Athletes – Now I've Heard Everything

Wrestler Bret “The Hitman” Hart’s Story, In His OWn Words

September 21, 2025Bill Thompson

They called him The Hitman. Wrestler Bret Hart was born into a wrestling family. His father was the renowned Stu Hart who often would bring other big name wrestling stars home with him when Bret was just a little boy.

By the time he was a teenager Bret Hart still wasn’t convinced that he wanted to become a wrestler himself but he changed his mind by his early 20s. And by the time he retired some 25 years ago Bret Hart had become one of the best known, most popular, and most highly regarded wrestlers in the world.

He was not without controversy, of course, including an Infamous incident in Montreal that has come to be known as the “Montreal screw job.”

In 2008 Hart wrote an autobiography called My Real Life in The Cartoon World of Wrestling. I met him one afternoon in the crowded downtown Washington DC hotel lobby to talk about his book when he was on a book tour.

Smitty and Kareem: A Friendship That Preserved the Story of the 761st Tank Battallion

August 23, 2025Bill Thompson

There was a battalion of soldiers in World War II that had to fight for its chance to fight.

It was the all-black 761st Tank Battalion of the US Army. Those men trained for over two years, but were not permitted into actual combat until the American forces in Europe were being decimated by superior German tanks.

That’s when the 761st Tank Battalion – dubbed the Black Panthers – was deployed under General George Patton.

One member of that heroic outfit was a man named Leonard Smith, known to his friends as Smitty. And Smitty was friends with another GI whose son later became one of the greatest superstars of basketball: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Smitty’s story struck a chord with Abdul-Jabbar, who ultimately met other members of the 761st and gathered their stories for a book he called Brothers in Arms.

The story is one of not just courage and determination but humility and humanity.

I met with the soft-spoken Abdul-Jabbar when his book came out in 2004.

So here now, from 2004, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The 761st Tank Battalion included one Medal of Honor recipient, 11 Silver Stars, and 300 Purple Hearts.

Hulk Hogan: Behind the Persona in His Own Words

August 23, 2025Bill Thompson

Many people would say that when Hulk Hogan died last week he took a big piece of American culture with him.

Widely regarded as the world’s most recognized wrestling star, Hogan’s interest in wrestling blossomed when he was a teenager.

He first wrestled professionally in 1977 at age 24. But it was when he joined the World Wrestling Federation, then known as the WWF, that he became a star.

And it wasn’t just his proficiency as a wrestler that made him a star, it was his showmanship. Soon entire shows were built around Hulk.

And wouldn’t you know it, his showmanship also became a profession – Hulk Hogan became an actor.

But to those closest to him, Hulk Hogan was also Terry Bollea, the husband and family man.

In 2002 Hogan published his autobiography, a book called Hollywood Hulk Hogan. His publisher told me he was too busy for a traditional book tour, so I got a phone interview instead.

So here now, from 2002, Hulk Hogan.

Hulk Hogan passed away just days before his 72nd birthday.

A Baseball Career Done In By Drugs: The Steve Howe Story

June 20, 2025Bill Thompson

Hard-throwing left-handed relief pitcher. Steve Howe joined the major leagues in 1980 at the age of 22. He was National League Rookie of the Year that year.

In 1981, he helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series.

But by 1982 Steve Howe’s life and baseball career were starting to unravel, done in by alcohol and cocaine abuse. In 1984 Howe was banned from baseball but reinstated on appeal.

By 1987 his baseball career appeared to be over for good. It would be another four years before he was able to re-sign with another team, this time the New York Yankees.

While he was away from the game, Howe wrote a book, an autobiography that he called Between the Lines. I talked with him in the summer of 1989 about the book

So here now, from 1989, Steve Howe.

Steve Howe retired from baseball in 1997. In 2006 he was killed in a single-vehicle accident – a toxicology report later showed methamphetamine in the system. He was 48.

Being an LGBTQ MVP in MLB: Billy Bean and His Groundbreaking Career

May 14, 2025Bill Thompson

Billy Bean was an outfielder. Between 1987 and 1995 being played for the Detroit Tigers, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the San Diego Padres.

Billy was a good player but an average player – not a superstar. He bounced back and forth between the majors and minors.

But it was after his retirement from baseball that Billy Bean may have made his greatest contribution to the game, and to society. Almost 4 years after leaving the game, Bean came out as gay, only the second former major Leaguer to do so.

