The day the phone rang with an invitation to bring a guest to Washington DC to meet a Washington Redskins football player I told my Boss that the timing wasn’t right. I added that the only Redskins player or alum I would have an interest in meeting would be Sonny Jurgensen.
The laughter 🤣 that came next told me that day was going to be one that I would cherish forever.
Most people simply don’t connect Jurgensen with Duke University Football because Sonny played at a time when players went both ways.
We were allowed to bring 1 guest and 1 piece of memorabilia for Sonny to sign. Hence, I brought a Duke football helmet and our youngest child, Rebecca Carter at the time. Sonny was full fledged Sonny at the site of the Duke gear.
Julio Pascual ran the transportation department at the Washington Post and to this day, my working relationship with Julio takes a back seat 💺 to nobody. Class Act and he is currently living the life of retirement down in Sunny Florida.
Jurgensen picked off more passes (10 to 6) then he threw for touchdowns while playing for the Blue Devils. After a Hall of Fame career in the Nation’s Capital, Sonny took his knowledge of the game and passion for storytelling and turned it into an impressive broadcasting career.
Teaming up for a while with Sam Huff, the broadcast leaned towards two guys enjoying a beverage and just talking about a game they loved.
That night 🌙 at the restaurant, the 15 and ➕1 of us where taking turns asking questions to the Legendary man and clearly some of the 30 people in the room didn’t know what Sonny was all about.
Each time it was my turn, Sonny smiled because he knew that I would offer him a topic that would allow him to wave his arms and tell a story. He excelled at telling a story and hopefully he can tell them for a long time in Heaven 🙏🙏🙏.
Life was simpler back then and I miss those days. God Bless You, Sonny !
A.S.P.N on The Hill 