So thanks to my homey JAMES BLAGDEN I enjoyed an evening with Doctor K a/k/a DWIGHT GOODEN.
The trifecta of GOODEN, DARRYL STRAWBERRY and MIKE TYSON will forever be my boyhood superhero troika.
NIKE Sportswear has created a monthly series celebrating the New York athletes that have made the brand iconic. I taped most of the interview between the host CHRIS ISENBERG and the Doc (see below).
Man, I wish I was interviewing the Doc. CHRIS had a shitload of notes but he wasn’t able to catch a consistent flow. Doc is soft spoken and not blustery like I imagine STRAWBERRY to be. You have to tease info out of him. CHRIS didn’t hit this assignment out of the park possibly because he was too young to vividly remember the dominance of the young DWIGHT GOODEN.
Also I think CHRIS is a lifelong Yankees fan.
I could make the same complaint for the organizers because the commemorative poster they gave away wasn’t even the image of DWIGHT pitching the fireball. Anything other than this image is a fail.
At the end of the day this event was a home run because of the concept of pulling these iconic athletes down to the store to hang out and share a slice of their lives. NIKE stays winning.
And I did have a chance to get in a question during the Q & A part of the evening.
I asked DWIGHT which hairstyle best represented Doctor K? Was it the “wet look” care free curl from the 1986 World Champs? Was it the Cameo flat top from the early 90’s? Or was it the short-cropped Ceasar cut that he sported when he pitched in the Bronx for the Evil Empire.
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My money was on the “wet look”. |
my boyhood “troika” consists of the three mikes: jordan, jackson, and tyson
Caesar*
Dead End Kids, no doubt.
That white powder destroyed main potentially great athletes, people and families.
Strawberry has a son that plays in the NBA, I believe the Suns or the Sonics.
Growing up…..I lived for the NY Mets. Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry were my icons. Cocaine took them out and I had to watch my heros fall from grace.
But I still remember the K corner when the Doctor was on the mound and I will never forget the chants of DAAAARRRRRYYYYLLLL and the resulting home run that shut them up. Long live the real, old school METS!
The Champ always hit me as the most tragic of the three; Dwight and Darryl lost it also but in a more age old way, and had more opportunities to redeem themselves, even though the addictions are brutal. Mike had so much potential in a lot of ways and, after Cus D’Amato passed away well…
Anyone know if Tyson knows Sean Price, Heltah Skeltah or the other BCC groups?
There’s still a OGC mural on Rockaway Ave near Belmont in Brownsville, in case any DP.com readers wanna make a ‘hood pilgrimage.