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Sports
Tom Brady
Super Quarterback
By Michael Sihksnel
 Boston sports fans have a new hero to look up to in Tom Brady, who just
this year led the New England Patriots to their third Super Bowl in the past
four years. Brady became the youngest quarterback at 28 to win three
championships, and also was named the MVP in two of the games, ’02, 04.
There already is a buzz surrounding him as one of the best clutch quarterbacks
in NFL history.
On the Late Show with David Letterman, Brady described the pressure of playing
in a Super Bowl. “About two weeks leading up to the game, you realize that
it’s the game, you’ll remember it for the rest of your life, whether you
win or lose. And you know, I’ve heard people that have lost Super Bowls say
that’s the toughest defeat they’ve ever had.”
As it is, Brady’s road to his current stature has not been easy. As far back
as 1995, he’s had tough decisions to make. That year, Brady was the 18th
pick in the Major League Baseball draft, but passed on it to pursue his love
of football, and a full scholarship to the University of Michigan. After
backing up Brian Griese his first two years, he took over the Wolverine’s
starting job for his junior and senior year. Brady lead the Wolverines to a
victory in the 2000 Orange Bowl.
His NFL career started very slowly. Drafted by the New England Patriots in the
sixth round, Brady was buried on the bench behind long time starter Drew
Bledsoe. After spending over a year on the team, Brady was pressed into
service in 2001 after a tough hit by former New York Jets linebacker Mo Lewis
injured Bledsoe. Brady led the Patriots on a phenomenal run that culminated in
the Super Bowl in 2001, and his first MVP award.
Brady began playing football for an especially gifted high school team,
Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, California, an all-boys Catholic
school. This school has produced multiple famous athletes, including the
single season home run record holder and San Francisco Giants star Barry
Bonds, along with NFL Hall of Fame receiver Lynn Swann. Brady, talking about
high school, said, “My high school was much more of a baseball school than
it was a football school. A lot of guys come out of Junipero Serra High School
as baseball players. So they always get a lot of talent in their baseball
program.”
Brady’s pick by the Expos wasn’t just a result of his high school’s
reputation. His old baseball coach referred to him as the best player he has
ever had. Brady doesn’t think that he could have made it as a pitcher, and
utilized the arm strength that has served him so well. “I’d be in my
stance all day and my knees would get sore, and I’d throw the baseball. For
some reason, throwing a baseball, I used to get bad tendonitis in my elbow but
throwing a football I never did. Maybe because baseball’s a little bit
tougher on my body than football ever was.”
In an interview, Brady recalled those high school days fondly, and still
retains strong roots there. He donated the Cadillac XLR he received for being
named Super Bowl XXXVIII MVP to the school for a raffle to raise money. He
also keeps in touch with his friends from back home. “I do spend most of my
time with family and close friends. I think you just want relationships that
are very low-maintenance.” On that score, Brady’s love interest for the
past couple of years is Irish-American actress and model Bridget Moynahan (see
Irish America’s cover story Dec./Jan issue).
Brady’s Catholicism also has played a big part in his defining himself. “I
was in Catholic school through high school; I took religion classes through
college. It’s always been an important part of my life and family’s life.
My parents always raised us Catholic and it’s always been important to them.
Meeting the Pope was a great experience, something else you just really
don’t ever imagine.”
Brady has three sisters, Maureen, Julie, and Nancy, who are also athletic. His
sister Julie had a tryout with the San Jose club in the women’s professional
soccer league. Referring to his sisters, Tom said, “They’ve been so
supportive of me. The guys that find them are going to be awfully lucky.”
Tom is still the shining star in the NFL. On Letterman, referring to the
difficulty of a Super Bowl loss, he said, “Hopefully we don’t have to
experience much of that. We haven’t yet.” At this rate, that loss isn’t
happening in the near future.
Pete Carroll
Winning Coach
Pete Carroll’s coaching career at the University of Southern California has been an ever rising series of successes. After leaving the New England Patriots, where he was head coach for three seasons ’97-’99, and taking a year as a consultant to various professional and collegiate football programs, he returned refreshed in 2001 to assume the head coach position of the University of Southern California Trojans.
At USC, he got off to a rocky start, losing five of the first seven games. However, those five losses are more than Carroll has had in the next three seasons combined. In 2002, USC’s program had the best season it had in years, with Carroll leading them to an 11-2 record despite what many people listed as the most difficult schedule in all of college football. They won the Orange Bowl, and beat their two biggest rival’s, UCLA and Notre Dame, in the same season for the first time since 1981.
