UCANXL o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-02-10 published
Gerry PATTERSON,
Sports
Agent 1933-2005
Starting with Jean Beliveau, he managed his clients in the style
of big business. Nancy Greene, Guy Lafleur, Gordie Howe, Don
Cherry and many others soon followed
By Allison
LAWLOR,
Special to The Globe and Mail, Thursday, February
10, 2005 - Page S7
Forever the optimist, Gerry
PATTERSON set out boldly in the late
1960s to become the Mark McCormack of Canada. Based on the American
sports marketing giant's business model, Mr.
PATTERSON introduced
a daring new way to manage sports stars in Canada. His pioneering
idea was to run an athlete in the style of big business. "I am
not an agent, but a corporate manager," he once told a reporter.
Mr. PATTERSON decided early that, if he were going to make it
in the competitive sports world, he had to start at the top.
Like Mr. McCormack, who got his start in 1960 with a young golfer
named Arnold Palmer and from there built his
IMG empire, Mr.
PATTERSON decided he needed a sports icon of his own. He set
his sights on Montreal Canadiens legend Jean Beliveau.
After a long and difficult courting period that included many
days and nights of negotiating around Mr.
PATTERSON's dining-room
table, he and Mr. Beliveau shook hands in 1969.
"He wouldn't take no for an answer," said Scott
PATTERSON, his
son. "It's like he just wouldn't go away."
Mr. PATTERSON quit his marketing job at Canadian International
Paper in Montreal and was soon following through on his promise
to make Mr. Beliveau a lot of money in the marketplace. He worked
out deals that saw the hockey legend's face on milk cartons,
in General Motors commercials and as the spokesman for Scotiabank.
The success was so big that Jean Beliveau Inc. was soon created.
At that time, Mr.
PATTERSON also formed his company, Sports Management
Inc., which would use the Beliveau model for baseball slugger
Rusty Staub, Olympic ski champion Nancy Greene, and hockey greats
Guy Lafleur and Gordie Howe. Don Cherry also credits Mr.
PATTERSON
for getting him on television and radio.
It was a year after signing on Mr. Beliveau that Mr.
PATTERSON
added Mr. Howe to his growing stable of top athletes. The handshake
followed a Saturday night pre-game dinner with Mr. Beliveau,
Mr. Howe, Mr.
PATTERSON and his business partner, Jerry
PETRIE.
It was Mr.
PATTERSON who would later negotiate the deal that
saw Mr. Howe come out of retirement in 1973 to play with his
sons Mark and Marty on the World Hockey Association's Houston
Aeros.
"He was a giant," said Ralph
MELLANBY, former executive producer
of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Television's Hockey Night
in Canada. "He changed the fabric of sport in Canada."
Born in the Niagara region of Ontario, Gerry
PATTERSON was the
son of Martha and Herald
PATTERSON, an oil-truck deliveryman.
The family moved to Windsor, Ontario, when Mr.
PATTERSON was
still a young boy. A sports enthusiast all his life, he played
basketball and baseball as a kid, but didn't have as much luck
when it came to football. Mr.
MELLANBY, who attended the same
high school as Mr.
PATTERSON, remembers during a tryout for the
junior football team of having his affable friend threaten to
become a cheerleader if he didn't beat him. Mr.
PATTERSON followed
through on his threat and ended up on the school cheerleading
team. As luck would have it, he met and married a fellow team
member named Wilma.
After high school, Mr.
PATTERSON moved to Hamilton, where he
took a management training program with Ford Motor Co. Years
later, he would be back in Steeltown trying to bring in a National
Hockey League franchise. In 1990, after two years of work, Mr.
PATTERSON swallowed a bitter rejection pill. His consortium had
lost its bid.
In 1962, he moved his family to Montreal. Despite his climb up
the management ladder at Canadian International Paper, Mr.
PATTERSON
itched to follow his dream of marketing athletes. Aside from
starting Sports Management Inc., he also co-owned Special Event
Television with Mr.
MELLANBY.
