As the Baltimore Ravens take the field with Lamar Jackson at the helm for another season in the NFL, our local football historian and author John Eisenberg delivers his book on the history of black quarterbacks and some incredible truths and facts in “Rocket Men: The Black Quarterbacks Who Revolutionized Pro Football.”
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
years, quarterbacks, lamar, write, team, black, book, john, warren moon, orioles, drafted, eisenberg, happen, baltimore, thought, good, money, point, baseball, pretty
SPEAKERS
John Eisenberg, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:02
W n s t, Towson, Baltimore. And Baltimore positive as you can see out on the Zoomer it is football season around here. We’re up in arms about all things, Lamar and injuries in the Bengals. And of course the Orioles are doing what they’re doing a 40 games are following this guy is is a mentor to me. I think that embarrasses me and makes me feel a little old, but he is professorial at this point and parental and grandparental and all of that stuff at this point. And in semi retirement as a former columnist, even though I am Colin Ness, he was my dude back from the days of Joe Don Looney and takeouts in sports to at the Baltimore Sun in the late 1980s. I’m celebrating 25 years of doing this here at wn St. None of this would be possible writing these amazing letters to Steve shotty and John Harbaugh and everybody else without the mentorship of the great John Eisenberg. He joins us now to talk about his book. I did not have a copy of your book. I didn’t drive down to Taos and grab it from you and come by the house the way I usually do. Hold that up. John, tell them what you’re doing, man.
John Eisenberg 01:09
The name of the book is Rocket Man there’s there’s your jersey on the cover right there. Warren Moon Patrick mahomes at the bottom in the book is a history of it’s the history of black quarterbacks in the NFL going back a century to Fritz Pollard and going forward. Nice big fat book with a lot of meat in it. And
Nestor Aparicio 01:29
he got new pitchers in New York, John Yeah,
John Eisenberg 01:31
no, I ain’t got no pitchers. No just words.
Nestor Aparicio 01:37
It hurt me with sales will Purple Rain to to not have pitchers? I tossed me when I was out Hawking them. But since the book is out right now, I mean, we’ve been talking about this for so long. I swear to God, John, I went to my library to look for it. Because I thought Is it last year that because I know I’ve had I mean, I have you on three to six times a year give or take used to work at the Ravens. We’ve been I’ve been doing this 32 years now Kenny Albert just sent me his book. I got Mike Lombardi this week talking books. But But for you, you write these all the time. And you’re always like, whether it’s the Ripken street book or the horse book, or I don’t ever know where you are the Dallas football book. I mean, you’ve done a whole bunch of things, man.
John Eisenberg 02:13
Yeah, yes, yes. Well, thank you for looking and you know, we’re gonna take care of that and get you a copy and because you helped me with this book, you know, getting hold of people the Steinberg did I help you? Yeah, you definitely did. And
Nestor Aparicio 02:28
I didn’t even realize I hope that you’re welcome. I would do anything for you. Yeah,
John Eisenberg 02:31
so this book is just out I’ve just gotten copies in my hand. And it is
Nestor Aparicio 02:37
seen the cover though. I knew warn you show me to cover last year it was it available to cover?
John Eisenberg 02:43
No. I think the cover I saw the prototype, which I have no control over by the way. I think it was April or May so it must have been around
Nestor Aparicio 02:50
you shared it on your Facebook or something because I had seen the Warren Moon was on the cover. And that’s why that’s why I knew it to go to my closet and get my moon jersey. So yeah, you’ve been working on this 133 years.
John Eisenberg 03:01
Okay. Three years and, and so yeah, yeah, deep dive a lot of work. And you know, a lot of areas to cover. Most of my books have covered a short span of time, one year in the life of Vince Lombardi is the early or three years with the Dallas Cowboys or whatever it may be. This is 100. This is from Fritz Pollard to Jalen hertz. So a lot of ground to cover was a lot of work.
Nestor Aparicio 03:26
John Eisenberg is an author lives locally. And you know, his work in the Baltimore Sun and he’s got a new book out on black quarterbacks, we’re gonna go through the history of all of that. You said a lot of different arrows. I said, my books had errors, not era. You have eras and typos and whatnot up for you and doing this and when you and I this is my stock stupid question. Every author that’s ever been on, I asked, but where’s the seat on this? One is it was Lamar involved in this one in some way. I mean, you’re around with Shaq Harris in the beginning and you know, with Eric Decosta was a kid not been given him his letter this week as well. But, you know, the black quarterbacks story feels like going back to Randall Cunningham in this era and Michael Vick and all of these things. It’s been taken on right I mean, it this isn’t a new thing. Right?