In 2003, Carroll built on his success by improving the already tough defense of USC and developing a new quarterback in Matt
Leinart. That year they lost only one game, to California State in triple overtime. They were named to the Associated Press national championship, and were number one in the Coaches Poll before contractual issues forced a change.
Carroll’s dedication was not unrecognized. Many organizations, including ESPN and the American Football Coaches named him Coach of the Year. The 2004 season just built off of the success of 2003. Leinart won the Heisman trophy for the best player in college football, and USC did not suffer a loss on its way to an undisputed national championship.
Carroll began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Pacific, and then held the same position at Arkansas under legendary coach Lou Holtz. He became an assistant defensive coach at Iowa State and Ohio State. After a long tenure in the NFL, he agreed to be the head coach and defensive coordinator of USC in December 2000.
He was born on Sept. 15, 1951 in San Francisco. He and his wife, Glena, who played volleyball at Pacific, have three children: sons Brennan, 24, who played tight end at Pittsburgh and is now an assistant at
USC, Nathan, 16, and daughter Jaime, 21, a senior at USC who played on the Women of Troy’s highly-ranked volleyball team which competed in the 2000 NCAA Final Four.
Sean Thomas Casey
Tough Hitter
When opposing pitchers come to Riverfront Stadium to play the Cincinnati Reds, they know they will have to face one of the toughest hitters in the league, Sean Thomas Casey.
Casey, at 30 years old, had the best season of his career in 2004, with a batting average of .321, 24 home runs, and setting a personal best with 99 RBIs. The Reds recently showed just how valuable Casey is, extending his contract to 2008, and paying him $16 million over the next two years.
Casey is not just known for his skills on the ball field. He is one of baseball’s most beloved players. His open and friendly manner has earned him the nickname “The Mayor.” Teammates also love his crazy victory dance which he performs in the clubhouse after a win.
Casey, who graduated from Upper St. Clair (PA) High School, where during his senior season he led the baseball team to its first Western Pennsylvania title, has played for only two organizations in his Major League career, and has no intention of leaving Cincinnati. In a recent article on
ESPN.com, he said, “I’d been thinking about it during the season, whether they’d pick it up. I want to stay in Cincinnati,” continuing with, “I’ve been here for seven years and really feel like a part of the city. When you’re part of the Reds, you’re part of the community. It means the world to me.”
Casey credits his father, Jim, for teaching him about how his actions affect others, and tells a story about stealing Ken Griffey Jr. baseball cards when he was younger. Now Casey plays on the same team as the legendary ball player, but he still retains modesty that is rare for a ballplayer. When he pulls into the players’ parking lot full of BMWs and Mercedes, he certainly stands out in his 1995 Honda Accord.
There is no mistaking Casey’s amiable attitude for a lack of ability on the diamond. A three-time All-Star, he has a career batting average over .300, which puts him among the best players in the game. Casey and his wife,
Mandi, have a son, Andrew Thomas, and are involved in supporting the Cerebral Palsy Foundation and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Cincinnati.
Natalie Coughlin
Five Olympic Medals
 One of the great stars of the U.S. swim team, Natalie Coughlin had an Olympics she could truly be proud of. She became one of only six American women to win five medals in one Olympics, with two gold medals and three silvers. Her gold medals came in the 100-meter backstroke and as part of the 4x200 freestyle relay team, which set Olympic and world records.
The 22-year-old phenomenon has been turning heads in the swimming world for a long time now. When she was only 15 she became the first swimmer to qualify for the Summer Nationals in all 14 events, and was immediately viewed as a rising star of U.S. swimming. However, before the 2000 Olympic trials, she suffered a shoulder injury and was unable to qualify for a spot on the team. What makes Coughlin unique in the swimming world is that she excels in so many different events and distances, in a sport known for its incredibly narrow specialization.
In fact, even in this Olympics, Coughlin could not compete in some of her strongest events, the 200m freestyle, the 100m butterfly, and the 200m backstroke. “It was just not really plausible,” Coughlin said. She realized it would have hindered her chances in all events if she decided to swim in everything she qualified in.
