On this episode of The Last 10%, former NFL quarterback, Vince Evans, shares his inspiring story of resilience and determination. Vince takes us through the highs and lows of his career, from experiencing fame and endorsements, to being paralyzed in his lower extremities due to a staph infection. Vince talks about the rare and unique type of coach that helped him become the best he could be, and how his strong faith has guided him through different phases in his life. He also shares his experience with listeners about how he got involved in bringing NFL football back to Los Angeles in 1998. Tune in to this episode to hear Vince's story of grit and perseverance in the face of adversity.

Mentioned in this episode:

1on1 App Information

https://www.thinkmovethrive.com/1on1-app/

Hey everybody.

We're talking to Vince Evans today.

What an amazing guy.

He's a former NFL player, has some incredible stories.

You don't want to miss this conversation.

Welcome, welcome, welcome to the last 10%.

I am Dallas Burnett in Thrive Studios, sitting in my 1905 Koch Brothers

Barber chair, but more importantly, have a fantastic guest today.

Former U S C Football standout played with the N F L in for the Bears.

The Raiders real estate developer lives in california with four beautiful children.

Welcome to the show, Vince.

Man, I'm glad to be here Dallas.

Thank, thank you for having me.

How are

I am good.

I'm good.

Ed Norwood just was absolutely just emphatic.

We needed to get you on the show.

So when Ed Norwood says you need to have Vince on the show,

then we get Vince on the show.

So it's a pleasure to talk to you today.

It's a pleasure to be here with you.

ed had talked about his experiences on the show and, thought it was a good idea that

maybe I might be a part of it, and I'm looking forward to being with you today.

Dallas.

Yeah, we're excited.

I'm excited to, for you to be able to share some of your wisdom with

all of our listeners and, everybody.

We have a lot of coaches, leaders, business leaders and coaches

that's listening to our program, all actually all over the world.

It's amazing how many people are tuning in to the last 10%.

So, what's it like growing up in the Evans home and going from.

Start to NFL

career.

give us a taste of

your story and upbringing.

wow.

it was, I'm 67 years old today, and as I look back on my life and I

think about, my upbringing with my parents, my, my dad was an industrial

arts teacher as well as a principal.

My mother was a, a teacher as well, home economics for 35 years.

actually both of 'em, were in education about that length of time.

And, we were a normal family just like everybody else.

we had responsibilities around the house.

we went to church on Sundays.

we were involved in sports, just hanging out with the kids in the community.

and as I think back, my parents were, they were probably my

biggest role models, Dallas.

and I say that because.

In the 35 years that you know that they worked in the educational field.

Man, I can count on one hand the number of days that they missed work.

Okay.

Wow.

Wow.

they missed work.

and that's, and what's more amazing is that, not only

going to school, we had one car

and sometimes my mother would have to catch the bus to go to work

and to come home because my daddy had to use the car to go, to the

post office as well as, teaching.

And they were the people that I looked up to that we had

structure, we had discipline, we had, we, they gave us vision.

They gave us the ability to hope, to dream, to think about the possibilities

of things that, that you could do if you were willing to work for it.

And, and it was a good upbringing and.

the way that I got to, sort of start my journey out into the, collegiate

world was, I was a high school kid that participated in sports and, played all

different sports, baseball, basketball, football, but I really loved football.

And, it was, I became a senior in high school and got some acclaim there in

the city of Greensboro, being the all city player and that sort of thing.

But I remember one day, I was sitting in front of the television set, and

this was about 1967 and we had just not long gotten a colored TV set.

And I'm sitting in front of the TV set with my dad, and I think

my brothers were also there.

And there was a football game being played on the west coast.

They were playing in the La Coliseum.

U USC was playing u UCLA for birth to go to the Rose Bowl.

Whoever won that game would go to the Rose Bowl.

It was a capacity crowd in the coliseum, maybe 90,000 people.

Good

And with minutes to go in the game, the quarterback

for U S C handed the ball to

this.

I guess he was a pretty average running back at the time.

His name was OJ Simpson.

he makes this 64 yard touchdown run Dallas to win the game for usc.

And that's what I was saying.

I was saying, wow, did you see that run?

And the crowd is erupting.

But what captivated me was this beautiful Arabian white horse that

was galloping around the coliseum floor, which was USC's mascot with

a Trojan on the back of the horse.

And so I told my dad, Dallas, who was sitting next to me, I said, dad,

that's the school I'm going to someday.

Oh wow.

He looked at me just like you are looking at me and

said, boy, you have lost your mind.

You have lost your mind.

and why did he say that?

He said that Dallas, because I'd never been out of the

state of North Carolina before.

I'd never been on an airplane before.

In fact, I'd never been on a bus.

like a Trailway bus or something like that, that would take you, and so he

was probably saying, hi, in the world you think you're gonna get to usc.

And quite frankly, I didn't know how I was gonna

Right, exactly.

Oh man.

But as, as God's providence would have it, there was some, there

was my brother Tyrone, and this other friend of mine, Perry Nichols,

they had already gone to California.

And, they had graduated from high school.

They were a couple of years older than me, and so they had gone to California

and, they didn't know about this thing that had happened to me and in, in terms

of this dream that I was thinking about.

