Bret and Kandace Saberhagen: A Perfect Blend

It’s funny how life can take one on a path to form an unexpected friendship with people. That was what happened with me a little less than four years ago. It all occurred because of one of the many conversations that I have had over the years with Jerry Kramer.

That chat with Jerry led me to write a four-part series about stem cell therapy.  It was then when I was able to get to know Kandace Saberhagen.  I knew immediately that Kandace was a special person. That impression was cemented by other people who knew Kandace well. People like Don Horn, who played with Kramer in Green Bay when both were with the Packers. It was Kramer’s discussion about stem cell therapy at a reunion/autograph session several years ago which first got Horn interested in the subject. It also led to Don’s association with Kandace in the stem cell therapy field.

My association with Kandace led to another friendship, when she married Bret Saberhagen in February of 2019. I knew all about Bret and his career in Major League Baseball. A career that spanned 18 years in the big leagues in which Saberhagen twice won the American League Cy Young Award and also saw him being named the 1985 World Series MVP for the Kansas City Royals. In fact, I definitely feel that Bret deserves consideration for enshrinement in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. I wrote about that situation a little over a month ago.

I had never talked to Bret in the four years I covered the Milwaukee Brewers, as his rookie year came in 1984, a year after my last season covering the Brew Crew.

But I got to know Bret after he married Kandace, and while it was great to talk to Bret about his career in the big leagues, it was also very obvious that he and Kandace had an exceptional relationship. They were definitely a special blend as a couple.

Bret and Kandace first met in Chicago in May of 2018 when they were introduced to each other by Bill Bellah. This meeting occurred while Kandace was in the Windy City along with stem cell therapy advocate Mike Golic for a charity event.

Bellah explained to me how the meeting finally took place.

“It’s funny, I met Kandace through Kurt Walker, who had played in the NHL,” Bellah said. “He had been working with Kandace to help out older players in hockey with stem cell therapy. Unfortunately, Kurt passed away a couple of years ago. Anyway, when the hockey players were getting their stem cell procedures done at Kandace’s clinic, I let them use my house in Breckenridge (Colorado) to recuperate.

“Kandace, Don Horn and several others came to this birthday party that I had in Breckenridge. There were like 80 people there. Bret was there too. But at that time, Kandace was with Don, who was watching over her like a father. Bret was on the complete opposite side of the venue that I had put together, sitting by a fire pit. So they didn’t meet there.

“About eight months later, I had a charity event in St. Charles, Illinois. That is when Bret and Kandace finally met. Afterward, they both flew on my jet and they sat in the back of the plane. They really hit it off. It was great, because they are both great people. If I truly was cupid, they were a couple I would want to put together.”

The relationship between Bret and Kandace had begun. They soon realized that they had a lot in common, as Kandace explained to me.

“One of the first things I noticed about Bret was that he had a big heart,” Kandace said. “He’s just a great person, who is always looking out for me. We also have a lot of similar interests.”

Bret concurred.

“Obviously sports is one one reason we connected,” Bret said. “But it’s really everything. If Kandace wants to do one particular thing, I usually want to as well. The same holds true if I want to do something, she does as well. We just have similar likes. We both love cooking for instance. It doesn’t take a whole lot to make us happy.”

The relationship between the two was in full swing in October of 2018 when Bret asked Kandace if she was ever interested in getting married again.

“When Bret asked me that, I said no, are you crazy,” Kandace said. “So I sat there for a minute and Bret was real quiet. Then I asked him if he was asking me to get married. And he said, ‘I might be.’ That was before I knew I was sick.

“A couple of days later, I felt a lump on my right side. At the time, we had a lot going on, as we were buying a house. So I went in and had a mammogram and the doctor told me it didn’t look good, but that he was going to send it off to get the test results. That was on a Friday. On Monday, they gave me the report. I really lost it when I heard the bad news. It was not the optimal time, as I was just ready to start the next chapter of my life. But God had other plans.

