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| Cam and Wayne in the Kings dressing room |
February 4, 1989 — The
L.A. Times, Philadelphia Enquirer, CBS Sports, NBC Sports and other media had
gathered around the far corner stall of the Los Angeles Kings dressing room in
a semi-circle looking for the first quote from Wayne Gretzky.
The Kings had just played the Buffalo
Sabres at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles and the media wanted answers
on his four-point night: a hat-trick and an assist. Wayne saw me outside the
semi-circle and stood up.
“Could the rest of you wait for a
minute?” Wayne asked the other reporters. “I need to talk to Cam from Edmonton.
“Cammie, get in here. Got your tape
recorder working? Let’s do this.”
I kind of felt bad knowing other
reporters were on deadline for the late night news in a few hours as well as
the next day’s paper. But I jumped at the chance, as everyone did, to talk to
Wayne. He had a friend back in Edmonton who had leukemia and needed a
bone marrow transplant. Earlier that day at the Kings’ morning skate, Wayne
asked me if I could write a story in The Edmonton Journal where I was
working as a reporter that might help the cause. I was in Los Angeles on a
little holiday and didn’t have any reporting gear so I made a quick shopping
trip to buy a small pocket recorder.
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| Great Western Forum in Los Angeles |
SO WHILE OTHER reporters in the
room anxiously looked at their watch every 30 seconds with their looming
deadlines, Wayne talked to me for a good 10 minutes about his friend, how he wanted to help and where
people could donate.
It was a heartfelt story. And, more
importantly, Wayne was answering my questions.
For years, he could not
understand me because I have cerebral palsy.
I first met Wayne in the Crown Suite
of the Westin Hotel in Edmonton in July of 1979. He was at a reception the
night before a charity softball game and I went as a reporter with The
Spokesman, a monthly newspaper in Edmonton about people with disabilities. I
wasn’t using a tape recorder then and had my trusty notebook and pen.
I wheeled up to Wayne and introduced
myself and asked if I could ask him a few questions. He had a confused
look on his face and then, very gently, took my notepad and pen from me.
“I would be thrilled to give you my
autograph,” he said in kindness. “Who do I make it to?”
I explained myself. This time, he even
looked more confused.
Wayne turned to Herman Wierenga,
a colleague from The Spokesman who was at the event with me. “What did he say?”
Herman repeated what I said, and Wayne
agreed to answer my questions. He couldn’t understand me so Herman kindly acted
as my interpreter.
I bet that’s the first interview Wayne
did with both parties speaking English.
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| The crown suite is on the top floor of the Westin Edmonton |
OVER THE NEXT few years I would run
into Wayne after Oiler games. And for those years we said hello but, not much
else. In 1982, Wayne played in a floor hockey game with kids with mental
disabilities. I arranged to interview Wayne outside the Oiler dressing room
after a recent home game.
My buddy Gerry Postma was with me and
Wayne led us into a quiet corner under the stands where I asked my first
question.
Wayne had that confused look on his
face. Again. He then turned to Gerry and asked: “What did he say?”
And then it happened again: I
interviewed Wayne with Gerry as my interrupter — with all of us speaking the same language.
But that all changed in 1983. And I’ll tell you how Tuesday.
