Roddy Piper and Colt Toombs

I have met Roddy Piper a few times.  He is larger than life, but very humble as well.  He is one interesting person.  One thing I have learned about him is his deep love for his family.  A few years back, I got to witness a little of this when his son Colt accompanied him to a signing.
Today, Colt is an MMA fighter.  At the time, he was a teenager, who was hanging with his dad and helping him run the table.  I had previously talked to Piper about Colt and his pride was almost tangible.  When I saw Colt and talked to him, I could see the admiration and love went both ways.  Especially now, when there is so much chaos and so many stars seem to be having family problems, it was heart-warming to see the bond between Roddy and Colt.
Rowdy Roddy Piper forged a fantastic career and still entertains at conventions and at various wrestling events.  Colt Toombs seems to be well on his way to forging his own path, yet still following his father's success!

Roddy Piper and Colt in Rosemont, IL-Spring 2006.

Literati Glitterati

This is a continuing series on celebrity authors.

I have been a fan of Roddy Piper's since I was a wee lad. I followed Piper's wrestling career and I enjoyed his movies. In 2002, Piper came out with his book, In the Pit With Piper.
Robert Picarello wrote In the Pit with Piper, with Piper as a contributor. Picarello has written other wrestling books and to his credit, this book remains clearly in Piper's voice. Immediately, I am disappointed with so little coverage of Piper's young life. We all know that Piper had a rough beginning, but it is never really explained. Maybe this is intentional or maybe they decided it wasn't important. I would have liked to have read about this part of Piper's life.
Unlike a lot of big name wrestlers, Piper has kept his family out of the spotlight. Living in Oregon, Piper's private life has been a stark contrast to his in-ring persona. I understand and can respect that, but a few more facts about his pre-wrestling life would have been interesting and helpful in understanding what helped shape Piper's mind.
Once past that, I was hooked and pretty much read the book nonstop. It is a fascinating look into Piper's wrestling career. Because the book is not under the WWE umbrella, Piper did not have to sanitize or modify anything. Piper discussed all of the obvious, like Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon. His thoughts were straight-forward and refreshing. There are stories of friendships, matches and transitions in Piper's legendary career. All of his big moments are mentioned. His matches with Greg Valentine, Hogan, Adrian Adonis and Bret Hart reveal more about Piper's mindset and inspiration.
Since the book was published in 2002, Piper's battle with lymphoma is not mentioned. Neither are his comebacks to the WWE and TNA. Therefore, I am suggesting that Piper come out with another book, part prequel and part sequel.
Aside from the thin coverage of his youth, my only complaint is that this book was too short. When I interviewed Piper in 2005, he stated that over 50% of what he had written got cut from the book. I would have loved to see what was didn't make it. I think it was a big mistake, as wrestling fans devour this stuff. Another 200 pages would have been welcome.

When you have a personality so much larger-than-life as Piper and he has experienced so much stuff, why cut so much out. In my interview, Piper talked about the honor of fighting Andre, teaching his son Colt some of life's lessons and filming a movie overseas. This stuff was fascinating and gave a real glimpse into Piper.
The book is sort of the opposite of Piper. Piper is so much more than you'd expect and better than anyone ever thought he'd be. Thew book should have been better, but still remains a good read.

Roddy Piper and me in St. Petersburg, FL-January 2005.

Friendly Encounters

This is another in a series of meetings of my friends and celebs.

I have previously written about my pal Jake and his burgeoning interest in meeting stars and getting autographs. It is pretty cool to see the excitement in his eyes.
Unfortunately, I was out of town when his mom took him to see Roddy Piper at a PCW event in Oaklawn (IL). With Laurie, I had the surrealistic pleasure of meeting Piper for the first time. I would have loved to see Jake and Laurie with Piper. Instead, they made sure I got a picture and the story.
Laurie noticed something the first time we met Piper. He seems to come alive around children. It is an interesting transformation.
When Jake met Piper, Piper started to recite a bit of Rudyard Kipling. Imagine that. As I wrote before, Piper is very dedicated to literacy (stemming from his own troubles). As evidenced here, he is also dedicated to the youth.
I am glad Jake got the opportunity to meet Piper and to see this side of him. Wrestlers sometimes get a bad rap. Piper is one of a kind. Then again, so is Jake.

