Episode 10 | From ABA Legend to Lifestyle Icon: The Unforgettable Story of Bob "Neto" Netolicky

Get ready to dive deep into the colorful world of ABA legend, and former Pacers player, Bob "Neto" Netolicky on today's episode of Mosaic Minds Podcast.   Famous for his exotic pets—a lion and an ocelot—and being dubbed the "Broadway Joe Namath of the ABA," Neto was more than just a player.  He sponsored race cars, ran a car dealership, and even made basketball history by playing for both teams in the same game under coach Slick Leonard.  Don't miss this episode where we explore the life and times of one of the ABA's most captivating characters.  Bob is very much involved in, and on the board of, Dropping Dimes Foundation.  Dropping Dimes Foundation aims to “give back” to deserving American Basketball Association players and personnel who provided significant entertainment and excitement to fans in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Make a donation to Dropping Dimes Foundation - https://droppingdimes.org
Buy Bob's Book, "We Changed The Game"  

Check out Mosaic Minds' Video Podcast: mosaic.minds.podcast
TikTok: mosaic.minds.podcast
Instagram: mosaic.minds.podcast
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/mosaic-minds-podcast
Facebook: mosaicmindspodcast
X (Twitter): mosaic_podcast

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mosaic.minds.podcast

Contact us for booking and show ideas: mosaicminds37@gmail.com

Transcript

0:00

In 1969, we made the playoffs, okay, and we were playing Kentucky in 1969. This is the second year in the league. We were down, it was tied, and the seventh game was in Indianapolis, and we were a 10 point underdog, and they had a really good team back then. And, uh, little did any of us know, but the ownership group of the Pacers met that morning with bankruptcy attorneys, and had we lost that game, They were folding the team the next day into a clearing bag. Man. Wow. Welcome to Mosaic Minds, the podcast where every episode is a colorful blend of perspectives, ideas, and conversations. Each week, our diverse team of hosts brings their unique backgrounds, experiences, and interests to the table. Mosaic Minds is your invitation to join the conversation to see the world through a kaleidoscope of viewpoints. So grab a seat, tune in, and let the Let the mosaic unfold before you. Are you, uh, y'all set, Bob? Alright, man. Welcome to the new car today. I need to do that. Welcome to a Mosaic Minds podcast. Today we are with Bob Nedolicki. He is a former professional basketball player who played for the Indiana Pacers. Um, he, um, was during the, uh, American basketball association in the late 60s early 70s, and he's known for his scoring ability And his energetic play. Uh, he was a key contributor to the pacer success in in the aba and he was versatile Forward who could shoot from outside And drive to the basket with ease um, he I believe if i'm correct and bob you can correct me, but I believe that when Close to uh your retirement is when the aba became You Or, um, when it switched to the NBA, is that right? It was really, it was right. It was, uh, I was there nine years and I retired that the ninth year. And then, uh, they went in the NBA the next year. Okay. Um, it's kind of a long story there. And I couldn't come back and play it. Actually. Bill Fitch, who coach Cleveland was a friend of mine from back when I was in high school and he, uh, I, I had a contract offer in Cleveland, but you know, back then I had a home in Indy and just got married and just got engaged. And, uh, You know, back then the money wasn't quite what it was today, you know, these guys make more shooting a free throw than we made in our whole career. Yeah. I'm sorry. I'm just going to be candid, but I even asked, I even asked Jason, I'm like, should I, should I ask something about, uh, you know, like, how do you feel about what the players are making now compared to, you know, compared to the ABAs? I'll tell you what, you can't, you can't knock them for it. I mean, that's great for the guys. Yeah. For those guys. I just can't, I just can't imagine me as a 27 year old kid making 50 million a year. I think I probably be dead by now. You and me both. Yes, absolutely. We made, uh, you know, we did, uh, when I finished my book, you know, if you've read my book, but, uh, you know, my book, uh, we, we did a little computation there where we read the book and our year, we won the 1970 championship, our first ABA championship, you know, with Mel and Roger and everybody, we, uh, we, we totaled up Dick Takum, the, uh, owner totaled up, we totaled up. All the salaries for the players, coaches, trainers for the entire year. And that, uh, that kid that just signed him to the pacers, he'll make more than a half a game because we made an entire year of the whole team. So it's changed a little bit. I mean, I kind of laugh when people say, well, it's inflation. Well, if it was inflation, a hamburger cost you 30, 000, I was going to say, yeah, I