Times-Advocate, 1988-02-10, Page 18Page 2A
Times -Advocate, February 10, 1988
BUDDIES -- Eddie Shack with Michelle McNeilly Tuesday night..
WEIR'S WRITINGS - Former Ca-
nadian Football League star Glenn
Weir signs autographs for Greg Ag-
new, Brent Southcott, Gavin Snell
and Jamie Dougall at -the 1988 Exet-
er Lions Sportsmen's Dinner.
15th
annual
dinner
draws
a
crowd
rham a bighitrBill �aSu erstapY As an ambassador, Superstar Bil- and sporting a two -toned goatee, ing on itjust,caused disintegration,"
ly Graham must rank with the best Graham was at times buried by Graham explained.
-- but it's likely unintentional. wrestling aficionados. 'He has attempted to re-enter the
With a titanium plate in his hip And he apparently loved every ring several times since the opera -
and a cane at his side, Graham ful- minute of it. tion, but he now finds the process
filled the gentle giant role at the In the wrestling spotlight since too painful. His days of continuous
15th annual Sportsmens Dinner 1970, Graham rose to capture the wrestling appear to be over.
Tuesday and whether or not you title, only to be dethroned by Andre
appreciate the World Wrestling The Giant (sound familiar?). But the
Federation, you can't help but ad- long years of abuse have taken a
mire the colourful leviathan. toll on his body. Recently the wres-
It was obvious from start to fin- tler went through an operation to re-
ish that the one time WWF world place his left hip at the clinic which
champion was there for one reason: hosted Chicago Bears quarterback
the children. More than any other Jim McMahon during his lengthy
celebrity in attendance Tuesday injury last season.
night, Graham lavished attention
on autograph seekers and young
fans. Wearing a gigantic pink suit
"It (the injury) was really just
from years of trauma -- all the fall -
"In the past I've been booked pret-
ty solid, but.now that I'm not wres-
tling anymore, I'll probably do
more of these benefits, Graham
said. "Anything. for kids and, you
know, I'm there."
Graham, who currently lives in.
Arizona, plans to pursue a.career as
a wrestling commentator.
HE WAS SURROUNDED - Former wrestling Super Star Billy Graham was popular at the1988 Exeter Lions
Sportsmen's Dinnner. Here he is surrounded by youngsters looking for his autograph.
A PRESIDENT'S WELCOME - Exeter Lions' president Jack Fuller wel-
comes former NHL hockey players Eddie Shack and Dennis Hull to the
• '1988 Sportsmen's Dinner.
Sports Spotlight 1",
h% Marl. Iii.' 'i
Clear the track, Harold
Toronto Maple Leaf followers
(there can't possibly be. any
"fans" left now) got an excellent
chance to meet one of the all
time great characters of the NHL
Tuesday night at the 15th annual
Sportsmcns Dinner. Eddie
Shack, complete with nose and
moustache, attended thc charity
dinner and added all sorts of co-
lour of the blue and whitc varie-
ty.
After the speeches were done
and thc majority of those in at-
tendance were lined up at the
washrooms, 1 cornered Shack (al-
beit very nervously) and asked
him the burning question: what
on carth is wrong with the
Leafs?
Shack, who informed the din-
ner crowd during his speech that
he can neither read nor write, is a
master story -teller. But on this
one he hesitates, searching for
just the right words. -
"Thc Leafs," he says, glancing
at a. pair of companions. loolyng
for help, " The way they're
going the Leafs to this
day what's happened..,." He
gives up and says it out -right:
"Harold Ballard."
"He's very cheap. When he
goes through the park, the birds
go cheap cheap cheap."
He laughs.
Then the retired winger is seri-
ous again, getting down to the
bones of the' issue: Citing cur-
rent Leaf Wendel Clark and the
relatively low salary he receives,
Shack says that Ballard doesn't
want to pay the price tag for a
Stanley Cup team.
Listing the players that Toron-
to has let slip away or has ig-
nored entirely. Shack points out
that there has been no lack of
talent come Ballard's way. Whcn
he docs get a player or coach ca=
pable of sparking the team, he is
unwilling to pay for their talents
and they go elsewhere.
But the problem goes deeper
than that. The owner of the NHL
franchise has destroyed any feel-
ings of tradition that might sus-
tain a ,winning team in Maple
Leaf Gardens.
According to Shack, when you
arc finished with the Leafs, the
Leafs arc finished with you.
"He's (Ballard) making a lot of
moncy," Shack says. "Hockey
players made him the moncy.
You'd think he'd say to the old
guys: 'Come see a game once in
a while.' Hc doesn't do that."
Whcn someone in the group
notes the trips anywhere in the
world for players at Christmas
and the various charity.entcrpris-
es involving the Leafs, Shack
waves .them off as good deals
with Air Canada and tax write-
offs.
It's pretty obvious there's no
love loss between Eddie and Har-
old by this time, but just to get
the point across, Shack throws
in a cryptic comment about a
deal that fell through between the
two concerning 5400 worth of
Christmas trees.
Christmas trees?
Well, you' know, a nose for
value and all that.
While I listened to Shack and
then key -note speaker Dennis
Hull reminisce about the old
days in the NHL, it occurred to
me that the league is sadly lack-
ing the comic players who used
to colour the big city rinks. I ask
Shack what he thinks of that
statement. A veteran of the days
when a player in the NH).could
barely make a living;Shack
notes that big salaries can do
strange things to people, but he
doesn't agree that the character is
missing. He >;ays we simply
can't sec it anymore.
"How" he asks, "can you be a
character with a helmet on?"
TAKING IT ON THE CHIN -- Exeter Lions past president Jim Beckett Loucks usually saves for the ring. Loucks was among the many sports ce-
gets a tittle taste of the kind of thing world champion kick -boxer Leo lebrities in attendance at the Sportsmens Dinner Tuesday night.
GETTING AN AUTOGRAPH - Bart Harmon of Exeter gets an auto-
graph from kick boxing champion Leo Louks at the 1988 Exeter Lions
Sportsmen's Dinner.
Message .from Tammy Michelle McNeilly
Editor's note: Michelle McNeilly was selected as the Tammy for
the 15th annual Sportsmens Dinner held Tuesday night at the -South
Iluron Rec Centre. Michelle did an admirable job as a representative
for crippled children, the cause for which proceeds from the dinner'
were directed.
As a token of their appreciation, the Exeter Lions Club presented
Michelle with a baseball clove and an autographed ball.
The following is an account of the evenings highlights as told by
Michelle:
Thc best part of the Sportsmcns Dinner was the press conference
because there wasn't any speeches there.
My favourite celebrity was Superstar Billy Graham.
When I found out I had been picked as Tammy I was sad because I
didn't want to be a special. person, but as the night got closer, I was
more happy and excited.
1 am really happy with my new ball glove and autographed ball
from the Lions Club.
Michelle McNeilly