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Show ChRONiclc WedNtsdAy, April Paqe Ten 27, 198ft SPORTS EM: Fas seo, y oil omi gft away? ever 'Giant' is state's biggest Chronicle assistant sports editor Every morning at the field you can see him arrive. and weights 355. He stands Kind of broad at the shoulders, broad at the hip, And everybody knows you don't give no lip to Big Fred. This seems to be applicable to one of the largest high school football players to sophomore years. But now, as a senior at South, Mulitalo has found a new home. And for Cubs' head football coach Frank . L'Etoile, seeing a mammoth human mound of muscle like Mulitalo bust through the doors had to be dream come come out of the state of Utah, Fred true for him. couldn't believe how big he actually was," L'Etoile said about the first time he Mulitalo. "I There are those in the fashion world who say big is beautiful. For Mulitalo, being big has always been aspect of his if ,y ' met Mulitalo. "It's not too often that a coach has a with Mulitalo's size just walk-o- n E layer is football team," he continued. Although L'Etoile was excited for his life. "I've always been the biggest kid in I . chance to play football. First for fun. Now for an education. Mulitalo moved to Utah from Compton, Calif., where he lettered in football and track at Compton High his freshman and By Glenn Semnger school, ever since iiu ; can remember," Mulitalo explained. "But I like being big. No one messes with me and for some reason everyone thinks you're mean or something." But Mulitalo's large, tough exterior is teen. just a front for this happy, easy-goin- g new-foun- d vA talent, South's season wasn't 8 in exactly successful. The Cubs went 'Sli 4,. 2-- 1987. Because of South's sluggish season, Mulitalo's chances of playing college football looked rather slim at best. "I guess I don't think of myself as something special because of my size. All I've ever wanted to do is get a good education and play college football," Mulitalo admitted. Despite the fact Mulitalo was't courted schools in the state, by any of the big-fohe didn't lose hope of going to college. Just when it looked like no one wanted the big fella, Mulitalo's dream "of a college scholarship was finally realized on the eve of national letter of intent day. Howard University in Washington D.C., And with Mulitalo's unique way with people, it has made him one of the most popular students at South High School But Mulitalo's giant-siz- e isn't the result of of hours conditioning and weight training even though he can literally throw around the iron in the South weight room (he bench presses 350 pounds and squats ur 570). It's Mulitalo's genes, not the kind he wears around his h waist, that are the reason behind his large stature. While Mulitalo was in the first grade he was bigger than any of his classmates. In which had received game films of fact, Mulitalo weighed in at a sleak 95 Mulitalo, was impressed with his size and talent. pounds at age six. So Howard sent recruiting coordinator When he turned 11, his weight soared Nick Calcutta to Utah and signed its first-evto 185. And now at 18, he is still growing, if that's possible. Mulitalo now tops the player from Utah. Bison-see- ms The Howard mascot-t- he scales at 355 pounds. He stands see "giant" on page eleven And it's that size that has given him a 56-inc- pt" er Fred Mulitalo, the biggest player to ever play Utah high school football wasn't heavily recruited coming out of Salt Lake City's South High. The lineman D.C. to Howard in next at season. 59) (right, signed play University Washington 355-pou- Kent Condon- nd Chronicle photo by Glenn Seninger - Forget studying, the fortune' s When I was young, I was always told if I wanted to be successful and rich (same thing, right?) I would need to be a hard, get very dedicated student-stu- dy to then an Ivy League good grades, go school. What they didn't tell me was that I could be just as successfulrich if I became a great baseball player. Growing up I played baseball for the fun of it, not to enhance my financial future. If I had known then what I know now. You see, being a pro baseball player is much more than fun and fanfare. It's I. lots of it. C cash, too-a- nd ' , :, This year, St Louis Cardinal shortstop Ozzie Smith leads the majors hi bringing in the. bucks. The agile Smith wilt be C paid $2,340,000 for his services. This include incentive bonus figure does not es in his contract or any endorsements the famed shortstop may have going for T him either. - ' Baseball is big business, and Ozzie isn't the only one in the majors bringing home a healthy paycheck. This year there are 72 players making $1 million or more. The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Minnesota Twins are leading the majors with millionaires in their fold. Both teams have six players reaching the $1 million plateau. Yes, baseball could be a very lucrative profession for a young man to pursue. And for you parents out their with kids of your own, you may want to consider trading in that set of Encyclopedia Britanicas for a new mitt . Lots of money and sizable contracts don't necessarily mean successful teams, however. Last year, not one of the eight teams with high player payrolls won their divisions. And that was nothing new. This year's biggest surprise has been the steady play of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Bucs lead the NL East and are doing it with one of the lowest player payrolls ' . in the league. Centerfielder Andy Van Slyke is the .. Pirates' top paid player, but his salary is a mere $825,000. That figure isn't all that bad considering that he was only ' last , $500,000 year. making So you can see lots of money isn't synonymous with lots of wins. After studying player salaries, you can see that being a great player may not be the most important thing in determining what kind of contract you can get. Instead it's what kind of agent you can get to do the wheelin' for you. Now I know that Smith is a great talent and a proven player. I also know that Don Mattingly is arguably the best player in the game. Yet Smith is taking in $350,000 more a year than Mattingly. Hmm. advice to My any young hopeful (yes, this means you Lance Madsen) is to get yourself a good agent. See who is representing the Smiths, Gary Carters, Mike . Schmidts, Eddie Murrays and Jim Rices of the league. Find out, and then give " them a call. , in baseball Oh, these agents aren't quite so noble in their efforts as it may seem. And they will take a cut of it for themselves. But it would still be worth it to hear their sales "pitch." Because like it or not, it is often the rhetoric of the agent that gets the players that extra 10 or 20 grand a year. Still not convinced. Maybe you should give Andre Dawson a call. Dawson did have a great year last season, and for his efforts, and those of his agent, he received a generous raise of $1.15 million. Mattingly also had a great year for the Yankees knocking in 115 runs. Yet " Mattingly was only rewarded a $25,000 raise-t- he lowest of any player in that pay range in the majors. Hmm. Oh well, whether it's the agents or the ability of the player, the end result is mucho dinero. . I wonder if I can get a try oiit with the Trappers? : |