Coughlin’s strengths do not just lie in the world of swimming. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a 3.5 grade point average, earning a degree in psychology. During college, her swimming merits were proven along with her academics. During her junior year, she broke three world and four American records in one meet, the FINA World Cup in East Meadow, Long Island.
Both sides of Coughlin’s family are connected to Ireland. Her mother’s family are McFaddens from
Donegal, and on her Dad’s side, the Coughlins and the Corcorans, hail from Counties Cork and Limerick. Her father is a police officer in Vallejo, California. Her grandfather played football for Notre Dame.
Kelly Crowley
World Champion
In 2000, Kelly Crowley was flipping through the TV channels when she saw a scene at the Sydney Olympics where all the swimmers on the blocks had disabilities. She says about the experience, “I kind of went numb for a minute as I realized what I was watching. I decided in that moment that I was going to try to make the Athens team.” Crowley’s dream of competing against the world class competition was rekindled, and she began training for the first time in six years. All that training paid off this year as she took home two gold medals in 4x100 relays in her first Paralympic games.
Crowley was born with a congenital microdactyl, which means she has no elbow and three fingers on her right arm. Yet, she has been competitive in sports, even from a young age. She competed in basketball, tennis, and gymnastics. She had also swam since second grade, but once in college she stopped competing in order to focus on graduate work at Santa Clara University.
Inspired by the 2000 Olympics, Crowley made an impressive comeback. A year and a half after her fateful channel surf, she competed in her first long-course swim race at the USA Disability Championships in 2002, winning three gold medals and five silvers. She continued her intense training schedule, and continued on to win a silver medal in the World Championship in Argentina that same year.
Crowley credits the example of other athletes as motivating. In particular she mentions Lance Armstrong and Jerry Rice. “Nobody is going to argue over whether those guys are the best at what they do. And neither of them got to the pinnacle of their sport simply on sheer talent. They both are enormously talented, but they worked incredibly hard because good wasn’t good enough. Great, the best, that’s what they strive to be. And that’s what I strive to be.”
Moira Dunn
Shamrock Charm
In 2004, Utica, New York native Moira Dunn won her first career Ladies Professional Golfing Tour. The nine-year veteran took home the Giant Eagle LPGA classic, and finished seventh in the U.S. Women’s Open, which was her career best in any of the majors. She also had her highest career earnings in 2004, and her second-highest finish on the tour, ranked 35th at the end of the year.
Dunn’s success on the golf course dates back to her days as an amateur. She won the 1988 New York Junior Golf Championships, and had victories in the New York Women’s Amateur Championship in 1992 through 1994. In college, she was named a second-team All-American at Florida International University in 1992-93, and was an Academic All-American in 1994.
Dunn’s professional career has not been all smooth sailing, but she remains one of the most popular players on the tour. In fact, after her first victory, fellow golfers
A.J. Eathorne and Amy Fruhwirth doused her with beer and a bystander on the green screamed, “I love New York.” Dunn’s popularity with fans is traced to the fact that it is easy to relate to her. She is, in her own words, “a recovering Diet Pepsi addict,” and carries lucky ball markers, changing them only when she is playing poorly.
During her quest for a victory, Dunn also had two second-place finishes, both in 2001, and two thirds, in 2000 and 2001. 2001 was her most successful year on the tour, when she had her second-highest career earnings and highest over rank at 32. She also had a career best five Top Ten finishes that year.
Dunn is very focused at home as well, and credits her parents with being her biggest influence. She also displays her affinity for her Irish roots, always carrying a shamrock charm a friend bought her in Ireland.
John Flaherty
Yankee Catcher
 Back-up catcher for the New York Yankees, John Flaherty has enjoyed recognition as a highly competent fill-in for Jorge
Posada. The New York native started 35 games last season for possibly the most famous sports franchise in the world and batted .252 with six home runs and 16 RBIs. At one point last season, he was tapped to be the exclusive catcher for former Yankee pitcher, Jose Contreras. Manager Joe Torre displayed his faith in Flaherty’s ability and said that perhaps it was his patience that allowed him to work well with Contreras. If that sort of respect is anything to go by, Flaherty will be a Yankee for many seasons to come.
Though Flaherty and the Yankees were not successful in their bid to win their first World Series since 2000, there were a number of moments during the season that can only be described as magical. Flaherty hit his third career grand-slam June 10th against Colorado. On July 2nd he was involved in the epic 13- inning game against Boston. As a pinch hitter, he hit an RBI single into left field in the bottom of the 13th inning which brought home a 5-4 victory for the Yankees. An exhilarating end to a very intense game, where in inning 12 fellow Irish-American Derek Jeter dove head first into the stands to make a game saving catch.
