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Home , Billy Kilmer, Johnny Unitas, John Schuerholz, Weeb Ewbank

"We bring you a special report: John Unitas, the greatest in the history of the , dead of a heart attack"

It was that simple and that shocking. I quickly called my friend, John Schuerholz, then General of the to tell him what I just heard. John answered his phone and I told him the terrible news. He said, "Mike I'm on the field in Atlanta, we're taking batting practice and I was just telling a half dozen reporters about my greatest day in sports, playing golf with John Unitas at Caves Valley."

It was only six days earlier, September 5th, that Mike Waller, at the time publisher of The Sun, hosted us at Caves Valley. Mike had to leave after nine holes and Dennis Satyshur, then and still today, Director of Golf at Caves Valley, played the back nine with us. After we played, myself, Dennis, and John Schuerholz sat on the hillside just outside of the clubhouse, a sparkling early September day and for two hours, John Unitas, a hero and friend to all of us, regaled us with one story after another. From the meticulous preparation of , the excitedness of his former coach Webb Ewbank, the gunslingers of the Redskins, and Sonny Jurgenson.....it was special.

September 11th will mark the 10th anniversary since John died. The four of us came together recently to reminisce about our special day with John and the memories we will always have.

John, thanks for the memories.....I hope you like what these sandbaggers said about you......

Mike Gill Chairman

Gill: What are your recollections of our day at Caves Valley, playing golf with John?

Waller: Two recollections stand out in my mind. I had met him a couple of times before that day, but in no stretch of my imagination did I know him. However, from the minute we got on the golf course, and he and I got paired against you and John, he treated me as his long lost buddy. You would have thought we had known each other for thirty years!

Gill: What’s your other recollection?

Waller: The other thing was how he had to strap the golf club onto his right hand because he had no use of those fingers and not much use of the right hand. He had a special glove so that the club would stay in his hand. I think he hit every drive right down the middle of the fairway. It didn’t go that far, maybe 175 yards, but he was in every fairway in the nine holes I played with him. Also, he was so upbeat. I asked him if his disability bothered him and he said, “No, not really, I

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am out here playing and it is a beautiful day, what a great golf course. Playing with great friends, I mean what more could you want?” He was Mr. Upbeat. John was really incredible.

Gill: Dennis what were your recollections? You joined us for the back nine when Mike left for a business meeting.

Satyshur: I knew John a little bit from his son, Chad, who played on the St. Paul’s basketball team with my son, Michael. We would go to the games and watch our sons play, but I wouldn’t say I knew him well. Being a western Pennsylvania guy myself and being a quarterback, John Unitas was my idol. He was somebody who was playing professionally and at the top of his game when I was coming up as a high school and college player. I had such admiration and respect for the way he played the game and how he handled himself. When you play golf with someone, you really get to know them. You get to see success, failure, competitiveness, and so many sides of a person while on the course with them. He had a special smile when he looked at you. It was like a cat that had just swallowed “two canaries”! He would kind of look away, then look back at you, and then give you that smile. I can remember like it was a minute ago. It made me feel like, “You know you’re just a guy. I am just a guy. We’re out here playing golf together, isn’t it great?” The other part about John was that he was the “glass is half-full “person, always putting a positive spin on things. John was such a positive person that he made you feel better about yourself. The last thing that I picked up very quickly is that this guy had a competitive spirit. I mean really competitive. From the cat that swallowed a canary, to the glass half-full, to being a competitor, I’m so proud to be able to say, “I knew John Unitas”.

Gill: John, what are your recollections of our day at Caves Valley with #19?

Schuerholz: I was a son of Baltimore and grew up as a sports fan in a sports family. We watched John Unitas playing for the Baltimore Colts, seeing the job that he did with his leadership and humility. Then to watch the great game, Colts vs. Giants, and Ameche running for a in and Berry catching everything and Marchetti getting injured. I absolutely idolized John Unitas with his high top cleats, sloped shoulders, and his beat up body. Watching him just absolutely dominate his sport. Then fast forward from when I was a young man, and having the chance to spend a beautiful September morning walking eighteen fairways with him. I watched John manipulate this remarkable contraption with a Velcro clasp on the back and attach it to his right hand. He’d take a swing and then waddle down the golf course with those banged up knees. John would smile the entire way and want to hit the best shot every time. I was blown away. My mouth was probably agape the entire day as I watched him perform. He was a warrior in football. He was a warrior that day on the golf course, as well, in his quiet, 2

pleasant, and smiling manner. He wanted to beat your butt and you could tell it. It was so absolutely delightful. Then I got the devastating news on September 11, 2002 when you called me. I was around all these writers during batting practice before a Braves game. I was telling them about playing golf with Johnny and the most remarkable day in my professional sports life. And I had had quite a few good ones by that time! But fast forward to the of the match: We’re sitting outside the clubhouse overlooking Greenspring Valley, having a couple of cold ones, smelling the burgers cooking, and John telling us stories about his football career with the Colts. It was remarkable. It will be a memory forever.

Gill: As Mike Waller said, John hit the ball down the middle all day long. He missed just about every makeable putt he had. I’ll never forget that with each missed putt, he laughed even louder than the one before. He’d have that grin on his face that Dennis talked about and he’d laugh and say, “I stopped getting about missed putts a long time ago. Being out here on a beautiful day with great friends and playing golf. What’s there to be upset about?” After we finished playing, we sat on the hillside for two hours with John. He told us stories about his teammates, many of them about Raymond Berry. He talked about the 1958 championship game. Everyone knows what happened on the 13th and final play of sudden death but John reminded us of the play just before the winning touchdown. On the 12th play, he threw a sideline pass to Jim Mutcheller down to the two yard line. He called a timeout and screamed at him, “What were you thinking when you threw that pass?” John just stood there in his calm, cool and collected way and said, “Coach, if they were going to intercept it, I was going to throw it out of bounds.” And then he went back in and of course, the next play was the touchdown that won the championship for the Baltimore Colts.

