Walt Michaels

At the Cleveland Browns Legends Induction of 2006, I had the pleasure of meeting an ex-Brown, an ex-Coach and a true gentleman in Walt Michaels. The River Rats had invited Lance Mehl to the Jets game and the induction ceremony because Coach Michaels was Lance's coach in New York. Lance had several people from New York radio stations that wanted to do interviews with him as an alumni in Cleveland for the game. Marty Lyons contacted Lance and the next thing I knew I was on the field and greeting my friends in the stands from the field. I had been on the field once before when John Morris was trying to kick a field goal for a new Avalanche. This was different, I didn't have an escort that guided my every move. I was free to move around. I got to meet several of Lance's friends that played when he did. I was there to meet Walt Michaels and he had just walked out of the tunnel. Several people crowded around him as Lance walked toward him. A security guard stopped me and said that I wasn't allowed in the end zone. The guard then made a mistake, he turned his back. I took several pictures as Lance and Walt shook hands with a great respect for each other. I bid my time and waited for Lance to introduce me and shared a hearty handshake with the 1951 Green Bay rookie. I made arrangements to call Walt and conduct the interview with him. I have spent over 3 hours with the football mastermind and each conversation is better than the next. He even called me to tell me a story that he had remembered after our conversation. Walt has many coaches still call him on Monday mornings to analyze their play or next weeks opponent.