paragraph leading into the story 'Tiger's Actions Speaks Volumes.'

“Don't get me wrong, I've admired Brown's activism my entire adult life. One of the unforgettable experiences of my life came during the 1992 riots in Los Angeles, when Brown through his determination, concern and sheer force of personality, persuaded gang members from the rival Crips and Bloods to call a truce to the violence and talk out their differences at Brown's Hollywood home.” Would someone please get the toilet paper!

In his next breath he goes on to tell how misguided Jim Brown is when it comes to Tiger's contributions. He points out all the great things Tiger has done since he turned pro.

He reminds Jim that the Tiger Woods Foundation does not teach golf. He names the foundations activities; the courses taught at the academy such as, engineering, robotics, and marine biology.

Then he cites the 25 scholars the programs has produced and the schools they attend like Georgetown, Florida A&M, Spellman, Penn State, UDC, Marymount, the University of Arizona and the University of Idaho.

The learning center in California has had between 20,000 and 25,000 young people come through the doors.

Would someone please slow Michael down and fit him for a short skirt and pom-poms. No Cheerleaders in the Press Box.

The bottom line, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Michael Wilbon are nobody's bargains in standing up for the rights of minorities. Jim Brown is heads and shoulders above the three, but he now stands for Jim Brown.

Since Tiger has been on the pro circuit he has never hired a black caddy for the tour and he has had an opportunity to give a brother a chance to become a millionaire.

According to my former high school teammate and college roommate Richard “Jelly” Hansberry, Tiger barely speaks to the black caddies on the tour.

Jelly once served as the Caddy Association's Vice-President. He has been on tour for several decades.

Black caddies have become an endangered species on the pro tour (I used to be one in high school).

When the ruling was made that the tour's pro golfers had to start paying the caddy a percentage of their earnings, they immediately started to hire people that looked like them (family and friends).

I have no problem with that. Tiger on the other hand, hired people he wanted to look like.

Keeping it simple, track star legend Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Charles Barkley both got it right, Jim Brown is about Jim Brown.

Michael Jordan used to be Wilbon's go-to guy. He has evidently fell out of a favor since Wizards owner Abe Pollin ran him out of town with his tail tucked between his legs and his foot on the gas pedal crying foul.

On the HBO special, Jim lumped Michael and Tiger in together, but Wibon never mentioned or defended MJ in his column.

Michael Wilbon is a contradiction. He closed his column with “I asked Tiger if it's possible that a conversation with Jim Brown might be productive, and Tiger answered, 'That depends on whether both parties show up open minded.'"

Wilbon needs to get his own house straightened out before he can straighten out someone else's.

In the three decades I have known Michael, he has never made an effort to donate a toy, book, shoes, a dollar or Send A Kid to Camp for my non-profit organization Kids In Trouble, Inc.

But he says “I have not forgotten.” He has made promises but has never followed through. He is still a lovable guy, but he is mis-guided.

He should not feel like the Lone Ranger: neither have benefactors like John Thompson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Adrian Branch, James Brown, and Adrian Dantley (he almost lost of millions of dollars to David Falk's Ponzi scheme until I alerted him). David Aldridge finally made an effort to reach back last year.

There are some champions and some chumps among the group, mostly chumps.

There is one thing that is certain, whatever they are doing in the community or in the media, they are all following my Footprints in the Sand.

Last year, Michael had a life and death health crisis. I e-mailed him wishing him well and a speedy recovery.

He responded with “I was not surprised to hear from you, and I thank you for the thought. I am just disappointed when you get upset when people disagree with you.”

Michael is talking out of both sides of his mouth. He has never expressed to me vocally or in written word about something I had written that he disagreed with.

I e-mail James Brown, Sugar Ray Leonard and Michael, whenever their names appear in my commentaries.

I don't want them getting second-hand information. He say, she say and anonymity are dangerous weapons often used in my community to purposely cause confusion among the natives.

I understand that I am on the firing line every time I pen a commentary or column. My greatest asset is that I can tell the difference between Constructive Criticism and Destructive Criticism. My friends take everything personal, if the shoe fits wear it.

On chance encounters with Michael over the years, for example, there was the time I bumped into him coming out of the Washington Post in 2004.

The first thing he wanted to talk to me about was the book he was writing with Charles Barkley. No mention of any conflict with me.

In a more recent encounter I went out to my first Wizards game last year to witness the return of Agent Zero aka Gilbert Arenas. The Wizards were facing the best team in the NBA, the LeBron-James led Cleveland Cavaliers.

I met Michael in the press room and you should have seen the surprised look on his face when he saw me. The relief came when he saw I had my wife Hattie with me. She was his comfort zone.

He knew I would not be all over him with her by my side. We smiled and made small talk about his $1,000 suit and $500 pair of shoes.

There was never a word about my commentaries or columns about him or his colleagues. There is still no defense against the truth.

Michael, I understand the need to have access to Tiger and have him on your side, but you don't need to be a cheerleader. I suggest you try speaking volumes about your own life and let Tiger speak for himself.

Jim Brown: When a Hero Is Nothing but a Sandwich

Harold Bell — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:01:34 -0400

I recently read a commentary written by so-called sports columnist Jason Whitlock. The commentary was titled "Jim Brown My Hero."

Mr. Whitlock, was defending Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan against Jim Brown's beliefs that they were out of touch and were not giving back to the black community.

He even wrote that Jim Brown was more dedicated and committed to the black community then Muhammad Ali.

There is an old saying "It is best to be thought a fool then to open one's mouth and remove all doubt."

My friend NBA pioneer Spencer Haywood once said on my sports talk show "The Original Inside Sports" if a child has to look beyond his dinner table for his heroes, he is in trouble." Meet Jason Whitlock.

First, let me let Jim Brown NFL Hall of Fame running back and the man picked by the football experts to be "The Greatest football player in the history of the NFL" introduce me.

Jim Brown in his own words, “Harold Bell has been a crusader for the rights of black people all of his life. He has also been a crusader in sports and has had a lot of friends in both the black and white community in sports. He has always been outstanding, always an individual speaking his mind and giving you a outlet to express your views.

He has always provided a platform for those without one and when I was incarcerated he did everything he could to attack those who had incarcerated me unfairly. He is one of my friends. Harold is truly a man, a man who believes in his culture and his people. We have done many things together in the community over the years. He is a real man and he is always going to be that way, because no one has ever been able to change him. That is my partner”

Two years ago I wrote an "Open Letter" to Jim related to some concerns about our friend Green Bay Packer NFL Hall of Fame player, Willie Wood. The contents of the letter can be read below.

Dear Jim,

In a telephone conversation with you on Wednesday April 18, 2007 you took off and went into in a profanity laced tirade directed at me. The tirade started after I asked why you were interrogating me about my motives as it related to Willie Wood and Bob Schmidt. My motive should have been self explanatory to someone like you. When I asked where is the money? It did not require you to have a PHD to understand what I was saying.

This is the same Bob Schmidt who by all accounts didn’t want you to be a part of the benefit for Willie Wood until I requested that we invite you. I already knew and he was also aware that you were scheduled to be in town along with the other Pro Football Hall of Fame players for a card show in nearby Fairfax, Virginia. For whatever reason, he was reluctant to extent you an invitation until I said I would call you.

Remember, I didn’t interrogate Monique, Karen and Rock when they called me to reach out to you while you were being charge with domestic violence in L.A. I didn’t question you about your motives for destroying your wife’s automobile or your domestic violence history. I immediately came to the aid of a friend.

I can’t believe that you were taking sides against me with a “Good Old Boy” in whose clothes closet you might find a hood and robe. It sounds like the Willie Lynch doctrine to me. The surprise to me is that you have adhered to it. When I suggested sending you written documentation or doing a conference call with our friend Dick Gregory who had the documentation in front of him, you said no thanks??? For a man who is always talking about telling the truth. It does not seem like you were interested in the truth. You have played right into Schmidt’s hands, divide and conquer.

When you sought me out to help you fight the system that was trying to railroad you off to jail I used all of my media resources to assist you and your family. I am trying to do the same thing for Willie Wood.

During your ordeal my college roommate Barney Hood helped with the media in Chicago. He called on his old and dear friend, the late Lou Palmer a power-broker in the windy city of Chicago. I spoke with Lou and discovered he was a friend of yours. He had not heard about your dilemma. He was having some health problems, Lou had lost his sight, but he jumped in and offered all of his resources.

He and Barney worked together to get your story in the Chicago Defender and on talk radio stations in Chicago. After you got out of jail you called Lou and thanked him. You have yet to thank Barney Hood. Once again you are always talking about respect but you give it only when it is in your best interest. Respect, is still a Two-Way Street.

Immediately after the benefit tribute in Willie Wood’s honor I called you to alert you that I was suspicious about the financial commitment to Willie. I asked you to get me a number for Sylvia Mackey the wife of NFL Hall of Famer John Mackey. Your response, “Harold, let me get right back to you.” That conversation took place over three weeks ago. I have called and left several messages since then without a response.

It seems to me Bob Schmidt was just an excuse for you to lash out at me, which I find all the more puzzling. What was your motive???

