Face of the Franchise

 Former Bears’ linebacker Doug Buffone died unexpectedly yesterday at the age of 70.  Buffone was held in high regard for a quick mind and a sharp wit, both of which he employed covering the Bears on sports’ talk radio.  You can’t expect to win the Kentucky Derby with a donkey, Buffone said after a recent Chicago loss to Green Bay.  We’re a town where owners are forever trying to pass off donkeys for thoroughbreds.

Buffone’s death qualifies as another passing of the guard; Chicago sports has been especially hard-hit this year with the losses of Ernie Banks and Minnie Minoso.  You can debate the talent of athletes then and now or argue over which eras were better, but what you can’t argue is ex-athletes are different now.  Very few are interested in being public personalities or the face of a particular franchise, if you will.

Maybe the simplest way to define a “face” is by the willingness to sign autographs—for free.  Major sports teams all have their fan fests, heavy with favorite ex-players.  But fans pay through the nose to get an autograph or a picture.  With the Bears, Blackhawks and Bulls, I can’t think of a single player under the age of fifty who would do what Banks and Buffone did for so long and at no cost.  Michael Jordan?  You’re kidding, right?  The situation is a little better with the baseball teams.  Kerry Wood, Ron Kittle and Frank Thomas seem willing to take up the role of public ambassador for their respective teams.

It’s a different world, as we old folks like to say.  Free agency means players rarely have a career with one team anymore, and even those who do aren’t often inclined to open a restaurant, a bowling alley or a car dealership like in the old days when the reserved clause reigned supreme.  That’s progress, I guess.

Twelve or so years ago, Michele was walking along State Street when she spied Minnie Minoso sitting at a table outside a restaurant.  My wife screwed up her courage, walked up to Minoso and asked for an autograph.  Minnie being Minnie, he just so happened to have a picture of himself at the ready.  “To Clare Best Wishes [one of his four names] Minoso #9.”

That is what fans now have to pay dearly for.