“I flew out of Colorado that day to go to Arizona. Bret’s daughter came out to stay with me. I was devastated the whole week and really couldn’t talk through a lot of things. I was meeting Bret that Friday. My mentality at that point was that I was going to have to let him go because I wasn’t going to take him into this situation with me. This was going to be huge ordeal. We were in the infantile stages of a serious relationship. I wasn’t going to have him take that on.

“Long story short, I met Bret in Chicago at the airport. I told him that I was sick and that I would love to spend the next chapter of my life with him, but that I’m going to have to do the next chapter alone and he wouldn’t be in it. Bret got what I said, but he cried. We both sat at the bar at Lou Malnati’s in downtown Chicago in front of crowded group and just sobbed unbearably. It was a very touching moment.

“The next day, Bret asked me if I would have coffee with him. I said sure. We passed like four different coffee shops before Bret pulled into the diamond district, also known as Jeweler’s Row and put a ring on my finger right there. He told me that we would start our time in sickness, but that we will also have happiness and asked me to marry him.”

“That was when my medical support from Bret started. He immediately moved from California to Colorado. Bret was with me on every IV and chemo treatment. He went with me on every doctor’s appointment. He was involved in everything I did. He made sure I had iron in my diet. Every time I threw up, he was there. He made a make-shift bucket on a stepladder by the bed so I didn’t have to leave the room and go into the bathroom. He would talk to my doctors one on one to see what would be best for me. He’s carried me up the stairs when I couldn’t walk. He also made me stop working and go on medical leave. He was with me every step of the way. That continues to this day.”

Bret and Kandace got married on February 16, 2019 in Paso Robles, California, which is also where the couple currently lives. Don Horn made the toast at the reception.

Don Horn toasts Bret and Kandace Saberhagen.

“It was fantastic,” Kandace said. “There was a huge winery. There were 100 of our closest friends who celebrated with us.”

One thing that seems to be a common denominator when I talk to Bret and Kandace is their absolute love of cooking.

“We love to cook any type of meal. Italian, Mexican, American cuisine, you name it,” Bret said. “It’s a wide variety. I’m not a big seafood fan, so there is not a lot a seafood being cooked. I will  do shrimp though. I’m more of a meat and potatoes guy.

“Because I played so long in Kansas City, I just love to barbeque.  But as I said, I love to cook just about anything.”

Kandace talked about the pleasure of cooking with Bret.

“Cooking has become a major part of our lifestyle,” Kandace said. “I’m trying to be as humble as possible, and I’m not so much talking about the outcome of the food, but it’s really how we cook. It’s almost like a dance in the kitchen. We love to entertain. One of Bret’s specialties is the way he cooks his steaks. They are just phenomenal. The potatoes are great as well because of some of the ingredients we use. We spend a lot of time in the kitchen. It’s huge kitchen and it takes up most of our house. We also have an area outside where we can cook and grill.”

Bret and Kandace have a three-year plan. They obviously want to enjoy their life together. They would also eventually like to do a cooking show together. Plus they want to make sure people have the awareness about medical issues that Kandace and so many women go through each day in their lives. In lieu of that, Bret recently put out a statement on the Facebook page that the couple has, called The Saberhagens.

NEW ADDRESS and new name for our nonprofit! Each month I receive hundreds of cards, baseballs, and pictures to sign for people. All I ask is for a small donation to our nonprofit. My wife and I gave my old nonprofit that has not been doing anything for years a new facelift and made it something near and dear to us. SabesWings will relaunch next month in honor of my wife’s battle with breast cancer. It will assist those who suffer from medical financial toxicity. More information to come! In the meantime, our new nonprofit address is: 179 Niblick Road #411, Paso Robles, CA 93446! We receive so many requests for autographs and the best way to do it is send what you want signed to the above address with a return stamped envelope and a small donation to SabesWings! Pretty simple and your donation goes to those who struggle to pay for cancer treatments! It’s a cool way to give back. Suggested minimum donations $10 per 1 baseball card, $25 per signed ball, $50 per jersey, $25 for miscellaneous items. PLEASE include return shipping!!