The company produced several shows,
including Mr. Cherry's Grapevine, Howie Meeker Pro Tips and Duke
Snider's Baseball Pro Tips.
Mr. PATTERSON is credited with starting to market the Grapes
nickname by which Mr. Cherry is known to Friends and television
fans. The nickname is said to have come from an encounter with
the late Eddie Shore, who dismissed an argument over money by
saying, "That's just sour grapes."
Mr. PATTERSON and Mr.
MELLANBY invented Grapevine and got the
Hamilton television show going in the early 1980s. It later moved
to national distribution. Mr.
PATTERSON also suggested Mr. Cherry's
Grapevines restaurant chain, but he dropped out after a two-year
search for the right location in Hamilton.
"Gerry took me under his wing when I came [to Ontario] from Colorado,"
said Mr. Cherry, referring to his return to Canada in 1981 after
being fired by the Colorado Rockies after one season.
Before long, he was helping out Mr. Cherry, who was feeling down
on his luck, by lining up speaking engagements in small towns
across Ontario. In those days, Mr. Cherry didn't draw the crowds
he does today. Sometimes, he'd look out at the audience and see
only a handful of faces, including that of his short, pudgy,
ever-smiling friend, Gerry
PATTERSON.
"He'd be the only one laughing," Mr. Cherry said.
One night, while driving to a speaking event together, Mr. Cherry
performed a trial run of a new speech he had written. It was
20-minute motivational talk, and Mr.
PATTERSON wasn't impressed.
"Horseshit," he told Mr. Cherry. "Grapes, people just want to
hear you and your stories. People don't want to be lectured on
life."
In 1981, Mr.
PATTERSON really came through for his friend when
he marched into
CFRB in Toronto and told the radio executives
that he wanted to get Mr. Cherry on a sports talk show. After
being told there were 100 guys just like Mr. Cherry vying for
the same shot, Mr.
PATTERSON pulled out a $91,000 cheque and
put it on the table.
"Gerry got me on the radio," Mr. Cherry said. "The first week
I said to Gerry, 'Do you think we'll have enough stories for
the rest of the week?' "
Today, the syndicated radio talk show is played on more than
100 stations and has nearly one million listeners a week.
Despite his success as a sports agent, Mr.
PATTERSON, who also
served for a time as executive director of the Canadian Football
League's Players Association, didn't stay long in the business.
In 1974, just five years after starting Sports Management Inc.,
he sold his company to Mr.
PETRIE.
"Had he stayed with it, he could have been the Mark McCormack
of Canada," said Mr.
MELLANBY, who thought his friend made a
big mistake by leaving the business.
But, according to Mr.
MELLANBY,
Mr.
PATTERSON had aspirations
to become president of the National Hockey League and had been
told that he first needed experience. In an effort to learn the
ropes, he took over as commissioner of the National Lacrosse
League. When he left the National Lacrosse League, he moved on
to several different things, including director of marketing
for CCM
Canada, and as a consultant to the Montreal Olympics.
He also published a book called Behind the Superstars: The Business
Side of Sports.
He had completed another manuscript for a self-help book he meant
to bring out under the title "Suxxess" but hadn't published it.
Known for his positive sayings, even his car's licence plate
had one: UCANXL.
"I never saw Gerry without a smile on his face," Mr. Cherry said.
Gerry PATTERSON was born on August 19, 1933, in Humberstone,
Ontario, a community now part of Port Colborne. He died in St.
Catharines, Ontario, on January 21 of a heart attack while out
walking his dog. He was 71. He is survived by his wife, Trudy,
daughters Jill and Myla, sons Scott, Kevin and Kim, sisters Dolores
and Carol, and brother Wayne.
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UCAR o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2005-12-31 published
UCAR,
Osman "
Patrick"
Peacefully at his residence, Osman "Patrick"
UCAR passed away
on December 28, 2005. Born in Istanbul, Turkey on March 18, 1925.