think what's interesting about the ABA to me is, is, you know, the, the, the basketball, you know, I think that in it, ABA was innovation, it was, uh, it was fast place pay, uh, uptempo, you know, passing, shooting, running, talk to us a little bit about the style of play that, you know, when we played, you know, it was, it was, uh, I, I used to watch NBA games and it was basically thrown it in the center, take your time and. and uh, it really wasn't, you know, they were great teams. It's just they had played a different style of game and the ABA kind of let, let us, let us, Let us go for a playground game. I got like Julius Irving, uh, you know, flying through the air. They would, when the NBA in the fifties, you know, they probably wouldn't have even allowed that to go on. So, and you also have to remember that in 1966, there was only eight teams in the NBA, not 38. And so there was a ton, 10 men on a team back then. So there's a whole lot of talent out there in the country that wasn't either getting to play. Or unfortunately back then was segregated against. So, uh, the NBA really opened it up and, uh, uh, Walt Frazier, who was a friend of mine, uh, made a statement a few years back, we put it in my book that he said, basically the NBA today is the, if you watch the play. Yeah, it really is. I mean, the Pacers here locally scored 150 points, two or three times. I mean, that was unheard of unless you went and did that today. Yeah. They did that today. You know, the thing is, is that really the. The only shame it was, and I know it was'cause the old guys like red Arabic and those guys who had a hard on for the A, BA, I think if they would've taken the ball, that's the only thing they missed. They should have taken the ball because it really liven up the game and it's a great ball to play with and uh, you know, it's visible on TV and uh, I still think they ought to adapt. Did they ever say why they changed? Maybe some why they changed it, maybe some. Yeah, did they ever say why, yeah, why, why they switched, like what, what the purpose was, why they switched for, you know, and took away the, the colored, um, basketball? Well, you know, with the ABA, the 14s merged into the NBA and their ball was brown. Oh, okay. Okay. They, they kept it that way. Uh, you know, they took the three point play and a bunch of other stuff, but that, you know, that's the way the game evolved. I always, you know, I'm a huge, huge, uh, IndyCar fan. Before I came down here, uh, a few years back with COVID, um, I'd been to 51 straight Indy 500s. Wow. You know, a lot of friends, it's changed now. I mean, I enjoyed the race drivers. Friends of mine are great guys. You know, it's sad. Some of them passed on. I probably answered guys like that. But, uh, uh, I, I kind of, you know, So, I call the ABA. If you guys don't remember racing history back in the day, right up into the 60s, they had roasters, big front end roasters. They were noisy and they were fast. They were loud but all of a sudden, here comes the rear engine car and everybody hated it. Oh, no, we don't want that. It's not going to work and everything and bingo bango and I kind of call the ABA, the rear engine car racing. We came in and we changed the game of racing as well as, you know, basketball. So, uh, you know, that's just kind of my analogy might have been a little bit of competition for you or, you know, from that era, but my dad was, was the team in Kentucky called the Colonials by chance. Yeah. I apologize. Apologize on that. Was Dan Issel on that team? That's okay. That's okay. That's a, that's a Kentucky pronunciation. Yeah. There you go. Was Dan Issel on that team by chance, Bob? Pardon me? Was Dan Issel on that team by chance? Oh yeah. Yeah. Danny was on that team. A great guy. Uh, you know, Danny's on our board of directors with, uh, our board of advisory board for the dropping guys foundation. And, uh, yeah. He's a big ABA proponent. He really helped and reached out to, uh, help the guys get that recognition payment, finally got a pension, which pardon my English that we were screwed out of, but other than that, I've actually read a little bit about that. I was just telling Nick before I had yawn, um, the, the gentleman needed some surgery and he should have been taken care of, and I've actually read about that project. It was a guy locally here in Indianapolis. I believe, I don't know the name. Well, you know, about, It's funny about about 2008 or 9 somewhere in that area I was uh, I reached out to see about my pension because I knew I was a lawyer rep back then and I knew what he said in the merger agreement according to the merger agreement It's written in bold print He said if you played three years or more in the aba you would be funded into the nba At pension and uh, you know, all of a sudden everybody forgot it. Nobody funded it, which is typically aba back They didn't have any money But, uh, you know, nobody funded it, and all of a sudden, buh, buh, buh, so I got a hold of some attorneys in