Family is huge component in the relationship of Bret and Kandace. Together they have six children who range in age from 11 to 34. The oldest is Drew Saberhagen, who is 34 and is married to Kelsey. They have a baby named Sawyer and they are expecting another baby. Next up is Bret’s daughter Brittany, who is 33. She is married to Jacob Zachar.  Third on the list is Dalton Saberhagen, who is 28 and still single.

From left to right, Brittany Zachar, Aidan Stolz, Bret Saberhagen, Layton Stolz, Kandace Saberhagen, Drew Saberhagen and Dalton Saberhagen.

Plus there are the three children who are 16 or under. They are Kandace’s son Aidan Stoltz and Hannah Saberhagen, who are both 16 and are just five days apart with their birthdays. The baby of the family is Layton Stolz, who is 11.

Bottom line, It’s been a difficult time for Bret and Kandace, as they try to stay as positive as they can while Kandace, through Bret’s great assistance, battles breast cancer. Kandace is using alternative therapies to help her fight the good fight. That is why SabesWings will be launched next month.

I often hear from my friends and associates about how jealous they are of me because of all of the sports celebrities I have been able to interview and do stories on. I am indeed very blessed to have had that opportunity.

I have had the opportunity to interview Hall of Famers like Bart Starr, Jerry Kramer, Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Carl Yastrzemski, Johnny Bench, Reggie Jackson, Robin Yount, Rollie Fingers, Don Sutton, Paul Molitor and Ted Simmons.

It would be awesome if Bret can join that group someday soon. I know he deserves at least a chance to have his candidacy talked about in terms of someday having a plaque in Cooperstown.

In terms of the human life Hall of Fame, both Bret and Kandace are definitely members from my perspective. I hope and pray that their life together is long and rewarding. No couple deserves it more.

Green Bay Packers: Bill Quinlan and Lew Carpenter Were Unsung Contributors on the Early Vince Lombardi Teams

When the Green Bay Packers hired Vince Lombardi in 1959, he was helped out by a number of high-profile endorsements. Coaching icons like Paul Brown, George Halas and Sid Gillman all spoke highly about Lombardi when contacted by scout Jack Vainisi of the Packers. Those strong recommendations certainly were helpful to get Lombardi not only the head coaching job, but also the role of general manager in Green Bay.

Lombardi often used his association with Brown when it came time to make trades with the Cleveland Browns. One of the first trades that Lombardi made after he took the dual role of head coach/general manager was to trade wide receiver Billy Howton to the Browns for defensive end Bill Quinlan and halfback Lew Carpenter. Lombardi later was able to acquire Hall of Famers Henry Jordan and Willie Davis in other trades with Brown.

The trade of Howton surprised some people because he was considered one of the best players on the Packers in the 1950s. Howton was part of the 1952 NFL draft class (scouted by Vainisi) which also saw safety Bobby Dillon come to Green Bay. Howton had been named first-team All-Pro twice and was named to four Pro Bowl squads because of his production for the Packers, in which he caught 303 passes for 5,581 yards and 43 touchdowns.

Unfortunately, all of that came while the Packers never had a winning record in the decade of the ’50s until the arrival of Lombardi. Plus, shortly after Lombardi was hired, Howton had a meeting with his new coach to give his opinion about how things should be handled with the team. Apparently the meeting was not satisfactory from Lombardi’s standpoint and Howton was soon traded.

The trade opened the door for rookie Boyd Dowler to start at wide receiver, plus the former University of Colorado star was also given Howton’s old number…No. 86.

Bill Quinlan

Quinlan ended up starting four years at defensive end for the Packers, which included the 1961 and 1962 NFL championship teams. Quinlan was a very steady player for the Packers and his ability to help stop the run was very helpful. In fact, No. 83 was named first-team All-Conference by the Sporting News in 1960.

