Twilight of the Gods: How the great Frank Deford changed my life

Recently, NPR aired an interview with Frank Deford, following the announcement that he would no longer supply sports commentaries to the network. I was driving around Syracuse - literally circling the blocks until it ended, having to hear every word. And I should have known something was up. Damn... I should have known. 

There's only one reason why a writer ever stops writing.  

Over the weekend, Deford passed away.

Last night, as the avalanche of testimonials began, it hit me that without Frank Deford, this blog probably would not be here.

In 1990, Mustang (aka Tom Peyer) and I were living in Syracuse, (nothing changes, eh?) pitching humor pieces to magazines, trying to scrape up extra beer money. We had scored several times with National Lampoon but needed to expand our markets. We tried The National, Deford's new daily sports tabloid. We sent a piece called "Who Should Buy the Yankees?" ripping the horrible administration of George Steinbrenner and imagining how various luminaries would change the franchise. Deford bought it, paid us $200 - back then, you could buy a Mercedes with that kind of money - and we switched from Genny Cream to Heineken.

Through the miracle of printed paper, here it is.

 

The jokes are dated. (I barely remember Silverado Savings and Loan.) Here's the part on Trump.

Deford asked for more. Terrified of waiting too long, we sent him a weird side project we had been noodling around for months, without much hope. It was called "The Poetry of Phil Rizzuto." We took Rizzuto's on air meanderings and, with use of the carriage return key, turned it into poetry form. 

Deford wrote back and said he loved the poems, but the feeling among his editors was that the project was too "New Yorky" for a national audience. He suggested we try a New York publication, such as the Village Voice.

We took his advice. The Voice bought it, ran with it, and a few years later, O Holy Cow: The Selected Verse of Phil Rizzuto was in bookstores. Later, I plagiarized myself and did the same exact thing with Donald Rumsfeld and Donald Trump. (Nothing like stealing from yourself.) I learned that if you wait long enough, all ideas come back, and they hail your creativity.  

Anyway, I shall always owe Frank Deford for his suggestion. It changed my life. And after that NPR interview, I should have known. Damn. I blew it. I should have written him a letter, thanking him. 

I don't know if the hereafter has wifi. If so, I hope he clicks on us. Either way, he will always have a place in my heart. Damn. I should have known.