Michael jordan im back chicago tribune11/15/2023 ![]() ![]() “It was just like a bunch of school kids in a classroom,” Calhoon said. One time, Jordan warned them that if they persisted, he would stop signing. The push from the back of the crowd would alarm Calhoon, who worried that children standing in front might get crushed. 45 signed autographs for the fans, which he did often. ![]() Most of Calhoon’s interaction with Jordan came when No. I had seen a lot of work ethics by players over the years, but I could certainly understand if he had that type of work ethic in basketball and applied it in baseball, which I assume he did, no wonder he was the greatest basketball player ever. I can’t say enough good things about the guy.” “ ‘If you’re one second late, you don’t hit.’ He never missed a day and was never late. “I told him I had time for him at 7 o’clock in the morning,” the former White Sox hitting coach said. And every morning, starting at 7, Walt Hriniak saw the proof. From the beginning he said he’d give baseball his best effort. “I remember seeing him take his first three swings and I thought, ‘Nope, nope, he’s not going to have the hand speed to do it,’ ” said Calhoon, a Division III catcher at Illinois’ North Central College. Mostly bleeders, worm killers and cans of corn. The late and beloved Phil “Boomer” Denis tracked for the Herald-Tribune Jordan’s first round of batting practice. But once he stepped into the batting cage, Michael Jordan, basketball superstar, painfully became Michael Jordan, struggling baseball neophyte. “We had more media coverage than they said was at the most recent papal visit,” Calhoon said. Calhoon estimated it was covered by 55 cameras, 13 satellite trucks and more than 300 members of the print media. For his first press conference, he sat in a chair atop the White Sox dugout. “Thankfully he came in before spring training started.”Įven before the explosion of the internet, Jordan’s foray into baseball attracted hordes of media. “We only had about three days heads up that he was coming,” said Calhoon, at the time, sports facilities director and manager of the pre-renovated Ed Smith Stadium. His arrival left little time for Pat Calhoon to prepare for the media onslaught. At age 31, the best player in basketball was about to leave the comfort of the hardwood for the green grass of baseball, a sport he had last played in high school. 4, Jordan signed a minor-league contract with the White Sox, along with the Bulls, owned by Jerry Reinsdorf. Jordan’s dad, James, who always wanted his son to play professional baseball, was murdered in July 1993, three months before Jordan retired from the league, citing a lack of desire. On the Mount Rushmore of 20th century athletes, Jordan and Muhammad Ali are front and center.Ī chain of events brought Jordan to Sarasota and 1994 spring training with the White Sox, months after winning his third straight NBA title with the Chicago Bulls. To this day, Michael Jordan remains the biggest sports/entertainment/media figure this area has ever hosted. Twenty-five years ago, a cultural icon still in the making touched down in Sarasota and, quite literally, turned this circus town into one. It was one of those moments where you just go, ‘Ah, the juice is worth the squeeze.’ ” “Not when Michael says, ‘Go get me some food,’ ” said Wilmot, a K-9 deputy in Tallahassee. Wasn’t he worried police might pull him over? The 15-year-old clubhouse worker of the Chicago White Sox would climb behind the wheel of Jordan’s red Corvette and drive the world’s finest basketball player to a McDonald’s drive-thru window.Īfter a while, with trust developed, Jordan merely flipped Wilmot the keys and let him go solo. When Michael Jordan didn’t like the players’ food served at Ed Smith Stadium, Justin Wilmot swung into action. ![]()
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