My Favorite Dan Birdwell Story by Rod Sherman

One story of many that in all likelihood would not be made so public today but was considered part and parcel of the then modern football player and how tough and wild they were in the late 60’s was the Tim Rossovich, Mike Battle challenge of pain. The story received a fair share of attention and as goes like this. Both were at USC and challenged each other to find out who could with stand the most pain. They poured tacks pointed up on the floor and got on the top of a bunk bed and with bare feet jumped on the tacks. Legend has it that after one attempt they both quit, but others said Battle won. Both eventually ended up on AFL teams Rossovich Chargers, Battle The Jets.

When I graduated from high school in 1973, I went to work for the Physical Fitness Institute of America in San Jose, California as a scheduler of programs to service clubs and college athletic programs where pro athletes would put on a 45 minute talk called, fitness for busy people. Dan was one of nine athletes and former coaches that I was responsible for scheduling. Dan had just moved to Huntington Beach, CA and was in one of the largest communities that the company serviced and asked me to move to Huntington Beach and schedule him full time. I said absolutely and spent 3 months in Orange County living with the Birdwell’s and keeping Dan in front of people at breakfast, lunch and dinner talking about isometric and isokinetic exercise programs that would keep people healthy that just had fifteen or twenty minutes each day to work out.

After work, Dan and I would run from Beach Boulevard in Huntington Beach about two miles to the pier in the same town and have a burger and a beer and he would tell me about the events of the day and I would update him on his next couple of days presentations. One night, we had a couple to many beers and stated to run home on the beach. I was 6 foot tall and about two hundred pounds and started to run past Dan and get in a three point football stance and yelled at Dan hit me Dan, hit me. He kept saying get up Brad if I hit you I’ll brake you in pieces. Being 18 with a little buzz, I kept doing it until he finally got in a three point stance and I said hike, hike, hike and on the third call, he gave me a rip up in the chest with his fore arm and it knocked the wind out of me and thru me backwards about ten feet. When he hit me I was saying hike for the fourth time and when I hit the ground and the air was coming out, my voice was stuck saying hike for about twenty seconds. Afterwards, I was positive I would never do something that stupid ever again. Dan was a good friend to a young man just getting started in life and I always treasured our relationship. Three years later, his wife, Diane called me and told me Dan had passed. I was blessed to have had that short time to spend with Dan and his family they were fine people. In 1974, Dan had the largest playoff ring ever made for an AFL player. I wish he was still here today.