He quickly became an icon in the LGBTQ community, and by 2014 was named MLB’s first Ambassador for Inclusion. Within 2 years he was MLB senior vice president for diversity equity and inclusion.

I met Billy Bean in 2003 when he wrote a memoir called Going the Other Way. It was a very candid exploration of how a gay man fits into major professional sports.

So here now from 2003 Billy Bean.

Billy Bean died in 2024 from leukemia. He was 60.

The NBA’s Chet Walker: A Black Athletes Coming of Age in America

April 6, 2025Bill Thompson

They called him “Chet the Jet.”

Chet Walker was a seven-time NBA All-Star, during a 13 year playing career for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Chicago Bulls.

And that was after a two-time All-American college career at Bradley University in the early 1960s.

But his success was not limited to the court. After his retirement from the NBA in 1975 Walker became an Emmy-winning TV producer,

The Heavyweight Bout That Transformed America

January 17, 2025Bill Thompson

It was 1938, on the eve of the start of World War II. And a 24-year-old American boxer, the son of Alabama sharecroppers, was about to alter the course of our history.

That young man was Joe Louis – full name Joe Louis Barrow, more widely known by the nickname “The Brown Bomber.”

On June 22 at Yankee Stadium in New York, Joe Louis took on German boxer Max Schmeling in a much-anticipated rematch. Schmeling won their first bout, in 1936. But this one would be all Louis.

He knocked out Schmeling in the first round.

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Get your copy of Joe Louis Barrow’s book

But along the way, according to his son, Joe Louis Barrow Jr, the Brown Bomber transformed the way America saw African Americans.

And that is why Barrow Jr. called his 1988 book about his father Joe Louis: 50 Years an American Hero. I got a few minutes with him that fall when he was on a book tour.

So here now, from 1988, Joe Louis Barrow Jr.

Joe Louis died in 1981 at age 66. Max Schmeling helped pay for his funeral, and Louis was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

The Champ’s :Life Lesspms: George Foreman’s Guide to Life

December 13, 2024December 7, 2024Bill Thompson

Sooner or later life will knock you to the canvas. The key is knowing how to get back up and keep fighting .

So maybe it pays to listen to somebody who has been knocked down and has gotten back up many times in his life.

Former heavyweight boxing champ George Foreman knows a thing or two about being knocked down and getting back up.

And in 2003 he wrote down many of the life lessons he’s learned, in a book he called George Foreman’s Guide to Life.

I met him when he was on a book tour.

So here now, from 2003, George Foreman.

George Foreman will be 76 next month. And he and his wife will celebrate their 40th anniversary in 2025.

What Was The Celtics Secret? Former NBA Great Bob Cousy On The Celtic Mysiqiue

November 20, 2024November 17, 2024Bill Thompson

He’s been called one of the 50 greatest NBA players ever. Point guard Bob Cousy played for the Boston Celtics for 13 seasons, helping them to six championships.

He was the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 1957, and was a 13-time All Star. Cousy was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1971.

Cousy attributes much of his personal success to the storied franchise he was part of – the “Celtic mystique,” it’s been called.

In fact his 1988 book was called Cousy on The Celtic Mystique. Late that year was when I had the chance to spend a few minutes with this NBA great.

In this interview you’ll hear reference to the Miami Heat, which at that time were in the midst of a 0-17 start to their first season in the NBA.

So here now, from 1988, Bob Cousy.

Bob Cousy is 96 now. And he still wears Celtics green as a marketing consultant for the team.

Yankee Legend Mickey Mantle And His Favorite Summer

October 25, 2024October 24, 2024Bill Thompson

It’s the Yankees and Dodgers in the World Series, for the 12th time in their history. The last time was in 1981.

The 1950s, however, were all Yankees-Dodgers. They met in seven World Series in the ‘50s

The 1956 Series was particularly notable – in Game 5 that year, the Yankees’ Don Larsen pitched a perfect game.

There was a spectacular 8th inning catch that preserved Larsen’s gem – that defensive miracle was turned in by center fielder Mickey Mantle.

That was a great year for Mantle. He won the Triple Crown, leading the American League in homers, RBI, and batting average.

It was such a great time that Mantle titled his 1991 memoir My Favorite Summer. I met this Hall of Fame legend that spring to talk about it.

So here now, from 1991, Mickey Mantle.

Mickey Mantle was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1974. He died in 1995 at age 63.