A Trip to Platteville: Summer of 1985

It was the summer of 1985. As usual, my stepson Andy would be visiting for the month of July – he was 15 and I was always looking for interesting and new things to do when he came to town.




I read that the Chicago Bears were having their summer camp at Platteville, WI. That sounded like a fun thing to do. My son, Sam was 3 that summer and my brother, Rob was living at home with our folks – time for a road trip.



Rob was supposed to find out when practice started, if we could get in, where it was exactly – I picked him up early on a beautiful July day and he got in the car and said:



“Good news, bad news – the bad news is that practice starts tomorrow. The good news is it’s a good day for a drive.”



I figured he was right – once we got the trip in motion, might at well follow through. So, we hit the road.



And it was FAR to Platteville. I am thinking to myself, “I can’t believe people do this,” as I was barreling down the highway.



We arrived at last at University of Wisconsin, Platteville campus. It was pretty deserted, except for a couple of guys sweeping the grounds outside the stadium. About 17 years later, my son would play on this field for Augustana College.



“Hey, how you doing? Nothing much going on today – practice starts tomorrow. There are only a couple guys in there throwing the ball around.”



Despite the large orange signs that said “Authorized Bear Personnel Only” I was not deterred. I told the group that if anyone stopped us, we could just say Sam had to go to the bathroom.



We walked into the stadium and found that the custodians were right: there were only two lone guys throwing the ball around. Those two guys, however, were Jim McMahon and Kenny Margerum.



My brother played ball at Madison a few years before this, so he went out for a couple passes from McMahon. We talked a bit, laughed about the season coming up and I finally got up my nerve to ask if I could take a picture of them with my little guy.



Sam was not the friendliest of toddlers: if someone would say hello to him at the Jewel where we shopped regularly, he would get mad and demand “Who is that? Why is he saying hello to me? I don’t know him.” So, I was a little concerned about how he would take to Jim and Ken.



The two players were great with my son – talked to him asked him how he was doing, laughing – I took what I hoped was a great photo – who knew? This was 1985, no digital cameras.



As it turned out, the photo was great. I sent it to both McMahon and Margerum with a note saying “Here is a photo of the next Superbowl quarterback and wide receiver plus a future All-American.” I never heard anything in return, but didn’t really expect to.



Since we had been in Platteville, and Superbowl Sunday was to be on my son’s 4th birthday, I clipped every single article throughout the season, taped every game (I have to get those converted from VHS tape!) and kept every Royko, Bob Greene, anything from the year.



We all know what happened on January 26, 1986. The Monsters of the Midway had their way and took New England to task to the score of 46-10. It was a fabulous year, one that is still talked about as possibly the greatest championship ever.



The photo has been hanging in my laundry room/office since that summer. I had it in the back of my mind that I would have McMahon sign it one day. (I would love to have Margerum sign it too) I would read about his appearances, most were golf-related and I am not a golfer – others were charity events and I didn’t want to pay $250 for a place at a table among other people seeking his attention. I did read that he had his 50th birthday party at a club in Chicago recently and if you gave $50 for his charity, you could get in. I seriously thought about going downtown for that, but decided against it – again, the crowds would probably have been too great to catch a few moments of his time.



Then last week I read that Jim McMahon was to be at Binny’s in Highland Park and would autograph a photo or some other memorabilia for the first 250 people in line. Here’s my chance.



My husband drove to Highland Park – we arrived early. The session was to be from noon to 2 p.m. last Sunday, the 26th. We got there at 10:00 a.m. as the doors were opening and I was number 16.



Most of the people in line were autograph hounds – seekers – getting autographs for profit. I had the real thing – a real photo taken 25 years ago.



When it was my turn at the table, I showed him the photo and said, “I have been waiting 25 years for you to sign this.”



He took the picture in his hands, said, “Oh, my God – that takes me back.” I rambled on about how it was my son in the picture and that it was his fourth birthday when we won Super Bowl – Jim then asked what my son’s name is – I said, “Sammy” –



And now that photo is back hanging in my laundry room – a little more complete.