Flaherty was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 1988 and made his Major League debut in 1992. His career has included a stint with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Flaherty is married to Allyn Yorizzo and they have two children, Brian and Kristen.
Gary Hall Jr.
The Fastest Swimmer
The ever colorful Gary Hall Jr. added to his long list of accomplishments at last year’s Summer Olympics in Athens. The swimmer won his 10th Olympic Medal, and reclaimed the title as fastest swimmer on earth with his victory in the 50m freestyle event. He was the oldest man on the swim team, and also perhaps the most charismatic.
Gary was born in Cincinnati in 1974, but moved to Phoenix at a young age. He had swam since early in life, but did not begin to take it seriously until his father opened the Phoenix Swim Club when he was 16. He competed in his first Olympics in 1996, with two silver medals in individual races and two golds in relays. He took four more medals in 2000, with two more golds in his second Olympic season.
Hall’s career has not been entirely smooth sailing, though. In 1999, he was diagnosed with severe Type I diabetes after suffering from blurred vision, and eventually collapsing at a party. Hall was shocked when this happened, as he had won his first Olympic medals three years earlier, and placed in multiple events in 1998. Hall said, “There is no history of the disease anywhere in my family, so you can imagine my disbelief. There exists a certain response within us as humans to ask, ‘Why me?’ when something goes wrong, and I experienced that.”
Hall was told he would never be able to competitively swim again, but after embarking on a new training program, he quickly regained his world class status. In 2000, Hall defended his Olympic crown in the 50m freestyle and took the gold. He continued training, and after the 2004 Olympics, became the second most decorated Olympic medalist in American history, tied with Carl Lewis.
He also is part of the only father/son team in history to compete in three Olympics. His father, Gary Sr., was the flag bearer for the 1976 Olympic team, the same team his uncle Charles Keating III swam on.
The adversity Hall has faced in his life made him give back to the community. He is very active within the American diabetes association, and has become one of their public spokesmen. After his swim career ends, Hall says he wants to continue in the public eye advancing both diabetes research and the sport of swimming.
Kara Lynn Joyce
A Competitor at Every Level
For some people, being a college student is enough of a challenge. Kara Lynn Joyce has other matters on her mind along with her studies. For instance, she can look forward to defending her medals in the 2008 Olympics after winning two silver medals at last year’s Athens games in swimming. The 19-year-old Michigan resident but New York native shocked everyone in the Olympic trials by passing American record-holder, and fellow Irish America Top 100 honoree, Natalie Coughlin to win the 100-meter freestyle.
Joyce’s accomplishments have been a long time in the making. In high school, she was already proving her worth in the pool. She led her team to the national championship, and also set the high school record in the 50m and 100m freestyle. Joyce is well known for her desire to win. Her coach, Jack
Bauerle, said in an interview with NBC, “Her best trait, outside of her work ethic, is her competitiveness.”
Joyce now attends the University of Georgia, and is continuing to step up to the challenges presented to her. Along with her Olympic medal this past year, Joyce set a new American record in the 50m (short course) at the 2004 NCAA championships. In the Olympic trials, she won the 100m sprint and came in second in the 50m. On the challenges of moving up, Joyce says, “You just move up to the next level and try to be a competitor at every level.”
Her family has been very supportive, and also they retain strong roots with their Irish heritage. She can trace her Irish ancestry to the United States to pre-famine emigration. At St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, a window over the baptismal font was donated by William Joyce, one of her ancestors. Within her immediate family, her two older brothers, Sean and Kevin both swam on teams at Eastern Michigan University.
Besides swimming, Joyce has the interests of any regular teenager. She professes a deep love of music, and singles out Pearl Jam, Maroon 5, and John Mayer as groups and musicians she likes.
Pat Lynch
Boxing’s Finest Manager
Boxing has been called the “red light district” of professional sports. But 46-year-old Pat Lynch, the manager of Arturo Gatti, is a shining star.
Lynch has been with Gatti since the fighter turned pro in a 1991 fight against Jose Gonzales. Fourteen years later, Arturo is the World Boxing Council’s 140-pound champion and Pat has distinguished himself as one of boxing’s finest managers. Among the honors he has received over the years is designation by the Boxing Writers Association of America as “Manager of the Year.”
