Pep Talk: "Winslow Wanted Lousy Passes"

“Throw ‘em everywhere but at my chest” was the directive.

It was a statement uttered almost 40 years ago. However, for whatever reason, it vividly returned while savoring tasty cheeseburgers at Booches, the legendary burger joint in Columbia, Missouri, home to the University of MIssouri.

I was sitting with an old college friend. It was a reunion of sorts. We hadn’t seen each other in almost four decades, since our college days at Mizzou. While recently visiting campus, we randomly ran into one another. Over burgers and beers, we reflected back on Tiger football of that time. Specifically, the 1976 season under coach Al Onofrio.

The request to “throw ‘em everywhere but at my chest” came from a player who would go on to football stardom collegiately and professionally. It was addressed toward me. At the time, a wounded and confused freshman member of the Tiger team.

Kellen Winslow was a sophomore that season. Despite not playing football until his senior year in high school, the East St. Louis, Illinois native was a rising star. A big man with soft hands, immense athletic ability and great intelligence, the tight end had minor injuries keeping him from practice.

Meanwhile, your scribe was waiting for doctor approval, or disapproval, to continue playing football after suffering a skull fracture, major concussion, breakage of cochlear bones and loss of hearing from a freak injury suffered on a high-school basketball court a few months prior. We were comrades, sidelined and looking for something productive to accomplish.

We would lift weights together. As a quarterback and tight end, the workouts led to throwing the football around. It led to a man, later on, named to the NFL’s All-Century team commanding me to throw passes above his head, at his feet, to the far left and right. The mission was to help the 6’5” athlete become comfortable catching passes, wherever thrown.

One of the most memorable games in NFL history went down in Miami, Florida in the early 1980’s. The visiting San Diego Chargers, led by quarterback Dan Fouts, taking on Dan Marino and the Dolphins. It became known as the “Epic in Miami.” Winslow was spectacular, catching a playoff record 13 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown, blocking a Miami field-goal attempt and fighting through dehydration, a busted lip requiring three stitches and severe cramps. After the battle, video of teammates helping an exhausted Winslow from the field is one of NFL lore.

Now the athletic director at Florida A & M University, Winslow was a transformational player. Current New England head coach Bill Belichick says he redefined the tight end position. Before the 13th overall selection in the 1979 draft came along most professional tight ends were “block first and catch second.” Winslow changed all that.

A quick check of Wikipedia reveals his NFL accolades: After being drafted in the first round Winslow’s entire career was spent with the Chargers; five times an All Pro; elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and, according to the Sporting News, one of the top 100 players in NFL history. A stud.

What still burns bright in my mind about the soft-spoken man is a desire, despite great talent, for more. On a windy, cool but sunny Saturday afternoon in one of Mizzou’s great hangout places, during an accidental encounter with a long-time friend on the first visit back to campus in ages, memories of that time quickly, and surprisingly, surfaced.

Whenever I see highlights of Winslow’s career, or see him interviewed, it always takes me back to our time together. A star and a scrub. Each sidelined. One with big dreams of the future and one with uncertainty ahead. We had our moment. He probably doesn’t remember it. I do. It has served as a wonderful example of something important. At least for me. I hope it’s for you too.

Here it is: There is always room for improvement and we’re best when assisting others. Kellen Winslow showed me that before I even knew what it meant. Here was a man destined for big things who, while sidelined, kept thinking, “What can I do to get better?”

It takes my brain to “There’s nothing noble is being superior to somebody else. True nobility lies in becoming superior to our former selves.” A minor knee injury was keeping a future star from practicing but it didn’t mean the now 56-year-old was not seeking ways to fine-tune his game.

The meaning of what I was witnessing firsthand was lost at the time. 18 years old and wondering about my own future, its message certainly resonates powerfully today. The game plan will, in all likelihood, need revision along the way. We get injured - physically, emotionally and financially - and are challenged to adapt. Don’t let the temporary setbacks derail the dreams, don’t hesitate to ask for help or be ready to respond when assistance is requested. 

Winslow wanted lousy passes. Someone you know may have an equally strange request. Don’t hesitate to deliver. Over burgers and beers with a buddy, a great reminder: We’re best when serving others.