John Eisenberg 04:13
Definitely. You know, I took it on I signed the deal three years ago, like you said, Lamar was in his I think third season, and that definitely had something to do with it. But we were really want to ask me the seed. Listen, you’re writing columns, and you know, a major newspaper for many years. And I wrote about race, you know, plenty of times and the days before somebody just tacked a little little, you know, answer to your column on the bottom of it electronically used to get letters. And let me tell you, you know, some of them were ugly. That’s all I can say. If I wrote about black athletes, and I remember Debbie Thomas, the figure skater at the Olympics in 1988, black figure skater, I got some of the ugliest letters, just writing nice little columns about her. That will open your eyes. Due to the fact that this is something that needs to be addressed and readdressed and constantly addressed, and so, yeah, I mean, I’ve always it’s been a thread through all my books, there’s a thread of race and you know, how did it play out? You talk to those old old ballplayers for go back 5060 years, especially the black ones, and yet, you know, a lot of times it’s surprising how they viewed things a little differently than other people thought sometimes. So avoid a
Nestor Aparicio 05:26
teammate was at that at that point, right, what a teammate would look like in a violent sport on the field and a gladiator sport in the 40s 50s and 60s, when jobs are at stake, right I mean, all all of that cuts are being made and and it’s Hey, why did I get cut? Why didn’t I get caught? You know, you’re keeping the black guy you keeping the white guy I mean, all of that played into football right? I mean, literally in the decisions were all made by white guys right?
John Eisenberg 05:54
Literally everyone Yeah, yeah. And still mostly are but the you know, they Yes, that’s exactly right. You talk to those guys from back then it opens your eyes and so yeah, I had I had this in the back of my mind Lamar comes in and you know, at the combine that story where the charger said you’re gonna run, you’re gonna run the 40 Be a good wide receiver. And, you know, Bill Polian said, I’m not sure about him at quarterback, and a second year he’s an MVP. And so that really sort of put it front and center in my mind. And I thought, I’m always looking for topics that’s that go beyond the boundaries of the playing field for my books. And I thought, well, here’s a big one sitting right in front of you want you to take it on. So that’s where it came.
Nestor Aparicio 06:38
All right. So you you dive into this and obviously, Look, man, we didn’t have black running backs or black senators or black quarterbacks or black linebackers or black kick a black quarterback was, you know, I was working with you when Doug Williams was winning, right? I mean, and and Grambling and even get a white Nolan Shaq Harris and the beginning of Baltimore here being here. Warren Moon was my guy, right? So I’m wearing the one Jersey I’ve had Warren on many times. They threw him to Canada, right. And all he did was go to the Hall of Fame in both places, right? Like, that’s what he had to do. And it is amazing. He’s above the fold for you, as the Hall of Fame guy, because whatever his path was, and I haven’t sat and talked to him at length. I’ve had him on the show a couple of times. And he’s he’s been wonderful to me and he knows I’m a fan and I goof with him a little bit about my fandom in regard to him. But you got turned on to him. You spent some time with what what? What I mean, I know where he’s from, I went to the last time I was credentialed to the Super Bowl was a year and a half ago and I participated in a wounded warrior football game on the high school that he went to high school at his niece Angeles in Los Angeles, because the Super Bowl is in Los Angeles last year. And it was a game where like Kurt Warner strong passes and there were some special needs kids and it was it just it was a beautiful thing. Snoop Snoop Dogg’s people were involved. big celebrity thing was wonderful. But it was at his field. And I had him on the show that day, and I said, I’m going to your field to do this football thing. What am I going to find over in Los Angeles and that part of Los Angeles? Whoo. I mean, it was a neighborhood you couldn’t meet this day. You can’t get an Uber in that neighborhood, because nobody will come and get you. You know, literally. So I saw where Warren Moon was from, but that trajectory out of Washington that had to take him to Canada. I mean, unfair doesn’t begin to say like what happened at the beginning of his career and how it ended at the end, right?