Chicago, and then four, three or four years down the road, they were, we got a little bit there, a little bit there, they were great guys, but it was not, no real personal touch, and the biggest problem we had is, we were right, but you go sue a big company, team like the NBA, you'd be a hundred years old before they settled something like that. And plus they had this, uh, you know, statute of limitations. It was a bunch of crap. And then I met Scott Tartar who's the attorney in Indianapolis who started dropping dimes. He and John Abrams and Ted green. And, uh, the more I talked to Scott, he really got involved in it and he became basically our spokesman, our lawyer, and the guy worked, my gosh, the guy must've worked eight, I almost lost his job as a lawyer. He must've worked four or five, six years. Constantly I've worked with the NBA, trying to take care of guys, help guys out, uh, you know, that were in trouble. And there's just lots of guys that were, I mean, there's one guy that, uh, I won't mention his name, but he was a great player for Kentucky. He was an all star and he, uh, He had no money and he was living in a trailer up behind his aunt's house and he he went to a Uh, he had to heat it with a kerosene flame Thinking he wanted to get some kerosene. He fell in the snow. He passed out He got frostbite almost died and this it was a damn shame when this guy was promised You know any kind of a pension it would have helped them And uh, so anyway to make a long story short is scott basically worked for five years We're absolutely not, didn't charge one dime. Now you show me a lawyer out there. It doesn't charge one dime. That's like finding a diamond in a haystack. Yeah, I think it's awesome. Anyways, we're right. Anyway, Scott got it done and the NBA gave what was called, they didn't give the pension. I think they were afraid of liability there, but they gave you a recognition payment. To each NBA player that played three years or more and it wasn't it wasn't a ton of money But believe it or not, you know a thousand fifteen hundred a month is a lifesaver for some of these guys And it was just wonderful and i'm coming back next weekend uh They're doing a scott is being awarded the man of the year with the old timers club in indianapolis and i'm coming back for the uh for the Presentation dan ish was going to be there. That's the reason I mentioned dan and uh, bob costas was going to do the uh, You Emceeing but he had a probably death in his family, which is sad but uh, And bob costas has helped us so much I mean i've caught the bob and he just I mean he talked to the nba and he's just a super guy It really helped the aba and uh And I can't say enough about Bob. And if you look at our, uh, advisory board on the dropping dance foundation, uh, it's pretty, pretty impressive. They've got, we've got eight or nine hall of famers on there. You know, we've got Julia Serving, Dennis Spencer, Heywood, Louie Dampier. Uh, George Gervin, you just started naming them off on the March of Dimes, uh, board. Then it's like we got writers. We have Peter Vesey and we have a Bob Costas on there. And, uh, wow. So it's pretty, pretty nice bunch of group of guys. And, uh, and they've really helped the foundation get some recognition and get some donations. And they still are helping other guys are fortunate enough to be able to get the pension or play three years. So. It's a really nice deal and I'm really proud of all those guys. Yeah, you guys laid the groundwork, you know, uh, the story that I'm going to tell you, you know, it's all about You know you for this segment, but my first goal was a macy indiana the story I like to tell everybody about who's your basketball. My first court was on grass So i'd feed the chickens corn in the grass They would scrape up to get the corn and then I became dirt so I flattened it out with a shovel So I thought i'm a big time when I had a dirt court right there on the barn You And then I graduated to a gravel with a, you know, a professional goal, you know, and I was nine or 10. So I remember like it was yesterday, getting that red, white, and blue ball, uh, back in, this would have been the early eighties and nineties, just to see the rotation on it. You know, you could, you could actually see a lot of stuff in your shot. So a transition in my life. My life in basketball, I played about 35 years. I never played at the college level or anything, but it was a big part of my life growing up in Indiana. What was your preferred, uh, were you like a pull up jump shooter, mid range guy inside guy? What, what did you typically play when you were out on the, you know, it's kind of funny, but you know, Indiana, when I came there, I couldn't believe how, you know, basketball basically, that's all like a religion in Indiana, which is cool. And, uh, I'm from Iowa, and when I grew up, basically there was, we didn't even have little basketball court at our school. Hardly we, it, it was, it really wasn't what it is today. I mean, there was no, nobody, I