Gatti’s professional record is 38 wins, 6 losses, and 29 knockouts. His trilogy against “Irish” Micky Ward (Top 100 honoree two years ago) took Arturo’s career to another level. Their first battle, on May 18, 2002, was a boxing classic; a brutal all-out war between two warriors who fought each other with such courage and heart that it was a unanimous choice for “Fight of the Year.” Ward won that bout on a decision. Gatti returned the favor in a rematch six months later. After Arturo prevailed in their third and final battle in July 2003, Micky retired. Under Lynch’s guidance, Gatti has won three more fights since then. His most recent victory was a fifth-round knockout of Jesse James Leija on January 29 of this year.
“I’ve been very lucky to survive in a world as tough as boxing,” Lynch says. “It’s all because of the trust and loyalty that Arturo has given me. If anyone tries to steal him away from me, he laughs and tells them, ‘Go and talk to Pat.’ I just try to be straightforward and honest in return.”
And how does Lynch cope with it when Arturo gets hurt? “It tears me apart,” he says. “Arturo is really fighting well these days. He used to be a brawler in order to please the crowd, but that’s changed. He doesn’t get hit as much now. But I pray for him before every fight. It’s much more than a manager-fighter relationship. Arturo is family to me. I married an Italian girl; she cooks for Arturo. And he’s the godfather of my youngest daughter.”
Lynch’s great-grandfather came from County Tyrone. “We were brought up in Hell’s Kitchen, which was a not-so-good Irish section of New York,” Lynch recalls. “My father was a solid six-foot-tall longshoreman, who worked for forty years on the piers. He turned me on to boxing when I was a boy. He’d boxed when he was in the Navy, and we’d watch the fights on TV together.”
Timothy Mack
Pole Vaulting Record Holder
If you’re afraid of heights, Timothy Mack’s choice of athletics is not for you. This accomplished Irish-American took home the gold medal in pole vaulting with a new Olympic record of 5.95 meters, which is over 19 feet high. The 33-year-old capped off an outstanding 2004 season, which included a first-place finish at the World Athletics Championships where he vaulted his personal best height at 6.01m, a second-place finish at the world- famous Millrose Games in New York City, and the number-one ranking in the world in Track & Field News. This winter, however, Mack is sitting out due to a slight left calf strain.
Mack didn’t always intend to be a pole vaulter. In 8th grade, he took up the sport as an alternative to distance running. His ability continued to progress, and his first major accomplishment was placing first in the 1991 Junior Olympics. Mack began his collegiate career at Malone College, where he was named a NAIA All-American two years in a row, and was the National Christian Collegiate Athletics Association champion in 1993.
After Malone, he transferred to the University of Tennessee and was also named an All-American in 1994. He continued vaulting while attending UT to earn his Master’s degree in Human Performance and Sports Studies. His career really took off in 2001, when he surprised everyone by finishing second in Outdoor Nationals and winning the Goodwill Games. At first, everyone was surprised by Mack’s performance and thought it was a fluke. He changed all those opinions with a stellar 2002 season, which included a victory in the Indoor Championships and a second-place finish in Outdoors.
Mack strongly credits his family for encouraging him to stay in vaulting. He is the youngest of five children to Don and Arlene Mack. Along with his own pole vaulting, he coaches Knoxville area children in the sport. He has had three male and one female state champions under his tutelage.
Meg Mallon
U.S. Open Winner
Meg Mallon adds to her already illustrious career with her second victory in the US. Women’s Open, this year capping it off by shooting the lowest closing round in the Open’s history. After her win, she said, “I knew it was in me, I just didn't know I could put 18 holes together like that. To do that was just so gratifying, I just can't explain it.” Mallon, one of the most accomplished golfers on the LPGA tour, recorded her fourth victory in a major. This went along with her two other victories that year at the Jamie Farr Ownes Corning Classic, and the BMO Financial Group Canadian Open, one week after her US. Open win and leading the event from beginning to end.
Mallon’s career has been a skyrocketing success, and she has maintained high standing on the tour since her rookie year of 1987. Since 1988, she has made almost 90 percent of the cuts in all her events played. She recorded her first LPGA tour victory in 1991, which also was the best year of her career. She won four events, including the LPGA championship and the Woman’s Open. She also was named female Player of the Year by the Golf Writers Association of America.