John Eisenberg 08:35
Oh, my gosh, well, I mean, you know, undrafted after you win the Rose Bowl, he wins the Rose Bowl as a senior undrafted. And the story with Warren is, you go back to the light, it was 1978 his year. You go back to the 60s, the 70s. Even the 80s if there was any question about a black quarterback, any any regard to their skills that said their draft stock, and for him it was well, he played a little more a little more option offense. So it’s kind of an old college offense more than just a straight drop back, which is all the NFL wanted, or if you weren’t, that was his with some it would be well, he’s not that fast, or he hadn’t completed that many passes. That was a big one back in that era college football, that would they would just disregard you. He didn’t even get drafted. So and won the Rose Bowl and won the Rose Bowl. Right. And so it’s absurd, really. And and he Warren was a great friend of this book. I interviewed him at length and he just very and he is the really the keeper of the flame to this day. If something happens, and there’s still things that happen. This sort of raised the echoes everything. He’s the first guy and if somebody put a microphone in front of him, he’ll say, Ah, he goes to that, you know, that’s a vestige of the white what I dealt with, and you think it’s gone, and it mostly is gone. But let’s not get carried away because it’s still out there.
Nestor Aparicio 09:57
I want people to go get your book. I’m gonna have you hold it up. Everybody got John Eisenberg is got a new book, black quarterbacks history black quarterbacks rocket men is the name of the book. You got to talk when you hold that up so yeah. So so for you with Lamar, let’s let’s bring it to Lamar and not about I played in the first week or whatever, because like, that’s not really the story here. The story is the contract and the offseason and Deshaun Watson are not how he played in week one, or even Joe burrow or the money that’s being thrown around now for all the quarterbacks. But the fact that Lamar made it to the end of the draft that nobody wanted in the first time around 2018. When he came out, the Ravens Jump up, get him in that last picks and they get the extra year, then they start to get penalized on the extra year anyway, because he didn’t want to play because like that extra years, like you’re screwing me out of money by the time he proves that he’s the guy, right. So he waits in line to get the money. The Ravens don’t get it done. They go fight all last offseason. And I I’m astonished in the modern vernacular that the Indianapolis Colts didn’t want to give up that kid or the ravens and say, we’ll go we’ll overpay Lamar, we’ll give him the 52 million we’ll give you our first round pick or if they really believed in Lamar and Lamar hit the market wasn’t a real market, but it was a market that if somebody wanted to jump in and say I want Lamar Jackson to be my quarterback in the way that everybody wanted that criminal last year, right? Like everybody was in Carolina, Atlanta, Atlanta Costa my relationship with Matt Ryan, New Orleans was in like all of those teams came in Cleveland obviously bid off the big banana and pissed off Ashanti and it went up costing all of them more money. But Lamar available. I did not see a huge groundswell of people ready to throw $250 million at Lamar. And of course, he wasn’t healthy the last two January. I mean, there are all these excuses to be built in that people didn’t believe in Lamar. So I think your books is irrelevant as anything because like, I think around here, I scratch my head. And only guess because he’s a black quarterback, I guess you never know. But the fact that he didn’t value it, that there wasn’t a bidding war, and that the Ravens phone’s been ringing off the hook and nobody sent their jet to get him and bring him in. It kind of shocked me, John. Yeah,
John Eisenberg 12:13
I mean, he’s won one playoff game. I’m trying to think up the reasons why. All right, go ahead. Yeah, he’s won one playoff game. He occasionally is inaccurate as a passer. And I don’t think it’s a very slippery slope, you get into some terrain, it’s a little uncomfortable, you know, about, you know, being a black quarterback. I don’t know whether that played I probably did not, it probably did not. But the good thing about what’s happening is, you can clearly see that teams less and less are seeing colored deposition, or at very least, they’re willing to invest in black quarterbacks. These kids that you know, three of the first four picks last year, black quarterbacks right in the draft, and they all started this week. So good, you know, that’s good. So
Nestor Aparicio 12:55
every franchise has had a couple of black quarterbacks now. Like through the course of time. It wasn’t like the Red Sox back in the 60s, right? Like, I mean, I think about teams doing betting, Carolina had Cam Newton, Atlanta had Michael Mann go through every franchise everywhere. That wasn’t the case, when you and I were working together. When the case when the Ravens got to town that at all,
John Eisenberg 13:16
at all. And the Ravens come off looking pretty good. In this book, I talked to Ozzy and the difference being of course, in Baltimore, unlike these other places from the beginning, the guy with the power the guy with the jobs and pick making the picks and shaping the roster was black. And so you know, the first general manager in NFL history, and from the get go, there’s been a thread of draft Wally Richardson, I mean, that, you know, they drafted you go way back to the beginning that drafted black quarterbacks that bring them in as backups and bring them in as starters.
