Acquired: In Person 1/30/12, 1300 The Zone 3rd Base Appearance

Recently Charlie Ward became the subject of a topic through Facebook on 1300 The Zone, – as the greatest quarterback never to play professional football. An amazing athlete through and through, he was an acclaimed player at quarterback and guard (basketball) for the Florida State Seminoles. He also was drafted by the Brewers (1993), and Yankees (1994), and played tennis avidly.

Charlie had 2 illustrious seasons at Florida State, and threw for 27 touchdowns and 4 picks in 1993, winning the Heisman Trophy and was named ACC Athlete of the year. Equally as dangerous on the ground as in the air, Charlie tore teams apart as the team won its first National Championship that season.

Charlie decided to go to the NBA instead of the NFL. He’d be drafted by the Knicks (1994-2004), and play for the Spurs (2004), and Rockets (2004-2005) before retiring. Always mindful of Christ, he now coaches high school sports in Houston. He was inducted into the College Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 and is an active participant in christian charities.

I met Ward at 3rd Base bar in Austin with Eric Metcalf. I was unable to get a card of him before I arrived. He was very nice however. Unfortunately when Charlie looked at me, he looked at my beer first, then flashed a look of disgust at me before we spoke, which made me feel very sad.  When I asked him why he didn’t go to the NFL, he said to me, “It was God’s will.” This was his persistent response to every question I asked.  Overall he seemed to be a really nice guy, who is so grounded, it was almost surreal.  When the waitress was clearing out my tab, I asked her for a bit of extra receipt paper so I could get his autograph, which he wrote “God Bless” at the top of.