Jim, I first met you in Winston-Salem, NC in 1959 at the YMCA during a Winston-Salem State University athletic banquet for upper class-men only. I was a freshman but I decided to crash the party. I wanted to meet the great Jim Brown. I decided to worry later about the tongue lashing from my football coach, the legendary Clarence “Bighouse” Gaines. I was just another face in a crowded room of athletes, but I never forgot the experience of meeting you.

I have never been into the HERO WORSHIPPING scene. My heroes were my grandmother and mother, but there have been athletes I have admired and respected, men like Jackie Robinson and Paul Roberson. I regret I never had the opportunity to break bread with them.

I think they both must be turning over in their graves as they watch “The Player Hating” going on in our community among black men. They must be wondering where did we lose, the love and the respect we once had for each other and how can we get it back???

You are always talking about keeping it real, truth and respect among brothers and sisters. I am trying to figure out where, when and why have you suddenly have not kept it real, truthful and honest with me??? My conversation with you on the telephone I still find hard to believe. How could you of all people allow someone like Schmidt to use the Willie Lynch Doctrine of divide and conquer???

That is exactly what you played into when you allowed him to get Willie’s sister Gladys off of the telephone conference call with you. You didn’t have a clue on what the problem was but you felt confident (that's right you are a intellect) talking with Schmidt a total stranger??? You didn’t even have the professional courtesy to call me and Gladys back to give us an up date about your conversation with Schmidt. When I had to call you, I knew you had let him sell you a bill of goods. I can’t believe you would allow one “Red Neck” to come between us and you talk about how black you are??? Have you forgotten the little girls blown up in church and black and white men were lynched by their necks standing up for us and now we still can’t stand up for ourselves.

I have had your back unofficially since we first met in 1959. I found your act and actions appalling.

On another level (media) I have had to endure the same type of hidden envy and jealousy. The type you have had to endure your entire NFL career. The hostility and disrespect I encountered in sports media press rooms I still find unbelievable to this day. I learned that there is nothing more powerful and respected in media than the written word. I may do a lot of talking, but what makes me a decent writer, I listen well and what I heard come out of your mouth on Wednesday night was not music to my ears.

Jim, once I became a media personality I refuse to allow the so-call major media or anyone to talk negative about black leadership in America. There were many who were putting their lives on the line for others. I have always had an on air response to uplift those who had become a target of a bias media. It was the written word that made me so effective on your behalf during your incarceration. The likes of USA Today’s Jon Saraceno, the Washington Post’s Michael Wilbon, NBC Sports Machine’s George Michael, Fox Sport’s James Brown, etc. each cautiously walked a fine line during their news reports as it related to your incarceration. They knew I was watching and listening. I took offense to Saraceno’s column titled “Jim Brown does not know how to be a black man.”

My question to him, “What in the hell do you know about being a black man?” When I got through with him in written commentaries and on talk shows across the country, he was begging for me to get off of his ass.

Saraceno e-mailed Reggie Hammond a sports talk show host on WCLM radio in Richmond, Virginia, he asked Reggie to contact me and tell me to please stop misquoting him. His next column in USA Today was an apology to Jim Brown.

You are now a frequent guest on Reggie’s talk show. The introduction was made by me. Did you ever thank Reggie for his support? Respect is still a Two-Way street. No one owes you anything.

There was the conversation I taped of James Brown (NFL/CBS) during his early years in broadcasting telling participants in a sports forum on the campus of the University of the District of Columbia “I am not the James Brown that does drugs and beats his wife and I am not the Jim Brown who throws women over balconies.”

Let us not forget your good friend Congresswoman Maxine Waters and her comments about you during a panel discussion at the Congressional Black Caucus weekend. She was discussing reaching back into the community to help black folks and said, “Don’t be like Jim Brown with your hand out expecting to get paid.” This is the same Maxine Waters who you introduce to your former Cleveland Brown teammate, Sidney Williams.

When I mailed you the tape, you could not believe she was saying those kinds of things about you. I remember you saying, “Man I introduced her to her husband and she has been in my home with Jack Kemp.”

I ignored Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan and Jackie Joyner Kersey calling you a “Professional Beggar” pretending you cared about the community. In fact Kersey told you exactly how she felt about you expecting today’s athlete to give back to the community to your face. The live debate was on a nationally televised forum with several high profile athletes and President Clinton in attendance.

Then there was Hall of Fame running back Lenny Moore allegedly speaking negative about you to several Baltimore Raven players. You asked me, “Harold, what is that all about I have never shown Lenny anything but love.” I intervened and asked Lenny to give you a call and straighten, the he say, she say gossip out and he did. Lenny Moore later thanked me for being the middleman.

I remember one year at the Bobby Mitchell Hall of Fame Golf outing in Virginia, I watched in amazement when he turned you and your guest away from a luncheon in a tent. He said, "Jim, I can’t accommodate you and your guest, we are over crowded.”

You looked into the tent and then at me as if to say, "what in the hell is going on?" You then invited us up to your room in the hotel and ordered room service for everyone. This is the same Bobby Mitchell that you lobbied to get inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. With friends like Bobby Mitchell you don’t need any more enemies. On the ride to the airport the next day you were very quiet and then you said, “Harold what do you think of Bobby Mitchell?" My response was, ‘he ain’t worth two dead flies’ a wide grin broke out across your face and you fell off to sleep.

I had never before said a word to you about Bobby Mitchell until you asked me that day. This brother has never stood for anything in his life, he has been nothing but a follower.

I even reminded Calvin Hill (Dallas Cowboys) at the Willie Wood tribute after I saw him up in your face smiling. I said, "Calvin remember this is the same Jim Brown that you said according to Bubba Smith, thinks he is smarter then everyone else and he always wants to take over every discussion.” I called him a hypocrite; I despise hypocrites, smiling in your face while stabbing you in your back. Hypocrites don’t get any bigger then Calvin Hill.

Don King, you recently said to me, “I think Don is doing a wonderful job.” This is the same Don King who you said to me during the Tyson years, “I stay out of that nigger’s way, he is poison.”

It is now becoming much clearer why you and Schmidt hit it off. You two belong together he has played you like a bad call in the forth quarter. Bill Cosby recently said “The enemy is us” I am in total agreement. We have sold each other out. I remember you bad mouthing Bill Cosby, you wondered why your one time tennis partner and friend had kicked you to the curb? Evidently, he saw the handwriting on the wall before most of us.

I have heard you say on several occasions “You can’t wait for anyone to deliver you.” I am further confused on why do you think you are the only one who should get today’s athletes and entertainers to fund your community projects?

My wife and I have always put our own monies back into our community projects. There have never been any grants or loans to bankroll our commitment to our community.

For example; when Prentis Byrd approached George Foreman at a reception in Los Angeles reminding him that he had made a promise to me that he was coming to DC to do a fundraiser for Kids In Trouble. You told Prentis to step aside and said, “I will handle and take care of this for Harold.” The arrangements were never made and to this day you have never said one word to me. But George was seen giving you a check later that evening. There was another occasion that you were to contact Minister Louis Farrakhan for me and there was no follow through on that one either. It has always been about Jim Brown.

I have said this to you before, I have always earned my own way. I have never asked anyone for a hand-out, only a helping hand.

The athletes and sports personalities who have benefited from Kids In Trouble and Inside Sports read like a Who’s Who. For example; John Thompson, Dave Bing, Doug Williams, Don King, James Brown, Oden Polyniece, Michael Wilbon, Dave Aldridge, Adrian Dantley, Adrian Branch, Lamont Jordan, Dave Dupree, etc. Not one of them has ever donated a toy or dollar to the program. I operate under the premise that if you have never benefited from the programs Kids In Trouble and Inside Sports you don’t them anything, but if you have been a benefactor you owe the programs to reach back.

There is nothing wrong or criminal about reaching back to help someone, everybody does it but us. Don Imus, is not the problem, we are the problem. I have never seen so many envy, jealous and selfish people in one community.

My question to you, where is the beef and exactly what is your problem? Why did you find it necessary to tell me to kiss your ass and fuck me over the telephone because I asked you why are you questioning me over the motives of some “Good Old Boy” who has shown no respect for Willie Wood, his family and me? You are as wrong as two left football cleats.

Several years ago when I brought to your attention I had a project that I was working on that could be worth millions of dollars if marketed and promoted in the right hands. I offered you a piece of the project. You never responded. So you got a problem and I am going to let you keep it.

Just like you lobbied to get Bobby Mitchell into the hall of fame, I lobbied to get Willie Wood and Earl Lloyd into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and NBA Hall of Fame respectively. Much like I lobbied to get your black ass out of jail.

Several years ago Earl Lloyd was heard on WTEM all sports talk radio here in DC with fraudulent John Thompson saying, “Harold Bell maybe controversial but I have yet to hear anyone call him a liar.” Guess what, I am still sticking to the truth.

In closing, I think you got me mixed up with one of your cheer-leading friends. Your profanity laced tirade reminded me of an uneducated rapper and street thug who has run out of a logical solution to the problem being discussed. He then turns to the vulgar language of the streets. You sounded nothing like the Syracuse University scholar that you are made out to be. I for one don’t need all this hate from a so-called BLACK MAN like you. I have been your friend for over 30 years and I am not going to suddenly become your bitch.

