So with the death of Paul Hornung, and it being a quiet time in racing (and here)...
Some of you have seen the plaque on the pillar at Siro’s commemorating “Paul Hornung’s last tackle†(yeah, I know). I was there, this is what happened.
Back then in Saratoga I met a couple of horseplayers who turned out to be neighbors of mine in Greenwich Village. Tommy Meyerhoff, along with his dad Harry, owned Spectacular Bid. Lewis Friedman was (among other things) a comedy writer, he ended up writing screenplays, and the monologues for most of the awards shows you’ve seen. The two of them liked to drink, and were the ones who got me started on vodka martinis.
They especially liked to drink in Saratoga, where they teamed up to rent a house every summer. I stayed there a few times, as did David Cassidy, David Zucker (Airplane, Naked Gun, etc.), and various others. (Cassidy was a good guy and one of the least full of crap celebrities you’ll ever meet. And he loved the game. He handicapped using our stuff, and bred and owned horses. He also gave the keynote speech for the Hall of Fame one year, which Lewis wroteâ€" “I want to apologize to my daughter about her college fund, but they say he’s training greatâ€.
But I digress.
So one time (maybe Travers weekend) I’m staying there, as is Zucker. Not sure about Cassidy. And we are all pretty lit up, and end up in Siros, which in those days was pretty happening. (Same people, but 25 years younger).
Lewis and Zucker grew up in Milwaukee, where they went to high school with a bunch of other creative/musician types. They had grown up with the Lombardi Packers, so when we ran into Paul Hornung at the barâ€" all 300-plus very drunk pounds of himâ€" it was a big deal. They had to take his picture. Then he had to try to take theirs, though mostly he got some shots of his fingers. Then finally he decided to celebrate by picking the waitress Tommy was dating up off the ground and hugging her. Which didn’t work out so well.
He staggered forward with her into Meyerhoff, who staggered drunkenly backwards and crashed through an interior windowâ€" there were people having dinner at a table on the other side, and all of a sudden there’s broken glass and Tommy’s ass appearing over their food.
Anyway, nobody got hurt, and Lewis and Zucker had the plaque made to commemorate the “historical siteâ€. That’s the story.
Great story
Thanks for sharing, always enjoy some great nostalgia.
well, yes that is a great story. Certainly memorable! As a lifelong Irish fan I was really perplexed by the overall lack of press around this great legend\'s death. We\'ve certainly sold millions of magazines with the covers of less.
What people may not know (those under 65) - he\'s in the HOF collegiately as a QB, in the Pro football HOF as a running back. He also kicked field goals and punted.
And as ou\'d expect as a Louisville native, loved his horseplaying.
I think the last time I heard Paul speak was when Nebraska created a \"red out\" at ND Stadium. He simply could not understand the Irish fans scalping that amount of tickets. Neither could I . I think he left NBC right after that season.
The Cassidy story is classic. Jerry, I almost spit out my 6th cup of coffee this am laughing at the \"..but he\'s training great\" line. Good laugh to start the day, thanks for sharing this.
Love the story. Here\'s another with a less dramatic conclusion. Every year, my father would take a private train to the Derby from Rochester with a group of locals. That would be a story unto itself, but the details are now in the great beyond. At Churchill, they had a private box, and for quite a few years the adjoining one was occupied by Hornung, Jimmy the Greek and their entourage. Suffice to say, there was never a shortage of beautiful women, nor was Hornung ever without a tumbler of Kentucky\'s finest.
\"Money won is always better than money earned.\" (Classic quote that we can all understand).
I\'m not sure if this was the same night but I also met Hornung at Siro\'s one night . My friend and I wanted a picture with him so we asked him if we could buy him a drink in return for a picture. He told us he would take a picture without the drink but he wasn\'t going to turn down a drink if we were intent on buying. He couldn\'t have been nicer. Threw his arms around both our shoulders and talked to us for a bit. The picture hung on my refrigerator in my first house until we moved. Picture did not survive the move and I still suspect my wife was sick of staring at a picture of three pretty drunk guys in her kitchen and \"misplaced it.\"
Jerry - that one might just top your Imperioli/Mini-Me story.
Being from Wisconsin, this post is precious. It reminds me of a story about the definition of tact. In a bar, the subject of Green Bay Wisconsin comes up. A patron says \"Green Bay? There\'s nothing there but football players and ugly whores!\". Another patron says \"HEY! My wife is from Green Bay\". The response was \"What position does she play?\"
JB,
A buddy of mine owned some horses with Cassidy in the Bay Area. I second what you said about Cassidy, very nice guy and didn\'t try to big time anybody.
I met Cassidy a few years ago in Saratoga at Kenny Mcpeeks birthday party.
I chatted with him about an hour, just thought he was another owner.
The next day Kenny said to me did u know that was David Cassidy? I said no
he never told me his last name! I agree with all, he was a super nice guy
and a horse lover! Apparently there were some demons inside, but they were
not apparent from the outside.