Growing up in the '70s and '80s, my two brothers and I came up with the concept of what came to be known amongst us as "The Club", an ethereal group of men who shared more than a few similar qualities. It was first inspired by a rugged carpenter named Rick Bongiovanne whom our mom was married to, and it was solidified in our minds in the late '80s or early '90s after a mutual friend of ours named Johnny Robertson cemented his place in The Club by A) Playing a swaggering hearththrob in a "soft porn" Playboy movie, and B) showing up at the Denny's Restaurant in Big Bear for a ski trip wearing only a brand new, stiff as cardboard pair of Tuffskin jeans and matching jacket, with corduroy bedroom slippers on his feet. No shirt, no socks, no problem.
The particular set of character traits that these men and others like them possessed included:
- Rugged good looks
- A naturally chiseled physique (2% body fat max)
- A broad smile with equally chiseled smile lines
- The innate ability to look good doing anything physical, regardless of the end result
- Just as likely to be seen in public without a shirt as with one
- And most importantly, a "quirky" personality, to say the least
Some of the earliest indoctrinees into said club:
- Kris Kristofferson
- Gary Busey
- Rickey Henderson
- Reggie Sanders
- Rick Bongiovanne
- Johnny Robertson
And the list goes on... I know I'm missing a lot of names here, and I'm sure my brothers will chime in to fill out the list. A couple who spring to mind who almost made the cut include Muhammed Ali (disqualified for already being in a league of his own) and Sly Stallone (just a little too Hollywood perhaps). Like I said, there are others that are not coming to mind at the moment.
This morning when I awoke to the news that Rickey had passed away last Friday, I have to admit to welling up a bit. If there was anyone who epitomized Club membership more than Rickey, I haven't met him yet. We'll miss you Rickey, and thanks for keeping us entertained for al these years, both on and off the baseball diamond.