Nestor Aparicio 13:46
They want to take in a green or a purple quarterback, by the time Bill accountable or right, like, I pick it
John Eisenberg 13:53
well, that year. I mean, they didn’t want bowler, you know, first and foremost, you know, I mean, they were they were looking for black quarterbacks even then, but yeah, anybody for sure. And, of course,
Nestor Aparicio 14:07
Brian and work Randall Cunningham, Mr. Moon, like, you know, so there’s a whole pedigree of all that here. But to your point, you wrote a book about this. That’s not That’s not the true story of the league. And that’s not true. The True Story of the executives who would look and find our campaign is kinds of lines for for athletes and Warren Moon as I sit here and wear the jersey and Randall Cunningham and Michael, I mean that this is a modern issue. This isn’t an office market.
John Eisenberg 14:35
Okay, here’s here’s a little game we’ll play. Every team in this league has started a black quarterback in a game. Okay, every team all 32 of them. When do you think that total 32 was completed? When could the NFL say that every team has started a black quarterback in a game?
Nestor Aparicio 14:55
Well, a couple of franchises came late. So yeah, I’m making excuses here. I’m just throwing that out. But we’ll let which played Jacksonville? 2010.
John Eisenberg 15:04
Nope. 2017 Six years ago, the New York Giants were the last team in business since 1925. Okay had never started a black quarterback in a gang.
Nestor Aparicio 15:17
Oh, hold on, hold on a little arrow. We’re on radio here, give give a little Trump Say that again.
John Eisenberg 15:21
Yeah. 2017. And so, and you know, I in this book I interview I came across this unbelievable historian is a young guy in Chicago, and he has researched all of it. He’s a Bears fan. He got really upset when they drafted Trubisky instead of mahomes as they should. And he said, All right, I think we’re right, my team were racist at quarterback, so I’m gonna put some numbers to it, you know, and he investigated all of it. And how long did it take him for these teams to play and you can really trace the art when it go when it’s there’s nothing and then a little bit and then there’s more and then there’s less and it goes up and then it goes down. And he said, you know, some of these teams that have only play why quarterbacks you sort of understand I mean, the New York Giants, you know, they’ve won a bunch of Super Bowls with the white quarterbacks for the Green Bay Packers, for instance, have not played many black quarterbacks, but they’ve had some of the greatest Whitecourt greatest quarterbacks in history, a long line of them, so you can understand it a little as his point was the bears. I’m not so sure. You know, but anyway, so some teams come at it differently. But so the Giants you know, they’ve had success, but nonetheless, the record speaks for itself. And so it took until 2017.
Nestor Aparicio 16:36
John Eisenberg has a new book out on black quarterbacks, we will be discussing that listen, I will get back to the book I want to get sort of on to the topicality of Oriole baseball for just one moment. I gotta get this in for you. You’re a baseball guy. You’re an incredible baseball book and oral history of all sorts of quotes and notes. And I just bought my 1979 throwback, Luis Aparicio. I know he didn’t play on the 79 team. It just looks that way that I’ll be wearing at the nest this week as we get ready for this. John, you’ve been here a long time, man. And you wrote the columns of I mean, you’re quoted and Peter principles over and over again, for all the Angelo’s has done. There’s no lease which, and there’s there’s very little accountability is very little being written about that or pressure on the governor or on the team. And it’s all happy, happy joy, joy. And that’s what we’re going to be for a couple of weeks here. This has been an incredible year, man. I mean, it’s a year where like, guys like you and I that don’t have the press passes and go down there and work every day. This, this would have been a fun year to be around this group and watch this thing blossom. This is why you and I got into the business, right?
John Eisenberg 17:45
Absolutely. It’s a great story. Someone else will write the book. Correct will not be me. Correct. Not be me. But it’s worthy. I mean, I honestly kind of stunned I thought, well, I thought for a while it appeared to me go back two or three years, four years. Yeah, they’ve drafted some pretty good players. It looks like they know what they’re doing. They seem to be doing okay. To see it just take off. I mean, I thought this would maybe happen in 2024 2025. Just go on a road trip and win all the games. Oh, practically. It’s like, Wow. I mean, night after night. I just go, Wow, this team, it finds I mean, it, they’re good. And it’s like this is really something it’s not a fluke, when you’re 90 wins in early September. So I don’t know what’ll happen in October. It’s house money as far as I’m concerned. And it’s been really, really fun to watch. I am watching and what’s really good. I mean, the loyal fans, I’m not talking about ownership side. That’s a whole nother story. But the baseball side. They look pretty smart. They’re doing a lot of stuff they not only have drafted well, they’re good player development is good. They take retreads from other places find what they do well and accentuate that I’m talking about some of these relief relief pitchers I’m talking about Rhino urn, I mean you’re seeing in a lot of ways and it’s like that’s pretty good you know tip of the cap the Orioles I think have gotten smart. And so you know, hats off to him.
