I'm a little disturbed by the fact that Dobler hasn't even spoken with Mickelson. I'd think he might find a way.
Posted on 02/09/2007 12:11:44 PM PST by Michael_Michaelangelo
It has been years since Conrad Dobler terrorized pro football, but his plan for last Sunday was like that of most Americans: He would be a hostage to Super Bowl XLI, although with somewhat divided loyalties. During a career when he was billed as "the dirtiest player in the NFL," Dobler once toiled with the New Orleans Saints, whose quarterback was Archie Manning. "A great guy, and of course, his son Peyton is the man with the Indianapolis Colts," Dobler said last week. "So it's hard not to pull for Peyton. Then again, I was born in Chicago. I don't have that problem in golf. When there's a tournament on TV, you know who I'm rooting for."
Indeed, whenever Phil Mickelson is out there doing his job, the Dobler family is watching closely, from a distance. "Never even met Phil, never even talked to him, although I would like to, for obvious reasons," said Dobler, who at one time assumed Mickelson's job was merely to hit a little white ball into a hole with a stick, then jump onto his private jet and count his money. But that changed the day the phone rang at Dobler's home in Leawood, Kan. It was Mickelson's lawyer, Glenn Cohen. "He told me Phil had become aware of our situation," Dobler said. "Phil wanted to pay for our daughter Holli's college education. A random act of kindness is the only way to describe it. Holli's a sophomore at Miami of Ohio, the school of her choice, because of one person: Phil Mickelson."
The Doblers were enjoying a Fourth of July in 2001 when life changed for Conrad, wife Joy and their six children. Friends were coming over to the house, and he was cooking when Joy fell out of a hammock. "She said she couldn't feel anything," Conrad said. "We phoned 911. She's been a quadriplegic ever since. We've had to downsize. The business we have, providing temporary medical help to hospitals, used to be a lot larger than it is now. I've had to sell a lot of assets, [it's] everything I can possibly do to make it financially. Holli's tuition would have been a big ticket." Because the NFL treats former players like pieces of furniture, Dobler's benefits from the country's richest league are meager. "Judging by our disability payments, we're America's safest industry," he said. "The greeters at Wal-Mart are taken better care of. Pretty ironic that a guy from another sport does more for us than the sport I played 10 years."
Dobler has endured multiple surgeries on both knees, but a lot of retired linemen are physical wrecks, and they don't have his expenses. The most he ever earned was $125,000 with the Buffalo Bills. He has put four times that toward Joy's rehabilitation. "That's why Phil's generosity is so unbelievable," he said. "When Glenn told me what was going on, I asked him, 'Why is Phil doing this for a complete stranger?' Glenn's answer was, 'Because he can.' Like I said, I've never even talked to Phil to thank him, but he's made me a better person. I've become accustomed to saying 'I'm sorry' for some of the things I've done. But if I ever hit the lottery, my first impulse would be to give a bunch of it away. That's what he's all about. I have a feeling he does a lot of this sort of thing. But he doesn't even want to talk about it."
Mickelson has gone public with his contributions of $100 per birdie and $500 per eagle to Birdies for the Brave, which funnels money to Homes for Our Troops and Special Operations Warrior Foundation -- organizations that support wounded soldiers and families who lose a member in combat. The more he promotes those causes, the more corporate cash comes in. But the Dobler case is different, and when asked about it last week in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he was playing in the FBR Open, Mickelson politely declined comment. He does communicate with Holli, who waits tables at school when she isn't cracking the books. She has a 3.8 GPA with a heavy course load. And she isn't studying sportswriting.
"Our daughter is forever grateful to Phil," Joy said. "I'll tell you how involved he is. Since he made his first donation of $20,000, he's made sure to include a cost-of-living increase each year. This year, his check was for $22,000. Next year, he's promised $24,000. If there's anything he's missing in his life, it's a set of wings. He's an angel. And if I can when I see him for the first time, I'm going to go up and give him a big hug. I have therapy five hours a day, seven days a week. I'm getting there. Parts of me that didn't move after the accident are moving again, sensations I didn't feel, I feel. I don't plan on being in this wheelchair forever."
