Saying farewell to an idol
Forgive me if one or two of
the words in this column
are misspelled. The key
board is a bit slick from the
wetness still dripping from be
neath my eyelids.
Like the sign in the outfield
bleachers of Qualcomm Stadium
on Sunday said, “Tony, today
there is crying in baseball.”
Indeed, Sunday was a day to bid
farewell to San Diego Padres’ hit
ting artist Tony Gwynn. But for
me, the past two weeks of follow
ing Gwynn
around has
been much
more than
simply saying
goodbye to
my hero.
It’s been
about letting
go of my
childhood, as
well.
Smith
Hakuna Matata
So as I
drove down
to San Fran
cisco with my
dad one
weekend and flew to San Diego
the next, my mind has drifted to
the many memories I have of
watching, reading and listening to
Tony Gwynn.
I’ve been alive for 20 years.
Gwynn has played baseball for the
Padres for 20 years.
As the years have passed, and as
I’ve moved from San Diego to Port
land and on to Eugene, he’s always
been there for me to follow, watch
and admire. But it was never about
his phenomenal talent, although
his unparalleled success made you
respect him more and more.
It was about who he was, how
he acted and how he treated peo
ple.
Also in my transformation
from child to man has come my
change from die-hard fan to
sportswriter. Granted, this is only
my fourth year experiencing the
profession, but I now view sports
much differently. I’ve seen Ari
- zona men’s basketball coach Lute
Olson blow up at a reporter for
asking a critical question, and
I’ve seen Rasheed Wallace swear
ing like a sailor as he threw a
locker room towel in the media’s
direction after a game, telling us
to turn the other direction.
This makes me appreciate Tony
Gwynn all the more. No matter
how busy he was, or how many re
porters had requested him, he al
ways found the time. He under
stood the media and knew that
each person had a job to do, and
most of the time, his quotes were a
big part of their job.
As one San Diego Union-Tri
bune reporter wrote Monday, “In
all of baseball, Gwynn is the go-to
guy. Visiting writers make reserva
tions at the Marriott and Tony
Gwynn’s cubicle. We should’ve
given him frequent-quote points.”
But for me, Gwynn was not
someone I covered for a newspa
per. He represented my upbring
ing as a person, which often in
volved eating ice cream out of a
plastic helmet at then-jack Mur
phy Stadium. It was during those
memorable nights when my dad
and our friends would find joy in
simply watching Gwynn swing
his magic wand, even if his team
mates consisted of nothing more
than minor leaguers and has
beens (as was the case in the infa
mous fire-sale years of the early
’90s.)
In the ever-changing world of
sports, Gwynn has been the con
stant. I never really allowed my
self to picture Gwynn not in a
Padres uniform, even though I
knew the time was approaching as
his body stopped cooperating
with his mind.
Which is why, on June 28,2001,
when he made the announcement
of his retirement after the season, I
knew I had to be there for the end.
The final two games on the sched
ule were Sept. 29 and 30 at San
Francisco’s Pacific Bell Park. My
dad and I bought two tickets for
each game (at a price much higher
than face value) and were set.
Of course, the events of Sept. 11
pushed the season back a week,
but that didn’t stop our desire to
see his final road games. The
weekend turned out fabulous.
With the blue skies and bluer
than-blue water beyond the out
field walls, Pac Bell is a gorgeous
park to watch a game. Gwynn was
honored before the game with a
video tribute and presented with a
cable car bell that listed his career
accomplishments.
He handled his road departure
great, but admitted that he didn’t
know how he would handle his fi
nal home games. And as it turned
out, neither did I.
So with money I didn’t have, I
booked a flight to San Diego and
watched as the Padres took on the
Rockies in the final weekend of
the season.
In the games I attended during
both weekends, I saw Barry
Bonds’ 69th home run and Rickey
Henderson’s 3,000th base hit.
Both thrilling moments. But they
didn’t even compare to seeing
Gwynn’s 3,141st — andfinal —
hit on Saturday. He went the other
way, as he does well, and laced an
RBI double into left field.
In his limited pinch-hitting role
this year because of his knees,
Gwynn only got one chance per
game to get a hit, which he usually
did. But on Sunday, in front of
60,103 fans, he grounded out to
shortstop in his final at-bat. It did
n’t matter. Being able to stand on
my feet and cheer the greatest pure
hitter of this generation for a final
time was the important thing.