mean, back when I was in high grade school and junior high, nobody even heard of the NBA. I mean, it was, nobody even knew what it was. But, uh, I didn't play at high school. I, I wasn't basically good enough. I, I, I started growing when I was about a junior in high school, and I. kids used to make fun of me. They said they'd come over and drink a coke and watch me grow during the summer. But I grew about, I grew about eight, 11 inches in one, in one summer. And I started, I got out of high school and I started playing AAU ball with a bunch of older college guys. I did that for a couple of years. I just started getting a little better and a little better, a little better. And all of a sudden, uh, the coach from Drake university basically came down and offered me a deal. And one thing led to another. And I guess, you know, the, I'd rather be a late bloomer than a late, late, uh, I, I also know some friends of mine that were great. And then once they reached a certain age, they, they never got any better. So it's, it's kind of a, it was kind of a blessing in disguise for me to start late. Bob, you're an interesting guy. I was reading, um, some of your, some of your, uh, history. And so I guess you'd owned a couple of, um, exotic animals. Yeah, that was my college. Okay. It's crazy days. What's my favorite animal was I had a first, I had an ocelot and I, if they're sure, you know what they are, they're really cool. I had to look up what that was, but yeah. Then I had the coolest one I ever had, though, other than this, you don't tell you that, but another one I had was called a Margie. If you don't want to look it up, it's M A R G A Y. It's like an ocelot except smaller. It's like a really big house cat with a huge long tail, but they're the friendliest, sweetest things. I had this thing for two or three years. And it's out of college and it was just like my buddy She's top of my lap at night and then like I was getting ready to leave for um About a year before I left college. I had I had a friend of mine one that wanted her and I said Well, you can have her take care of her because I was leaving and then the asshole put her part of my english He put her in the uh, he put her in the local zoo and I was very upset. Wow, really? Yeah, they wouldn't sell her back to me and everything. I said come on guys And that was one of my regrets. But the one thing that people talk about, I had a, my roommate was in Chicago. This is my senior year. And he called me on the phone. He said, Hey, I can buy a, I can buy a lion for a hundred bucks. You want to go half? I thought he was kidding. I said, Oh yeah. Right. I said, well, if you can do it, buy it. So next, next day he shows up with this little baby female African, not real African lion cub. Wow. And so we named her Julie and that was her name. And she lived in my house for about a year or so and got real, real big. And, uh, but she was just a big baby and, uh, The one thing about it is, she liked to sleep in my bed, and if I came in at night and I had a little too many beers, uh, she'd just growl at me and I'd go sleep in the other room, so. I feel like that'd be a, that'd be a way, easier way to, to get girls in, in college, uh, as opposed to playing a guitar. You know, hey, I gotta, come over and see my ocelot, you know what I mean? No, I, I tell you though, this lion, she was so big, I mean, you wouldn't believe, I mean, you know, a four year old lion. You know, full grown mountain lions, you know, 125 pounds. She was a hundred and almost two, seven, two eight. But anyway, I always wished I was always wished that when I was out of town or something and she was home alone at night, I always wished somebody would break into my house because you see some guy with a flashlight, walk in the living room and. Oh, too late. Hey, I got a random question for you. So I, uh, I was doing a little bit of research and I was curious to see, I didn't realize this, but the modern day Wheeler mission in downtown Indianapolis, they said was home to some of the greatest pickup games in the history of Indianapolis. Were you ever part of that? I don't honestly, I think I've played in a few pickup games, but honestly, I really don't remember that much about it. Fair enough. I'm sure there was, but I played a few of those things, but basically in the summertime, a lot of times they would really get mad at you if you went out and did that because they're afraid you get hurt or something like that. And you really couldn't do it. So, and speaking, I wanted to say something for you about ABA ball, you know, that red, white, blue ball, when they had a, uh, And at first, the first year, Mike Storen, uh, and, uh, the commissioner of basketball in those days, they, they did an experiment. They got a bunch of, I think this was maybe in New York or somewhere. They got a, they had it all went to the playground and all these little kids are out playing basketball and having a great time. They put 50 NBA brown balls on the table and 50 ABA