Off the field, Quinlan was a known as “Wild Bill” because of some of his escapades. One of the guys who used to go out with Quinlan in Green Bay to have a couple of beers at times was Jerry Kramer. No. 64 talked to me a bit about Quinlan recently.

“One of the great stories about Bill was when his first child was born,” Kramer said. “Bill took a Shetland pony to the hospital  and and brought it in and took it to his wife’s room and presented the pony to her. That’s one of crazy things that Bill would like to do. He absolutely had no inhibitions at all. Bill was funny and bright as well. He was a drinking buddy and was a lot of fun to be with. He was part of our crew when we would go out.”

Kramer than talked about Quinlan as a player.

“Bill sort of got the crappy end of the stick in Green Bay when he was traded,” Kramer said. “He played his ass off and he didn’t get rewarded for it for whatever reason. Bill did a hell of a job when he played. He wasn’t much of a pass rusher, but he was very stout against the run. Bill was a very hard-nosed type of player.”

The trade that Kramer was speaking of was when Quinlan and defensive back John Symank were traded to the New York Giants in April of 1963 for a third-round pick in the 1964 draft. That draft pick turned out to be guard Joe O’Donnell out of Michigan. O’Donnell never played for the Packers, but instead played with the Buffalo Bills in the AFL after he was drafted by them as well.

Quinlan ended up playing three more years in the NFL with three different teams. The Philadelphia Eagles in 1963, the Detroit Lions in 1964 and the Washington Redskins in 1965.

In terms of Carpenter, he brought a winning attitude to the Packers, as he played with the Detroit Lions for three years and two more years with the Browns, which included playing in three NFL title games and winning one with the Lions in his rookie year in 1953.  In addition, Carpenter had 27 starts under his belt before he came to Green Bay, plus had been a two-way player, as he played defensive back for the Lions in 1953 as a rookie and returned an interception for a touchdown that year which covered 73 yards.

Carpenter got plenty of time on offense for the Packers in 1959, as he started six games. No. 33 was the third leading rusher for the team that season with 322 yards and a touchdown, plus caught five passes for 47 yards.

After the 1959 season, Carpenter was a stalwart on special teams for the Packers until he retired after the 1963 season. Like Quinlan, Carpenter also was on two NFL title teams in Green Bay.

Lew Carpenter

Kramer also talked about playing with Carpenter.

“Lew was a veteran player,” Kramer said. “A  very smart player. He was a bit of gambler when he ran the ball. He knew when to gamble and when to play it straight up. Lew was a good guy too, although I didn’t hang with him that often, like I did with Quinlan. Lew was just a very solid player for us and was very effective on special teams.”

Carpenter also coached in the NFL for close to 30 years after he retired and was on the staff of the Packers from 1975 through 1985 coaching receivers under Bart Starr and Forrest Gregg.

When it was all said and done after he was traded, Howton played five more years in the NFL, one season with the Browns and then four with the Dallas Cowboys. Although he was productive with the Browns and the Cowboys (200 catches for 2,878 yards and 18 touchdowns), Howton was never named All-Pro again, nor was never named to another Pro Bowl team.

The Packers ended up with two unsung and solid contributors to their team in Quinlan and Carpenter, who both had roles in helping to bring two championships to Green Bay. Plus, Dowler took over for Howton at wide receiver and to many observers, had a career that deserves consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Johnny “Blood” McNally Traveled His Way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame

There have been a number of really interesting characters who have played for the Green Bay Packers in the over 100 years that the team has been in existence, but maybe the most fascinating was Johnny “Blood” McNally.

I know I heard about the exploits of McNally often from my grandpa and my dad while I was a young lad. I grew up in the 1960s and was enthralled by the Vince Lombardi Packers, which won five NFL titles in seven years. Bart Starr was one of my heroes and I grew up collecting the football cards and bottle caps of players like Jim Taylor, Jerry Kramer, Ray Nitschke, Willie Davis and Herb Adderley, as well as going to some of their games. But my grandpa and dad made sure I knew about the Packers who played under Curly Lambeau, who also won six NFL titles, which included players like McNally, Don Hutson, Arnie Herber and Clarke Hinkle.