Quietly, Mickelson has invited the Doblers to the Memorial tournament in late May. At last, Conrad and Joy will be able to give thanks in person. "I'd do anything for Phil," he said. "If I could get up and down a ladder, I'd paint his house."
Also, this is good news for Jack Nicklaus, because Mickelson is obviously planning to play golf that week.
Good man. I try to make it out to the Memorial every year for at least one round. It's Jack's tournament and the players like to be there for him. They raise a lot of money for a very good local cause, Children's Hospital of Columbus. The corporate donors have a "Birdies for Children's" in-kind donation of a fixed amount of cash (something like $1000) for every birdie (or better) the players make during the rounds. Now, if we can only get a break from the weather...
Class act. Golfer Fred Funk is also helping support a crippled high school football player.
Phil is a great guy and has done a lot for the troops, as well as for many charities in his community.
Tiger Woods better watch out. He might have his ear bitten off. ( claimed to have been done by Dobler at the bottom of a pileup)
Seriously, I really like Mickelson, and admired Dobler in his playing days.
Wow! My opinion of Phil Mickelson just went up several notches. I had no idea he was doing this.
Saw a piece on REAL SPORTS a couple of weeks ago featuring Dobler and his own health problems and how the NFL has been very unhelpful to him and many other former players. Quite simply it is a disgrace how the league treats these former players.
I'll forgive him - Phil, I mean - for blowing the Open last year!
P.S. He's currently in the Top Ten at the Pebble Beach Tourney.....
True. The PGA Tour is the last bastion of the true sportsman and is a true meritocracy. No guaranteed contracts, it's perform or you're off the Tour: David Duval for instance. Won the British in 2001, and this year had to use a once-in-a-lifetime exemption to qualify. If he doesn't make the Top 125 this year it's back to Q-School. If he fails to qualify there, it's sayonara. And those guys really work - yes I know it's just golf - at their craft. Of all the golfers in the world, there are only one-hundred fifty on the Tour.
Screw ANS. I like this story a lot better.
I agree. As soon as I saw this article, I decided to post it because of that very reason. I saw a similar article awhile back about John Daly as well. He does a lot of charitable things, too.
Phil is THE MAN.
I'm no fan of the National Football League, but this statement is blatantly incorrect. Pension, medical, and disability benefits for ex-players are established through collective bargaining agreements between the NFL and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA). Former players are screwed because the current leadership of the NFLPA -- current president (and former player) Gene Upshaw -- goes out of its way to negotiate these agreements on behalf of current players (and their agents) at the expense of old-timers who no longer vote for the union leadership.
"They don't hire me and they can't fire me. They can complain about me all day long. But the active players have the vote. That's who pays my salary." --- Gene Upshaw, explaining why he doesn't give a sh!t about retired NFL players
What an ass. He's retired, but must have money, else he would be thinking differently.
Phil said nothing, just got this sheepish grin on his face. It was so funny.
Whenever he made a great shot, he got that apologetic look on his face, almost as if he was sorry he did that to his opponent. A unique character.
I'm a little disturbed by the fact that Dobler hasn't even spoken with Mickelson. I'd think he might find a way.
Also, wasn't Dobler the one who bragged about making the hall-of-famer Merlin Olsen cry, by talking dirty and nasty about Merlin's wife when they lined up? Bad, bad boy, that Conrad Dobler....
Mickelson wins Pebble by 5 shots.
Looks like his game is sharp and he will be giving Tiger a run in the Majors this year.
Being a golf fan, I look forward to the day when Phil and Tiger show up on Sunday and stare each other down.
I'm not sure if that is something you can work on. You either have "it," or you don't.
When I was growing up, I was more athletically talented than my brothers, for example, but wasn't as sucessful at sports because they had that 'killer instinct'.
Maybe someone should tell him that Tiger was talkin' about his mama. :)
Yeah maybe I am just a bit jealous of their talent being a 17 handicap in my better days. Look at Jim Furyk. Is he a winner, or a loser? He rarely wins, but he finishes in the top ten almost every week. Methinks he is a rich man. Maybe he doesn't like the spotlight much, but the guy with the weird swing could certainly win more if he wants it. It's all between the ears.
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