balls. And then they told the kids. Here's the deal kids. Now, when you go home, you can take one of the other, whichever one you want, you get one basketball. And guess how many of the AB, guess how many of those 50 kids took ABA balls? Probably most of them try 50. But to make what reason I was going to say that is Scott Carter. I don't know if you know, he owns, he started a company called Lana sports and he actually has the trademark rights now to the ABA logo and the ball. And he makes, he is making. a an official absolute the real thing ABA ball he even has one with George Mikan's signature on it which is uh, he sells that as a collector's thing because that was the original permissioner but he has uh, his other ball is uh, it's a gorgeous ball I mean uh, I uh, I got some, I think I got some somewhere I got one right here at a in a, in a case there you go, now, sweet That's a little different. This ball, this ball is what I gave to my grandson. Uh, this is what we got at the reunion, but that, that might be worth a little more, it's got eight hall of famers on it. That's very cool. But, uh, it's a, wait a minute, hold it. Here's, here's a picture of it. I should think somewhere I can't find it. Make me work too hard here. But, uh, Scott's got this company and he sells these balls, uh, online and, uh, he gives, he gives, uh, partially a bunch of the proceeds to the dropping guys foundation, which is really great. So, uh, it's, it's a neat deal. And anybody out there wants to buy a ball, you got to get one of these cause they were really nice. I think it, I think it's, you know, giving me cold chills. Just listen, you know, you've, you've got, you've got great stories. You traveled all over, you know, When I played, I'll throw it out there. You know, you, you know, your accolades, I, uh, I tried out with about 70 guys down at Vincennes and I made it to the top five, I was trying to get a walk on spot there so I can play, I can play a little bit, but just not at that level. Never really hit a growth spurt. So it's kind of hard to do much when you're six to 160 pounds, but I was a three point shooter, that was my specialty. I, uh, Hey, you know, at least you had fun. That's why I told my grandson, he's uh, He's six foot, almost six six now and he played a little basketball, but he's, he, you know, he's, he's one of these kids that he's gung ho to be an airline pilot. So I told him, I said, you know, enjoy basketball, do what you got to do. And I would never push a kid to do it. So I think it's, uh, some of these parents and stuff, they all think every kid's going to be in the NBA and their chance, like I said, is about one in a million. They don't realize that because the talent level, people have no idea of the talent level out there. It's, uh, you know, Slick used to tell me, and we all know who Slick is. Oh yeah. Slick used to tell me, he said, if you want to measure basketball talent, you take a yardstick and you go the first six inches is how talented you have to be to play in high school. He said, if you want to jump to college, you got to improve up to that 12 inch mark. But if you want to play in the pros, you got to jump to the 36th. And he's probably right. You have to, you have to learn. I mean, I learned, I tell people I learned more playing one exhibition game against Connie Hawkins. That I think I did in four years of college basketball. I mean, it was amazing. What I tried, I just watched him and played against him and tried to emulate what he did. And, and it was just a, it was a super learning experience, such as I really enjoyed, do you miss living in Indianapolis? I mean, I'm sure you like Texas, but there's times I really do, the reason I moved down here was my daughter, his husband got a, got a real nice job down here and I got the two grandkids and my wife basically, I got voted anyway, so I thought I wanted stay. I, I couldn't stay anyway, but I'll tell you what I lived in, you know, I played in San Antonio or. Dallas for a year. And I really like Texas is really nice. I mean, it's, I don't miss snow that much. Right. Yeah. And, uh, and, uh, Austin is a really vibrant growing cities just growing like crazy and it's really not a lot of great people down here. And again, uh, and I consider Indiana Indianapolis home, but, uh, you know, even though I was born in Iowa, I was born in San Francisco, but. When I tell people that kind of look at me kind of strange Don't judge me don't judge me Hey, guess what I want to tell you something I got a, uh, you know, I'm from, I'm of Czech descent. My father was a surgeon. My grandfather was a surgeon. And my, my great grandfather was one of the first surgeons that ever, you know, Iowa, and then he moved from Czechoslovakia and, you know, I got all that. And I got a letter the other day and, uh, from the Czech. Republic, uh, big basketball associate. They're having a hundred year da da da da, and they're opening their hall of fame and they're, they're inducting. Joe Lapic, who is Cze, John