The Deal Makers

In the big-businessworld of sports today,the major players workout in the back roomsand front offices.

GET RID OF THIS GUY!" crackled Imus on the radio. "He said he doesn't expect to win for a couple of years!" "This guy" is Jim Beattie '76, who had just completed his mid-November economics exam by dealing the National League's best pitcher (and his $3.6 million salary), to the Boston Red Sox. Ail Beattie wants to do is keep a Major League Baseball franchise in black ink in medium-size Montreal. The second-guessing and public pressure come with the territory of the business of sport in the nineties.

Beattie has one of the 30 top jobs in baseball. He's also among a handful of Dartmouth alumni with comparatively low visibility but high impact in sports worldwide. They are the movers, shapers, and deal makers of sports during an era when team results have been reduced to small type and replaced in the headlines by mega contracts and marketing deals. Economics aside, they are also the players most responsible for the futures of the games we love.

Richard "Sandy" Alderson '69

CURRENT POSITION

President Oakland Athletics

DARTMOUTH ATHLETIC MEMORY

As a sophomore, replacing injured Gene Ryzewicz '68 at second base and making a first-inning error. "That's when coach Tony Lupien decided that was enough, and I decided it was time for WDCR and Outward Bound."

CAREER HIGH

Winning the 1989 World Series. "Pursuing, not attaining, the goal was more fun. The day after the Series an agent was calling to negotiate a new contract for one of the players. How fleeting it all is."

CAREER LOW

"The knowledge that Major League Baseball success has become solely a function of money."

THEN AND NOW

"Twenty years ago everybody had a competitive chance. Today the difference is $50 million (1997 payrolls: Athletics, $13.6 million; Yankees, $65 million.)

THE FUTURE

"Public financing of stadiums will disappear. Corporate interest will increase, especially media-related companies. Teams become a billboard for something else."

THE BEAUTY OF THE GAME

"Baseball is not an event. It's more a product of everyday life."

Jim beattie 76

CURRENT POSITION

General Manager Montreal Expos

PRO CAREER

Pitcher, New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners, 1978-86

DARTMOUTH INFLUENCE

Baseball coach Tony Lupien. "He taught me to love and respect the game and still enjoy the fun. I tell that to our players today. Go out and have some fun."

CAREER HIGH

"Winning the 1978 Series with the Yankees and giving up Carl Yastrzemski's 3,000th hit."

NOW

"Operating a Major League Baseball club in Montreal is a challenge. The things that got the least amount of emphasis in business school organizational behavior and human resources are most important to me now. Baseball is a game of people and patience."

THE FUTURE

"The sport has to get over the idea that owners and players are against each other. I've seen it from both sides. We're still not there."

Jake Crouthamel '60

CURRENT POSITION

Director of AthleticsSyracuse University

DARTMOUTH INFLUENCE

Football coach Bob Blackman. "He gave methe opportunity to go to Dartmouth and playfor him. He also gave me the opportunity tocome into coaching. But following him ashead coach was impossible. The first personafter the legend is in a no-win situation."

DARTMOUTH ATHLETIC MEMORY

"Probably the most fun was the 1973 team, when we had a slow start (0-3) and came back to win a fifth straight Ivy League championship."

CAREER HIGH

"At Syracuse, 1987: being one of three Big East teams in the Final Four in basketball, and advancing to the final in the Superdome. Eight months later taking an undefeated football team to the Sugar Bowl in the Superdome."

CAREER LOW

"1990: an NCAA investigation for recruiting violations, followed immediately by sanctions and probation."

THEN AND NOW

"Twenty years ago this was an old boys' profession. The major issues weren't graduation rates, gender equity, negotiating contracts, societal issues."

THE FUTURE

"There will be fewer schools competing atthe highest level. Football will be structuredto a super elite, maybe 50-60 schools. Tohave value you need success."

Dave Gavitt '59

CURRENT POSITION

Consultant Chairman, Basketball Hall of Fame

CAREER PERSPECTIVE

"My whole life has been involved in basketball. I've been fortunate to do many things in the sport but once you're a coach, you're always a coach. Now it's time to give back. I want to return the favor."

ON HIGHS

"When you coach, a huge win is ethereal anda loss is crushing because you put so muchinto it."

CAREER LOW

The 1980 Olympic boycott (he was to coachbasketball): "The President said you have tobe a citizen first. Later, it became obviousthis wasn't a very well thought out plan."