Rowdy Roddy Piper and Jake in Oaklawn, IL-June 2009.

6 in 30-Johngy Style

I am always up for a good blog challenge. The folks at Dinged Corners came up with the challenge of 6 Cards in 30 Seconds. The basic concept is to grab a binder of cards and in 30 seconds, find 6 that make you happy. The key is not thinking (oh I love that aspect) and just reacting. I decided to grab my binder of signed 8x10's for this mission.
Aside from choosing photos over cards, I tried to stick to the concept. I didn't just scroll to my favorites (no Mike Squires or Billy Joel). I just grabbed the first 6 that gave me a good feeling immediately.
Roddy Piper signed a reproduction of the NIE ad in which he appeared for Lerner Newspapers. This picture represents a lot of great memories. The fact that I got Piper to appear in the ad still boggles my mind. That was followed with an interview. Finally, in one of the most surreal moments in my life, Laurie and I met Piper in Florida.I didn't even know Michael Callan was going to be at the convention. I just stumbled onto his booth. I loved his tv show My Occasional Wife (in reruns), which sparked a bit of a surprising chat with Callan.I was a Kev-Head. Starting when I was in college, until he left the Chicago airwaves, I always listened to Kevin Matthews. When I first started at Lerner Newspapers, Matthews was always on our radio. Louie and I talked to him a few times and saw him at a couple comedy clubs. Matthews left Chicago in the early 00's and is currently at WLAV in Grand Rapids, MI.
Andrea Evans has been a long-time favorite of mine. Evans was a teenage crush of mine. She also appeared in the NIE ad series for Lerner. I have supported her efforts in the Walk For Hope and she has done great things for the clients who I brought in as sponsors. This 8x10 was from the first time I met her and obtained her autograph after trying for many years.
Few things are cooler than former Chicago White Sox catcher Ed Herrmann sporting the old red and blue uniforms from the early 70's. I just love this photo. It brings back great memories.
Following old school Ed Herrmann is old school Jim Pappin of the Chicago Blackhawks. I love this great b/w shot of Pappin moving in on Bernie Parent. It reminds me of growing up watching Pappin and those Hawks on my small b/w tv.

Measuring Up to Roddy Piper

In a previous post about wrestlers Edge and Christian, I pointed out some discrepancies with their stated heights. Today, I would like to further the height discussion by bringing up Rowdy Roddy Piper (one of my all-time favorites) and a couple former Chicago Cubs.The picture above is from my January 2005 meeting with Piper in Tampa (FL). I am slightly over 5'11". Piper is billed at 6'2". If I recall correctly, Piper was also wearing some sort of boots, which probably added a bit to his height. When I saw him in Rosemont (IL) shortly after, he appeared to be slightly shorter than me.
Wait though, the fun doesn't end there. The Chicago Cubs also got into the stretching business. The 2006 picture below shows Piper flanked by former Cubs Scotty Eyre and Bobby Howry. Eyre is listed at 6'1" and Howry at 6'5". Surprisingly, Eyre is shorter than Piper. At least Howry might be a legit 6'5".
In wrestling (pre-mass exposure), I suppose heights and weights were changed to further storylines and make the wrestlers look larger than life. A 7'2" Andre the Giant does sound better than a 6'11" Andre. Even so, in the current era, fudging the stats seems pointless.
I never really understood heights and weights being altered for effect in other sports. Perhaps in the old days (prior to videotapes and the internet), maybe fudged info gave a player a slight and short-lived advantage. However, now when mere bloggers like me write about this stuff, don't they think that other players know the difference?

Scotty Eyre, Roddy Piper and Bobby Howry in Chicago, IL-Summer 2006.