Gill: What personal memory of John Unitas is most frozen in your mind?

Satyshur: Being a former quarterback myself, I loved the way he called the unexpected play on third down and short for a first down. He would fake the running play and then just keep the ball by his stomach and creep back a little. He always seemed to have an open receiver. I dreamed about being John Unitas when I was a little kid.

Gill: John, share a memory of yours.

Schuerholz: I have so many memories of watching him do the things on the football field that all of you just mentioned. He could throw a football through the eye of a needle. But I do have a personal memory that was very special. It was the night of the dedication of ’s new football stadium. Johnny and a number of the old Colts lined up and some of us from the Hall of Fame at Towson were invited to be in the line as well. Colt players were asked to throw the ball to one of us and I caught one of the footballs. I’ve been around professional sports and many great players for a long time, but never had asked for an autograph. That night, I have to 3

admit to you guys and the world I went up to Johnny with that football and a magic marker in my hand. He had been signing for other people and I had decided I was going to ask him for his autograph. John held that pen in that crippled right hand and somehow managed to write his signature on the ball and handed it to me. I felt like a kid. I still have that ball on display in my basement.

Gill: There’s some great memorabilia in your basement John.

Schuerholz: Well, that autographed football is in the prime spot. That’s how thrilling it was for me to be with this man on that special day.

Gill: Mike, your great memory?

Waller: In 1958, I was a senior in high school and was the quarterback for the football team. In fact, it was the first football team our high school had had in forty years. I really did relate to Unitas. We only had a TV for a couple of years and here it is, December 1958. Up to this point, the NFL isn’t that big of a deal but then comes the greatest game and the first overtime in history for the NFL. leading the winning overtime drive and Allan Ameche scoring the winning touchdown. Ameche went to the University of Wisconsin and our family lived ninety miles from Madison. The combination of Unitas, Ameche, and the Colts winning on national TV in overtime, the NFL really took off after that. It was an unbelievable memory for me.

Gill: I was eight years old when the championship game was played. My mother said I put my Colt uniform on to watch the game. My memory is a picture that appeared the next morning in the Baltimore Sun paper. It was taken from the end zone and showed Ameche getting ready to cross the goal line and John Unitas with his head down heading towards the sideline like the workday was over. Let’s go and enjoy the championship. And that was John Unitas.

Gill: What is the legacy that John Unitas left us? John, your thoughts…

Schuerholtz: Win with dignity and lose with grace. The way he carried himself and the way he led his team, Johnny Unitas knew how to win with dignity. He didn’t like it when on those few occasions the team lost, but he wasn’t demonstrable about it. He was a professional all the way through. He gave Colts fans great confidence and pride. Here is a guy that represents our football team and makes us feel so proud, not only because of his accomplishments, but how he led and represented our city. That’s what I will always remember about him.

Gill: Mike, your thoughts?

Waller: “MR. COOL” is what I think he leaves us. This is the quarterback who invented the two- minute drill. He was as good at it as anybody who has ever played the game and was always unbelievably calm when the pressure seemed the greatest. 4

Satyshur: Those are wonderful comments, John. I hadn’t thought about your point Mike, but you are absolutely right. This guy had a coolness about him; you could sense it when you were around him. What comes to my mind, Mike, when you asked the question, is something Tom Kite, one of my best friends, has shared with me a number of times. Tom said, “I play tournament golf. The money is not what motivates me. I’m playing because that’s what I love to do”. I’m sure the money was important to John but he played the game because he loved it. He loved the leadership part and everything about it. Sure, he wished he made more money, but that was not a motivating force. Today, we hear about the contracts and the money. Rarely do the athletes talk about loving the game. John always loved winning and hated losing. But he always did both as a gentleman and a champion.

Gill: For all of John’s success, it was never about him, NEVER. We hear the expression,” The key to success is helping others be successful”. It was as if every time he stepped on the field he had one objective: help his teammates be successful. And if he did it well enough, they would win. Like you said John, he did everything with grace and dignity and was one of the most humble individuals you could ever meet.

Thank you John, Mike and Dennis for being part of this wonderful conversation about the greatest quarterback ever and our friend, John Unitas.

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John Schuerholz was named President of the Atlanta Braves in 2007. Prior to that, he served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Braves from 1990-2007. John began his career in with the Baltimore Orioles in 1966. John has won two world championships, in 1985 as General Manager of the and in 1995 as General Manager of the Atlanta Braves.

Dennis Satyshur is Director of Golf at Caves Valley Golf Club. Dennis was appointed to the position in 1990, the inaugural year of the club. In 1997, Dennis was asked by Tom Kite to be the Assistant Captain of the 1997 Ryder Cup Team (Valderrama Golf Club, Cadiz, Spain).

Mike Waller was Publisher of The Baltimore Sun from 1997-December, 2002. Prior to that he was the Editor, then Publisher of the Hartford Courant from 1986-1987. Mike is now retired and lives in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Mike Gill is Chairman of Evergreen Advisors, LLC. In 2002, he was Vice President with Solectron, a Milpitas, based company that acquired AMERICOM in 2000. Mike had founded AMERICOM in 1984.

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