And so when it came time for me to leave high school and I had other, recruits

and, scholarships that were offered to me and I turned them down because

I wanted to go to the west coast and my dad, he really could not understand

how I could turn down something that was concrete right there in front of

me for something that was in his mind and maybe in mine a pipe dream, right?

right?

But to make a long story short, so I, my mother gave me the

last $50.

I had a one-way ticket and I had one

Oh my gosh.

And I left Greensboro, North Carolina

and set my site to Los Angeles, California.

And I went to, California, enrolled in a junior college Los Angeles City College.

And during that time, junior college football was, was pretty

big because it was a feeder system into the, the D one schools.

And so I went there for young one year, we had a great year.

We advanced to the all time great potato bowl up in, uh, Bakersville,

nice.

the potato bowl,

The potato bowl.

This straight.

Let me just, so when you left North Carolina, you said, I'm

gonna go play at usc, but you didn't go from Greensboro to usc.

You actually, went to a junior college.

You had to work additionally after high school to get to usc and it wasn't

a sure thing at that point in time.

you were really.

You stepped out on the, is that true?

would you say that you stepped out on a little bit of, faith on that

one to chase your dream a little bit?

it's not a little bit?

true.

It's fully true.

Yeah, it's fully true.

And I think that's, my dad being a reasonable man, this defied reason.

th this was about faith.

It was about taking a shot.

It was about a feeling that I had in my heart, Dallas, that I didn't know

what the outcome was going to be.

I just know that I was driven, by this notion that this is

where I was supposed to be.

I didn't know all the details and I just, like I say, I told my mother

and she said, Vincent, you know, just know that God is with you.

and, she gave me that last $50 man, and I had a one way ticket that

cost me 99 bucks, and I hit him to the West Coast, man, listen.

Me going to Los Angeles was like going to Beirut or someplace foreign man.

I, it was like the biggest move that I had ever made because again, I'd

never been out of the state before.

And so in getting to Los Angeles, enrolled in this, junior college LA City.

And let me backr just a little bit.

I had written a letter to John McKay.

John McKay was the coach at USC at that time.

And, I'd said to him that, I wanted to come to his school,

I'd sent him some film.

And, you know, it was one of those things like, you're a good athlete,

but we're not ready for you right now.

You know, something to that effect.

Ready in terms of offering me a scholarship.

Sure.

and so, I said, okay, I'm just gonna go get near

him so at least they can, see my, my, my gifts and talents.

So I enrolled in LA City College and, was intending to go there for a couple years.

We had a great year.

ended up going, like I said, to the Potato Bowl in, in Bakersville.

I was the MVP of that game.

and there was a scout.

There were many scouts at the game up in Bakersville.

And after the game was over, there was a scout that came up to me.

His name was Willie Brown.

And Willie Brown came up and said, Vince, I'm from usc.

We would love for you to come to our university.

good gracious.

He came up right after the game's over after the potato

right after the potato bowl, Dallas.

gracious.

and so, he couldn't get the words out fast enough before I

said, man, where's the letter of intent?

I will sign right now.

And I tell you, Dallas, it was really.

It was heartwarming, man, because that was, one of the first steps,

toward where I wanted to be.

The next day I called my dad up and I said, dad, guess what, man?

He said, what?

I said, they offered me a scholarship to go to usc.

And you know what he said, Dallas

What, what?

He said, boy, I knew you could do it all the time,

I had never liked confidence.

It was like, yeah, I bet you did.

I appreciate you, dad.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But you know, that incident really, he never, ever doubted me again.

So I got to U usc and that was major man.

I mean, because going to u USC, that, just the fame school, all the great

running backs, the Heisman trophies, the Rose Bowls, just the great school

and the teams that they had over the year were years it was like a, it

was a big thing for me to get there.

and I was so excited about it.

pat Hayden, he was the starting quarterback.

He was a senior when I be, when I was a sophomore.

and, just really admired him and learned a lot from him.

just watching him play and how he did things so it was great, being a part

of that team and that fraternity.

But it was not all rosy.

And what I mean by that is, in the history of usc, prior to me

being there, there had only been two African American quarterbacks

that had played at that school.

yeah, Willie Wood, and then, Jimmy Jones.

In fact, Jimmy Jones when I was in North Carolina, because you have to understand,

Dallas, that during that time I did not see any African American quarterbacks

playing football at any major college.

hmm.

Jimmy Ray who was at, Michigan State, but I didn't, we didn't

get his games, they weren't televised and whatnot, and there may have been

some others, but I didn't see them.

And so Jimmy Jones, I saw him playing at U usc and I told my dad,

I said, man, Man, I want to go there.

I want to, that's, I'd never seen an African American quarterback, so it was

an inspiration, in seeing him and do, he went to the Rose Bowl and, in fact, when I

got there, they asked me what number that I wanted and I said, I want number eight.

like Jimmy Jones.

that's cool.

Yeah.

And after Pat Hayden had, graduated, you know, I was the next guy in line

and, SC was, they were used to winning, national championships and rose bowls

and things of that nature, as I said.

And when I got the first shot to, to be quarterback, we were eight

and four and that by SC standards was considered a losing season.

somebody came up with a bumper sticker, after that season

saying, save USC football.

Shoot Vince Evans, you know,

Good gracious day.

It's a ruthless fan base

it was, they were accustomed to winning and that sort of thing and,

would always, get a lot of hate mail and things of that nature, from some fans

that didn't think it was a good idea that I would be the quarterback there.

and I remember my senior year, we were about to play UCLA and, I'd gotten

this piece of mail that was different.

