For many years, Walsh, Brian Gracie, Joe Barger and I sat together for the Raven’s games. We would get together before each season for a ticket swap ,trying to trade games that we knew we couldn’t attend, and get a couple of seats in exchange. As you can imagine, this was a less than scientific undertaking. We were usually more confused afterward as to who had which tickets than we were before we got together. One Sunday, I called Walsh at 8:30 in the morning to find out if he was going to the game and to see if he wanted to drive down together. He answered the phone and told me that he was not attending, but thought that Joe had the ticket. Several phone calls later, after determining that Joe was out of town, Walsh told me that he thought the ticket was in Joe’s office drawer. Walsh took it upon himself to contact the Office Manager at Joe’s office and ask if she could meet me there that morning on short notice and get me into Joe’s office, so that the ticket would not go unused. She was happy to help out, and when I met her a little later, I realized that Brian had orchestrated this entire effort from his In-laws home in Arizona. He had picked up the phone at 5:30 am to take my call and had continued to call back East until the ticket had a home. He never once mentioned what his situation was; he just wanted to help out.
This is just one of the many stories that I could relate about Brian’s unselfishness and his desire to help people in any way he could. It’s very easy to understand why Brian’s friends use the words” B generous, B amazing, B unforgettable” to describe him. I couldn’t think of a better portrayal of the person I knew and I will always have with me – especially on Sundays in the Fall.
Mike Criswell