You got a wrong number. Now you can team up with the rest the frauds like Don King, Rock Newman, Michael Wilbon, James Brown, John Thompson, Dave Bing, Sugar Ray Leonard, Cathy Hughes, etc and your new found friend Bob Schmidt in the “I hate Harold Bell fan club.” In the meantime I will keep you and your family in prayer.

Consistently,

Harold Bell

Detroit Mayor: Can the Motor City Rebound with Dave Bing?

Harold Bell — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:01:28 -0400

Last year Dave Bing came back to his original hometown of Washington, DC and officially announced to friends and family he was running for Mayor of Detroit. The announcement came during a Spingarn high school class re-union in Prince Georges County, Maryland. My question to him was, Why?

It looked like he was a man that had everything. He was a NBA Hall of Fame basketball player and voted as one of the 50 Greatest Players of all time. He had money earned as a successful businessman and three daughters to take over and run the family business. Why the headaches that would come with trying revive a city on life support?

The city of Detroit was “Dead” the only thing left was for someone to start shoveling the dirt to bury it. I admit I was at a disadvantaged. I was on the outside looking in, but still the question of Why stayed on my mind. It finally hit me that Dave had made Detroit his home for the past 43 years, what did I know and when did I know it?

I have known Dave since he was a little skinny kid playing basketball on the playgrounds of Watts and Kelly Miller. He was from a hard working family in the NE section of DC. I watched him develop and grow as an athlete and a man. His development as an athlete was ahead of his development as a man.

I made it as difficult as I could for him on the basketball court. I made sure he earned every shot he took. The playground rules were, “No harm, no foul. We met in pick up games on the playgrounds and alumni basketball games at our alma-mater Spingarn High School. We shared the same high school basketball coach, Dr. William Roundtree. We both learned several lessons from Coach the lessons had nothing to do with basketball.

I was one of the team’s best players in my senior year in 1958 but I was asked to turn in my uniform and enjoy the rest of the season from the stands. My style of selfish play earned me an early exit. The lesson learned, “No one is indispensible.”

Dave ran into several rough bumps in the road during his high school career also. Coach Roundtree became his savior and traffic cop in the ‘Game Called Life.’

I was there to watch and cheer Dave on as he took our alma mater to its first City Championship and was named to the All-American High School basketball team.

I watched as he took his game to the next level and I clearly remember the lesson he taught me during a summer basketball encounter at Kelly Miller. It was his freshman year at Syracuse, he was serving notice he was now in charge.

I lined up in my usual position and chose to play him man to man. He jumped and shot over me and ran circles around me. When I left the court that day I felt like I had just come out of a Maytag washing machine on spin dry.

His message was loud and clear: “New Sheriff in Town.” There was a slight smile of satisfaction on his face as we left the court. I never challenged Dave Bing One on One again. He made me a believer.

In 1966 he was the number one pick in the NBA draft of the Detroit Pistons. I watched the draft like a proud Big Brother. I said to no one in particular “I taught him everything he knows.” I was just joking, but I was proud that I had played a small role in his development.

I was having lunch at Frank’s a popular restaurant hangout in NW Washington in the summer of 1966. I looked up and Dave walks into the restaurant with Spingarn alumnus and my childhood friend, Arnold “Tank” George. They came over to my table and I stood up to shake hands with them.

I then congratulated Dave on an outstanding NBA season (he was named the Rookie of the Year). He then said “Harold you helped prepare me for the NBA.” I was stunned and I thought to myself, ‘What a classy thing for him to say’.

I had become cynical of homeboys like Maury Wills and Elgin Baylor forgetting who they were and where they came from. They never came back to their hometown for camps or just to visit schools to talk with young people, unless there was an emergency.

You can add to that list, John Thompson, Sugar Ray Leonard, James Brown, Adrian Branch, Adrian Dantley came through Inside Sports and Kids In Trouble.

Dave and I exchanged telephone numbers and for the next decade we would become partners in the community working together with at-risk children.

In 1967 I traveled to Baltimore for the NBA All-Star Game to ask Dave if he could come to our alma-mater and speak to the students. I was then working as a Roving Leader for the DC Recreation Department. I had been assigned to Spingarn to help quell a shooting of a Spingarn student after a basketball game.

There were talks of revenge. I thought “These kids need to hear a voice of reason” and the voice was playing in the NBA All-Star Game in Baltimore, Dave Bing.

I was waiting at the player's entrance to the Baltimore Civil Center when Dave walked up with teammate Bob Lanier. He introduced me to Bob and then asked “What’s up?” I explained the Spingarn situation and asked him if he could come to Spingarn the first thing Monday morning and speak to a full assembly. He said, ‘No problem.’

His appearance was like the calm before the storm, the students gave him a standing ovation as he walked to the stage. It helped they had just seen him the day before on National television playing in the NBA All-Star Game.

He was representing Spingarn High School and now he stood before them. The timing was perfect, the talks of revenge subsided—the storm had passed.

During the campaign I was surprised to read Detroit newspaper reports that Dave did not relate to the community. The community involvement of professional athletes started with native Washingtonians Dave Bing (NBA) and Willie Wood (NFL) in 1967 and 1968 respectively.

The Dave Bing and Harold Bell community encounters that involved at-risk children, his teachers and friends go on and on; Dave Bing Basketball camps in the Poconos, Hillcrest Children’s Center Saturday Program, Kids In Trouble, Inc, Spingarn Teacher Appreciate Day, Dean Wood Neighborhood Appreciation Day, guest appearances on Inside Sports, etc.

Despite the miles Dave stayed in touch with his hometown of Washington, DC.

In 1969 I was attending a workshop on the campus of Michigan State University for the DC Recreation Department. He picked me up on campus and took me back to Detroit to help celebrate my birthday. I know he thinks I have forgotten, I have not.

He joined the Washington Bullets on the downside of his NBA career. We sit down on his arrival to discuss the negatives and positives. He has always been there and was never more then a telephone call away.

Like most 50 year friendships, partnerships and marriages there are disagreements and conflicts. Dave and I had our share. One of the problems, Dave has been surrounded by an entourage of Player Haters, cheerleaders, wannabees and Yes Men.

The biggest enemy in our community is still envy and jealousy. There were those in that group who were envious and jealous of our strong bond and relationship. There was a communications breakdown and out of sight became out of mind.

There were several incidents that I had to address of “He said, she said.” The one that hurt the most involved our late former coach, Rev. William Roundtree. I went directly to Dave by way of written letter for clarification.

I never got a response and when we would see each other at different DC functions he would act like nothing had ever transpired. The truth can hurt sometimes. I was up in his face as a young athlete and I was up in his face as a MAN, but I did let go and I let God.

Despite the disagreements and harsh words said by me, Dave flew to DC during his campaign and was one of our honored guest during the Kids In Trouble, Inc 40th Annual Toy Party. Hattie and I also celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary on that December evening in 2008. He received The Kids In Trouble, Inc Life Time Achievement Award in the name of our beloved late coach, Rev. William Roundtree.

My success as a community and media icon would not have been possible without Dave Bing. When you love someone you never have to say “I am sorry.”

I think Detroit got the best MAN for the job—He CARED long before the NBA.

Coach Butch McAdams: He Never Cried Foul!

Harold Bell — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:29:36 -0400

Butch McAdams is a native Washingtonian. He lived and grew up at the corner of 14th and T Streets NW right in the middle of the historical U and 14th Street corridors. He was raised in the Catholic faith and educated at St. Augustine and Mackin High Schools in NW Washington, DC.

The Priest and Co-Pastors of St. Augustine were Fathers Raymond Kemp and Andre Bouchard. In 1967 I was working as a Roving Leader for the DC Department of Recreation and one of my assigned work sites was Harrison Playground.

The Rectory was located at 14th and V Streets, NW and the playground was one block away. My travels often brought me to the front doorsteps of the Rectory of St. Paul and Augustine Church. Fathers Kemp and Bouchard were icons in the community and I usually stopped by and kissed their rings when I was in the neighborhood (smile).

The historical landmarks in Butch’s community were all in walking distance of his home. The landmarks were the Bohemian Caverns, 12TH Street YMCA, and the Dunbar Hotel. The Lincoln and Republic theatres were the community’s main movie outlets.

The live entertainment seen at the Howard Theatre and Turners Arena was off the charts. Black Washington dined and hung out at the Florida Ave Grill, Keys, Hollywood, Faces and Cecilia’s Restaurants and last but not least, Ben’s Chilli Bowl.

There are some landmarks still standing and others are long gone. The neighborhood has changed and so have the people, for better or worst is all in the eye of the beholder.

There were other landmarks like Cardozo High School, Harrison Playground, Harrison Elementary and the Hillcrest Children’s Center Saturday Program. They helped shape Butch McAdam’s life and connected the two of us.

Harrison playground was where most of the neighborhood playground basketball legends gathered in the evenings after work and on the weekends. Harrison was the home playground of the Scott family. Rip and Bo Scott were basketball legends.

