You’d think that flying charter with MLB teams would be dream travel — and often it is. But any seasoned traveler knows there are unforeseen circumstances at times. Ken relates three crazy charter flight stories from his days calling big league play-by-play. Lockdown will not seem so bad after listening to this episode.
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7 comments :
That was very entertaining - it really made me laugh :)
of course, your yearly warning about never flying through chicago
Love baseball stories. Looking forward to listening. Have to remove clothes from the elliptical machine first.
"Flights from hell"? Has Richard Lewis tried to contact you?
Yeesh- working for Mr. Jacobs must have been fun. At least he didn't do another "turn back the clock" stunt and have the team take the train to Kansas City.
When I worked for KRLA Radio, the L.A. Raiders play by play station, I got to go on the Raider's charter plane to Miami for a Dolphins game. Their regular charter was a United Airlines 747. The coaches, owners (Al Davis was not the only one, there were several other partner/owners) sat in first class. Press, announcers (Bill King and Rich Marotta) and client/guests, which I was one, sat in business class and the players took over coach in the back of the plane. There were only 40 players, so there was plenty of room. They folded down the seats in the middle to play cards and games. Those who didn't participate sat in the seats on the side, next to the windows to read or sleep. Second string QB Marc Wilson was one of those. Once everyone was seated, they handed out, hot, foil wrapped, cheese burgers and soft drinks were made available. Fresh fruit bowls were plentiful too. No alcohol was allowed on the plane. Big, juicy steaks were served for dinner. Al Davis was very sociable and came back and talked to everyone. Because it was an East Coast game, it was a two day stay. We were put up at the Air Port Hilton in Miami which is on a lagoon. We were treated royally. The day of the game I had breakfast with Al Davis' brother and niece who had flown down from N.Y. for the game. She invited me to go water skiing on the lagoon after breadfast. It was a late afternoon game so there was plenty of time. It was a key game for the Raiders. They had to win in order to get in the play-offs. Jim Plunkett, the starting QB was injured and couldn't play. Mark Wilson played the game of his life, and the Raiders won and went on to win the Super Bowl. He still sat alone in the plane on the way home. After the game, we were told, quickly, on any of the team buses to airport. We got on the first bus, which was filled with Raider players. When the bus was full, it took off the air port. When we got to the airport, the players rushed to the bar, thru tables together and ordered multiple drinks. There was about half an hour's time before boarding the plane, and they wanted to make the most of it, and they did. By the time we got in the air, had dinner, it was a very quiet flight home. Because of the late start of the game, we got back to L.A.X at 5am Monday morning - dead tired. My boss, the General Manager, got to go on the Super Bowl trip as a special guest of Al Davis. Champagne was served on that one. I could also tell about the plane trip from hell I took to Hawaii for the making of the surf movie, "Slippery When Wet", Bruce Browns first movie before "Endless Summer". It was on a Pink Cloud, Lockheed flight out of Burbank. But enough is enough!
That was a great episode. Although I'm sure it wasn't funny when these events happen.
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