CELEBRITY GOLFER
corners, and Sal taught me to throw and control a cross-seam, or four-seam, straight fastball. Then Sal taught me how to pitch inside to intimidate the hitters and move them a little bit farther away from the plate, leaving the outside corner vulnerable for the straight, four-seam pitch. This approach proved to be really effective.
NEGM: What’s the story behind your ski accident?
JL: I had done two different things after the ’66 season to prepare myself for ’67. One was the winter ball and working on my curve. The other was the time I spent skiing at Lake Tahoe. I have always loved to ski, and I kept getting stronger and stronger. When I reported to spring training in ’67, I was in the best shape of my life. So, I wanted winter skiing to be part of my regimen for pitching. I tore two ligaments in my left knee, which I had surgically repaired. I should have taken the entire ’68 season off to rehab, but I returned to the mound too soon. The mechanics of my technique changed. My left knee had a weakness that translated into a delivery change and added stress to my right shoulder. I took a lot of cortisone shots and felt a lot of pain. The rest of my career, it was my shoulder that bothered me, not the knee.
NEGM: What made you decide to become a dentist?
JL: I was a pre-med student at Stanford, majoring in biology, and had aspirations of becoming an orthopedic surgeon. During my off-seasons in the Majors, I continued to work in the medical field. Buddy LeRoux, Red Sox trainer and eventual owner, had a rehab hospital in Woburn, and I
worked there to see how a hospital was organized and run. When I left baseball, Rosemary and I were discussing what I should do for a career, and she casually mentioned, “Why don’t you become a dentist? You’ve always looked good in a uniform!” Tufts University Dental School had a three-year program, and I began practicing in July of 1983 after my graduation in June.
NEGM: When did you take up golf? Where do you play? Handicap?
JL: My father taught me to play. When I was learning, he would give me one ball, and he’d look down at me and say, “Son, if you lose this ball, your day is over.” My home course is now Scituate Country Club, but I played at Widow’s Walk before that. My current handicap is 14, and my best was a nine.
NEGM: Name some courses you enjoy near home and elsewhere?
JL: Oh, there are so many good ones close by: Old Sandwich, Hatherly, Black Rock, Hyannisport, Eastward Ho! and Wianno. Aviara in San Diego, Cypress Point, Pebble Beach, Del Mar. We-Ko-Pa and The Boulders in Scottsdale. Kingsbarns and Jubilee in St. Andrews, Scotland.
NEGM: Who would be in your Dream Foursome of today? Of any time? JL: Bill Murray, Bill Clinton, and Tiger Woods. Tom Morris, Sr., Francis Ouimet, and my dad.
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