Her victory this year is even more special because her mother who suffered a brain hemorrhage in 2001 made it out to watch Meg win the Open. Her victory in the Canadian tour also made her the first person to win the two national championships in the same year.
Off the course, Mallon likes to relax by listening to music and following other sports. She also moved back to Florida, so she could be closer to her family and for her love of the water, despite growing up in the Midwest. She likes going to movies with friends, and working out outside of golf. Mallon is still going strong, and this isn’t the last time she’ll be in the winner’s circle.
The youngest of six children of John and Marian Mallon, Meg was born in South Natick, Massachusetts in 1963. “Meg always says she’s Irish,” her father told Irish America. Her ancestors are from Galway and Tyrone.
Heather O’Reilly
Soccer Superstar
When Heather O’Reilly traded in her Carolina Blue for the colors of the Women’s National Team this summer, she didn’t trade in her penchant for winning. This budding soccer superstar followed up her NCAA championship season with the University of North Carolina Tarheels with a gold medal in the Summer Olympics. O’Reilly, 19, the youngest member on the U.S. team, scored a goal in overtime to send the U.S. into the Olympic final, which they won in a 2-1 victory over Brazil.
O’Reilly, born and bred in East Brunswick, New Jersey, had an illustrious soccer career even before her days at North Carolina. During her senior year at East Brunswick High School, she was named player of the year in three major polls, Gatorade Circle of Champions, National Soccer Coaches Association and Parade magazine. Prior to that, she was a three-time high school All-American. She was named to the Women’s National Team in ’02.
O’Reilly also played for the U.S. Under-19 National Team. She was part of the team that won the world championship in 2002, and also led her club team to the state championship in 2001.
Her freshman season at UNC proved to be equally stellar. She had one of the most dominating NCAA tournaments a Tarheel ever has. She set the North Carolina record for the most goals ever scored in tournament – eight – and also had two assists. She was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference tournament team and also the All-NCAA tournament team.
Her family also has an athletic side. O’Reilly’s father, Andrew, ran track at Villanova University, and her older brother runs track and cross country at the Air Force Academy. Heather also played for her high school basketball team as point guard four years. She is majoring in education, and hopes to be either a professional soccer player or a teacher after she is finished at
UNC.
Terry Ryan
The Humble GM
By Mike Berardino
 Minnesota Twins fans making the pilgrimage to Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla., each spring have learned to count on quite a show come St. Patrick’s Day.
The home team takes the field wearing green jerseys. The grounds crew paints the bases green. Irish delicacies are available at the concession stands.
Even the media and scouts attending the game are treated to corned beef and cabbage in the VIP dining room.
Twins General Manager Terry Ryan makes no apologies for this blatant pandering every March 17. William Ryan’s son would have it no other way.
“There wasn’t a more proud Irishman than my father,” Terry Ryan says. “He loved St. Patrick’s Day. The green pants. The green beer. There was nothing he would shy away from on that day.”
William Ryan died in November 2000 at age 84. Owner of a Janesville, Wis., company that built bridges throughout the southern part of the state, the elder Ryan raised six boys along with his wife, the former Marie McCarthy.
“He was a tough guy,” Terry Ryan says of the ex-Marine who served in World War II. “I’m not quite the expert on our Irish heritage that he was. I do know he loved that darn ‘Danny Boy’ song.”
Marie Ryan would accompany her boys on the organ, and William Ryan would sing along proudly, showing his sons what it means to be Irish-American.
Those memories stay with the Twins GM to this day.
“He never knew the words, but he sure could hum it,” Terry Ryan says. “He thought he knew the words. He did try. But he’d get to ‘Oh, Danny Boy,’ and then it was a hum.”
Despite several payroll limitations, Ryan has the Twins franchise humming along, too. For the first time in their 44-year history, they have made the American League playoffs three straight years, averaging 92 regular-season victories in claiming the Central Division title each time.
The last two years they have been bounced in the first round by the richest team in professional sports, the New York Yankees, but the Twins were still named Organization of the Year by Baseball America.
It was the second such prestigious honor in the past three years for the Twins.
Ryan also earned the magazine’s distinction as Major League Baseball’s Executive of the Year. It was the second time in three years Ryan has earned the honor, having also claimed a similar title from The Sporting News in 2002.
Not bad for a franchise baseball commissioner Bud Selig tried to eliminate in the winter of 2001-02.