I mean, I'd gotten a lot of, hate mail and things of that nature over the time there.

But this one was different insofar as it was crypted in, its in its lettering.

And, uh, it said, the n word, if you go out there today, we're

gonna blow your brains out.

We're getting ready to play U ucla.

So I, I thought this was a serious, piece of mail.

And so I took her to Coach Robinson.

And Coach Robinson read it, and he thought as well, that this was pretty serious.

So I'm told that they, he called the L A P D and put them on notice, that,

this kind of thing was out there.

and they said they were gonna do it at the UCLA game.

They were gonna shoot me, if I played quarterback, against ucla.

Good,

And, and then Coach Robinson said, what do you want to do?

And I said, coach, listen, man, I grew up doing this kind of, time and back in

North Carolina and, you know, I'm not gonna let this deter me from, going out

here and, participating with my teammates.

And, so we go out and play and, uh, end up meeting UCLA and, and

then going on to the Rose Bowl and being the MVP in the Rose Bowl.

and Coach Robinson was just, I'm so thankful that he was in my life at

that particular time during my journey, because he was just an encourager.

He was a father type image bearer.

He was, just a wonderful person, man.

It was fair.

and always did the right thing.

and I just, I have, he's one of my heroes in my life, man.

That's awesome.

So you went from eight and four.

To the last season you won the rose balls.

So what was your record that year?

Oh, we were 11 and one.

We lost our first game against Missouri, and they wanted to run

Coach Robinson and me out of town.

but, we ran the table after, after that.

And, it was a, just a combination man of a wonderful, season and to cap it

off, playing Michigan in the Rose Bowl and, And I remember as I, we talked

about earlier, I remember walking off of the field with Coach Robinson after

that game was over and him putting his arms around me, he saying, what do

you think they think of us now, buddy?

You

There you go.

That's awesome.

That makes it all worth all the, all the mail and the different comments and

the commentators and all the naysayers that, that definitely makes it, uh,

makes it sweeter when you can walk off the field and have a season like

that where it's, you've definitely proven everybody, everybody wrong.

That's

yes sir.

Yeah, it is,

so you get through, you've, you graduate, you've made

your dream of playing for usc.

you, this

is What you had been

inspired to do.

What happened?

What happened after that?

Well, I entered into the, uh, to the nFL draft.

I was drafted in six rounds by the Chicago Bears.

It was wonderful to be chosen, as an NFL player.

you think about it, it's what, 350 million people in the United States of America.

And, I had one of those, I think there's approximately 34, maybe 4,000

jobs that are in all of sports, right?

And to have one of those jobs for, 17, 18 years was, was just a blessing man.

and to get drafted by the Chicago Bears, to meet the, the pioneer of

football in George Hallis, who was the owner of the Chicago Bears and

having a great relationship with him.

It was special to play for them.

Walter Payton's sweetness was the guy that I had the pleasure

of handing the ball too.

And, and man, Even though I was on the field, I enjoyed

watching that dude run, man.

he was just the prolific runner.

They called him sweetness for a reason.

Okay.

Uh, I mean, he could do some pretty fabulous things out

there on that football field.

And, but more than that, he was just a heck of a person.

And, and it was one of my joys and dreams to be able to, to play,

for the bears and be around such, wonderful human beings as players.

What was one of the hardest things about being in the nfl?

Because, I know it's a ton of work and commitment takes a lot.

What, for you, what was one of the what, did you have any struggles or what was the

hardest thing for you being in the nfl?

Well, I think, uh, my preparation coming from college, was

really good because I had grit coaches in college and it was, Very much, preparatory

for me going into the next level.

in fact, I thought I was, ahead of the curve because of all that

I'd learned in my senior year.

I had a great, quarterback coach and Paul Hackett, and he taught me

really, everything or a lot of what I learned, about reading defenses

as a quarterback, in the NFL.

And but I think, just anything that you want to be really

good at, you gotta work at it.

You gotta, study, film, you gotta, repetition, doing things over and over

again until, when you step out on that field, it's like clockwork and, and

that was something that was sort of innate within me because again, like I

said earlier, my parents were my role models, so they had already set the

gauge for me in terms of work ethic.

That was not something that I was, afraid of, because it was a part of my life.

And you recognize to be on that level, because they were putting

the, the best guys on the field.

And so you had to make sure that your skillset was being tuned in every

single time that, that you stepped out on the field, whether it was

practice or whether it was game.

And I used to always, you know, after practice was over, I would

pull guys and they were tired because we had just practiced.

But I would get 'em, after practice and, Hey man, let's work on this.

Go router.

Let's work on a comeback.

Let's work on this or work on that.

And, and so it just made me feel more comfortable, you know,

once, uh, the game started.

That's wonderful.

I think that's, that's very inspiring and it's, and I like that, that you

spoke so much about preparation and repetition and just how it almost sounds

like when you had done it so much.

That it just slowed down.

So you could just, it was just like the speed of it slowed down because it was

like second nature, when you're going out there and running around, That's awesome.

So then you transitioned, you were at the Bears and had a great time

there coming out of the college, and then you transitioned to the Raiders.

How was that, how did that go down?

Yeah.