Hick and a little old me. Get outta here. Oh, wow. Nice. That's cool.. And I was, I was shocked. I was shocked. But it's pretty cool. They're gonna have a big gala over in Prague this summer, and I'm gonna take my wife and go. It'll be, it'll be pretty fun. Oh, that'd be a great, yeah, that'd be a nice trip. I really wish John was still around because I knew John pretty well. He was a really nice guy, John Havlicek. And, uh, and, uh, you know, us, us Czech guys got to stick together. Yeah. Well, I get some good kolaches over there. Did you ever, didn't you have a restaurant here at one point? Well, I had a bar. A bar, okay. Night club called, called Nets and, uh, right Nets. It was, it was funny because, uh, I was gonna, I was, two guys approached me, well the guy name was named Chick Perrin, uh, chick owned the Green Onion and a couple other nightclubs in Indianapolis. And uh, there was another guy named, uh, Tom Tuttle, I think his name. And he was kind of a big, kind of Wizard Wheeler dealer in, in Indianapolis. And they came to me and they thought, you know. Nameth opened this bar and I think right now it'd be great because there isn't any around and really There was no sports bars in indianapolis at the time as you well know You probably you wouldn't know but I mean it was dead. It was just dead after six o'clock. There's nothing Beyond the downtown a few places two strip joints down there And so we went to the, uh, we went over to the Beto shopping center, and there was an old nightclub that was closed, and it had been the crown room, and so the research on the crown room was really interesting, because they had big time acts, Frank Sinatra played there, and a whole bunch of people, and they leased it, we leased it, and I had to go to the bank and sign a note. Which is another funny story. I went to the bank and it was, I can't remember what the note was to start, but I remember I signed it. Netto enterprises, Bob, not lucky president, which basically let me off the hook. And, uh, I think, I think the guy that signed it, the bank guy, he was a rookie or something about two weeks later. He called me about crying on the phone. Oh, you. You got to come in and sign it personally. And I said, Nah, don't worry about it. I'm sure you had a few sleeps in the night, but we did end up paying it off. There's no problem. But the beautiful part of it was, it was about two blocks from the Coliseum. And when we opened it up that night, I'll never forget it. We had, gosh, we had the governor showed up, Mayor Lugar showed up. Everybody showed up to this, our little sorter during and, uh, the best thing I think that happened. And I think you can, I've had a lot of people tell me this, but it's part of my book. It was the first bar in Indianapolis, not only a Spartan sports bar where blacks and whites and no problem. We all work together. We came together. And it was like, I think it was the first place that like that in Indianapolis, it was like a, and I've had some black leaders in the black community. Tell me it was like a social, it was really a nice thing. And I remember we'd never had any problem. We just, every night was the greatest thing is you'd come, I'd come from a game and there'd be a line about two blocks long to get in and I charged a big dollar cover charge. So I thought that was pretty good. Yeah. That's, that's, that's very cool. Yeah. I mean, I'm just, what do you think about. What do you think about the crime now compared to the crime then I mean, it's Indianapolis is not the same city as it was even 20 years ago. I don't I honestly gosh don't know what happened I mean I was involved with the Sheriff's department back then they made us uh, Mal and I and Roger were special deputies whoopee whoopee and uh, but we used to I a lot of friends with the police and uh, I remember I used to ride with the guys and and we I I don't understand what's what's going on there I mean, I like I said, I haven't been back five or six years, but from what i've been reading They've got a they've got some serious problems there and I I don't you know, indy was such a cool town Especially at night. It was so cool and For what I've heard, it's a little dangerous downtown. Yeah, I think it's really gotten worse since, since, uh, since COVID, you know, like after, after COVID and all the political stuff that went on around that time after that, it's gotten a lot worse. Yeah. That's a shame because Indy's a great city. And it is absolutely. And, uh, you know, the, the, the thing about my bar was that, you know, it was great for like three or four years. And then all of a sudden people started opening a bunch of them all around. started changing and everything. And so after four years, I, uh, I found a buyer and, uh, and I, uh, sold it. And, uh, And I, I did okay. You know, I, and, uh, I was happy, but it was, it was a lot of fun. And I'll tell you, he would not believe all the people that used to come there during the race, like remember James Garner, he was a good