July 4,1990 The Portland Observer Page 5
T he L ocker R o o m
Earl "The Pearl" Monroe and "Big Slim ««
By Ullysses Tucker, Jr.
Sixteen years ago (1974), Earl The
Pearl” Monroe served as a basketball
camp counselor at Winston-Salem State
I niversity in W inston-Salem, North
C arolina.
A
member of the
New York Knicks
at the
tim e,
Monroe, always
went back to his
old college to help
form er
co ach
C larence ‘‘Big
House” Gaines.
Gaines is the win-
ningest basket ball
coach in college
history.
ceived in his young life. Em barrassed
and hum iliated because everyone
laughed at him, “ Big Slim ” asked to be
sent back home. He no longer w anted to
M onroes’college
teammate, Harold
Bell, now a radio
broadcaster and
com m unity o r
ganizer in W ash
ington, D.C. at the
time, organized
the cam p for a
Earl The Pearl" Monroe
group o f at risk
inner-city young Enter Earl "The Pearl' Monroe...He
to ld "B ig S lim " that he had enough
sters. T hou g h
talent to play college ball and sug
m any o f the
youngsters were gested that he get his life in order....to
talented athletes, correct his attitude and think about
"Big Slim"
at some point, the what he wanted out o f life.
majority o f them
participate at the cam p. “ Big H ouse”
had been involved in crim inal activity
told him to “ shut up and sit dow n” .
or sat on the edge o f good and evil.
Enter Earl “ The Pearl” M onroe, who
Gaines, who stood 6 ’5" and weighed
stepped directing a drill with the other
300+ pounds, was a strong disciplinar
players and walked over to speak with
ian and his ubiquitous presence sent out
“ Big S lim ” . He told “ Big S lim ” that
intimidating vibrations. He had the ability
he had enough talent to play college
to make people, especially athletes in
ball and suggested that he get his life in
his program , look over their shoulders
order. M onroe also told him to correct
at all limes. The thought o f being caught
his attitude and think about w hat he
doing something wrong by “ Big House”
wanted o u to f life. “ Big Slim ” excused
made m any athletes think about right
him self and w ent back to the room
and wrong before acting foolish or a t
where he started packing his belong
tem pting some college prank. Loud and
ings.
noisy classroom s or gyms fell silent
L ater that afternoon, “ Big House ’ ’
when Gaines entered. He was the King.
G aines called “ Big Slim ” into his of
Harold Bell knew that if the group o f in
fice and asked him if he still w anted to
ner-city youngsters could survive a week
go home. “ Big S lim ” , ego still bruised,
with Gaines, they would be more than
answ ered yes. G aines told “ Big Slim ”
able to cope with lifes’ com plexities or
that he could not run from his bad atti
be sent home because he did not toler
tude all o f his life and noted that a real
ate bad attitudes or disrespectful be
man would stand up for himself. G aines
havior. ‘‘My W ay O rT railw ay s’* w asa
dared
“ Big S lim ” to prove him wrong
motto G aines shouted consistently to
and
w
ith a little elem entary psychol
the cam pers, many o f whom were high/
ogy,
convinced
him to stay and prove
junior high schoolers.
that
he
was
not
a jerk and hardhead.
“ Big Slim ” , a 6*4" lanky forward
“
B
ig
S
lim
”
,
not
only
stayed for the du
with raw skills was one of the 50 cam p
ration
o
f
the
basketball
cam p, he led his
ers. He had a chip on his shoulder, no
team to the C am p Title, won the mile
respect for authority, and a terrible atti
run title, and finished second in the
tude. To say the least, “ Big S lim ” was
“ One On O n e” cham pionship and in
the most disruptive player in the camp.
free-throws. Earl “ The P earl” M onroe
He goofed around during lectures, never
and “ Big H ouse” G aines were very
worked hard, or listened to the coaches
pleased with the progress of “ Big Slim” ,
or camp directors. One day, ‘ ‘Big House’ ’
who finally learned that hard work can
pulled “ Big Slim ” out o f a lay-up drill
payoff. “ Big Slim ” also learned not to
and blasted him verbally. It was the
worst verbal lashing he had ever re
LOAVES & FISHES
WEEKEND PROGRAM
IN JEOPARDY
quit and respect people.
Loaves & Fishes C enters’s w eek
“ Big S lim ” , who had been kicked
end meal program is in jeopardy if vol
out o f school in the sixth grade and
unteer drivers cannot be found. Loaves
dropped out in the tenth grade, went
& Fishes recently launched a weekend
back to D.C. with
meal delivery program to provide hot
a totally new per
meals to the very frail, homebound
spective about life
seniors who are at risk o f malnutrition
and school. A mar
in the Pordand metropolitan area. While
ginal student most
funding exists for the program, a long
o f his life, “ Big
waiting list for meals now exists be
Slim’ ’ finished his
cause o f a serious volunteer driver
senior year with
shortage. If drivers cannot be found, the
the best grades o f
program may be forced to discontinue.
his life. He was
The Loaves & Fishes weekend meal
selected to play in
delivery program allows the city ’s frail
se v e ra l
high
elderly to stay in their ow n homes,
school A ll-Star
rather than be institutionalized.
g a m e s d e sp ite
Loaves & Fishes Centers has been
being (over the age
serving the nutritional needs of the elderly
limit) ineligible to
in our com m unity since 1970. They
play in the city.
provide approxim ately 4,000 hot, nu
“ Big S lim ” also
tritious meals each weekday in group
secured a schol
settings at 29 Centers in Multnomah,
arship to a junior
W ashington and Clackam as counties,
college and he
and deliver noon meals to homebound
later transferred to
seniors through the M eals-on-W heels
a four year insti
program.
tu tio n .
