Last Monday, September 30th was a sad day in the sports world. A great athlete passed from this world, someone who finished his career with many records, a few of which will most likely never be broken.
As a Philadelphia Phillies fan, I was very well acquainted with Pete Rose as he was the leader of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team (The Big Red Machine) that broke Philly fans' heart in the mid 1970's on their way to consecutive MLB championships. I certainly admired him for his grit and all out play, but also wished him less than well when his team was on the diamond against the Phils.
But then he came to our team and our town, and led us to our first World Series win in 65 years! It was a magical run, one which I experienced as part of a bicycle trip to visit friends in Bloomsburg, Scranton and New York City, eventually celebrating the ultimate victory in Scranton.
Sadly, Rose was also notorious as he was accused of, and found guilty of betting on baseball, even on his own team. Yes, Virginia, betting of sports was actually illegal in the 1970's and 1980's. I know it is hard to believe today, when you can bet on sports while the games are playing! But back then, betting on sports was not a billion dollar business, although it is true that athletes are still not allowed to bet on sports. As a result of his gambling, he was banned from baseball, and restricted from ever appearing on the ballot for the baseball Hall of Fame. Worse, he denied that he had bet on games, only finally admitting to his illegal activities years later.
On the same day that Rose passed, another athlete, Dikembe Mutombo also died. I remember Mutombo as well, although not because he played in Philadelphia (which he did but only for two seasons), but because he was one of the first athletes from overseas to play in the NBA, and, I believe, the first born in Africa.
While Mutombo was a renowned shot blocker, and had a long career playing basketball, he was far more than an athlete. While at Georgetown he studied linguistics and diplomacy, serving as an intern for a Congressman and at the World Bank.
Mutombo parlayed his success in sports to fund his humanitarian work. Among other things, many other things, he worked tirelessly to improve the lives of his countrymen, especially children, in the Congo, he was a longtime supporter of Special Olympics, and he donated much of his own money for the various projects that he supported.
To be honest, I knew of his work, but did not know the full scope of it. I would encourage anyone interested in reading about an athlete who walked the walk, in stark contrast to so many of the athletes lives and activities that are splashed across the headlines in connection with drugs, opulence, paternity suits, etc. to research this man. Truly a remarkable life!
If more of our sports stars, indeed more of those who were born with exceptional physical or mental skills, or business acumen, would follow Mutombo's example, there might be less inner city schools struggling for supplies, less people facing medical bankruptcy, even less kids who seem hopeless in the face of having lost the birth lottery, born in a country where education is under valued, access to proper health services is not within reach, or where war, violence, chaos is everyday life for them.
So, yes, we lost two great athletes in the past week. But, not to take away from Rose's on field accomplishments, we lost one great man who happened to be a wonderful athlete.
I have posted under the topic of sports four times in the past. Here are links to those posts.
https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2011/03/nfl-labor-dispute.html
https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2011/06/olympic-bid.html
https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2023/04/eighty-for-brady.html
https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2022/12/world-cup-2022.html
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