guy. Rock Rockford files. Right. Jimmy was just like he was in the movies. He just, just a real cool guy. And he would come in all the time with the drivers, like answer and Ronnie Rutherford and all those guys and show up. We even had, uh, one night we had, uh, Uh, the Apollo, the one after the second moon landing, uh, Gordon Cooper and those guys all came in. Apollo, they were in town for something and they came in and talking to him was really cool. I mean, I'm sitting there talking to the guy that walked on the moon. I felt, I felt pretty cool. It was really neat. I think growing up in Indiana, you know, my whole life, you know, as you well know, basketball switching, switching States a little bit, uh, back to Iowa there. So a different sport, but I've went out to the field of dreams there in Dyersville and we were looking to kill some time until the field was kind of open for the day. And we went to the toy. I think it was the toy hall of fame out there, but I will, I will reminds me a lot geographically of Northern Indiana. You know, there's a lot of fields. I grew up in, I grew up in Cedar Rapids. Okay, nice. And that's my, my father, my, I was born in San Francisco. It was, my father was on a medical ship during the world war two. And so I was born in, you know, he was overseas when I was, I was hatched so, and San Francisco, and then he moved back to Cedar Rapids. That's where he's from. And. He lived there his whole life. But, uh, yeah, it was, uh, it's pretty, I'll tell you a funny story about my bar. We had this one really good group of, uh, band in there. We had a house band and he was a lot of fun and people would be packed. And there was a night when Elvis was, uh, Presley played at the Coliseum and I know me and my girlfriend went and watched the show. Well, little did I know, I pull up in the parking lot and the parking lot is just full of people and they just. I pull up and they just mob my car. I wonder what in the heck is going on. I get out of the car and they all look like they want to shoot me or something. What, what happened was about 30 minutes before that, the band leader gets on the microphone and says, Hey guys, Neto just called, he and Elvis are coming over in about 10 minutes. He said the entire bar emptied out of the parking lot. That's great. I think it's cool. Cause you know, you were, uh, in an article I was reading about you, you were compared to like Broadway, Joe, back in that day, Joe Namath there for the, for the jets. And I, I think I can still see that, you know, you, you gotta, you gotta vibrancy to you, you know, you're excited, you're. You love life, you know, you've, you've, you've met some good people. And, uh, I think it's good to see that you're coming back there for that cause. Cause that's, uh, that's a great cause. And, uh, coming back to great city. About, uh, oh gosh, I want to say eight years ago, I, I wish they would have videotaped, of course it was probably been X rated, but there was a, we did a one for Bobby Leonard, he was man of the year and, uh, Basically we roasted it pretty good. And I, I mean, I, for him, if I told you, I can't tell you the stories on the, I'd like to, but I want to say myself and Robin Miller is there. George McGinnis, Mel Daniels is there. They're not there anymore, but I'm just saying, and we roasted flick. And I mean, we ripped him really good. And, uh, I, I wish they would have recorded it because this was a one of a, one of a kind thing. And I told some, I told some serious stories about slick. I love to tell you guys, but I can't use the verb. I think growing up where I grew up, where I grew up, you know, it was, uh, the small towns. So we had small towns of two to 300 people. And it was crazy to think that, uh, people from my dad's era. Mid seventies, you know, years old, they used to shut down the whole entire town at like three o'clock, all the factories would close and everybody would get behind the bus and drive four miles up the road. The fire marshal would make one town stand on one of one side, one town at the other side. And you're talking about a gym that holds 150 to 200 people and they're shutting people off. I mean, it's just, it's amazing to think that the high school I went to was consolidated into six or eight small towns. And we, we graduated with 90 people. So basketball and Finding competition. And, you know, I would ride my bike six or seven miles just to find one other guy to maybe play with, or sometimes just shoot by myself. But I think that's what you do. And that's how you learn. So the funny, the funny thing about my nightclub, it was, it was so relaxed. And I mean, people just got a lot, everybody you'd see my bar didn't matter who you were, you could be a, you'd be a, uh, pardon the words, a hooker, a pimp, a FBI agent, it didn't matter. Everybody's sitting in there together, but. The funny part, we used to laugh, if you'd come to my bar anytime after about nine o'clock at night all the way until two in the morning, there'd always be