In The Front Row Podcast

Joe Maddon On World Series Win with Cubs, Managing Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout Joe Maddon was born in Hazleton, PA and grew up playing baseball along with football and basketball. After playing baseball and one season of football at Lafayette College in Easton, PA, Maddon signed a free agent contract with the California Angels as a catcher. Following four seasons in minor league baseball, he was...

Kenny Albert grew up in New York in a broadcast family with dad Marv Albert and uncles Al and Steve Albert. He did mock broadcasts into his tape recorder at age 5 and was broadcasting games for real by the age of 15. After graduating from New York University, Albert began his career in 1990 and has been on the mic for more than 3000 broadcasts calling games in all four major US sports leagues (NFL...

John Swofford was born and raised in North Wilkesboro, NC where his dad owned a tire store that catered to NASCAR legends like Junior Johnson. Swofford was an All-State quarterback at Wilkes Central High School and attended the University of North Carolina on a Morehead Scholarship. He was part of coach Bill Dooley’s first recruiting class for the Tar Heels and played both quarterback and safety....

Eddie George: Heisman Trophy Winner, Tennessee Titan, And Tennessee State Coach Eddie George was born in Philadelphia and played multiple sports at Abington Senior High School before his mom made him attend Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia. It was at Fork Union where George grew on and off the field. After spending a post-graduate year at Fork Union, college football coaches came calling an...

Brandon Phillips on MLB Career, Winning a World Series and Owning a Pro Softball Team Brandon Phillips was born in Raleigh, NC and grew up in Stone Mountain, GA in an athletic family. He played multiple sports and wanted to focu on football before his mom suggested he concentrate on baseball. That advice led to a 17-year MLB career including 11 with the Cincinnati Reds where he was a 3-time All-St...

David Glenn on The David Glenn Show, Interviewing Presidents and Philly Sports Fandom David Glenn was raised in Philadelphia during a successful time for Philly sports teams. A fan of Phillies pitcher Steve Carlton, Glenn was also a lefthanded pitcher growing up and played baseball from age 5 years old into his 20s. Realizing that playing sports would not be his profession, Glenn decided on sports...

Kerri Walsh Jennings on WINNING Olympic Gold and being a Hall of Famer, a role model and a MOM Kerri Walsh Jennings grew up in California in an active family. As a somewhat shy kid, she used sports as her outlet playing both basketball and volleyball. As the #1 volleyball recruit her senior year, Walsh Jennings chose nearby Stanford where she helped lead the Cardinal to 2 NCAA Titles (1996 and 199...

Mike Candrea on winning NCAA Softball Championships, Olympic Gold and growing the game of Softball Mike Candrea was born in New Orleans and loved playing pick-up baseball with his friends. After moving to Phoenix at age 7, Candrea’s passion for the sport continued to grow.  He played second base at Central Arizona College and became an assistant coach at the school before being asked to take over...

Karl Mecklenburg was born in Seattle but grew up in Minnesota where he started playing football when he was 9 years old. He wanted to attend the University of Minnesota, but at 6-foot and just 200 pounds he had to settle for Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD. After having his scholarship removed at Augustana, Mecklenburg walked on at Minnesota and in 1982 he was the Gophers' top defensive p...

Ron Cey was born and raised in Tacoma, WA where he played multiple sports up until graduating high school and attended Washington State to play baseball. After playing for the WSU freshman team, Cey played for Coach Chuck Brayton and the varsity team where he became the Cougar's top hitter and also earned his nickname "The Penguin". In 1968, the Dodgers drafted Cey in the 3rd round a...

Jeremy Roenick was born in Boston and moved around as a youth. He played hockey for the first time at age 4 and fell in love with the game. When he was 7 years old, Roenick had a memorable encounter with hockey legend Gordie Howe, something that would shape how he treated fans during his career. As a 10-year-old, he and his friends idolized Mike Eruzione and the US Olympic team that won gold in La...

Clyde Simmons was born in Lane, SC. His family moved to Wilmington, NC when he was young and sports highlighted his childhood. Playing multiple sports at New Hanover High School (alongside Ep. 55 guest Kenny Gattison), Simmons found his calling in football. Encouraged by Wildcats head coach Joe Miller, Simmons attended Western Carolina in the North Carolina mountains. During his four years, he hel...

