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Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008

Ex-NFL player with Glenarden roots talks with youth looking to score big
by Natalie McGill | Staff Writer
Montgomery County, Md., Gazette

Throwing a football well before the existence of multi-million dollar team signings, commercial endorsements for footwear and even the Super Bowl, ex-NFL player John Cash was in it for the love of the game. And on Friday, Cash, who works part-time at the Glenarden Community Center, shared that love and his professional sports experiences with youth.

Cash�s visit was one of several planned for the joint ��Do You Have What It Takes?� program at the Glenarden and Glenn Dale community centers that brings out African-American athletes from Prince George�s County to talk to youth about the sacrifices to becoming a professional athlete.

Glenarden Community Center Director Michael Kurland and Glenn Dale Community Center�s assistant director Tammy Massey began the program last year in conjunction with Black History Month. Out of the 11 young men who attended Friday�s program, seven raised their hands when asked if they wanted to play sports professionally.

��We thought kids needed a little more direction as far as looking up to someone who has been there and done that instead of trying to do it on their own,� Kurland said.

Cash, 73, who played football at Allen University in Columbia, S.C., signed with the Cleveland Browns in 1960 and played for a year before signing with the Denver Broncos. He experienced highs and lows as an African-American NFL player, from flying first class to games, to not being allowed to stay in the same hotel with his white teammates on a visit to Los Angeles.

Cash played with the Broncos until 1964 when he found out he had calcium deposits in his ankle and was urged by his doctor to stop playing football. Following the NFL, Cash played with the Roanoke Buckskins, a ��farm team� for the Washington Redskins to pick new recruits, from 1965 to 1970.

��Had I played one more year I would�ve gotten pension,� Cash said. ��But as I said, I�m blessed. If I had a chance to do it all over again I would do it.�

After playing with the Buckskins, Cash, his wife, Gloria Cash, and their two sons, John Cash Jr. and Bruce Cash, moved from Washington, D.C., to a single-family home on Brightseat Road in Glenarden, where they lived for 33 years. While working for the United States Postal Service in Bethesda, Cash started part time at the Glenarden Community Center in 1972, where he has remained ever since and now answers the center�s phones. Cash now lives in Woodmore near Mitchellville.

During his time at Glenarden Community Center, Cash coached the center�s basketball team and led them to 12 community center championships. He also coached the Glenarden Boys and Girls Club�s football team and continues to give the club copies of plays he used to run when he was coach.

��It�s really cool having an ex-NFL star at our facility,� Kurland said. ��It kind of brings some prestige to Glenarden.�

Cash brought in his old football, black cleats and football helmet, a brown paint-chipped helmet with a metal face guard and sparse padding around the cheek bone area. Massey wanted youth to see what equipment players like Cash had to use compared to the heavily padded gear today�s NFL players wear. Cash also brought in 50 cent game programs from his days with the Browns and Broncos and records of his contracts listing his starting salary.

Jairus Harper, 15, of Lanham said he was surprised at how little money Cash made after he told his peers he made $6,000 a year as his starting salary.

��I learned a lot from him and things were a lot different back then,� Harper said.

Massey said the program gives those children and teens who aspire to play in the NBA or NFL a reality check about what hard work is necessary to go pro but she also wants them to know that it is possible if they work hard.

��I wanted them to see the history of what they�re trying to get into,� Massey said. ��I want them to understand it took men like Mr. Cash to pave the way.�

Cash said his advice to youth desiring a career in professional sports is to not only practice their craft but get an education first, adding he would not have attended school if he was unable to get a football scholarship to Allen University that paid him $20 a month.

��Manners will take you where money won�t,� Cash said. ��You have to humble yourself. Apply yourself.�

Lawrence Stokes, 14, of Greenbelt said Cash�s speech made him realize education comes before anything, but he would still like to play for the NBA in the future and has no particular preference of where he ends up.

��Whatever team picks me,� Stokes said. ��It doesn�t matter.�

E-mail Natalie McGill at nmcgill@gazette.net.