Butch was one of the many young spectators who watched and learned from the legends of Harrison Playground.

I have spent the last decade writing and talking about the benefactors of Kids In Trouble, Inc and Inside Sports who have forgotten. The media icons and pro athletes are too long to list for this column.

I had completely overlooked the ONE who had not forgotten. This is one of the best examples; “Not being able to see the forest for the trees.”

On Friday June 5, 2009 Maret High School hosted a retirement party for Butch. He retired after 31 years as a teacher of Physical Education and the school’s Head Basketball Coach.

In attendance was former Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich. The son and grandson of the legendary Perrin Mitchell, former Senator Clarence Mitchell III came all the way from Baltimore on crutches after recent hip replacement with his son Clarence Mitchell IIII to honor their friend.

Former Maryland University basketball coach Bob Wade and former Baltimore Police Commissioner Leonard Hamm were also in the standing room only crowd. Childhood friends Mike Riley, Larry Watson, Bruce Williams, Gerome Miller, Ron Davis, and Radio One gospel and TV host Jeff Majors were all on hand to say “Congratulations and job well done.”

Growing up in the U and 14th Street corridors helped prepare Butch as a coach and teacher. He has touched thousands of young people in his 31 years at Maret. His most important lesson had nothing to do with sports. He taught his students the most important game being played in the World today is, “The Game Called Life.”

My experiences as a Roving Leader and the founder of Hillcrest Children’s Center Saturday Program caused me many “Excedrin” headaches. Butch was never a headache or Kid In Trouble. Thanks to his parents and St. Paul and Augustine he was always a little gentleman. He understood early it was okay to be seen and not heard.

The foundation for being a decent human being had already been laid when I met him as a younster at Harrison Playground.

In 1992 he became a one of a kind radio sports talk show personality at WOL Radio. Unlike others in the media who became experts on the black community after getting their own talk shows or newspaper columns, Butch brought his community credentials with him (U Street, Harrison Playground, Hillcrest Children Center Saturday Program, Kids In Trouble, Inc. etc).

He used his radio talk show to broaden his community base to help make children really First. He is presently the co-host of a daily morning radio talk show with Larry Young aired on WOLB 1010 A.M. in Baltimore.

Like most sports shows heard in America "The Coach Butch McAdams Show" sounded similar to 'Inside Sports.' Maybe there was a lesson taught.

The lessons learned at St. Paul and Augustine, Harrison and Hillcrest were helpful when he became an all in one teacher, coach and radio talk show host. Butch understood the importance of role models. First they came from the home. He never forgot hearing NBA Legend Spencer Haywood on "Inside Sports" saying

'If you have got to look beyond your dinner table for your heroes and role models you are in trouble.'

Butch would later tell me he never gave it a second thought when sporting personalities visited the Saturday Program like Spencer, Larry Brown, Roy Jefferson, Harold McLinton, Ted Vactor, Dave Bing, Jim Brown, Red Auerbach, Earl Monroe, Fatty Taylor, John Thompson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Chuck Hinton, Fred Valentine, Willie Wood, Petey Greene, Bill Raspberry and a host of others.

As a youngster Butch was under the impression that this was the norm in community programs around DC.

I remember Butch asking me after he became a well known radio personality, “Harold where and how did you come up with the saying "Every black face you see is not your brother and every white face you see is not your enemy."

This was a popular phrase I used to close my sports talk show "Inside Sports." I had to take him back to the Hillcrest Children’s Center Saturday program. I reminded him of the 1968 riots and when I first opened the doors to the Saturday Program.

I tried to recruit black students at Howard University to volunteer and take a 10 minute walk from the campus to Hillcrest to tutor elementary school students. There were none to be found.

The Director of Hillcrest Children’s Center Dr. Nicholas Long introduced me to the Principal of the Seven Day Adventist School in Takcoma Park, Maryland. The rest is community history.

On Saturdays, a group of white teenagers were bussed into the inner-city to tutor black children (joining Redskins Larry Brown, Roy Jefferson, Harold McLinton and Ted Vactor).

Today, all over America, college students are given credits for volunteering. I also reminded him of my unique relationship with NBA Legendary coach Red Auerbach and the benefactors of Kids In Trouble and Inside Sports all who were black.

They all forgot who they were and where they came from. They inspired the phrase, “Every black face I see is not my brother and every white face I see is not my enemy.”

Butch would often close his show with my phrase and remind everyone that I coined it. This is unheard of in this business where everyone takes someone else’s idea and uses it as if it were their very own (case in point Inside Sports). It reminds me of the story of Christopher Columbus discovering America with Native Indians already occupying the land.

Butch is very unique. There were times when I would question his response and observations as it related to his sports talk show. He never took it personal. A very endearing quality not often found in Black Men in America.

We take everything personal and when we do take a stand it is usually for all the wrong reasons. Butch McAdams, you are a unique COACH in “The Game Called Life.”

He learned early the difference between Constructive Criticism and Destructive Criticism. I gave him the same advice my grandmother gave when I first went on the air she said, "Son, always tell the the truth. A LIE will change a thousand times the TRUTH never changes." Those were words to live by for me.

NBA Hall of Fame basketball player Earl Lloyd was heard telling talk show host John Thompson when he mentioned my name on his show, "Harold Bell maybe controversial but I have yet to hear anyone call him a lie." There was no media coverage as he reached this professional milestone, but Butch refused to cry foul.

"If you are traveling a long road and you are scared of the TRUTH, take the next exit that reads Road to Nowhere." Coach Butch McAdams, job well done.

Johnny Sample: A Dirty Football Player & a Stand-Up Brother

Harold Bell — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:20:16 -0400

John B. Sample Jr. was born and raised in Portsmouth, VA and was known to friends as Happy, Blade, Reds, and Redball. He died suddenly in his hometown of Philadelphia in April 2006. He was 69 years old.

I received a call from Johnny’s friend basketball legend and youth advocate Sonny Hill with the bad news. In a conversation with Coach Gaines’ wife Clara, she said, “Harold I never thought Gaines would die.” It was eerie because I had that same feeling about Johnny Sample, even though I knew better.

I had just spoken with Johnny before heading south to the memorial service for “Bighouse.” He said he was going to try to make it, but I didn’t look for him. Johnny was notorious for not showing up. I have heard all the stories but I don’t ever remember him giving me his word and not keeping it.

He was always there for all of my celebrity tennis tournaments, media panel discussions, award programs, radio and television talk shows, etc. Compared to today’s pro athlete, he was a Saint.

I first saw Johnny Sample in Washington, DC in 1954. He was a member of the Maryland State football team and they were in town to play Howard University at the Cardozo High School football stadium.

I was amazed that he didn’t wear thigh and knee pads; he worn his pants, skin tight. The shoulder pads were so small it didn’t look like he had any on. His level of play that day was like a Man among boys.

Howard University was no match for Johnny Sample and his teammates. It was here that I came away with the impression that Johnny Sample was indestructible. It would be years later before I would meet Johnny face to face. It was at a Baltimore Bullets’ (Wizards) basketball game at the Baltimore Civic Center.

He was a member of the Baltimore Colts football team. He was standing around outside of the bar during halftime laughing and talking with anyone and everyone. I decided to go up and introduce myself, and we have been great friends ever since.

It was easy to like Johnny Sample; he had an outgoing personality and he made you feel like he had known you all of his life. There was nothing phony or pretentious about him. If you didn’t want to hear the truth, you didn’t want to be around Johnny Sample.

Michael Cooper is one the greatest running backs to ever come out of the Philadelphia public school system. He was one of Johnny’s closest friends. He played at North East high school and Michigan State.

Michael remembers when he was invited to the Washington Redskin camp in 1964 for a try out by then Coach Bill McPeak.

It looked as though Michael was a sure bet to make the team until one day Coach McPeak decided it best he go on the Redskin taxi squad.

Johnny disagreed with the coach’s decision and let him know in no uncertain terms. He would run through a brick wall if you were his friend. Michael recalls his many acts of kindness for his friends. He says, “Johnny Sample was not a fly by night friend, if you needed him, he was there.”

When his friend and teammate the legendary 'Big Daddy' Lipscomb was mysteriously found dead in Baltimore, the NFL claimed he died of an overdose of drugs. Johnny knew for a fact 'Big Daddy' didn’t do drugs. He said, 'Big Daddy was scared to death of needles.'

He sued the NFL for $100,000 to clear his friend’s name and won the battle. Johnny would lose the war NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle declared on him.

Coming out of Maryland State College, he was one the greatest running backs in the nation. In 1955, he was voted unanimously by The Pigskin Club of Washington, DC as its “Player of the Year” for the Central Inter-collegian Athletic Association (CIAA).

He was the first ever player from a Historical Black College selected to play in the College All-Star game in Chicago.

His NFL career would be controversial, but his athletic skills were never questioned. His mouth often got him into trouble, but his play on the field would often be his ticket out of the NFL doghouse.

During his 11-year NFL tenure he was one of the most feared defensive backs in pro football. Roy Jefferson a former teammate and All-Pro wide receiver says, “If you caught the football in his territory you were going to pay the price.”

