July 12, 2004
Interview with Mick Foley
By Brian Walton
Everyone has heard of Mick Foley, legendary Hardcore wrestling champion – the man who had some of the most memorable matches in wrestling history – the man behind the characters Cactus Jack, Dude Love, Mankind and more.
However, most do not know that Foley is a college-educated family man, whose mother, as he was growing up, wanted him to become a writer. Foley eventually achieved her wish, albeit via quite an unorthodox and circuitous route.
Today, Foley is an accomplished author, with multiple books having enjoyed long runs on the New York Times best-seller list. His first two offerings were biographical in nature, playing off his enormous wrestling success. But, Foley branched out to fiction for Tietam Brown, his first novel, released last year.
Foley’s next novel will have a baseball theme. For that reason, I sat down with Mick before his recent appearance at a Hudson Valley Renegades – New Jersey Cardinals game. I ended up being most impressed while briefly getting to know a most engaging and genuine person, who is very different from the stereotypes of his profession.
As probably reflected by his training, Foley immediately took the initiative as I approached him. But, it was far from threatening; being more neighborly than anything.
How ya’ doin’? I’m Mick. Have a nice day. It’s nice to meet you.
I hope you don’t mind, but I want to explore baseball in this interview, not wrestling.
That would be great. I am all wrestled out.
What possible angle could I explore to get new insight from you about wrestling at this point, anyway?
You’re right. I’ve pretty much heard it all.
So, what would say your vocation is these days?
Oh, these days? I’m not sure. I don’t know what an ex-wrester is. I guess I’m am ex-wrestler, a part-time wrestler and a part-time writer; and a full-time Dad. (He motions toward his three children sitting at the other end of the table.)
Tell me about the new novel that you’re working on.
Actually, I wrote it last year. It’s going to be published by Alfred A. Knopf next summer, which will be my second novel with them. I just got some great news. Unlike my first book, which required extensive re-writing, my editor told me this one is pretty much good to go. So, I am just going to go back over it and maybe check my baseball details to make sure everything is correct, so I don’t get crucified by baseball fans when the book comes out.
Why did you select baseball as its subject?
I think because I started watching the Ken Burns documentary after September 11; because it sort of brought us together. It’s such an American icon; the game of baseball. I just found myself enjoying the history of the game and at the same time, I was kind of researching the history of The City because I didn’t know all that much about it, despite the fact that I lived 50 miles from there growing up (on Long Island, where he lives today). And, I just combined the two to make it a historical baseball novel.
In Tietam Brown, you had a biographical element in that the father was a former wrestler. In your biographies, you talked about watching Yankees games with your Dad. Is this book also going reflect your past?
Oh yeah, sure. Yeah. Especially because the story takes place in great part during the lean years for the Yankees, which is when I was the biggest baseball fan. I was actually able to meet George Steinbrenner and I readily rattled off the starting nine of the ’73 Yankees, or the starting eight. Mr. Steinbrenner found that pretty impressive. So, yeah, I’m going back to my childhood memories and making some things up as I go along. (At this point, Mick flashed his trademark grin. As a result, I took a quick, nervous look around to ensure there was a direct route to the exit in case it was needed.)
Thurman Munson was your boyhood idol?
Oh, yeah. Yeah, he was my favorite. I think I’ve actually got something in here about an auction. (Foley digs through his fanny pack, searching for something.) I was in Akron, Ohio and I saw in the local paper that Diana Munson was going to auction off some of Thurman’s old things. So, I want to get in on that. Maybe get something of his. Because I have his autograph, but it would be nice to have something of his to call my own.
After 1973, you lost interest in baseball?
Yeah. You did some research on this, didn’t you? Yeah, twenty years went by where I didn’t watch anything but All-Star games and World Series. And I remember thinking, “What kind of a Dad am I going to be if my kids can’t grow up watching baseball?” And then, this guy here, (he gestures toward his oldest son, Dewey) started watching. He started watching the games, so it became something that we did. Noelle, my daughter, has picked up an interest in it and now, this little guy is an avid baseball fan. (Mick Foley, Jr. was born in 2001 and made his first-ever public appearance with his Dad that day during the pre-game ceremonies.)
Are you starting to get some buzz about the new book?
What’s hopefully encouraging is that I went to Shea Stadium and I met the Phillies’ PR guy, who is a wrestling fan. And I told him I have a novel coming out; a baseball novel. A few weeks later, I was coming home from Washington, D.C., but I was stuck in traffic, so I called the guy on the phone and I told him and asked him if I could stop by for the game. When I was up in the press box, several sportswriters asked me, “When is your baseball book going to come out?”
Do you plan to do another promotional tour in support of it like you did with your first novel?
I am hoping that next year when I do book signings, that I can do it around baseball games. I have support in big cities, but when you go to a smaller town, that is a bigger deal, you know?
They’ll have parades and give you the key to the city . . .
Yeah. I am looking forward to going to a couple of minor league games; maybe hit the New York-Penn League games upstate.
Frequently, you would wear a Minnesota Twins jersey. How did that come about?
I took batting practice with the Twins in 1999 and they gave me the jersey, back at a time when nobody wanted to wear a Twins jersey. So, the fact that I wore it on national television actually meant something to them. You know, I got thank you letters from the team and their president. The Twins will always be one of my favorite teams just because the players were so very nice to me. I was actually thinking about wearing the Twins jersey today . . .
But, this is a Devil Rays’ affiliate, after all . . .
Yeah, yeah. So, I went with my Negro League jersey. This is one of my favorites.
Last question. What are your feelings about performance-enhancing drugs in baseball?
That would be a shame if it does turn out that the guys are taking performance-enhancing drugs. You’ll be able to tell much easier in baseball because balls won’t travel as far. Unlike in football, where a guy loses ten or fifteen pounds; who’s gonna’ know? I look back at a guy like Boog Powell, who was six-feet-four, 225, and think, “What would this guy have been like if he was on supplements and weight training and all that?” He would have been . . .
Like 280 . . .
Right. I’m not one to point fingers. I think there are enough good, positive stories going around to keep the game strong, no matter what.
Mick, thanks again for your time.
You’re welcome. I enjoyed talking to you.