And yet there have been no best-selling books written about Ryan and his management strategies. He does not command $50,000 a pop on the corporate speaking circuit. He doesn’t front any grunge rock bands or use five-syllable Scrabble words in conversation.
He just finds ways to outwork, outthink and outmaneuver his better-known, better-compensated counterparts, and they can’t even resent him for it because he’s such a humble guy.
“He’s the consummate professional as far as I’m concerned,” Kansas City Royals GM Allard Baird says. “I like just talking baseball with him. I have a lot of respect for him, not only as a baseball guy but just as a person.”
Ryan’s baseball roots can be traced back to his four seasons as a left-handed pitcher in the Twins’ minor league system. They took a flier on him in the 35th round in 1972, and he went 10-0 in 1973 before succumbing two years later to bone chips in his throwing elbow.
He went back home and earned his physical education degree from the University of Wisconsin. Ryan then spent 1980-86 with the Mets as a Midwest area scout. He credits former Mets GM Frank Cashen and former scout Dale McReynolds, then working for the Dodgers, with helping him land his big break.
Ryan’s territory covered five states – Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and both Dakotas – and he still looks back in amazement at how he was able to survive.
“I was not prepared for that job,” he says. “I was very green, and it was all I could handle. I didn’t know what I was doing.”
Ryan, who just completed his 10th season as Twins GM, rejoined the organization in January 1986 as scouting director. He ran their next six amateur drafts before moving up to player personnel director in September 1991.
When Andy MacPhail, architect of the Twins’ two World Series winners in 1987 and 1991, left to run the Chicago Cubs, Ryan moved into the GM’s chair.
“One thing most people don’t realize about Terry is he’s very, very intelligent,” says longtime Twins scouting director Mike Radcliff. “He is like all the great decision makers who are able to listen to different people as they give information and then analyze it. The perception is Terry is just a plodder.”
Unlike some of his counterparts, Ryan is not a self-promoter. He is forthright and direct with the media, but he does not seek the spotlight or the credit.
He notes with pride that the Twins’ front office and scouting staff rarely suffers defections to other franchises. He also emphasizes the fact “there’s not too many egos involved here.”
That tone is set at the top.
“I delegate well, I’ll tell you that,” Ryan says. “If you hire some quality people, which I think we’ve done over the years, and let them do their job and don’t micromanage, you’ll be on the right path.”
You might even get to hum along to a winning tune.
Kerri Walsh
Beach Volleyball’s Queen
Standing on the podium with tears in her eyes, Kerri Walsh held up the Olympic gold medal which she would bring back to America. The 26 year old Irish-American, along with teammate Misty May, were the favorites entering the beach volleyball competition, and they certainly did not disappoint.
The California native is certainly no stranger to the beach, having grown up in Scotts Valley. The second oldest of four children, she began her volleyball career playing for Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose.
Since the formation of their two-girl team, Walsh and May have been a powerhouse on the beach volleyball circuit. Joining the AVP tour in 2003, they won an incredible 88 straight games and 19 tournaments before their first loss this past year, and have been the number one ranked team in the world since early 2003. In their first year on the tour, they captured the title of “Team of the Year,” and Walsh was named the MVP.
Walsh’s career has been one success after another. At her alma mater of Stanford, she is one of only two people in NCAA history to be a first team All-American all four years in college. In 1998, she took the Stanford Cardinals to the NCAA championship game, where they lost to her future partner May’s Long Beach State. The following year, the college indoor volleyball crown was hers. In 2000, Walsh was on the Team USA indoor volleyball team and impressed everyone with a gutsy performance on a badly sprained ankle. She talked to May while there, and the rest is history.
Given Walsh’s background, it’s no surprise that she excels athletically. Her father, Tim, was a pitcher in the Oakland A’s organization, making it up to AAA minor leagues. His father before him was a pitcher in the minors. Her volleyball genes, however, come directly from her mother, Margie, a two-time MVP volleyball player at Santa Clara. Her two younger sisters both play volleyball as well, Kelli for the University of Santa Clara and Mitty committed to Loyola Marymount. Marte, her older brother, was a basketball player at Cal Poly.
Kerri has also proven to be an astute student and businesswoman. She graduated with a degree in American Studies, and recently extended her sponsorship deal with Speedo. This woman has shown the determination necessary to make it in the rough-and-tumble world of competitive sports.
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