B.J. Surhoff grew up in Rye, NY. His dad, Dick, played 2 years in the NBA but his time playing professional fastpitch softball had the most impact on young B.J. who played multiple sports growing up. A standout in baseball, Surhoff was drafted by the Yankees out of high school but decided to play at North Carolina instead. Playing for the Tar Heels from 1983-85, Surhoff was a back-to-back 1st Team...

Tyrone Wheatley grew up in Inkster, Michigan in the 1970s playing outside in “Olympic Games” with family members. Looking for direction and discipline, Wheatley found football and coaches who helped change his life. He was the 1990 Michigan Football Player of the Year and also named 1991 Michigan High School Track Athlete of the Year (after a disappointing loss the year before). Wheatley grew up a...

Robert Smith grew up just outside of Cleveland in Euclid, OH. He excelled in track and carried that speed over to football rushing for more than 5000 yards in his high school career. After he narrowed his college destination to four schools, Smith chose Ohio State. He played football for the Buckeyes as a freshman, ran track at OSU as a sophomore and returned to football his junior season.  Despit...

Sidney Moncrief grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, playing pick-up football with family and friends. Eventually basketball would become his sport. Recruited by several southeastern schools, Moncrief decided to stay in the state and play for Arkansas and coach Eddie Sutton from 1975-79. Playing alongside fellow Arkansas natives Marvin Delph and Ron Brewer (they were known as "The Triplets"...

Larry Farmer grew up in Denver but didn't play basketball until his teenage years. Self-described as "coachable", Farmer learned the game and started to excel at it. First-Team All-State his senior season in high school, he was recruited by many schools before a meeting with UCLA's John Wooden started his path to UCLA. In his three years playing for Wooden (NCAA rules prohibited...

Carlester Crumpler Sr. grew up in eastern North Carolina where, as a student and an athlete, he helped integrate the schools he attended. The only black player on his high school team in Wilson, NC, Crumpler was an outstanding running back who rushed for more than 4000 yards. His play earned him a scholarship to nearby East Carolina University - a scholarship signing that was attended by ECU coach...

Dan "The Beast" Severn grew up on the family farm in Michigan and didn't start wrestling until he was a teenager. He soon came to love the sport competing in both Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling. His talent led him to Arizona State where he was a two-time All American and competed internationally. Severn just missed out on making the US Olympic team times in the 1980s but would e...

Dave Bing grew up in Washington, DC and became an All-American basketball player in high school. He received plenty of college scholarship offers, but football standouts Ernie Davis and John Mackey convinced him to go to Syracuse. Bing would help turn the Syracuse basketball program into a winner as the team's leading scorer playing alongside Jim Boeheim. In three years, Bing scored nearly 200...

"The Mayor" Sean Casey was born in New Jersey and grew up just outside Pittsburgh playing football, basketball and baseball. Following a football injury, Casey turned his attention to baseball. Despite becoming a high-level hitter, college offers never came. On his dad’s advice, Casey wrote letters to schools to play college baseball and it was the 31st letter that caught the eye of the University...

Anthony Muñoz grew up in Ontario, California around a loving family led by his mom. While never knowing his dad, Muñoz learned about work ethic from his mom and sports from his older brothers. Baseball was his first passion until high school when a coach saw the potential in him on the football field. That potential turned into talent as an offensive lineman and attracted college coaches from acro...

Kenny Gattison was born and raised in Wilmington, NC during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Sports became his outlet and he excelled in football at New Hanover High School dreaming of being an NFL tight end. When he started growing, basketball soon became his sport and one that he dominated on the streets of Wilmington playing with, and against childhood friend Michael Jordan (known then a...

Before his illustrious NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys and helping to conquer Mental Health issues, Greg Ellis was a standout basketball and football player in eastern North Carolina. At East Wake High School, he was named 1993 Male High School Athlete of the Year by the Raleigh News and Observer. Though he was recruited to play basketball by some smaller schools, he chose to play football at N...

Beebe grew up in Kaneville, IL playing baseball, basketball and football. In fact, he didn't like football until his senior year in high school after a coach convinced him football would be his sport. After graduating high school in 1983, Beebe spent the next six years in and out of several colleges before getting his break at Chadron State in Nebraska. Invited to the 1989 NFL Scouting combine in...