That happened because, after my, let's see, I was seven years with

the Bears and I was, I was up for renegotiation with my contract and.

I wanted to stay with the Bears.

They know they were a great organization.

had been there for seven years, had, become familiar with

management and the players.

and it was, I was treated well there and so there was another

league called the United States, football League, the U S F L.

And, they were just beginning and trying to make their mark,

as a competitor, with the nfl.

And although they would play during the springtime.

and so they offered me, and so I was hoping that the Bears would at

least, come close to matching that.

and they didn't.

And so I think probably looking back in retrospect, it was my ego that,

said, okay, I'm gonna take this.

this contract with the U S F L and show the bears that they made a mistake.

I was the one that made a mistake, and because the league ended up collapsing

after a couple of years, I was actually out of ball for, two years.

and then there was an N F L strike that took place.

And and they had these strike games where they would have, replacement

players that would come in and play during that strike period.

And, once the strike was over, there was no guarantee that they

were gonna keep those players.

And so I was playing with the Raiders during that strike league.

And, and so after the league was over, the strike, games were over.

there were two players that were kept.

And I was one of those players.

So that's how I got to be with the Raiders and ended up staying there

for what, another eight years.

And it was just great, man.

But again, it was the same sort of, thing that we just talked

about in terms of the work ethic.

I was not gonna let anybody, outwork me, I wasn't a starter, so I had to do

extra just to, make sure that when I was called upon to come into games, that

I would be ready to perform well and, and that the team wouldn't miss a beat.

And so that was really, as I look back on my time there with the Raiders,

there would be many games where I would come off the bench man and we'd

win the game in the closing minutes.

Or, throwing a winning touchdown to Tim Brown against Washington,

or, Playing against Indianapolis, making some big plays.

and it was just exciting and I don't know that I would've been able, in fact,

I know that I wouldn't have been able to do that, had I not, been prepared,

and it's tough when you're coming off the bench, because you don't get the

reps doing the, regular practice because they got a, they make sure that the

number one guy gets most of the snaps and then they give you, whatever they

have time for, which is not very much.

So yeah, my, my stay there with the Raiders was really awesome.

And, so I'm really grateful for that.

Was that transition period after that league collapsed

and there was no, you weren't in the nfl, you were out for two years.

Was that a difficult period for you?

Just cuz you've come through this, set of highs?

you, when I look at your career, it was like you, you make it to

California, check that box, then you make it to usc, you check that

box, then you make it into the pros.

You're drafted and you go to the bears, which you enjoy that organization,

you check that box, then you move.

over to this new league that collapses and you're out for two years.

Was that tough?

Yes, it was very tough.

you think about, as a young kid, you dream of, of being in the National

Football League or playing, you know, in a major, for a major college and,

there are very few people to get a chance to realize those dreams.

And so when you have the opportunity to experience those dreams and to live out

those dreams and all of the highs that go along with that, it was very devastating,

because I didn't know exactly, I felt like my career wasn't over.

And so it was like this pause that it caused me to just reflect and to, realign

or to reset and to figure out, okay, what do we need to do now, in order.

If it is over, then, life does go on and you gotta prepare for that as well.

but I didn't feel like it was over.

But yes, there, there was a period there where, it was sort of a

lull and trying to figure out what the next step was gonna be.

you look back at your professional career, because we have

a lot of leaders and leader coaches and people that are development

in developing in their career, you know, and their, whether that's, in

business or other facets of their life.

When you look back on some of the great coaches, cuz you've referred to them

as good, great men, great mentors that were very influential in your life.

What are some of the key attributes or things that a

great coach that you experienced?

Either gave to you or did for you or taught you that was formative?

Yeah.

when you ask that question immediately, there are certain characteristics of these

coaches, that have influenced my life, that it's almost like a common thread.

from my high school coach to, Claude Maney was my high school coach.

Neil Armstrong was the coach, that coached me with the Bears,

John Robinson, at, at usc.

And, and, and Coach McKay.

The common thread that all of these coaches had is that they

knew how to just talk to people.

They were just regular guys that were, they were leaders, right?

But they didn't, they weren't so big that they couldn't reach down to where

you were and make you feel special, make you feel like you were heard, make

you feel like, that they understood what you were going through, man.

Yes.

and, and all of those coaches had that same sort of persona,

that mentality, that personality, that, that uniqueness of, not overemotional.

But yet stern, they knew how to get their point across, but were

very engaging with everyone.

How many times can someone lead the masses of people?

they're all kind of personalities.

There's all kind of traits, there's all kind of dispositions

that, that people have.

But these guys were able to make you feel like they understood

exactly what you were going through.

Wow.

And

and that's, to me, that's a great leader.

and you are willing as a

player to recognize that what they're trying to tell you is for your benefit.

It's not to punish you in any way.

It's not to do anything other than to make you the best player and the best

person that you can be, to be productive.

Because again, your gift and your talent.

That will make room for you in whatever your vocational skill may be, but Okay.

What do you do when you get there and how do you respond?

Because most of our talent is one thing, but what is your

mentality to utilize that talent to the fullest?

I think, some of the greatest players, I think about Michael Jordan.

I don't know him other than he's, from the University of North Carolina.

I got a root on Tar heels, but he was coached by Dean Smith.

Dean Smith was the same persona as these coaches that I mentioned

to you about in, in my career.