at least one or two police cars. Behind the bar in the back running. And it wasn't because they were guarding anything and they'd come in and we'd give them a free beer. Got to protect those who serve the community. Right, right. That's right. Exactly. Well, Bobby, I know we told you 30 minutes, so I won't, we won't keep you any longer, but that's cool guys. I'm enjoying this. I'm good. Me too. Yeah, that's great. So do you guys from who's your bill? That's right. Hey, we haven't, and you're going to be up. Uh, where's the ceremony taking place at? I'm, I'm not really sure what the name of the place is. It's, it's, I think they call it the old timers club, but it's, it's, it's on, it's on Saturday night, uh, um, the 20th next, next, uh, Saturday night and it's, uh, I think it's a, it's a men's only thing. So, okay. Okay. It's funny. Part of us, we did the thing for slick. The place usually holds about 10 people. It's 500, 550 people, you know, in this room and they always get there. The thing starts at eight o'clock. Well, guys were showing up at three in the afternoon and they didn't have 600. They had like 1100 people packed in here and they've been drinking for four hours. And then we get up and do our show. And you could imagine, but that place was blowing up. Yeah. We had, we, we had it rocking and a few of the stories are actually in my book, so if you want, okay. Yeah. By the way, why don't, what's the name of your, just so that we can put it out there for you. What's the name of your book? Uh, well the winning book, it was written by myself and Dick Tinkham, who was the original pacer owner and the league council, and then it was, uh, Robin Miller. Of course, everybody knows who Robin was, the writer. And, uh, Robin's passed away. So is Dick, but, uh, and the funny, this book is called, we changed the game. And, uh, it's, it's kind of true. We changed the game and it's got a real nice preface on the top by Bob Costas. And, uh, but the, it starts out with the best story is the reason it starts out is because Dick told me the story and I. I couldn't believe it. And I said, we got to write a book and tell us the true stories. And in 1969, we made the playoffs. Okay. And we were playing Kentucky in 1969. This is the second year in the league. We were down, it was tied. And the seventh game was in Indianapolis and we were a 10 point underdog and they had a really good team back then. And, uh, little did any of us know, but the ownership group of the Pacers met that morning with bankruptcy attorneys. And had we lost that game, they were folding the team the next day into Clernbeck. Man, wow. Now, if we had, we won the game, and we ended up going all the championship series. That year, we lost to Oakland, but we went to the championship series. And Dick said, had we lost that game, they were folding the team. Now, had the Pacers folded, the league would have folded, period. That's how shaky it was. I mean, the patients would like the team and had that folded. And there was two other times where two other teams almost folded the dick, bailed them out that nobody knows about. So it's a pretty interesting book because you're hearing the real stories, not some just make believe crap. Yeah, here in India, you know, we've, this is a, all pacer fans for sure. You know, like you're still selling them at the bookstore, but then you can get them on Amazon as Amazon's got them and a thing, but it's a, it's a pretty interesting story and a lot of fun. And we had, we had a, we had a lot of fun writing this. So what they, and the nice part about to part of the proceeds to go to a dropping course, we're funding dropping dimes, which you said helps the, uh, Guys that need it out there. Yeah, it's a great cause it was a blessing speaking with, you know, talking some hoops You know all across the state and all you know getting to hear some personal stories You're easy to speak with and humble enough to come on our show. We really appreciate it And, uh, if it was later, if it was after eight o'clock, see, I'd have a beer with me, but I'm just drinking my coffee now. Oh, I understand. I understand. Yeah. You're right. What? Three hours behind. It's what, like five, five 20 there now. Five 21 or no, it's one, one hour. We're central time. Oh, okay. Central. Okay. I forgot. We did the Texas. One hour, one hour behind, one hour behind you guys. So it's no problem. Okay, well, good. Well, Hey man, once again, I really appreciate you being on here. Um, love to talk to you again sometime. Sure. No problem. Hey, I enjoyed it guys. So if you want to talk again, just give me a little heads up. Safe travels back to the Hoosier state. And we'd like to definitely have you on again. And, uh, we'll, we'll talk some more anecdotes about some, uh, basketball in life in general, it was a pleasure. Okay. Well, hey, send me the link to your podcast. It was like, definitely, definitely will. We'll make it happen. All right. See you guys. Have a good night. Take care. Thank you. Bye bye.