When the Unbelievable Turns Out to the True
One question I’ve learned over the years not to ask an interview subject is ``Were you surprised?’’ I guess it might be human nature, but for whatever reason, there are many people who don’t like to own up to getting caught unaware, whether they were aware or not. If you ask instead, ``What was your reaction to (whatever)?’’ the response is usually less-guarded and more forthcoming.
While putting the finishing touches on my favorite story in years—and one of the favorite of my career—I put in a call to Ron Wellman. I wanted to find out the latest news from Atlanta, and to ask of him his reaction when his baseball coach, Tom Walter, walked into his office to mention that he wanted to donate a kidney to a freshman baseball player, one who because of his illness had never played a game for the Deacons.
Wellman said he was surprised.
“It was a surprise for sure, because it’s not a routine part of the day getting news like this,” Wellman said.
But then he admitted his reaction had not done service to Walter.
“But in reflecting upon it after we had the initial conversation, it shouldn’t have been a surprise because that’s the type of person he is, and he really does believe in his team being a family,’’ Wellman explained.
I also had trouble believing the story when I first heard it was to unfold yesterday in Atlanta, but that was until I remembered maybe the biggest reason Walter got the job at Wake Forest. Wellman, upon announcing the hire in June o 2009, recounted the amazing story of how Walter held the University of New Orleans baseball program together in 2005-06 in the horrific aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and how the team had to actually re-locate several times before returning home in March.
The Privateers finished 30-28 that season and a year later won the Sun Belt Conference championship.
Wellman clearly hired Walter for who he was as much as for what he had done as a college baseball coach—as if the two could be inseparable.
My story in today’s Journal Coach’s Sacrifice ran too long. I told our Managing Editor Carol Hanner I could have written 5,000 words and not told the story the way I wanted to. She hated cutting it for length, but the constraints of print required it. I took it better than I used to, knowing that I could always pick up the cutting room floor and serve it up here in my blog.
A section pared dealt with Walter’s ordeal at UNO and how it came into play five years later.
It was Walter’s commitment to his players and program at the University of New Orleans that convinced Wellman he was the right person to be Wake Forest’s baseball coach. Chased out of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005, the Privateers evacuated to Las Cruces, N.M., Mobile, Ala., and Westwego, La., before finally returning home in March of 2006.
Somehow, someway the Privateers – a team with 29 first-year players—finished 30-28 that season. A season later, they won the Sun Belt Conference championship.
“The sacrifices he made for his team and everyone associated with it at that time were just beyond anyone’s imagination,’’ Wellman said. “But that’s just Tom.’’
And that was the person the Jordan’s entrusted their ailing son with hundreds of miles from home.
“When we met him, you can look a person in the eye and kind of see if they really mean what they say and say what they mean,’’ Keith Jordan said. “And you could say that in him.
“Also when we went to the Internet and looked at some of the things that had happened down in New Orleans and how he worked with the team and the players and the comments that were coming back from some of the people.’’
A university, or a business for that matter, is bricks and mortar, a folksy way of saying infrastructure. And it’s what is learned, or produced. But mostly it’s about the people who work there who make it what it really is.
Wake Forest has been a great university for years. It became a better university the day Tom Walter became the head baseball coach.
With his selfless act, he did himself and his university proud.
Back to the main page.
By Dan Collins on 02/08/2011 (12:31 pm)
Comments
Dan, What a wonderful story. Coach Walter is a “GIANT” among men. It is a very touching story. Now I hope most of the people who have been negative about Basketball would reflect on this great moment at Wake Forest. Everyone should step back and realize it was Ron Wellman who hired him. Good job Ron. Wake will be back winning before long. Just be patient,it will come. A great story Dan.
Carl Haggard on 02/09/2011 (2:58 pm)
Memphisslim you took the words right off of my keyboard. This exemplifies what Wake is all about, Pro Humanitate indeed . My wife & I have never been prouder or happier that we sent both of our sons to Wake.
What differentiates Wake from most other schools are the people. Coach Walter’s walked the walk and made us all proud to be associated with such a fine university.
GO DEACS!
Deac Fan on 02/09/2011 (9:27 am)
It is not about Brick and Mortar. It is about FLESH and BLOOD! It is time for us to follow Tom Walters lead. Man up. Walk into the Joel , BB&T field, where ever you might be with that Wake shirt and hat on and wear it with PRIDE!
Doug on 02/09/2011 (7:48 am)
Dan, if you would permit me, I will repost my comment I made from last night when I first read it on Journal.now:Dan, this was one of my favorite stories I have read anywhere. I emailed Ron Wellman and told him so, and further said that regardless how our baseball team fared, which has been on hard times in recent years, Coach Walter is the type of person which the Wake Forest community needs to keep, a person who gives first, rather than who takes.
Coach Walter has shown us rather than just said what “Pro Humanitate” means:love of another human being enough to sacrifice and if need be even suffer pain for him, as this man has done.
memphisslim on 02/09/2011 (1:31 am)
Dan, do you think you will be able to get the real story on Melvin Tabb’s dismissal?
Lee on 02/09/2011 (1:14 am)
Coach Tom Walter was a winner both on and off the court before he was hired by Wake. The same criteria was NOT used to select our basketball coach. To say that the same criteria WAS used, is an insult to Coach Walter.
gt on 02/08/2011 (11:23 pm)
All right now, can the AD get a little love from all those folks that want to get rid of him for his “terrible” hire of the BB coach? This is the same guy, used the same criteria and made the same quality hire in another sport. Good job AD, good job coach, this is what life is all about.
Thank you for the report Dan.
ej on 02/08/2011 (7:58 pm)
What an uplifting story! It is good to know that people of character such as Coach Water are affiliated with Wake Forest. I hope he and Kevin Jordan make a full and speedy recovery.
Steve on 02/08/2011 (5:52 pm)
This is truly an amazing story. I’m a 1954 graduate of Wake Forest and followed the Deacons’ sports teams even before that (my high school basketball and baseball coach was Herb Appenzeller who played for Peahead Walker) and I find this a unique example of man’s humanity. Wake Forest has another reason to be proud. Tom Walter has qualified as a true Hall of Famer.
Ed Young on 02/08/2011 (5:42 pm)
What an unselfish and remarkably great thing for Coach Walter to do! Just goes to show what a great family-like community Wake Forest is!
Ken Green on 02/08/2011 (3:18 pm)
Dan,
Other good stories about this on ESPN.com and CBSsports.com.Some wag on CBS commented that Wake might be penalized by the NCAA for providing an extra benefit.
Jerry on 02/08/2011 (3:01 pm)
When it comes to sports, perspective is almost always a commodity in short supply. Wake could lose all of its basketball games and nobody is going to die (my wife might not agree with that comment, but if I did keel over during a game there will nobody to blame but me….which around our house keeps things consistent).
Coach Walter is the kind of human being that should make everyone in the Wake family proud whether or not Wake ever wins another basball game because he may have kept someone from dying….and unlike a lot of people in sports he had absolutely nothing to gain from it.
Dan it would be great for you to write one of these for every 9 or 10 sports pieces you do just to keep everybody’s head on straight….unfortuantely there probably aren’t enough of these kinds of stories to keep up with all the blithering we do about games (me included).
Deacon23 on 02/08/2011 (2:43 pm)
Walter did a wonderful thing to save a young man’s life. Let’s pray they both recover.
How could any young college-ready baseball player not want to come to Wake to get a great education and play for coach Walter? What parent would not want their son to play for and associate with Walter?
Jerry on 02/08/2011 (2:37 pm)
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