And I think that it set a comfort level with Mike, even on that collegiate level,

that he was willing to, at any time take, the last shot because he knew if he hit

it or missed it, you know what, so be it.

I was willing to take it, you know,

Yes.

And those kind of coaches, they're rare, but yet when

they're there, they are personified just in their humility and, uh, just

great leadership skills with people.

I think that's so important.

And it's so overlooked because sometimes people, when they're in a leadership

position, they feel like they either have to have all the answers or they have

to, since they, they feel this weight of responsibility, they've got to push people

to achieve this result that, for them.

but I think that they overlook so many times the simplicity

of what you just said.

It's some of the greatest leaders that you've been

impacted by throughout your life.

Were just able to talk to people as a person, just me to you.

And they had this ability to build trust with you in the sense that they knew they

could relate to you and where you were.

And you knew based on, on that time you spent with them, that they really

were, whatever they told you, they were doing it for your benefit.

Yes, everybody wants to win the games, but they're coming to you and they're

saying, look, if we're asking you to do this, it's to get you, make you better,

faster, stronger is your benefit.

You know?

So I think that's, it sounds so simple.

It sounds so simple.

And yet there's so many leaders that I think overlooked the power that, that

brings to a team, to an organization.

and so I appreciate you sharing that, cuz that's very wise.

and I think if I could just add a little bit more, when I think

about that, I think about my mother.

I think about she was a leader, insofar as, think about it,

raising a family, right?

There's different personalities.

she would talk to us, my brothers like, in a very calm voice until

we were getting ready to get a spanking, then it would change

It gets real then

it.

And believe me, I pu I pushed that level um, yeah, but she was able,

Dallas to just talk to us in ways that was just reassuring, it was

reassuring and, it, she always

incentivized us.

To be the best that we could be.

And sometimes, like you said, it was real, where she had to, make sure

that we understood the guidelines and, but yet when it, she just always

was able to be calm and that was, that, that was effective for me.

Mm.

That's great.

So you had, some time at the Raiders though, and you were talking to me

about it before the show that you had some personal kind of journey that you

were going on during that time as well.

tell us about that journey that you experienced while you were at the,

raiders and the impact it had on the, your life and how that transformed.

I need to take it back just a little bit, Dallas too.

The, just the real indoctrination into the National Football League.

we talked about it a little bit before.

we talk about their approximately 3,500 to 4,000 jobs that

are in professional sports.

Okay.

Football, basketball, baseball, soccer, whatever.

Okay.

I had one of those jobs, man, for 17 years.

But on the front side of that, it was amazing to be there.

I'm a star quarterback, I'm playing for a recognizable, iconic

team and the Chicago Bears, and, they're people that know my name.

They're like, Hey man, we'd like for you to, sign this endorsement.

We would like for you to come to this event.

these are things that I wasn't really accustomed to growing up

in Greensboro, North Carolina.

working on a farm and, I was just Vince man, and and so these exposures, they

were addicting, insofar as, I was starting to think more highly of myself than

I should have been, meaning that, my humility was on the back burner and I was,

my head was getting a little blown up.

there were women that were available and things that were going on

in my life that, that kind of, skewed my thinking for a while.

And so there was a, an event we were playing the, we were playing the Tampa

Bay Buccaneers man down in Tampa.

And I had, for those of you listeners or viewers that didn't really see me play.

I was a sort of a mobile quarterback.

And so I was trying to evade this wouldbe tackler, and he ended up,

scratching me on the left arm.

and, uh, and so after the game was over, didn't think anything

of it, told the doc about it.

He put some antiseptic on it, put a bandaid on it.

We flew back to Chicago, right?

And so I had to get up earlier in the morning to go to the bathroom.

and as I was trying to get out of the bed, Dallas, I couldn't move, man.

my, my lower extremities were paralyzed.

And so literally, I literally had to crawl man to go to the bathroom.

And I said, oh my God.

It was in, I was in such excruciating pain.

So I called some friends of mine up and they came and got me, took me

to the hospital, and they diagnosed me as having a staph infection.

Characteristic of a staph infection, man, is it Attack

the weakest tissues in the body.

So it conceivably could have gone to my heart or brain or anything,

and it would've been instant death.

But anyway, so I'm in the hospital for 30 days.

I'd never

Oh my gosh.

I'd never been in the hospital for over three

hours and time was a time of reflecting on my life.

I grew up in a Christian home and I'd sort of put those values on

the back burner because I was this star now and that sort of thing.

and, and so when I got outta the hospital, I had to learn how to walk again.

My legs had atrophy.

My mother came up from North Carolina cause they thought I was gonna die.

And,

unbelievable.

oh, it was unbelievable, man.

and so

happens so fast.

Like you're saying that literally you're in Tampa, you get scratched on the arm,

you go home and it's is it the, is it just a few days that this all this goes down

No, it was when we got back from that trip, from Tampa and I

got back to my apartment in Chicago.

It was that night, brother, and yeah.

And so the next 31 days I was in the hospital, right?

Legs, atrophy, temperature over 103.

And they didn't know how to get it down.

They were putting cold packs on my body.

I thought I was gonna freeze the death.

And, and they called my mother up.

And so that's when I knew it was serious.

I mean, I knew it was serious before, but so she comes up and, I'm learning

how to walk again and this and that.

And thankfully the doctors, through antibiotics and all of that, were

able to eradicate the staph infection and, But I didn't know what if I

would ever play football again.