McNally was born in New Richmond, Wisconsin in 1903. His father owned some newspapers, as well as some flour mills, so McNally lived better than most in the early 20th century.

After graduating from New Richmond High School, McNally became a bit of a nomad in college, as he went to River Falls State Normal School, St. John’s (Minnesota) and Notre Dame. That bit of traveling became a precursor to what McNally would do once he joined the NFL.

At St. John’s, McNally was a star in both football and baseball, plus was an excellent debater and acted in a number of theatrical plays, in which he often had the lead role.

In 1925, McNally had a job as a stereotyper for the Minneapolis Tribune (owned by a family member). That was when he and his buddy Ralph Hanson, tried out with the East 26th Street Liberties, a semiprofessional football team. Because he still had a year of college football eligibility left, McNally decided to not use his given name in playing for the team.

While McNally and Hanson were headed to a practice with the Liberties on a motorcycle, they passed a theater which was showing a film entitled Blood and Sand starring Rudolph Valentino. It was then when McNally said to his buddy Hanson, “That’s it! I’ll be Blood, you be Sand.” The legend of Johnny Blood was born at that moment.

Shortly thereafter, McNally played with the Milwaukee Badgers in the NFL, playing in six games and starting five. In 1926, McNally went to play for the Duluth Eskimos, which was led by the legendary Ernie Nevers. Unfortunately, the Eskimos folded after the 1927 season and in 1928, McNally went to play for the Pottsville Maroons.

But it was in 1929, when Lambeau was able to acquire McNally for his Packers, that the name Johnny Blood really became legend. McNally was part of a team that won three straight NFL titles from 1929 through 1931.

McNally was a multi-talented player, as he could throw, run and catch. He was one of the NFL’s first big-play threats. In 1931, when the forward pass was hardly used in the NFL (nor statistics officially counted), McNally caught 10 touchdown passes. That was a record that would stand for 10  years until Hutson tied that mark in 1941 and then broke it in 1942.

Before Hutson arrived, the Packers had a great one-two combination in the passing game when they threw to McNally and Lavvie Dilweg.

But as good as he was on the field, his actions off the field were also somewhat legendary. Let’s just say that McNally like to throw back the alcohol. One time, during contract negotiations, Lambeau offered McNally $110 a game if he stopped drinking after Tuesday each week. McNally countered, “Make it Wednesday and I’ll take an even hundred.”

Lambeau eventually had enough and traded McNally to the the NFL Pittsburgh Pirates in 1934. McNally came back to the Packers in 1935 and in 1936, the Packers won another NFL championship. But in 1937, McNally was traded back to Pittsburgh where he was a player-coach the last two years he played in the NFL. Because of all of his travels in the NFL, McNally was also nicknamed “The Vagabond Halfback” when he played.

Dan Currie, Gale Gillingham, Johnny “Blood” McNally and Francis Peay before a Packers game at Lambeau Field in 1972. Photo courtesy of Sandy Sullivan.

When he retired from football in 1939, McNally held NFL career records for most seasons played (15) in the league, 37 touchdowns scored (only those after 1932 were officially counted), and 224 points scored (only post-1932). We know McNally had 10 touchdown receptions in 1931 alone, so who knows how the stat total would look today for Johnny Blood had statistics from 1925 through 1931 had been counted. The exploits of McNally put him on the NFL All-1930s team for the decade in which his stats were actually counted.

As it was, in 1963, when the Pro Football Hall of Fame was founded, McNally was part of the 17-member inaugural class, which also included Lambeau, Hutson and Cal Hubbard of the Packers.

McNally’s wild nights off the field have probably only been somewhat duplicated by the likes of Paul Hornung and Max McGee when they played with the Packers. The role of George Clooney’s character (Dodge Connolly) in the film Leatherheads in 2008 was partly based on McNally.

Bottom line, Johnny “Blood” McNally was definitely one of a kind, both on and off the football field!