“ B ig
Volunteer drivers m ust be at least
Slim ” had a de
16 years old, have a valid driver’s li
cent college ca
cense and a car. Delivering meals takes
reer, but more im
about an hour on Saturday or Sunday
portantly, he o b
and routes can be scheduled near the
ta in e d
u n d e r
volunteer’s home.
g ra d u a te
and
For more information on how to
graduate school
become a volunteer driver for Loaves
d e g re e s. “ B ig
& Fishes weekend meal program, please
Slim ” becam e a symbol o f hope in his
call the Loaves & Fishes Central Office
old neighborhood and family.
at 777-2424.
Three weeks ago, “ Big Slim ” ran into
Earl “ The P earl” M onroe for the first
time since the basketball cam p incident IS
j
2
in 1974. M onroe, a four time NBA All-
Star and recent inductee into the B as
ketball Hall o f Fam e, was in Portland to
cover the N.B. A. Finals. He is a basket
ball announcer for ABC Radio/M adi-
son Square G arden,Inc.,and partners in
a record com pany (Pretty Pearl R ec
ords). “ Big Slim” thanked “ The Pearl”
for being a positive force in his life and
for helping him to turn things around.
He told M onroe that most o f the guys
from that cam p w ere dead or in jail
(only 4 out o f 50 made it to college).
“ Big Slim ” also praised coach Gaines
for being so firm and patient with him.
Monroe sm iled with joy as he and “ Big
Slim talked about current career en
deavors and dream s. They even ex
changed num bers and prom ised to keep
in touch. M onroe, very m oved by the
spontaneous encounter, remembered the
cam p vividly and often wondered what
happened to the “ Big Slim s” o f the
world. Pleased that he at least helped to
save one.
One more thing readers should know
about “ Big S lim ” , his real name is
Ullysses Tucker, Jr.
N ext W eek: An update on Earl
‘ ‘The Pearl ’ ’ M onroe and life after Bas
ketball.
iy Aaron Fentress
fact is, if Henderson feels h e ’s getting a
raw deal, some players arc outright being
robbed.
W hen looking at a list o f the
highest paid players and com paring it to a
list o f the best perform ers (listed at right)
you learn real quick why there is a frequent
changing o f the crow n. The highest paid
players arc not necessarily the best play
ers, and when the best players realize this,
and stats d o n ’t lie, the stakes get higher.
New York Y ankee’s first base-
men Don M attingly was the highest paid
player prior to Canseco. M attingly signed
his contract before the season began.
Looking at his num bers, would you say
he’s worth $3.8 a year ? W ill Clark was the
m oney cham p before M attingly, signing
for $3.75 a year. C om pare his num bers to
that o f his team m ate M alt W illiams. Docs
C lark ’s perform ance look like it’s $3.5
million dollars belter than Williams ? Hell,
W illiam s is actually having a better year,
and you can bet he’ll m ake note of Clark s
salary and dem and a raise before next
season.
Running down the statistics the
com parison’s go on and on. Kcnn G riffey
Jr. versus Ricky Henderson. Robin Yount
versus, team m ate, Dave Parker Dodger
pitcher Fernando V aluenzuela versus,
another D odger pitcher, Ramon Martinez.
And probably die m ost rcdiculous ex
am ple, pitcher Mark Langston o f C alifor
nia, com pared to Chicago W hite Sox
pitcher, Barry Jones. No comparison.
At the end o f every M ajor league
baseball season one team is crow ned as
U llysses T ucker , J r .
Reebok International Ltd. Reaffirms
its Position on South Africa
D E T R O IT , M I - “ If w e’ve said it
o n c e , w e ’ve sa id a th ousand
tim es...Reebok is NOT in South A f
rica” read the T-Shirt that Rev. Leon
H. Sullivan, (right), Chairman and
Founder of the OICs of America proudly
held at the 26th annual OICs of A m er
ica convocation recently held in D e
troit, Michigan.
Josh Culbreath, (left), 1956 O lym
pic Bronze M edalist and Head Track &
Field Coach of Central State University
in O hio, and W arren Jackson (center),
President & CEO o f Circulation Ex-
perti Ltd, Consultant to Reebok Inter
national are also shown holding the
Reebok T-Shirt proclaim ing the com
pany’s anti-apartheid position.