Hall of Fame All-Pro wide receiver Frank Gifford of the New York Giants was so fearful that he once saw Johnny on a New York street corner and ran to the other side against a red light to get away from him.

Johnny made "The Bump and Run" against NFL wide receivers an art form. He would hold some All-Pro receivers to no catches for an entire game.

The Baltimore Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins and the New York Jets were all NFL homes for Johnny Sample. He earned two championship rings and one Super Bowl ring.

He was the co-captain with QB Joe Namath of the New York Jets when Namath boldly predicted that the Jets would upset the Baltimore Colts and win the Super Bowl. He is the only player in pro football history to win World Championships in two different leagues (NFL and AFL).

In 1969 Johnny walked away from the game that he loved. He was much more than a great athlete he was a student of the game. Johnny could disrupt the flow of a game by calling out the offensive play as the opposing team came out to line up.

The QB would immediately call a timeout and cuss Johnny out as he made his way to the sideline. There were many who thought he would have been a great NFL coach, but he had burned too many NFL bridges.

Immediately after retirement he went to work on his first novel, “Confessions of a Dirty Football Player.” This book outlined the mercenary world of professional football. In an interview on my television sports talk show roundtable “Legends of Inside Sports” Jim Brown asked the question, 'Johnny were you a dirty football player or just a hard clean player?'

His response, 'I was never dirty, except when I played against you.' The NFL Roundtable panel included, Roy Jefferson, Willie Wood, and JB Brown all they could do was laugh along with Jim.

Johnny was not one to just sit around after his NFL career. He became an entrepreneur and owned a ticket agency and sporting goods store called, Sample’s End Zone. He later taught himself the game of tennis and quickly excelled.

He was the No. 1 player in the country in the United States Tennis (USTA), 45 and over category for several years running. He would later serve as a tennis official for the USTA, Wimbledon, US, French and Australian Opens and chair umpire, linesman and referee for the USTA.

His inner-city youth tennis program was one of the largest and best run in the country. Tennis to him was all about, love, love and more love.

In February of 2004, he was inducted into the CIAA Hall of Fame in Raleigh, NC. This was almost 50 years after he had graduated from college. The first question he asked when he took the microphone, “CIAA what took you so long?”

Johnny and I had often talked about being “Blackballed” by the system is one thing, but to be “Blackballed” by your own people is a tough pill to swallow.

Johnny Sample’s induction into the Hall of Fame could not have come at a better time. In this case better late than never. This was definitely a highlight in his long distinguishing odyssey into the world of politics and sports.

During his induction speech he asked me to stand up and be recognized as the pioneer in sports talk radio. He was always reaching and giving something back. Johnny also excelled as a sports talk show host on W-H-A-T Radio in Philadelphia from 1988 to 2004. Johnny used his sports talk show as a vehicle to improve the growth of his community.

As a community advocate, he was instrumental in several projects.

The crown jewel was the Million Man March in 1986 when he organized seventy-three buses from Philadelphia and parts of New Jersey to Washington, DC. In my world he was a special man.

I was pleased to see my name in the program as an Honorary Pallbearer for the great Johnny Sample. “Redball” it was my honor. Johnny Sample is gone but he is not forgotten.

They Called Him Bighouse: Profile of a Legendary Coach

Harold Bell — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:40:07 -0400

On Monday April 18, 2005 college basketball lost one of its true giants, a man of not only mammoth size, but of huge influence also.

Winston-Salem State University’s Clarence Bighouse Gaines died at the age of eighty-one. Bighouse won more games (828) than any other black coach in the history of college basketball.

When Bighouse retired in 1993 at the age of 72, he had more wins than any active coach, black or white, in the country. Despite the naysayers, Bighouse could have easily coached deep into his seventies if the talent pool was still available.

Penn State’s Joe Paterno won the Big Ten football title and celebrated his 80^th birthday shortly thereafter.

The athletic talent pool at historically black colleges and universities has been depleted by larger, Division One schools.

HBCUs, as they are commonly known, have remained relevant without the financial success of a Final Four or Rose Bowl appearance.

HBCUs are the losers.

For example, the once vibrant CIAA Tournament is almost down to a “Skeleton Crew” as schools jump to Division One (the latest Winston-Salem and North Carolina Central) and the conference moves from city to city like a gypsy caravan chasing the almighty dollar. The price paid—the loss of Black history.

This made Bighouse sad as he was deeply concerned with Black history.

Despite the raids conducted by Division One schools for the black athlete Bighouse leaves behind a legacy of a winner on and off the court. He touched and won thousands of student/athletes’ hearts and minds with “ Tuff love” during his 47 years on the Winston-Salem campus.

He left behind two families, first, his one of a kind wife Clara, a daughter Lisa and a son Clarence Jr. The second family was the athletes and students who called him “Daddy” on campus.

There were hundreds more he touched on other HBCU campuses around the country. He was like a rock star during games and at the CIAA Tournament, many of his players thought they were the stars, but Bighouse usually stole the show. It seemed like everyone wanted to talk with or touch him in those two settings.

Many thought it was often like a scene from the movie “Godfather.”

I met Coach Gaines through an introduction by my Spingarn High School Coach Dave Brown. He was no stranger to the nation’s capitol. He was a graduate of Morgan State University in nearby Baltimore where he was chemistry major and an All-American football player. He coached in the first ever CIAA Tournament in D.C. at old Turner’s Arena in northwest DC.

I will never forget that summer day in 1958 when he walked through the pool room door. He walked in like he owned it and asked, “Which one of you guys is Harold Bell?"

I took a minute before I responded I was not sure if he was a cop or a Bounty Hunter, but I thought to myself “I had never seen a cop or Bounty Hunter that big.” After I identified myself he sat down in a chair and waited until I finished my game.

His first question to me, “Son are you interested in going to college?” My response was ‘Yes sir.’

His next words were "I am Clarence Gaines and I am the coach at Winston-Salem Teachers’ College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. If you interested in going to college you must first graduate from high school. Check with Coach Brown when you do."

He got up and left the pool room without another word. I was left thinking “Where in the hell is Winston-Salem Teachers College?”

The visit from Bighouse would turn out to be a lifesaver. The life that would be saved would be mine. Bighouse and Winston-Salem for almost five decades would be the lifeline in the East Coast corridor (Boston, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore and D.C.) for many lost souls like me.

My successful work with at-risk children in the streets of the inner-city Bighouse deserves an assist.

During the summer months I would often try to give the youth camping experiences out of town.

Dave Bing, a native Washingtonian and NBA Hall of Fame legend provided them with their first camping experience in 1969. His camp was in the Poconos Mountains in Pennsylvania. Here they would meet Detroit Piston NBA Hall of Fame player Bob Lanier and the late John Brisker.

There were camps run by NBA pioneer Spencer Haywood in New Jersey, the John Chaney/Sonny Hill camps in Philadelphia it was here they met NBA legends like Earl “The Pearl” Monroe and Bill Bradley.

Last but not least was the Bighouse Gaines camp on Winston-Salem State campus in North Carolina. This was the camp that made the biggest impression on the young men.

With the exception of Brisker and Haywood all the NBA players they met were all voted into the NBA Hall of Fame. They were also among those named the Fifty Greatest Players in NBA history.

The man they remembered most never played in the NBA--his name was “Bighouse.”

Bighouse and I were born on the same day and month May 21. We shared several birthdays together here in D.C. during our forty-five year relationship.

It has been said, “They are like two Bulls in a China closet.” Others have described our relationship as one of “Love and Hate.” I loved him and he hated me or vice-versa, but loved was always the common denominator. He reminded me of three other sports icon friends of mine Muhammad Ali (Boxing), Red Auerbach (NBA) and Jim Brown (NFL). Ali, Auerbach, and Brown just by their presence in a room made other men feel small and insignificant. Coach Gaines, had that same kind of effect by just being himself—BIG!

Coach and I didn’t get a chance to have one of our face-to-face discussions at the last homecoming because of his health. I missed last year’s CIAA Tournament in Raleigh, North Carolina.

But it would be in Raleigh, where Coach would receive his last living tribute. The CIAA honored its All-Time greatest team, three of the ten players honored played for him, Cleo Hill, Earl Monroe, and Carlos Terry.

He was also honored and named one of two coaches on the All-Time greatest team. He was still stealing the spotlight even as he made his exit.

On June 25, 2004 in Chicago, I received the first annual Clarence “Bighouse” Gaines Scholarship Award for Unsung Heroes award for community service.

I am honored that I had an opportunity to go one on one with him Up Close & Personal.

Black Magic: In & Out of Focus

Harold Bell — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:32:53 -0400

ESPN’s airing of Black Magic, chronicling the rich history of black basketball in America was a buzzer-beating jump shot to win and a controversial foul call at the end the game to lose. It was also the most watched documentary in the history of ESPN television. The first segment aired in 1.2 million homes beating the old record of 1.1 million.

The four hour two-part television show carried black basketball from the playgrounds, high schools, colleges and on to its final destination—the NBA. This brought full circle the hopes and dreams of most black athletes, a life in the fast lane of professional sports. For some, it was their only way out.

