continued from page “Sometimes that’s ….

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“Sometimes that’s not very hard.”

Sonny got stopped by the cops a few times driving to Mt. Vernon. The cops loved him and did not want to arrest him for DUI charges but had to do their duty. Sonny was told that if they stopped him again, he would face jail time. He quit drinking cold turkey and never picked up a glass again.

One day during the PGA tournament at Avenel, a stranger came up to Sonny for a brief chat, then walked away. Margo asked, “Who was that?” Sonny replied, “Some guy I was in school with.” Margo then asked, “He go to Duke?” Sonny replied, “No, DUI school.”

That was the kind of humor and repartee that permeated the Redskin broadcast, which made Sonny and Sam the most popular announcers in the WMAL radio lineup in Washington.

In his late years, John Unitas, the legendary quarterback of the Baltimore Colts, opened a restaurant, which he named, “The Golden Arm.” Unitas invited several former NFL quarterbacks including Sonny. When Unitas welcomed Sonny to the premises, Sonny cracked, “Hey John, thanks for naming your restaurant for me.”

When Billy Kilmer joined the Redskins, Sonny became his best friend. They were constantly drinking buddies. One day Siegel said to them, “Look I know you guys are great friends, you love your social hours and all that, but at some point, deep down there has to be some feelings of rivalry.”

Kilmer then said, “Mo, we don’t care who starts as long as it is not no. 7.” This was the number of thirdstring quarterback, the arrogant, brash, and cocky Joe Theisman. Sonny and Billy were indeed the best of friends. That may be the only time in NFL history that two rivals playing the same position became such genuine buddies. They journeyed to Jesup to visit with their old teammate Len Hauss, longtime Redskin center. They came to Jesup for Len’s funeral, which was the last time I saw Sonny, who drove up from Naples and Billy doing the same from Coral Springs on the other side of the state.

I often kidded Sonny about his big mistake in not signing with Georgia out of Hanover High in Wilmington, North Carolina. Coach Wallace Butts was known as a passing guru yet Sonny chose the split T option of Bill Murray at Duke. He made headlines by collecting five interceptions when he was in the game on defense during the one-platoon football era.

Our football heroes grow old; they eventually move on to that Great Gridiron in the sky. We are left with memories, and in Sonny Jurgensen’s case, they are all good. That happens when it’s about the game and not the individual.