Rev. Sullivan s the architect o f the
world reknown Sullivan Principles which
were the initial catalysts for corporate
sanctions against apartheid in South
Africa.
O ICs o f America was founded in
Philadelphia in 1964 by Rev. Leon H.
Sullivan as a means o f providing com
prehensive em ploym ent training for the
disadvantaged, unem ployed and un
skilled Americans o f all races. Since
that time, OIC has grown to encompass
more than 75 regional offices and train
over one m illion people for productive
careers.
Billy Martinez
Albany, OR
iSx
Pablo Montano
Tucson, AZ
Portland Armory
Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
10,000 NE 33rd
Fights begin at 8:00 p.m.
LOOKING FOR THE
BEST HOMEBUYING
VALUE?
Top dollar sometimes in wrong hands
Last week Oakland Athletics right-
elder Jose Canseco became a rich.... excuse
ic, Richer man. In fact C anseco becam e
ic richest man in baseball history when
; signed a contract worth $23 m illion
/cr five years. As outrageous as Canseco’s
yntract may appear, the reality is that the
larkct value o f a player of C anseco’s
iliber could reach $10 m illion a year by
?95.
In the last two years Major League
ascball has seen the crow n worn by the
ighcst paid playcr change heads 15 times,
rom Roger elem ens $2.6 m illion a year
;al, signed in February o f 1988, to
anscco’s $4.6 million a year signed last
cck, the e g o ’s get bigger and the checks
ust follow. W ith C anseco’s contract cv-
y ego in the game will be wincing at sea
m ’s end. Some have gotten an early start.
“ I’m worth more titan I get paid,”
lid O akland left-fielder Rickey Hendcr-
>n after C anseco’s big contract was
gned."Now everyone who signed as a
cc agent is making more than me. I’m
c only guy going to the hall of fame who
akes that m uch less than Jose.”
There arc four key elem ents to
enderson’s statement. 1) Irony; Hcndcr-
>n just signed a new contract last Dcccm-
;r which made him the highest paid
aycr in baseball at $3 m illlion a year. 2)
severe Dilusion of grandeur; he’s not in
c hall o f fame yet. 3) Disrespect towards
her players; There arc atlcast 10 players
baseball who make far less than Hcn-
:rson and have as good, if not a better,
tancc o f making the hall of fame. The
by
cham pion. During the off-season there are
several m oney cham pions. The season cham
pions proved to be the best. W hile the money
cham pions claim to be the best, throw their
past season stats around the negotianting room,
get their m oney, then realize maybe they
aren ’t the best. Som eday maybe players like
H enderson will w ake up and read the box
scores, then be thankful they even got $3
million.
Tup money makers
Player
Salary
Canseco, Oak $4.6
Maltingly, NY $3.8
$3.75
Clark, SV
Yount, Mil
$3.2
I lenderson. Oak $3.0
Puckel, Mum $3.0
Murray, LA
$2.5
Molilcr, Mil
$2.4
Pilcher
Salary
Langston, CA $3.2
Slcwcrl, Oak $3.0
Clemens, UO, $2.5
Scull, 1 lou
$2.2
$2.1
Davis, KC
Gubicza, KC $2.0
Valenzuela, LA $2.0
Avg. Hr RU1
.305 20 50
.158 5 25
.288 14 58
.245 6 33
.336 13 27
.305 10 43
.286 9 36
.291 7 25
Record LRA
3.13
4-8
10-6 2.55
12-3 2.64
5-7 4.36
1-5 5.52
4-7 4.55
6-6 3.73
LUCKY YOU.
IT’S HUD
SIGN UP TIME!
fflWHOME
Top Performers of 1990
(Through Sunday, July 1st)
Player
Griffey. Sea
Parker, Mil
Bonds. Pill
SabotCinn
Williams, SP
Jefferies, NY
Avg
J 30
.325
.332
.332
.302
.314
HR
12
9
13
13
15
10
Pitchers
Record
Jones, Chi
9-1
Armslrong.Cinu 10-3
Marline/., LA
9-3
Kmg.Chi
»’ I
S.im|ieii, Mon
6-1
RUI Avg.Sal
36 $180.000
50 $1.2 mill
52 $850.000
52 $350,000
61 $190,000
33 $200,000
ERA
Salary
1.43 $205,01X1
2.72 $300,000
2.62 $150.000
218 $115.000
2.00 $100.000
here
W hen you see our sign up in your
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that this is a place that can m ake buying
your next hom e both easy and fast.
Your agent will tell you that H U D
hom es are priced to be terrific values.
And with FH A M ortgage Insurance, a
buyer's down paym ent can be ju st 3 % .'
So watch the Sunday O regonian
for our w eekly H U D hom e listings,
and then look for our “ Buy a H U D
hom e here" sign.
For people w ho want a good deal
on a good hom e, it’s a beautiful sign
of the tim es.
HUD
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING
AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
t9S*l>vHUO Po.n.nd CWc
Equal Housing Opportunity