The show’s title, Black Magic was the footprints in the sand of the man who revolutionized offensive guard play in basketball—Earl Monroe. He is also a part-time magician. I found the show to be enlightening and educational even though I lived most of it.

I was a student/athlete and played football and basketball for the legendary Clarence “Bighouse” Gaines at Winston-Salem State. During my era ('59-'63) I was the only athlete under 6’5" he permitted to play two sports.

Tim Autry and Emit Gil my football teammates could not chew bubble gum and dribble at the same time but they were tall. He called Tim and Emit “My Special Effects.”

My freshman year I scored 27 points in a losing effort in the annual Alumni vs. Varsity basketball game. My friend and mentor the legendary Jack DeFares had returned to Winston-Salem to finish work on his degree.

He lobbied for me to play for the short-handed alumni. It was easy to see why Jack was a New York playground legend and an All-Time great at Winston-Salem. He simply said, “Keep your eyes on me and follow my lead.”

His slick ball handling and moves to the basket was responsible for me leading both teams in scoring. Bighouse knew I could do two things well, catch a football and score on a basketball court. But he made it clear that he had only one basketball and it belonged to Cleo Hill.

Like it or not, I had to wait my turn. I satisfied my hunger for the game by playing at the local YMCA and on the Inter-Mural team.

I was in a unique position at Winston-Salem State I was there to compare three of the greatest players to ever play for “Bighouse,” Jack DeFares, Cleo Hill and Earl Monroe up close and personal.

I was there for the return of Jack DeFares, I was there for the departure of Cleo Hill and I was there to witness the arrival of Black Jesus better known as Earl “The Pearl” Monroe among other names.

Hopefully, Mike Wise of the Washington Post was watching ESPN and received an education on who was the first and last word when it came to “The Improviser” of guard play in the NBA.

Mike Wise and his colleagues at the Washington Post are the best examples on why we need to celebrate Black History 365 days of the year if we don’t our youth would believe that “Pistol Pete” Maravich revolutionize guard play in the NBA.

He wrote those exact words in his column during the NBA All-Star Weekend last month. Pete was a great player in his own right but he was no Pearl. Black Americans must be careful of what we read and who we read. Look for Mike’s column saying “I made a mistake” but don’t hold your breath.

I was there also to encourage the late great legendary Red Auerbach to step in support Earl Lloyd’s induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. The NBA had overlooked his career. Thanks largely to Red the Basketball Hall of Fame finally inducted him in 2002 as a contributor. He was the first black to play in the NBA.

The CIAA barely beat the NBA. Fifty years after graduating from West Virginia State they finally pulled his number for induction into the CIAA Hall of Fame in 2000.

Black Magic participants Al Attles and Earl Lloyd were two dear friends and inspired me to be all that I could be. I was in Landover, MD when Al and the Golden State Warriors upset and beat another close and dear friend K. C. Jones.

The Warriors beat the Washington Bullets in four straight games to win the NBA Championship in 1975. Al and K. C. made pro sports history by becoming the first two Black Americans to face-off in a championship final.

The enlightening stories for me, started with Perry Wallace, Athletic Director at American University and the first black to play at Vanderbilt University, the perseverance of NBA player Bob “Butter Bean” Love and without a doubt the hidden story that Ben Jobes was one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time.

Coach Jobes’ accomplishments and basketball success stayed under the radar of major media for decades. ESPN’s Black Magic made it perfectly clear he could have easily been a success on any level, but was denied recognition because he was black.

The real story of the NBA lynching of Cleo Hill by the St. Louis Hawks was long overdue. In Black Magic, there was mention of Cleo being the greatest player of his era. He could have been the greatest player of any area where he was allowed to play.

Cleo had every shot imaginable. He is the greatest offensive basketball player I have ever seen with the exception of Washington, DC’s Elgin Baylor. He was “Michael Jordan” in North Carolina long before Michael Jordan. Jordan didn’t really blossom into a great offensive ball player until the pros.

Cleo was a basketball icon and legend on Tobacco Road long before his pro career. To believe it you had to be there to see him. When Cleo played you would have thought the ACC Tournament was being held on the campus of Winston-Salem State. White folks traveled from all over the state to see him play.

Cleo Hill was worth the travel time and price of admission. There were times when our own students could not get into the games. There was nothing Cleo could not do on a basketball court.

His offensive arsenal consisted of left and right hand hook shots, set shots, a jump shot from any and everywhere, a great rebounder when he needed to be, he was fearless driving to the basket and he was a 80 percent foul shooter.

Cleo could dribble the ball up court to break the press. He was no slough on defense either, when “Bighouse” needed someone to stop the other team’s hot shooter, he looked no further than Cleo or teammate Tommy Monterio.

Cleo was drafted No. 1 by the St. Louis Hawks in 1961 and everything was uphill from there. When he arrived in St. Louis the KKK better known as “The Nest” was waiting for him.

The “Nest” consisted of players Bob Pettit, Cliff Hagan and Clyde Lovellet. They did everything but string him up by his neck. When Coach Paul Seymour took a stand against “The Nest” the owner Ben Kerner fired him. When Cleo returned to campus to finish up his classes to graduate after his rookie year he was a beaten man.

He would come around to our room and sit and talk with Barney and me for hours about life with the St. Louis Hawks. His story was something out of the 1800s.

In 2008, little has changed. Black men are still having their ideas and goods stolen and are asked to go in the backdoor and side doors to re-claim them. Spooks are still sitting by the door opening it for some and closing it for others.

When we start to talk about the injustices of the sports establishment you have to look no further than Coach John McLendon. White coaches led by the legendary Dean Smith stole his ideas and made them their own.

The basketball establishment led by the white media had fans believing for years that Coach Smith invented “The Four Corners.” A strategy devised by Coach Mac to take time off of the clock in the closing moments of a game while sitting on a lead.

How can you vote one of the greatest innovators of the game into the hall of fame as a contributor?

Check the records and see if Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith have Contributor before or after their names. In all fairness if Coach Mac is a Contributor than every coach who followed James Nasmith into the hall of fame is also a Contributor.

The word “Contributor” needs to be changed, as it relates to Coach Mac and Earl Lloyd. If history is the judge “Brothers and Sisters” in media will see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil and write no evil.

Johnny McLendon was definitely “an officer and a gentleman” he was in a class by himself when it came to having a compassion for helping others. Johnny Mac was a pleasure to be around. He is one of the best examples on how one can be a class-act and black folks will Player Hate on you anyway.

My roommate and teammate the late Barney Hood and I would often talk about Coach Mac and how he would always be uplifting when talking about his friends and former players. Fairness is a lesson that never seemed to have rubbed off on some of his colleagues.

The man many of us called “Big Daddy” when others called him Bighouse would some times forget we were watching him. He could be very selfish and self serving. Bighouse had a big heart but he could also be heartless.

He went ballistic when his friend and colleague Coach Tom “Tricky” Harris of Virginia Union hired a white coach, Dave Robbins (in-focus). Coach Gaines and Harris were poker pals and shared a lot of basketball history.

When his buddy hired a white coach he felt betrayed. Bighouse slowly burned when CIAA Commissioner Leon Kerry (out of focus) and his cohorts hijacked the conference right before his eyes.

Some of the things he said about his colleagues and student/athletes made many us wonder whether he really liked himself. None of us escaped his wrath including me, Cleo and Black Jesus.

In many ways we have taken on the characteristics of the establishment. When it comes to fairness it is becoming a lost art in the black community. We have also become more exclusive instead of inclusive.

Black Magic, for example: How were the contributions of icons Sam Jones (it is rumored he wanted to get paid), Spencer Haywood, Curly Neal and last but not least Red Auerbach and Walter Brown of the Boston Celtics overlooked?

Sam Jones is in the NBA Hall of Fame and voted as one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest, he could have easily added more insight. His mentors were two of the greatest coaches of all time, Johnny Mac and Red Auerbach.

Without Red’s contributions, Black Magic would still be out of focus and a dream deferred. Spencer Haywood’s contribution turned the plantation mentality of college basketball and the NBA into a “Pay Day Heaven” for today’s NBA players.

In a landmark decision Spencer successfully challenged in court and won his case to enter the NBA draft before graduation. He became the first ever NBA Hardship case. Every NBA player making over $5,000 owes him a debt of gratitude.

He should be in the NBA Hall of Fame and a member of The 50 Greatest Players ever, for his play on the court and his legal battles in court.

He was working in the community long before the NBA CARED and he put the POWER in Power Forward. He is being Black Balled by the NBA for standing up to be a man in America and for his alleged drug use.

If drug use is one of the measuring rods used for his induction, than the hall should be almost vacant.

One of the show’s characters, drug dealer Pee Wee Kirkland is a New York Playground basketball legend and former Norfolk State player. I saw some of his best customers in Black Magic.

Curly Neal is a graduate of Johnson C. Smith University and his name is synonymous with the internationally known Harlem Globetrotters. Curly is known by more basketball fans World wide then Michael Jordan. Johnson C. Smith is one of our oldest black HBUC institutions in Black America.