Nestor Aparicio 19:10
Aaron Hicks even means coming back like the whole thing they go and get the relief pitcher they gave away last year and so like all of these things feel like they conspire and if I were and I will write the column on this to three weeks from now because it’s over the hill I’m gonna write to Adam Jones This week I’m writing to Eric de Costa. And all of it inspired by you and you know this for real inspired by you and Jack Gibbons I write for both of you quite frankly, if Connolly reads it, that’s fine. But I mean, I write for you guys because you’re my guys. For me if I’m writing about this team, once they get through the weekend with Tampa and don’t get swept and get swept up into fighting to win the division, right if they can coast into this and when were 568 days left in the season, know that they’re going to be a BI team. Right, I mean, and then utilizing that by with all of their science and all of their sigma del dealing cards and whatever they’re going to do that they come out into this thing that they skip the three game series because that’s debit. Let everybody else go. Let’s tip it might be out of the tournament by Friday, right? So, so getting the buy is ginormous for them, and then capitalizing on it because John, I’m gonna tell you right now you and I’ve been at this I’ve known you since 8485 86. You’re not going to be 40 games over 500 Maybe ever again. You’re not going to the Yankees and Red Sox aren’t going to be turds together, maybe ever again. They haven’t been in this lifetime. Show me the year where they both stunk this bag. And the years they stunk had been the years the Orioles can win 1214 16 One of the reasons they were in the seat is Oh, Boston had its manager eating chicken drinking beer out back and they had a flare up and Epstein let you know like all bad things. And we write the Yankees right now right? Like the Yankees being this awful is open the door and they don’t play each other as much so that that also benefits the Orioles that they don’t have to see power years when they are good. They don’t have to see him as much. So all of this conspires but I would be hard pressed and I’ll meet you again a year from this week and next year because I didn’t meet you all these years, then we’re going to sit here the next five years, and they’re going to be in any sort of a Catbirds position the way they are right now. And to your point at some point, the baseball people are going to walk down the hallway to the creeps and own the team and say Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme write a check and John boys already screaming he didn’t have checks to write. So, you know, when it comes to signing these players that I you know, I’m from Missoura until I see that John right but but for me, the death of that point of this to me and Tommy calm was there, you know, tomorrow, there’s just right now and I can’t if they take a face or and go out and five games in the PU and just to say well, they’ll be back. Oh, no, no, I don’t know you get buys I don’t know you do, you’re gonna find yourself in a position when 100 234 Guy games ever again.
John Eisenberg 21:59
You know, very easy to concoct that certainly the period of time but the beauty of this right now is ownership is not involved. It’s just not involved. It’s just right. It’s like major league when they’re ripping the pieces off the skirt. They’re just playing baseball right now. It’s just baseball. And you know, we’ll be and that will not be the case for long. So when you got these good players you know yeah, it ends very quickly. So that’s what’s tough. So, you know, I’m not going to disagree with you. I mean, it’s it the time is now and they won’t have a better shot the Yankees are gonna go by everybody. You know, the offseason in Boston looks like they Boston’s got some players. It won’t be that long. It will definitely be more competitive. It’s a great opportunity this year so it will be i skipping that first round is a huge thing. And having your pitching lined up when the other year yeah, the other teams is not so it will be I think winning the division will be a huge thing and go for it. Who knows, you know, we got a bunch of kids, they don’t, they’re just figuring this out, let them let them play. You know, let them play and see what happens. You came here from
Nestor Aparicio 23:09