Oh

And some months later,, I was, at home watching this program

on television and this preacher, and I'm in Chicago and it's a gloomy day.

And this preacher is talking about the resurrection of Jesus Christ

and how he had died for my sins.

I'd heard that growing up as a kid, cause we went to church and everything, but

it didn't really have an impact on me at that time cuz I, I just thought, I

was a good person and, it was all good.

And but this day it was transformational when this preacher said that

Jesus Christ had died for my sins.

Man, the sun came out, I'll never, ever forget this.

As long as the sun came out, it beamed in my eyes.

Mm.

And all I said Dallas was, God, if you are real, I

want you to do something in me.

That's all I said.

And it was like my life changed that day because the hedonistic lifestyle

that I was leaving before and all that I was doing, I had a desire man to want

to know God and to learn about him.

And through Bible study and through things of that

nature.

And, so now fast forward to the Raiders.

When I got to the Raiders, now I'm living this lifestyle from 79 to, the time with

the Raiders in the eighties and nineties.

And, uh, I'm a different man.

And, uh, you know, even when I was with the Bears, when I threw a

touchdown, from that time that I was with the Bears, I threw a touchdown.

I would get down on my knee and just, thank God for, his presence.

And,

one day after, we're in training camp.

We're in training camp, and this guy Steve Wiki, who was our starting

left guard, okay, Steve is about, man, Steve is 6 6 360, right?

He was a stud.

He was a straight stud man.

so listen, Dallas, after training camp Steve, after training camp practice,

he says, Vince, would you baptize me?

And I'm like, and that's what I said.

I said, oh, wow.

and I said, baptize you.

Now Steve was a strong believer in his own right, but

I think the reason he asked me that was, it's not so much what you say,

but it's how you live and what you do.

And he just saw that I was one of the first guys on the field.

I was one of the last guys off the field.

and and he said, when?

And I said, yeah, I'd be happy to do that Steve.

And, and so it's during training camp, so I didn't know how many guys, we

didn't know how many guys would show up cuz guys are tired and they're, they

want to get their rest and everything.

And so there was a, it was in Oxnard, California,

Hmm.

and they had a whirlpool there at the facility

at where we were staying.

And so we invited, about 25 guys.

And again, we didn't know how many guys were gonna show up.

and so it was that, it was about 25 guys that showed up and, we sang some songs and

then, there was this guy named, Dan Turk.

He's since gone on to heaven, but he was our starting center and he

was on Steve's left side, I was on his right and we baptized Steve.

and then there were 17 other guys that wanted to make a professional

faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

and they wanted to be baptized that day, man.

And so that was on the Raiders

On the Raiders.

This is the Raiders football team.

Raider nation, man.

You guys are having church after practice.

I love it.

it was great.

It was great.

And so I just thank God for that opportunity, man.

and, and yeah.

and

so just, uh, You know, I was just so thankful to be able to be there with

that organization to,

for Mr.

Davis, Mr.

Al Davis, to, see enough in me to allow me to be a part of his organization.

In fact, they were one of the organizations that, as a kid, when

Darryl Lamonica used to hit Warren Wells in the, in the corner of the

end zone, those were things that were my inspiration growing up.

And so to be able to.

Have had that opportunity to play for them.

And Mr.

Davis.

it was great, man.

That's awesome.

good for you, man.

That's such a cool story and I like how it you had these kind of dreams and goals

and, you had the work ethic that goes behind it and, what was necessary to get

there, and then you got it and it almost seems like it was almost overwhelming and

it started to change you a little bit, but then you had this reawakening essentially.

and I think that, 31 days of sitting in a hospital, like you said

earlier that the, career had taken a little bit of humility from you.

I had actually, I dislocated my hip in my twenties and, during an athletic

event, and obviously not pro sports, but I dislocated that and I remember

the recovery of that was weeks.

You can't bend over, you can't pull your own pants up.

And so you you get a dose of humility, and it's it's painful, but it's good.

it's like good.

medicine.

So I can relate to that in that way.

And so, you get out of, you get out of sports and I'm assuming at the end of the

time with Raiders, was that clear at that time that you were gonna lead professional

football and go into a another career?

Yeah.

It was pretty clear, Dallas because, Mr.

Davis wanted me to stay another year, not, again, I'd played 17 years up until

this time, and, so it was a blessing.

I'm 40 years old and, but, and, to be asked to maybe

come back and compete again.

But I felt like it was time and so I had my moment of.

Morning, if you will, or grieving and that sort of thing because it's a game

that we all love and have played since we were kids and that sort of thing.

But it was time to move on and I really wasn't, sure what I wanted to do.

I was a speech communications major in school and so I didn't particularly want

to be on television or anything like that.

Like you see so many guys do.

And so I tried different things here and there just to try to find my niche.

And I remember in 1998, it was talking about bringing N F L football back

to Los Angeles and the guy that was helping to sort to shepherd that

cause was a guy, named Ed Roski.

and he was a real estate developer and also a trustee over at the

college that I, went to U S C.

And I was able to sort of be a part of that whole little campaign.

But more so than that, it was connecting the dots to, to, to Mr.

Roski, and, uh, cause the deal was, is he said, Hey, if you can help me with the

football side, maybe I could teach you something about the real estate business.