He is survived by his loving wife Nita; his children Patricia
and Frank DIETZ,
Carolyn and Craig
DUNCAN, and Colin; his grandchildren
Kristen, Kyle and Curtis
DIETZ, and Shawn, Laura and Jason
DUNCAN.
Also survived by his sister Vedia (Shikrit) and family. Patrick
was a veteran of World War 2 and served in India with the Royal
Air Force #358 Squadron. He retired in 1980 after a 30 year career
at the London Airport. Cremation has taken place. A Memorial
Service will be held at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, January 3, 2006 at
Forest Lawn Memorial Chapel, 1997 Dundas Street East (at Wavell),
London, with reception to follow. Interment at Forest Lawn Memorial
Gardens. Memorial donations can be made to the London Humane
Society, or the Charity of your Choice. Arrangements entrusted
to Memorial Funeral Home, 452-3770.
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UCHANSKI o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2005-03-12 published
UCHANSKI,
Adela
Taken into the loving hands of Jesus at her residence, on Thursday,
March 10, 2005, Adela
UCHANSKI in her 84th year. Beloved wife
of the late Stanislaw Piotr
UCHANSKI (1969.) Dear mother of Stan
W. UCHANSKI
(Nicole) of Ottawa. Mother-in-law of Konrad
MROWIEC
of Sarnia. Loving grandmother of Conrad Peter
MROWIEC of London
and Mark UCHANSKI of Ottawa. Sister of Eva
WLODARCZYK
(Henry)
of Arizona and Zenia
WROCLAW in Poland. Predeceased by her daughter
Lucia MROWIEC (2000.) Visitors will be received on Sunday from
2-4 and 7-9pm at the O'Neil Funeral Home, 350 William St. Funeral
Mass in Our Lady of Czestochowa Church, 419 Hill St. on Monday
at 12 noon. Entombment St. Peter's Cemetery. Prayers Sunday evening
at 7 p.m.
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UCHIDA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-05-10 published
UCHIDA,
Douglas▼
Passed away peacefully on Sunday, May 8, 2005 at the Toronto
Western Hospital, at age 85. Douglas, loving husband of Shirley
(SHINAKO.)
Devoted▼ father of Alvin (Jackie) and Janice (Charles.)
Cherished grandfather of Terri, William and Gerod. Douglas will
be sadly missed by his sister Jane (Art) and all of his family
and Friends. A Chapel Service will be held on Wednesday afternoon
at 3: 00 p.m. at The Ogden Funeral Home (St. Clair Chapel), 646
St. Clair Ave. W. (west of Bathurst) with visiting one hour prior
to service. Cremation.
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UCHIDA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-05-11 published
UCHIDA,
Douglas▲
Passed away peacefully on Sunday, May 8, 2005 at the Toronto
Western Hospital, at age 85. Douglas, loving husband of Shirley
(SHINAKO.)
Devoted▲ father of Alvin (Jackie) and Janice (Charles.)
Cherished grandfather of Terri, William and Jerod. Douglas will
be sadly missed by his sister Jane (Art) and all of his family
and Friends. A Chapel Service will be held on Wednesday afternoon
at 3: 00 p.m. at The Ogden Funeral Home (St. Clair Chapel), 646
St. Clair Ave. W. (west of Bathurst) with visiting one hour prior
to service. Cremation.
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UCHIDA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-10-15 published
UCHIDA,
Shirley "
Shinako" (née
OKAZAKI)
Passed away peacefully, on Wednesday, October 12, 2005, at St.
Joseph's Health Centre, at age 84. Shirley, beloved wife of the
late Douglas. Devoted mother of Alvin (Jackie) and Janice (Charles).
Cherished grandmother of Terri, William and Jerod. Shirley will
be fondly remembered by her brother Ed and sister Kay, and will
be sadly missed by all of her family and Friends. A Chapel Service
will be held on Monday evening at 7 p.m. at the Ogden Funeral
Home (St. Clair Chapel), 646 St. Clair Ave. W. (west of Bathurst),
with visiting one hour prior to service. Cremation.
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