Dallas, Texas, so four decades ago, fell into this Oriole Earl Weaver thing back in the day, by the way, my guy John Miller, a different John Miller writing his book on Earl Weaver and I’ve been chasing him around having him on as well about the life and times of Earl but you came into this where the Orioles had Ripken Murray bad things were about to happen in the the Lacey Dossey Weaver in Weaver out Altobelli you know oh and 21 like all the things you wrote about three decades ago with the Orioles where does this end I mean you love stories and this story for me with the Peter principles John I wrote Peter principles after reporting to and then my wife got cancer we literally was 11 chapters in the writing this book on Peter my wife got cancer I put the book down and I never released it but I’ve released it online now as to all it was up to 2006 I was pretty much up to there getting a television network and this nationals things gonna happen and they’re gonna roll in the money all the TV money’s gonna come in and they’re gonna and we’re gonna build something here and like, that’s where I was in the story when it stopped. And I swear to you and 12 when you know when all this happened my wife gets sick and 14 and again in 15 and I thought this is going to end with a parade for Peter the Peter principles is going to end somehow through all of this issue in awfulness that somehow bucks gonna will them to be piled divers in there. That’s where I thought it was a decade ago that that was the end of the story. I’ve never picked the book up I’ve never I’ve written a little bit about the massive money and where it all went and now it’s it’s on top and pissed away. 1718 years later, it’s gone. It’s over. They can’t figure out how to pay the Nationals it’s it’s ugly. Their law firms over asbestos is over. Dad’s not over but his his work is over. His deeds are over. i There’s no lease. There’s nobody to talk to the governor and the and the commissioner are sort of sitting around saying what? John’s thinking he’s gonna win the World Series and create more value. I don’t I don’t know where the end of this is. I mean, have you thought that out a little bit as far as, and especially I hit Tom Lovera right before you came on our mutual friend Tommy love. He wrote about how Sunday was so special, because Snyder was gone. Yeah, that inspired me to talk to you about it and want to talk to him about it. Because there is going to come a day and I hope I live long enough that sleep a shot, he won’t own the Ravens. And Peter Angelos in the Angeles family won’t own the Orioles that they’ll both still be here and hopefully under lease and wearing orange and black and purple. But there’s going to be a next thing. We haven’t seen that here other than us fighting for the team and ngModel to be shoddy. Most people 55 years old have no they don’t know who the hell Eli Jacobs was let alone EB W or or hockberger. You know what I mean? Like the next thing here for baseball is the most important thing and I think the commissioner understands that the people in baseball understand how screwed up this has been, and how good it could be.
John Eisenberg 26:14
Yeah, I think people I think the next step definitely involves the team is set up nicely. The next step is sorting all this out. I’ve always been I mean, obviously I didn’t think Major League Baseball. I mean, I am not a boy who cried wolf. I don’t think they’re leaving. I believe thing is upsetting the fact that it’s not signed, not good. I don’t like it. I don’t like whatever is happening. I don’t think the Royals are leaving Baltimore. I just don’t buy that I never have and I just I’m Major League Baseball is not going to let that happen. They’re not going to leave this ballpark here. The history here. I just don’t think it’s going to happen. But yet majorly bad. How
Nestor Aparicio 26:50
screwed I have low is it get the floor gonna fall. And we’ve seen it. I mean, it’s been a disgrace, John. I mean, like, literally, there’s nobody who could have bought this team in August of 93. That could have screwed it up as bad as it’s been screwed up and profited more often as well. Really.
John Eisenberg 27:06
Yeah. Yeah. I don’t know. I don’t know where the money is. But I guess I guess they profited. Yeah, I mean, but they you know, now this situation, I think in the long run. I mean, who knows? I’m grasping at straws, but I think in the long run, it will probably get sold. I think Angelo’s his wife wants to sell the team. I’m just reading the newspaper like everybody else she wants to sell. And you know, I don’t know the family dynamic. I don’t know that fine language in the will I don’t know. Read the lawsuit. Yeah, the lawsuit. You know, that was read that read the Yeah, and the coverage of it. And it was really interesting, but I think in the long run, it’s a sale probably but I don’t know that. But it just seems to me ventually where we where we might be headed. Just my my guess my guess entirely.