It was founded in 1867 as Biddle Memorial and named Johnson C. Smith in 1923. The Queen City of Charlotte, NC is the home of the most famous black college basketball tournament in the country (CIAA), and they were also out of focus in Black Magic!

How could Black Magic forget New York basketball icons Pop Gates, Jack DeFares, and Carl Green?

Sound bites we could have done without: Some things are better left unsaid, playground and NBA Broadcast legend Sonny Hill describing former Tennessee State and New York Knicks’ guard Dick Barnett was definitely out of focus. He said “Dick Barnett was a functional illiterate.” Dr. Dick Barnett graduated from Tennessee State and now holds a PHD Degree.

ESPN NBA studio analyst and Winston-Salem State alumnus Stephen A. Smith and basketball scrub was blackballed from the show for stepping on “Superman’s Cape.” “Bighouse” was having trouble winning games at the end of his career (828 wins) Smith writing for the Philadelphia Inquirer made the mistake of calling for his firing.

He has been out of bounds and out of focus ever since. What is my excuse for being out of focus! I have never worn short skirts and carried Poms-Poms. I walk and march to a different drum beat.

Red and Dotie Auerbach: An NBA Love Story

Harold Bell — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:03:04 -0400

The expectations were high in Boston, and it was Red Auerbach time—the NBA Playoffs. Red lived for this time of year.

When Red Auerbach died on Saturday, October 26, 2006 the world of sports lost a true giant. He left a legacy of NBA success that will never be matched in our lifetime.

Despite relinquishing the division title to Cleveland this year due to injuries, Boston was still the team to beat. They lost the cornerstone of the team, Kevin Garnett, and it proved to be too much.

The Chicago and Miami series proved you can’t measure the heart of a champion, Celtic Pride, or the spirit of Red Auerbach. This was a Red Auerbach kind of team—it was never over until it was over.

We all know that Red Auerbach was the greatest coach in the history of team sports. Phil Jackson is a great coach—but he is nobody’s Red Auerbach. There is definitely a great possibility that Phil Jackson will surpass Red in the number of NBA Championships won in 2009, but that is just a number. Red was genius.

Despite his death, Red is still coaching. His coaching spirit lives in Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and the entire Celtics’ organization. The Boston Celtics' fantastic 2008 run to last year’s NBA Championship had the touch of an angel—and that angel was Red.

Red was not only a great basketball coach, but his won-lost record in Human and Civil Rights in pro sports is unmatched. Thanks to Red and Celtics owner Walter Brown, the NBA is now the most integrated franchise in professional team sports.

I met Red and Dotie Auerbach on a Chevy Chase playground in a Maryland suburb of DC in the late '60s. They were hanging out watching Summer League Basketball.

I found Dotie sitting alone outside the fence watching the action. We struck up a conversation about one of the players. I thought to myself, “This little white lady sure knows a lot about the game of basketball.”

We talked basketball for the next 30 minutes when suddenly her husband showed up with cold drinks. Her husband was the one and only Red Auerbach.

Dotie introduced us and Red growled something sarcastic and she said, “Arnold, stop acting up.” Red had a demeanor of a tiger when he didn’t want someone getting too close, but in reality he was nothing but a pussycat.

For the next 30 plus years Red and Dotie Auerbach would become a fixture and supporters of Kids In Trouble, Inc and Inside Sports. During that relationship, my wife Hattie and I would visit their home on Mass. Ave. in upper NW DC. We would often have lunch with Dotie and she would show off her antiques and art collection in the added room of a next-door apartment.

The walls of the apartment had been knocked down to accommodate the collection. Red would usually be out playing cards or tennis at Woodmont Country Club in Bethesda, Md. Dotie was a classy down to earth lady and we fell in love with her. We were and still are benefactors of their generosity and kindness. Their spirit lives in us.

I remember the first time Red invited me to have lunch with him. He asked me to meet him on the corner of 9th and F Streets in NW DC. I thought we were going to have lunch at some fancy restaurant downtown. I was in for a surprise. He treated me to a kosher hotdog with sauerkraut and a RC Cola from a vendor’s stand on a downtown street corner.

We would later walk around the corner to Ophenhimer’s jewelry store, where his brother—the late Zang—was the manager. Zang had been a cartoonist for the now defunct Washington Star newspaper before his retirement. He would later draw a cartoon of Hattie playing a guitar for her 40th birthday portraying the legendary and late comedian Jack Benny saying “I am 39 years old and not a day older.” Much like Red, Zang and his son Johnny who also worked in the store were rare jewels themselves. The jewelry store would become my downtown hangout.

I remember one day walking into the store and there was Red, Zang, Sam Jones, and the late Hymie Perlo joking around. Before I could get through the door, Hymie was asking Red, “What does Harold Bell have on you? Every time I turn on the dam radio you are on his show?” Without hesitation Red responded ‘My wife loves him.’

I would later be invited to the VIP luncheons in Chinatown on Tuesdays where Red would play “King for a Day.” He would hold court and listen to friends, media, and sports personalities tell him how great he was. I really enjoyed the outings when his friend—the late Hymie Perlo—was in attendance.

Hymie was the Community Relations and PR man for for his old friend Abe Polin, owner of Washington Wizards. Hymie kept us laughing and he made Red keep it real with his down-to-earth humor. With the exception of a few people, most of the guys in attendance were a bunch of wannabes—and being around Red made them feel like they were important.

The last time I saw Red was four years ago at one of those Tuesday luncheons in China Town. I made a surprise visit and you could hear a pin drop at the table where he was holding court.

Seeing me walking toward the table everyone suddenly stopped laughing and talking. Red had his back to me and could not see me. I stood directly behind him. He had to turn to see who in the hell was interrupting his lunch and when he did he said, "Who in the hell invited you?" My response was, "Now I need an invitation to eat with you?"

He suddenly started to laugh and got up and hugged me. I whispered, "You are out of sight but never out of mind and I love you." He understood exactly what I was trying to say to him. We had talked by telephone, but this was my first time seeing him since his wife Dotie died in 2000 and his brother Zang died in 2003. I hugged him again and I walked away.

Red and Dotie’s friendship reminds me of what Muhammad Ali once told me about his definition of a friend. He said, "A friend is someone who is always doing something for you and never expecting anything in return." Ali, meet Red and Dotie Auerbach.

Red reminded me a lot of Ali. When he made his entrance into a crowded room all activity came to an abrupt end. He would be the center of attention. When I called the house to talk with Dotie and he found out it was me, he would shout “Hey Dotie, it's that nuisance Harold Bell," or "Dotie, it's your boyfriend, Harold Bell.” Red and Dotie treated me and Hattie like we were family.

Red Auerbach was a rare superstar. His telephone number was listed and he answered his own telephone. I don’t ever remember them having an answering service—or maybe I just never left a message.

December 2008 marked 40 years of Christmas Toy Parties sponsored by Kids In Trouble, Inc. Before Dotie took ill and died in 2000, there was always a check for toys coming from the home of the Auerbachs. They were members of the Board of Directors of Kids In Trouble, Inc.

Red also co-hosted several of my Inside Sports Celebrity Tennis Tournaments, and was a frequent guest speaker for my Kids In Trouble, Inc. forums. He co-hosted “Inside Sports.” In 1990, along with NBA legends Sam Jones, Connie Hawkins and Al Attles as our guest he co-hosted a show with me titled "Celebrity Sports Calls."

Red loved to attend Double Dutch jumprope tournaments in the inner-city. I would call him, and we would go and sit up in a far corner of a gym and enjoy the program. He would swear the kids participating were some of the greatest athletes in the city.

He was definitely the godfather of the NBA. I remember in Houston, Texas somewhere in the 1980s I attend my first NBA All-Star game. I was having a problem acquiring press credentials. When I went to pick up my applied for credentials I was told by NBA Media Director Brian McIntye that my credential request had not been received.

I asked Mr. McIntye, “Why would I fly all the way from DC to Houston without applying for press credentials in advance?” He would not budge. I then remembered talking to Red before I left DC and he said, "Harold, I don’t think I am going to make this one." It was then I realized I had an ace in the hole, Red Auerbach.

I returned to the pressroom and asked Mr. McIntye if he knew Red Auerbach? His response was “Yes—do you?” I then asked him if I could use his telephone and he said, "Sure, go ahead." I dialed Red and Dotie’s number in DC, knowing Red was probably out at the club playing tennis or cards. My only hope was that Dotie would be home.

The telephone rang several times and Dotie answered. I said "Hi Dotie, this is Harold Bell. I am at the NBA All-Star game in Houston. Would you please speak to Mr. McIntye? He needs verification of who I am."

I then gave the phone to Mr. McIntye, and the look on his face said it all. Dotie had told him exactly who I was. I wished I had a camera at the moment—the look on Brian’s face was priceless.

He hung up the telephone and was speechless for about 30 seconds. He finally said, "No problem, Mr. Bell."

In 1950, Chuck Cooper—a second team All-American from Duquesne University—was drafted by Red Auerbach. Cooper was the first black player drafted and signed by an NBA team.