And being there for the lengthy
postgame ceremony was special.
Bob Costas did a great job as the
emcee, and seeing all the people
he announced that had been a part
of Gwynn’s career come back on
the field made the reality sink in
that the illustrious career had
come to an end.
But nothing could top the very
end of my Tony Gwynn story.
When the ceremony was over and
people were supposed to leave,
nobody did. Nobody wanted to
say goodbye just yet. Tony, just
like all of us there that night, want
ed to say thanks one last time.
I watched, while leaning
against the railing along the right
field foul line, as Tony shook
hands and hugged those that had
grown to love him as a friend.
And before I could even prepare
for it, there he was in front of me.
We shook hands. I told him how
much he meant to me and how
much of an inspiration he had
beeir. I mentioned my cousin,
who is a member of the San Diego
State baseball team that Gwynn
will be coaching soon, and he told
me that he’d take care of him.
And as our faces shared the big
screen for those precious seconds,
I noticed that we had one very spe
cial thing in common.
In a moment that will forever
stay etched in my mind, I noticed
that me and my hero were staring
straight at each other with eyes
covered in tears.
Thanks, Tony.
Jeff Smith is the assistant sports editor of the
Emerald. He can be reached at
JeffSmith@dailyemerald.com.
Ducks golfers stay
consistent at OSU
By Jesse Thomas
for the Emerald
They began the day in 12th. They
finished in 12th. At least they were
consistent.
The Oregon women’s golf team
remained consistent as they fin
ished the final round of the
OSU/Shanico Invitational in the
pouring rain Wednesday. The
Ducks had a final round of 312 to
finish at 932 for the tournament.
Senior Kathy Cho, who sat in a
tie for 12th after the second day,
had trouble and shot a final round
80 to finish in a tie for 21st at 227.
Other Oregon highlights include
freshman Jonna Nealy and sopho
more Lacy Erickson, who both shot
respectable 2-over 74s to lead the
Ducks. Nealy finished the tourna
ment in a tie for 37th at 231, after
sitting at 46th entering the round.
“Jonna and Lacey played well,
especially considering the condi
tions,” Oregon coach Shannon
Rouillard said. “It basically poured
on us for 15 holes. But mentally, we
need to become tougher under
these conditions.”
California earned the individual
title at 882, after their fifth player’s
score was better than that of Ari
zona who also finished at 882, who
took second. Stanford came in a
close third at 885, with Washington
far behind for fourth at 897.
“We have a lot of work to do and
that’s the bottom line,” Rouillard
said. “We’ll keep refining our short
game this week and work on a few
other things, but we’ll get there.”
News briefs
UCLA and UW feature
two No. 1s
LOS ANGELES (KRT) — When
Washington plays UCLA, it will be
more than a matchup between top
10 teams. It will be a meeting of No.
Is.
Reggie Williams was the top-rat
ed high school receiver in the coun
try last season. Matt Ware was the
most sought-after defensive back.
When they took their recruiting vis
it together to UCLA, it looked as
though the Bruins might land both
of them.
The prodigies will go facemask
to facemask Saturday, lining up
across from each other at receiver
and cornerback. UCLA coaches
were crushed when they lost
Williams to Washington, but they
might be even more frustrated try
ing to defend him.
“He’s a bigger Freddie Mitchell,”
UCLA coach Bob Toledo said. “I’d
love to have him. I don’t know how
you stop him.”
Although Ricky Manning is
UCLA's top cornerback, he might
not be tall enough at 5-foot-9 to
match up with the 6-4 Williams.
Since Ware is 6-3, he has a leg up
on the assignment he's preparing
for.
— By Lee Jenkins
(c) 2001, The Orange County Register (Santa
Ana, Calif.). Distributed by Knight
Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
Pilkington
continued from page 13
to make it there,” Pilkington said.
“He kind of shows me how hard
you need to work and what steps
you need to take to be an All
American.”
In addition to Seth’s desire to be
an All-American, his long term
goal is to be an Olympian.
“To take running as far as I can
go: That’s my ultimate goal,” Pilk
ington said. “I know that there are
other guys across the country that
are training, and it motivates me to
think that they are working just as
hard and if I work just as hard, I
can beat them.”
Pilkington’s teammates at Ore
gon are pleased to have him on the
team.
