Chance encounters with prominent sports figures?

[Alvin Walton]

Have you ever bumped into any famous sports figures?
I have four I could talk about, two are football related which I will now regale you with (sarcasm intended)

This encounter I am fairly certain of but cannot confirm for sure but I'm pretty sure I bumped into Jack Kent Cooke one day in Lake Placid, New York.
I'm not sure of the year, would have been in the mid to late 1980's.
My two sons and I were walking thru downtown Lake Placid (a fairly small burg). I happened to be wearing a Redskins jersey that day and as we strolled along we approached this couple coming from the other way. As we neared the couple I thought the older guy looked familiar.
As we walked by he looked at me and said “That’s a mighty fine jersey you have there young man”.
I was startled a bit and said thank you. As we continued walking it kind of dawned on me and I looked at my sons and said “Do you know who that was?”
That was Jack Kent Cooke, the owner of the Washington Redskins.
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The first week of August 2005 I was in New Orleans with my wife visiting my sister in law who had moved out there that year and lived near the airport.
(ironically a few weeks before Katrina hit)
We were doing the basic tourist stuff there and one afternoon before heading to Bourbon Street we stopped at the Zea Rotisserie and Grill for a drink.
We sat at the bar and while my wife and SIL were chatting I was watching the TV above the bar but they did not have the sound on.
ESPN was on and was showing a picture of Antonio Gates who at the time was in the midst of a much ballyhooed holdout.
There was a guy standing next to me having a beer who was also intent on watching the TV.
I had no idea who he was so I casually said “Is Gates still holding out?”
He replied “Yea, I told him that he should”
A bit shocked, I looked the guy over for a second and noticed that he was wearing a super bowl ring.
I didn’t know who he was so I asked him if he played ball with Antonio Gates.
He smiled and shook my hand and said his name was Dwight Smith and he was a New Orleans Saint.
(turns out Dwight Smith had quite a day during Super Bowl XXXVI when he was a Buccaneer)
Apparently he and Gates were close friends and had attended high school together.
He was a very nice guy….I kind of spazzed out and didn’t get his autograph.