But Earl Lloyd of West Virginia State (CIAA) was the first black player to play in a game, beating Chuck Cooper by one day (Lloyd was discharged from the Army one day before Cooper). For years, basketball historians were under the impression that Cooper was the first to play in a NBA game.

I had Red address the issue in 1974 on my sports talk show “Inside Sports.” Red made it perfectly clear that Lloyd was the first to play in an NBA game. For years, the NBA had forgotten that it was Earl Lloyd who broke its color barrier or ignored the fact. They left him on the outside looking into the Hall of Fame.

While growing up I had watched Earl shoot hoops on the playgrounds of DC. He was born and raised in nearby Alexandria, Virginia. I asked Red went to remind the NBA of Earl’s historical accomplishment.

With Red’s support, I started a media campaign on Inside Sports in the '90s to get Earl inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame. In 2000 Washington, DC hosted the NBA All-Star game. I coordinated a salute and reception for Earl Lloyd in the Nation’s Capitol and his hometown of Alexandria.

During the NBA All-Star weekend, the salute and reception were the only NBA-related events Red Auerbach attended. In 2002, Earl Lloyd was finally inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, joining DC’s Elgin Baylor and Dave Bing as a part of this area’s rich basketball heritage. Adrian Dantley (an Inside Sports benefactor) recently joined the DC of NBA Hall of Famers.

During the Kids In Trouble, Inc. celebration in December 2008 we honored TBS NBA playoff basketball sideline reporter Dave Aldridge (an Inside Sports benefactor) was given the Red Auerbach Kids In Trouble, Inc Lifetime Achievement Award. Beijing Olympic Volleyball paraplegic Silver Medal winner Karri Miller was given the Dotie Auerbach Kids In Trouble, Inc Lifetime Achievement Award.

There were the NBA awards handed out this year—Ray Allen of the Celtics was honored with the Player of the Year, Dwight Howard of Orlando was named the Defensive Player of the Year, and Coach Mike Brown of the Cleveland Cavaliers was named the Coach of the Year. Rookie of the Year was Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose and the Sixth Man of the Year was Dallas Mavericks, Jason Terry.

The NBA’s leading scorer, rebounder, and assist leader were all black. The footprints in the sand left by Red Auerbach and Walter Brown can still be seen all over the league.

2008 found me trying to complete my upcoming book "Politics: Inside and Outside of Sports" and editing a CD and DVD titled "The Greatest," which contained interview gems with Red and Muhammad Ali. I missed the entire NBA regular season.

In March, as the NBA regular season was coming to an end I decided to check out the Washington Wizards. They were having one of their worst seasons in their history.

The Wizards, one of the worst teams in the league was playing the best team in the league, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Gilbert Arenas the Wizards' best player had missed the entire season as a result of knee surgery. There were rumors he would test his knee against who some consider the best player in the league, LeBron James. I placed a call to the press relations office requesting press credentials.

I left several messages for Matt Williams (Media and PR) without response. I then called Brian McIntye in the NBA office in New York City. He graciously accepted my call and made sure my request was honored. I have Red Auerbach to thank for the kind and professional gesture on the part of Mr. McIntye. Red was still working his magic. The Wizards, led by Arenas, beat James and his Cavaliers.

The Auerbachs’ acts of kindness are not just found in my story. There are probably hundreds more like mine in the inner cities of America.

Red and Dotie Auerbach are gone but never should be forgotten—they cared long before the NBA.

Memorial Day in DC: Death Takes a Holiday

Harold Bell — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 06:04:33 -0400

On Memorial Day America took time out to honor its dead. There were parades, tributes and salutes to our fallen heroes of war. Family, friends and loved ones traveled from all over the country to Washington, DC.

In his first Memorial Day address at Arlington National Cemetery as commander in chief, President Barack Obama vowed to support soldiers at War and at Home.

The Greenbelt Regional Park is located in Prince Georges County, Maryland just off of the Baltimore/Washington Parkway.

The parkway is a main thoroughfare that brought thousands into DC for the weekend Memorial Day tributes. They arrived by car, bus, truck and more motorcycles then you could ever count.

On Saturday the Greenbelt Regional Park hosted a picnic for native Washingtonians, friends and loved ones who were still among the living. Memorial Day was a special day for many of us.

The picnic was the brainchild of Roy ‘Monk’ Wilkins, Everett ‘Doc’ Payne and Byron Kirkley. The former athletes from Spingarn High School in DC said “Enough is enough.”

They decided having re-unions at the areas’ funeral homes was not a good place to meet and greet and re-connect. The recent funerals of Spingarn basketball coach William ‘Doc’ Robinson, Spingarn Principal James Campbell, and Cardozo basketball coach and legendary educator, Frank Bolden convinced the three there were better places to have re-unions.

There were some of us who had become ‘Professional Funeral Goers’ and some were spending more time reading the obituary pages then the sports pages.

They promoted and marketed the picnic by word of mouth invitations with e-mails arriving as late as the day of the picnic. The invitations made sure everyone was aware that it was a BYOL outing.

I packed a Brown Bag lunch (chicken sandwich, potatoes chips, candy bar and frozen bottles of water and tea) and headed out to Greenbelt Region Park.

I left home on Saturday not knowing what to expect but it was a bright sun shiny day. It was a perfect day for a picnic.

When I drove into the park the first one I saw was my long time friend Skippy Pace with his friend Joe Gordon. Skippy is a Spingarn alumnus (class of '57). I was barely out the car good and the tales started to flow about “The Good Old Days.”

I was surprised by the turnout (75-100) shown up for this last minute gathering.

Even though we were asked to bring our own food and beverage of choice there was plenty of food and drink. Brother Bay Freeman took charge of the grill and made sure everyone got something to eat. Lester Lewis brought enough chicken and potato salad to feed several people.

An outing like this would be incomplete without our music (50s and 60s). DC legend of “Oldies but Goodies” and Spingarn alumnus Larry Bridgeforth took us up and down memory lane. It was a great ride.

The topics of conversation ranged from sports to politics:

*President Barack Obama (BLACK & PROUD)

*Mayor Dave Bing (HOMEBOY MAKES GOOD)

*NBA Play-Offs (WOW)

*John Thompson (DC's BIGGEST FRAUD)

*Where are they now (FRIENDS, FAMILY & ATHLETES)

Those topics would be our theme songs until darkness suggested it was time to head home and back to the real World.

There were those in attendance who were legends in their own time and those who were legends in their own mind. We sit down in different groups and eventually made the rounds to visit others.

There were alumni participants from Armstong, McKinley Tech, Cardozo and Spingarn high schools. NFL Hall of Fame and Armstrong legendary athlete Willie Wood made a surprise visit.

Willie is in a nursing home and confined to a wheelchair. He suffers from dementia (memory goes and comes).

He stayed for a couple of hours and took pictures. Everyone enjoyed his visit and by his frequent smiles it really looked like he enjoyed himself.

Herman Thomas another Armstong alumnus and legendary athlete was also in attendance.

We spend most of our time talking about Willie and the great running back Red Mike Hagler. Herman was on the receiving end of many of Willie’s passes on the 53 and 54 championship football teams.

Red Mike went to Iowa and played in the Rose Bowl. Herman remembers his first encounter with the great Elgin Baylor and how he took him to school on the basketball court.

There were other legitimate playground legends with their own stories, Sandy Freeman (Phelps), Ollie Johnson (Spingarn, former No. 1 pick Boston Celtics), Ronald Horton (Spingarn), Roy “Monk” Wilkins (Spingarn), George Deal (Armstrong), Dehart Morgan (Armstrong), Rip Scott (Cardozo), Lester Lewis (Cardozo) Walter Blouse (Dunbar), Johnny Jones (Dunbar, former Boston Celtic), Bob Headen (Cardozo) Frank Harrison (Cardozo) and Donnie Christian (McKinley Tech).

The Mayo brothers, Charlie, Melvin and Vernonall outstanding athletes (Spingarn) were in attendance. Memorial Day is special to them as they remember their parents and brothers Bill and Al.

The husband and wife team of Keith (McKinley Tech) and Dottie (Cardozo) Wade were also in the house.

Community icon and the unofficial Mayor of DC Bobby Harper (Cardozo) was there making the rounds. This was also a very emotional Memorial Day for him as he remembers his daughter and her two children.

There is not enough space or time to mention all the guys who were legends in their own mind in attendance (smile), Joe Wood (Spingarn), Oscar Phillips (Anacostia), Doc Payne (Spingarn), Medell Ford (Spingarn), Kenny Weaver (Spingarn), Michael “Crip” Sullivan (Spingarn), our New Jersey friend Eric Hughes and all the ladies who were there and supported this Memorial Day outing.

My Memorial Day thoughts went to my only brother Earl (Spingarn) a U.S. Army veteran who is confined to a wheelchair in the VA Hospital in Richmond, Va.

My two brothers that I lost last year, Bobby and William and my heroes Mattie Bell (mom) and Amy Tyler Bell (Grandma).

We ended the evening wishing everyone the very best and saying “See you soon,” God bless America and our hometown of Washington, DC.

What a great way to spend an evening and a Memorial Day weekend. This Memorial Day picnic beats meeting at a funeral home any day.