“Seth, being a true freshman,
has stepped it up and will be our
No. 2 runner all season,” fellow
runner and roommate Andrus
said. “It’s not a huge surprise,
though, because he came here
highly recruited out of high
school.”
Even if the accolades of All
American or even Olympian come,
Pilkington will probably remain
the same soft-spoken “normal”
person he is today.
Classifieds:
Room 300, Erb Memorial Union
PO. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: classads@dailyemerald.com
Online Edition:
www. dailyemerald. com
To place an ad, call
(541)346-4343 or
stop by Room 300 Erb
Memorial Union
085 GREEK ANNOUNCEMENTS
See your party photos on the web!
@ partypics.com
PASSWORD: UOGREEKS
Wally Kempe & Associates
344-6750
1001OST & FOUND
Found along E. 15th: CD case w/
CDs. Call 342-5937 w/ description to
claim.
105 TYPING/RESUME SERVICES
At 344-0759, ROBIN is GRAD
SCHOOL APPROVED. 30-year the
sis/dissertation background. Term
papers. Full resume service. Editing.
Laser pr. ON CAMPUS!
120 MISCELLANEOUS FOR SALE
Japanese Animation: Largest rental
selection in town at Emerald City
Comics. 770 E. 13th. 345-2568.
take a break
at the break
12 pool tobies | video arcade
table tennis
air hockey | big screen tv
emu ground floor
120 MISCELLANEOUS FOR SALE
“Give Me Five!*
Run your “FOR SALE” ad (items
under $1,000) for 5 days. If the
item(s) doesn’t sell, call us at
346-4343 and we’ll run your ad
again for another 5 days FREE!
Student/Private Party Ads Only • No Refunds
130 CARS/TRUCKS/CYCLES
Classic cruiser 1984 Olds Cutless,
V6, automatic, 4-door sedan, excel
lent condition, $1800, 342-3897.
1980 BMW 320i 2 door sedan, 5
speed manual, maintained, runs
great, $2100, 342-3897.
Is Aries due
a pay raise?
HOROSCOPE.
ODE CLASSIFIEDS.^WYy^
) m m l n m i n i t h i i i
145 COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS
Complete Mac G3 433MHz desktop
system. 12GB, 96MB, CD-ROM,
Zip, Floppy, 3 PCI, 1 ADB, 17" Sony
AV monitor, + more. $650/OBO. See
www.ori.org/- kenl/temp/g3. html for
more.
165 SPORTS EQUIPMENT
K2 Enemy skis. 173 cm, twin-tip.
Marker 9.1 racing bindings. Just
tuned. $275 obo. Call 485-4812
190 OPPORTUNITIES
BLP/1R BEWARE
The Oregon Daily Emerald assumes no
liability for ad content or response. Ads are
screened for illegal content and mail order
ads must provide a sample of item for sale.
Otherwise, ads that appear too good to be
true, probably are.
Respond at your own risk.
tttittiittt*
190 OPPORTUNITIES
Join Comedy Sportz, a local improv
group. 6-week workshops starting
Oct. 14th. For info, call 517-9996.
$$$Attn: Work From Home
Up To $500-$7000 PT/FT
Free Booklet 888-689-3116.
www.BeFinanciallyHappy.com
Call All Film Buffs: Applications are
now being accepted for Queer Film
Festival jury volunteers. Watch films
from all over the world and help se
lect this year’s winners. Applications
available in EMU Suite 2 or at
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/-qff
205 HELP WANTED
F *i PROMOTIONAL JOBS! $10/hr
to give away cool new products!
Promogirl.com
WANTED. Serious people to work
from home. $1500-7000/mo. FT/PT.
Free information. (866) 736-7984.
205 HELP WANTED
Fraternities • Sororities
Clubs • Student Groups
Earn $1,000-$2,000 this semester
with the easy Campusfundraiser
.com three hour fundraising event.
Does not involve credit card ap
plications. Fundraising dates are
filling quickly, so call today! Contact
Campusfundraiser.com at (888)
923-3238, or visit
www.campusfundraiser.com
Project Saferide is hiring an Educa
tion Coordinator for the 2001/2002
school year. The Education Coordi
nator works to promote sexual as
sault awareness and related topics
to the mission of Project Saferide for
the Saferide staff, volunteers and
the campus community. Requires
ten hours a week and is a stipend
position. Applications can be picked
up in the Women’s Center (Suite 3,
EMU) and are due by Friday, Octo
ber 19.