Nestor Aparicio 27:51
October is gonna give people a taste of how good it could be. People say to me free the birds and I get pissed on about all that. I’m like, I did free the birds after they stayed in pay me. They screwed people they lied every day. They gave me a press pass and came in there and intimidated people. And like all the things you and certainly Ken Rosenthal and Mike Litwin before, like all of you dealt with that John beuran dealt with that I’ve had him on talking about how awful all of it was. And I did free the birds. And the real reason I did free the person did. You’ve known me since I was 15 years old, and was wearing the moon jersey and Sandy Mickey’s corner, you know, down at 501, North Calvert. If I lived downtown at that point, I lived there for years. And I’m like, this is effed up, am I the only one willing to say this isn’t good, and that this needs to change, and that this is not sustainable. 17 years later, that it’s been driven into the ground. And that was back in Oh, six. And the whole point was, this could be great. This should be great. Yeah, a little love. This is a community asset. It’s a beautiful thing to have the stadium sold out this Friday and Adam Jones and like all that, like, that’s what was missing. And that’s why I did free the birds to begin with. So I’m looking I mean, I still feel pretty healthy. And even though the shotty threw me out and our balls lie, they’re all lying. That’s great. I still feel like I might be young enough to be on the other end of this because I’ve seen the Redskins. Excuse me commander’s fans live through it this week to say, hey, there will be another day there’ll be another I said to my wife one day, I might go down there and have a brat. We might be treated. Well. My My name might be Aparicio again, I might feel good about going to the ballpark and putting on that orange Jersey I bought this week, because I feel like I’m getting I’m feeling like this is coming back and people are coming back. And, um, maybe it’s their time the maybe the next 10 years is the baseball team Stein. I don’t know.
John Eisenberg 29:46
It could be it Absolutely. Could be. I mean, they are set up to to have a pretty good team here. I mean, you’re right and and who knows what any year brings in baseball. And you know, last year you got a wildcard Same with 87 wins gets in the World Series. I mean, it’s pretty fickle, and you can’t, you can’t you don’t know what’s going to happen in the playoffs, but I’m seeing some infrastructure in the Orioles that looks pretty strong and very deep, a very deep farm system. These guys they got they got people around here I’ve kind of follow it a little bit, you know, that no one’s ever heard of they’re coming. They’re coming. They’re like, they’re like guys lined up at Newark Airport flying in one one after the other. So it’s gonna be pretty good. I think for a little while. certainly interesting. And it would be nice to have, you know, the different top level. You know, what the, what the Washington football fans just experience it is it is a liberating moment. You know, good for them is what I say.
Nestor Aparicio 30:45
Farik is what I would say hold that book up, tell everybody about the book and where they can get it, John.
John Eisenberg 30:50
The book is called it is just out this week. It’s called Rocket Man, the black quarterbacks who revolutionized pro football. It’s my latest book 11th Book Three years in the making, it’s available everywhere. Amazon, it’s at all the local bookstores. Setting up a couple of local signings don’t quite haven’t set up yet. I’m afraid to go with that. But I’ll put it out on social media. And anyway, thanks for having me on to talk about it. And I’m gonna get one in your hands.
Nestor Aparicio 31:18
We talked about every black quarterback except Lamar ours. We haven’t talked anything current. I gotta let you go because I’m up against the clock with you. And I always come back and talk to him. Lamar come back to Austin baseball playoffs in a couple of weeks. I’m going to try to find more moon and get him on to promote your book a little bit more at Passerini last week, right? So that Passerini last week, I can have Moon at some point here. And it gives me a chance to go through my old my old laundry as Seinfeld would say Casino. I mean, I haven’t worn this one in 30 years. So that’s my Warren Moon. It’s the rotor, and it’s like it’s got all that old 1989 mesh in it right now. So it’s perfect. John Eisenberg’s got a bulky still here in Baltimore. So if you’re walking around town and you’re like, Hey, that guy looks like John Eisenberg. It probably is John Eisenberg. He might he be at the ballpark here having a beer with me down at the nest at some point. We’re doing the Maryland crab cake tour this week. We’re gonna be fadeless on Friday in the morning with Dr. Anthony Jenkins from Coppin State University. There have been our partner for a long, long time. Larry Stewart once was a player with a bulletin with Fang he’s now of course you did John Eisenberg. Friday, we’re gonna be able to crab cake with those guys. I was Stu let raskins come and ask me a big Hootenanny on Friday morning. And then Friday afternoon we are at the nest which is underneath the cupcake in the fireworks on the top side. Looking at the Oriole Park at Camden yard side from the convention center. Just join it maybe at the convention center on the back end of the convention center on Friday. They named it after me they call it the nest. I don’t think they really named it after me. But I’m just saying that at this point, cheap beer, good hotdogs, great music and a beautiful view of a sunset and hopefully the continuation of first place Oreos. I’m Nestor we are wn St. am 1570, Towson, Baltimore. We never stop talking Baltimore. Positive