Because I wanted to learn, about the real estate business.

And it wasn't like, selling houses.

This was commercial development and buying raw land and bringing, entitlements to

the property and things of that nature.

So it was a learning curve that I had to go through to, to be in that business.

So I worked for him, for five years and, and it was some great years.

He's a, he was a great man and offered me the opportunity to be educated there.

and so I just, stepped out on my own and started my own company and, and so there

was a, found a really wonderful piece of property here in Southern California

where the city, owned the property.

And we were able to go in there and buy that property, get it

entitled, bring all the utilities and infrastructure there, and build

a, a very successful, real estate development with, major anchors there.

and just brought, sales tax and property tax.

But more importantly, it brought jobs to that community and, and was

able to, to hold that we ended up, ended up selling it or during a 10 31

exchange, into another, type of property because, commercial real estate or

commercial retail was sort of changing, the, the big box, brick and mortar

stores, people weren't going to those.

As much as they were, picking up the phone and seeing it online and

having it delivered to their house.

And so we saw that market was changing a little bit.

And so we got out of that and more into the industrial warehouse

business where we, lease space to, manufacturing, distribution and

warehousing companies, that need the utilization of that kind of space.

And so that, that's been very good for us.

That's wonderful.

Good for you, man.

Making the pivot.

That's a very difficult thing.

I was talking to on another episode with an Olympic coach, and he had

transitioned from being an Olympic athlete to an, to an Olympic coach.

And just the period of time when he left the Olympics, it was kind of

like, he felt like he was on this high.

And he goes, nobody, essentially, nobody tells you how to

get down off the mountain.

You know, you, you make it to the peak, and then you, how do you get here?

And so he was he struggled in that transition period because he

didn't have a lot of guidance and mentor and coaching like you, you

were able to find and develop.

So I think well done on that because I think for whether you're coming out

of pro sports or whether you're coming outta the military, taking those

skills that you learned in those areas and then reapplying then relearning

something completely different, that's, that's a very difficult skill set.

So well done.

and let me talk about that a little bit because I know, I feel like

sometimes, whether you're a, an athlete or you know, somebody that's graduated

from college or, you know, they're, they're, they're trying to find the

next niche in their, their pathway or their journey, or maybe even a person

that has been in a, particular vocation for a number of years and they're just

feeling this, sense that it's time for them to move on to a different place.

the, I think sometimes we, overstep when things are quiet.

And what I mean by things are quiet is that it's a waiting period.

It's a time of just reflection.

It's a time of just sort of processing, what is the next step?

we always, not always, but there's a time I think where, we think that I

gotta go from this to this right away and not sort of think about, what

am I supposed to be doing right now?

there, and I'm saying that because, I'm learning how to wait and be patient.

It's, and it's not waiting, sitting around doing nothing, but it's

waiting to allow the next journey or the next vision or the next

opportunity for you to get involved in.

And I'm saying that because after the real estate thing, there was

a, an opportunity for me to get into the manufacturing business.

and what I manufacture is, and this is just unbelievable.

It's, it's a football helmet.

If you can envi, who's your favorite team?

Dallas.

Ooh,

I, I, um, I actually have several.

I'm a, I'm a, I'm a Clemson, Clemson.

Tiger footballs college, So I'm a

Clemson tiger man.

all right, let's stop with Clemson.

Okay.

So if you can imagine Dallas a Clemson

football helmet, right?

You

lift the up on this, on this, um, football helmet, and inside of that

is a Keurig single serve coffee maker.

Okay?

Now

I love it.

That's awesome.

okay, I have the patents on the utility and all the intellectual

properties on that development, right?

Where, we're licensed.

With Clemson and all the D one schools under

the, leader under the purview of, the collegiate licensing corporation.

and that's what we do.

We sell helmet coffee makers.

Now what's, and I'm so happy that you laughed about that because that lets

me know that you're probably gonna be one of those buyers once they hit the

Uh, a hundred percent.

That's a hundred percent.

That's so, that's so fun.

I mean, that's just a really creative idea, but I mean, I would

love to go get coffee out of my

favorite

Clemson helmet every day.

That's, uh, that's awesome.

Well, and that, That's what we're looking at it as.

Dallas.

It's, novelty product.

You know, it's a novelty product insofar as, it's,

your man cave there, where, you know you're there.

Some, you got some of your buddies come into the office, they look at it and they

say, oh, Dallas, man, what a cool helmet.

And then you go and offer 'em a cup of coffee and they're like, whoa.

and, and we're selling the product now, we launched this year with, with Ohio State.

and, it's selling at the Barnes and Noble on, on Ohio State's campus there.

and, so yeah, it's just one of those things.

But, if we don't wait to get these opportunities for the dots to connect

for us, sometimes we can get ahead of the process and, and I think, when we just

wait and, calm down and listen and, be available for other people and serving

other people, there's amazing, the results that can come, for your next, next journey

walk.

I think that's so important and I, it,

that's just incredible wisdom.

You've just laid out a lot of good stuff today and I think that the, the

temptation that people have, especially in our society, and, the social media

and all this environment, it's like, You're seeing all these things coming at

you and all this success You're you're seeing everyone's best day all the time.

and you know what I mean?

If you log on social media you see everybody's best day, best

life all at once, all the time.

And then you look like it, you look in the mirror and you go, I'm a, I'm a

total loser if I can't be doing this.