THEN AND NOW

"Sport has become more and more entertainment. The arrow is tilting away from thesport to dancing girls and exploding scoreboards. It's a long way from the world I grewup in. I'm a purist."

THE FUTURE

"I'm intrigued by golf. I see it as the last bastion of civility. There's order, protocol, sportsmanship, honor, and gentlemanliness in golf lessons to be learned by young people."

Jim Page '63

CURRENT POSITION

Deputy Executive Director for Programs United States Olympic Committee

DARTMOUTH INFLUENCE

"Al Merrill, my coach and my boss when I was ski coach. An amazing man, a quiet New Englander who made me feel skiing was important in my life. You'd show up for a workout and he'd be smiling and happy. To Al, every day was a good day for skiing."

DARTMOUTH ATHLETIC MEMORY

"It was a goal my whole life to make an Olympic team, but none of us were well prepared in those days to be Olympic athletes. My first international exposure was in 1964. We were badly outclassed. I remember standing at the top of the Olympic ski jump at Innsbruck and saying, 'There's something missing.' I wasn't enjoying the sport that much. That came later."

CAREER HIGH

"What I'm doing today. I'm in a position to help the Olympic Committee change in important ways."

CAREER LOW

"Calgary in 1988. The ski team bombed...no medals, poor performances. Congress and our volunteers were crying for a review of what the heck we were doing."

THE FUTURE

"We're in an important transition forOlympic sports. Ten years ago it was thegood guys against the bad guys, the Russiansand East Germans. The emphasis on winningat all costs led down some unproductivepaths. We have a much healthier situationtoday. Many, many nations throughout theworld have decided that the performance oftheir athletes is important and they're supporting it at a high level. The Olympics havebecome much less of a 'country' thing."

Hart Perry '55

CURRENT POSITION

Director, Fund DevelopmentNational Rowing Foundation

DARTMOUTH INFLUENCE

Dean Thad Seymour: "He coached the heavyweights and I coached the lightweights mysenior year. He also tutored me for mycomps, which I barely passed. The relationship has been pretty special ever since."

DARTMOUTH ATHLETIC MEMORY

"I was too short to row heavyweight, tooheavy to row lightweight. So I coached. I gotinto a hockey uniform for four years."

CAREER HIGH

"Being elected a steward of the Henley Royal Regatta in 1974. The Henley is owned and run by the stewards. I was the first non-Commonwealth steward and first American. I say they made a mistake the first time because they haven't done it again."

CAREER LOW

"Realizing it was time to leave Kent School after 35 years of teaching and coaching. I used to say to Thad, 'I hope someone will tell me when it's time to move on.'"

THEN AND NOW

"Rowing has grown tremendously. Thestereotype that it's an elitist sport for richguys is losing credibility. The opportunitiesto compete internationally are a huge benefit of sports, especially rowing."

THE FUTURE

"Atlanta is a prime example of what I fear insports. The media and sponsorship are in thedriver's seat. I hope there's a way that rowing and other amateur activities will still beavailable."

Michael Sklive '62

CURRENT POSITION

CommissionerNCAA Conference USA

INFLUENCES

Seaver Peters '54: "Pete gave me a chance todo something I love work in athletics when he hired me to be his assistant. If therewere a hall of fame for athletic directors,Pete should be in it."

DARTMOUTH ATHLETIC MEMORY

"I was a mediocre lacrosse player with a lotof great memories, some painful."

CAREER HIGH

"I've had the opportunity to play a role inthe creation of two intercollegiate athleticconferences Great Midwest and Conference USA. They were the culmination of a lotof years of athletics and law."

CAREER LOW

"A football game last fall. Syracuse 50-something, East Carolina nothing. East Carolina isin my league."

THEN AND NOW

"There's a lot of complexity in intercollegiateathletics today: The NCAA puts on 75-80championships and pays for them. They givethousands of young men and women fascinating athletic careers. How do you developfairness and equity in gender and diversity?"

THE FUTURE

"I said years ago that athletics would be totally different. I don't think that anymore. The suit may change, the dress may change, but the educational value of intercollegiate athletics and the opportunity to compete I don't think that will change."

Reggie Williams '76

CURRENT POSITION

Vice PresidentWalt Disney World Sports

DARTMOUTH INFLUENCE

Len Nichols '76: "Lenny was an all-state linebacker. The coaches decided I would be alinebacker and Lenny would move to offensive line. I don't think anyone made a greatersacrifice from a peer standpoint as a collegefreshman than Lenny. Later on I was playingfor the Lenny Nicholses of the world."

DARTMOUTH ATHLETIC MEMORY

"Harvard Stadium, 1973. We were 1-3 and on the tail end of four championship seasons. They expected to nail our coffin. We had the goal line stands. The huddles were inspirational. It was a great team defensive effort." (Dartmouth won, 24-18.)

CAREER HIGH

"I currently enjoy what I feel is the best job in sports. I'm in charge of giving thousands of amateur athletes the chance to compete in a world-class facility. Rarely do amateur athletes get that chance to play in a pristine facility under pristine conditions. We've designed everything so they'll have a great experience, win or lose."

CAREER LOW

"The night before Super Bowl XXIII when Coach Sam Wyche walked into our last team meeting before the biggest game of our lives and told us that teammate Stanley Wilson had succumbed to drugs. I realized how devastating drugs can be in an individual's life. The game didn't get any better." (49ers 20, Bengals 16.)

THE FUTURE

"What we have will influence kids more than a hundred Super Bowl rings."

Mike Brown '57

CURRENT POSITION

Owner, General ManagerCincinnati Bengals

EARLY INFLUENCE

"My father, Paul Brown (founder of theCleveland Browns and the Bengals), raisedme in an atmosphere where football and theteam were all-important."

DARTMOUTH ATHLETIC MEMORY

"Playing football helped me better understand players and coaches. The moments blend together, the good and the bad. Forty years later, they were all great."

CAREER HIGH

"The next game."

CAREER LOW

"The last loss."

THEN AND NOW

"I never aspired to own a team, I just wanted to be associated with a team. Back then, the game was great. Today, I'm an owner, which isn't a bad job, but playing and coaching are the fun jobs."

THE FUTURE

"America loves athletics. We'll have better stadiums, better players, better everything, but the basics on the field will be much the same. The NFL is all about competition and that brings out the best in people."

Russell Granik '69

CURRENT POSITION

Deputy Commissioner Chief Operating Officer National Basketball Association

DARTMOUTH ATHLETIC MEMORY

"I was the last guy cut from the Dartmouth freshman team (and) the teams weren't very good then. But, because I'm 6'4", people still presume I've played the game."

CAREER HIGH

"Joining USA Basketball and creating the Dream Team for the 1992 Olympics. People said the NBA would never get along with the colleges."

CAREER LOW

"Articles in the early eighties on the demise of the NBA. They said the NBA was drug-infested, that players were lazy and overpaid. The arrival of Larry, Magic, and Michael was very timely."

THEN AND NOW

"Look at lists of commissioners and other key people over the last 15 years: They're almost all lawyers. What we were doing then was geared to survival and legal battles. Now we're a more mature business. Being a lawyer does help, but I don't know if it's essential."

THE FUTURE

"I think ten to 20 years from now basketballcan be the number one sport internationally. Overseas we don't have to explain whatbasketball is. In the U.S. we're a long way behind the NFL in popularity and viewership. Idon't know if we'll ever catch them here."

Jay Moyer '62

CURRENI POSITION

Semi-retired as Executive Vice President and League Counsel National Football League; Teaching professional sports and the law Frodham University

DARTMOUTH INFLUENCE

"Professors like Vince Starzinger, who opened up things a guy from a small Maryland high school never dreamed of."

DARTMOUTH ATHLETIC MEMORY

"I broke my hip in the last two minutes of my last high school game. I tried twice to play at Dartmouth, but the hip wouldn't take the pounding. Later I heard a coach say, 'He was the best passer to come out of the Middle Atlantic states in a couple of years.' That's my poignant athletic experience."

CAREER HIGH

"1989-93: Leading a successful battle to prevent the spread of legalized sports gambling throughout the country. The only cure for this disease would be federal legislation that said, 'No more.'"

CAREER LOW

"NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle's retirement and the torturous process to pick his successor. I was mentioned but made it clear I wasn't interested. I saw what it had taken out of Pete and what it demanded."

THEN AND NOW

"Twenty-five years ago I had no choice except to line up the business and legal problems and attack them one by one. Today, lawyers are pervasive in sports. It's necessary, inevitable, and very unfortunate."

THE FUTURE

"My concern is whether, in all the commercial clutter, professional sports can attractyoung people and mean more than expensivesneakers and catchy logos. The danger isthat sports will price the fans out and toomany hearts are going to be broken."