You know?

And so I think there's a pressure that comes with that, If you got,

if you don't go from one success directly to the next success, then

you're some type of a failure.

And life is just more of a zigzag pattern.

And I think to what you're saying there is.

We all have these experiences where we're building momentum, we're

growing, and we kind of hit that peak.

And then it's like, okay, now what's the next thing?

And, and I love the fact that you say, don't rush.

Because what you're really seeking in that moment is clarity.

You're trying to figure out like, what's the next thing?

And you can't make this big decision without, you know, That's a really

good decision without having clarity.

But clarity's not something, you just go, Bing, I have it.

I mean, it's, it takes time, it takes time to develop.

You're, you're looking at opportunities, you're mulling things over.

You're thinking, what, where does my skill align?

Where does my passion sit?

you know, where, where, where am I in this stage of my life?

How much risk can I take on right now?

these things, what opportunities are in front of me?

what opportunities, will be in front of me?

You know?

And so it just, you can't, if you just make a quick decision, there's so much

that you might miss out on because you can't, you're just trying to jump to that

next ring of success when really what you're missing is, Something that may go

much higher if you just take a minute.

Take a minute.

you know?

So I think that's great encouragement for entrepreneurs, especially for

business owners, for business leaders, people that's graduating from college.

Anybody in transition, I think, I take, I think you take Vince's advice

and just hold off for a second.

Just think about it.

take don't be afraid to take a minute, you

Don't take a take a minute.

Yeah,

get ahead of the process.

I love how you said that.

Don't get ahead of the process.

Let the process play out.

You know, I

it play out.

Let it play out.

Yeah.

I've been talking to my daughter about this very thing and it's interesting

that you would bring up the, the social media platform because she is of that.

ilk and that, that age range where, it is, it's an impressionable,

thing that, that, in some respects, I think it just captivates,

the audience of so many people.

and as you said, you know, there, there's so much enticing things out

there, having your best life now, that is just not the real life.

And so I'm, we've been having some good conversations because she has.

sort of hit a brick wall, in her life.

And I'm saying this is the opportunity right now, baby, for you to just pause,

to look within and just, keep doing what you're doing to develop your best self.

and, it'll be clear.

And she is such a, she's such a compassionate person

for serving other people.

I said, you know what, you're gonna, where you at now and where you gonna be,

maybe a year from now, two years from now is gonna be two different places.

just because you are going through what you're going through now, only to learn

where you're gonna end up being, you know?

That's exactly right.

Sometimes it's very hard to see that right.

in that between stage, you're like, it's never gonna get here.

I'm never gonna get out of this.

But that's the that's the process, right?

That is the process, is going through that and, and coming out the other side

with that endurance and perseverance.

So I think that's wise, wise advice for your daughters and our listeners too.

All right.

Well, we have, um, we have just had the best time today.

I've really enjoyed our

Oh, likewise,

has been fantastic.

I have a question for you.

We always ask our, listeners at the end of the show, if they have

anybody that they would like to hear be a guest on the last 10%.

and so I didn't know if you had someone in mind.

It can be someone that you know, it can be somebody that you just

always wanted to hear on a But is there anybody that you would like

to hear be a guest on the last 10%.

Well, right now I've got, I've got emotion, uh, cuz

I'm thinking about my daughter and, I just know that her story is

gonna be a gir a great story man,

hmm.

because of the process that she's in right now.

And she's very articulate.

she's very, talented and, I'd like to hear her story, and because I

think that she would be able to inspire other people, you know,

Hmm.

That's wonderful.

Well, thank you for sharing that today, Vince and I, I, uh, I know

your daughter is a wonderful.

person and , we would like to hear her story too.

So That's uh, that's awesome.

Thank you for being on the show today, and thank you for sharing your story.

I think you've been a very.

Good encouragement to our, our listeners, a great encouragement to our listeners.

I would like to say, give you an opportunity, if you would, if you would,

share advice, if you had anything like a, a parting, uh, advice or wisdom for

anybody that's, uh, an entrepreneur, a leader, a business leader, or a, a coach.

what would, what encouragement or advice would you, would

you offer that that community

what I would say to that community is that There was

a young lady that had a cosmetic product that she was trying to get

into the marketplace for many years.

She believed in the product, 100%, but every time that she tried to get that

product into a major, distribution channel, she was just turned down.

She was turned down, and she was turned down for 12 years.

She was turned down for 12 years, but yet she did not, lose hope.

She did not, she was never discouraged about a product.

And so after, or in the 13th year, there was a company, a

major company that offered to buy her product for 1.2 billion.

Okay.

Yes.

and the point of this story is that.

we all feel like sometimes, is this worth it?

is it worth me, continuing another year.

I've been going at this for, this many years and seemingly not getting the

results that I, you know, had hoped for.

But I'm encouraged by her because she didn't give up.

She didn't give up in the 10th year, she didn't give up in the 11th year.

She didn't, you know, and then the fruits of her labor were rewarded in

ways that she probably never dreamed of.

And so, you know, I would just encourage, these entrepreneurs, coaches,

whoever it might be, to never give up.

stay in the moment and just trust the process, man.

Trust the process.

I think that is wonderful.

Words of wisdom and advice I know our listeners appreciate and just,

it's been a pleasure, having you

on the show today.

Vince, thanks again for being on the last