Shoe Column: When the Jacksonville Jaguars came to Point
By Tim “Shoe” Sullivan
My phone rang in the summer of 1995.
The voice on the other end said, “Hey Shoe, are you doing anything now?”
I answered: “Well, that all depends on who wants to know.” I didn’t have caller I.D.
The caller was John M. Jones. I hadn’t heard from him in 20 years. John, who always went by “JJ’, just happened to be in Stevens Point. My pals Randy Wievel and Mike Haberman and I started writing for Ray Nitschke’s Packer Report in 1974, and Jones was our first editor. After his one year as our boss, John went to work for the NFL and we lost track of him.
JJ continued. “Well, I’m gonna be in your fair town for a few months.” I liked the sound of that. JJ always was a great guy and a lot of fun.
“So,” I asked, “what brings you to Point?”
John said: “The NFL has two expansion teams this year. One of them is the Carolina Panthers. Their head coach is Dom Capers. The other one is the Jacksonville Jaguars. The coach is Tom Coughlin. You are now talking to the Executive Director of Administration for the Jaguars, and I want to see you and Randy in my office in 10 minutes! I know you guys live in Stevens Point.”
Wow. I called Wievel and we headed on over to the UWSP campus where the Jags had set up shop.
It was no problem finding his office. We walked in, and sure enough, JJ was sitting behind a big desk. Jaguar stuff was all over the place. His eyes lit up when he saw us. He gave us firm handshakes and said, “Geez, it’s great to see you guys again.”
Jones explained that the brand new Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL were having their first ever training camp at UWSP. He said, “We’re gonna be in town for a few months.”
This was getting real exciting.
I said, “Well, if that’s the case, then I’ll drop by every day.”
JJ laughed and said: “I thought so. Here. You’ll need this.”
He gave me an official field pass to wear. He also presented me with an official 1995 Jaguar’s Training Camp Staff Sweater. He explained: “This field pass will allow you to go anywhere you want over here. Just do me a favor and don’t do anything stupid.”
Man…talk about the kid in the candy store! I wore that field pass for like two straight months.
Even though the ‘95 Jags were an expansion team, in no way were they just a bunch of rum-dums. They had loads of talent. The squad picked 36 players from existing NFL teams in the 1995 expansion draft. Their first pick was Steve Beuerlien, a Notre Dame quarterback they got from the Arizona Cardinals. Their first pick in the draft was offensive lineman Tony Boselli of USC. He was the second player drafted overall that year. The Jags had some fine quarterbacks. Mark Brunell from Washington. Rob Johnson from USC. Andre Ware had won the Heisman Trophy in ‘89. They also had Ernest Givins at wide receiver. He set a bunch of records with the Houston Oilers. Free agent Jimmy Smith from Jackson State was outstanding as a flanker.
They drafted running back James Stewart in ‘95. Defensive end Jeff Lageman was an All-Pro with the New York Jets. No. 81 was wide receiver Desmond Howard of Michigan. He would go on two years later in 1997 to be named the MVP of the Super Bowl for the Green Bay Packers as a kick returner. That ‘95 Jacksonville team had talent up the gazoo.
Heck, their head coach Tom Coughlin won Super Bowls with the New York Giants in 2008 and 2012. He also was an assistant coach under Bill Parcells with the Giants when they won the Super Bowl in 1991. That was the Super Bowl when Whitney Houston sang an awesome rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner”.
Speaking of talent—most people don’t know it—John Jones was supposed to assume the title of President and CEO of the Green Bay Packers in May of 2007. JJ was groomed to replace the retiring Bob Harlan. Days before he was scheduled to succeed Mr. Harlan, JJ had to step down due to health concerns. He took a leave of absence due to heart issues.
Those first-year Jaguars totally took Stevens Point by storm. Stevens Point was so excited. They went bowling to Skipps. They went to the movies. The Jags were everywhere. They found the bars. Nitty Gritty. Bruisers. Many others. I think the coaches hung out at Papa Joe’s and the Holiday Inn.
Most people in Point were in awe of the Jaguars. Eleven-year-old Marcus Flowerette had his Jaguar cap signed by many of the players. Steve Stroik got autographs every day. Robert McComb recalled that the summer of ‘95 was the hottest summer in Stevens Point history. DeLorma Nowicki said she went to the movie “Water World” and the theatre was filled with Jacksonville Jaguars. Everyone who was in Stevens Point in the Summer of ‘95 has stories about the Jags.
My field pass was like gold. My only instructions were to stay out of trouble. Each day, I’d stop by first to chat with JJ. Then I’d wander over to the practice fields. Sometimes I’d just stand there and watch Brian Barker the punter and placekicker Mike Hollis. Man, when those guys kicked a football, it sounded like it was shot out of a cannon!
I saw Tony Boselli riding around in a golf cart and was gonna hop in but thought better of it. I frequently stood around and watched with amazement as Beuerlein, Brunell, Ware, and Johnson fired spirals to the wideouts. There were always crowds watching the practices, but they had to stay behind the fences. The field pass allowed me to get right in there close to them. A certain kid was there by the fence every day.
He once stopped me and asked, “Hey, what do you do?” I winked and said: “Not much, son. Not much”. Other times I’d tell people I was a scout or that I was on a film crew but my camera broke. Whatever worked, you know.
Basically, my role was pretty much an unpaid observer. That meant I walked around and observed. Was pretty good at it, too.
The Jags always ate dinner at the DeBot Center in the early evening, so I invited myself to many of their buffets. Told ya that pass was gold. One time I sat with defensive end Jeff lageman. He looked like he could hurt you with a crunching tackle. My DeBot highlight was sitting at a table with Brunell, Givins, Desmond Howard, and a few other players. They didn’t know who I was and could care less. Most of us were eating spaghetti that we took from the huge buffet.
Desmond was sitting right next to me. He turned to talk with Brunell and I reached over and speared a few of his meatballs with my fork. He turned around again, looked at his plate, and kinda yelled: “Hey, who took my meatballs?” I shrugged, looked up at the ceiling, and got the hell out of there.
Those Jags were great. They were always posing for pictures. I’d even hand my camera to another player and have him snap the photo. Then the film would be taken in to the store and the next day I’d find the player and have him autograph it. Never a problem. One kid must’ve had them sign about 20 helmets.
No. 1 kicker Mike Hollis. No. 2 wide receiver Ernest Givins. No. 4 punter Bryan Barker. No. 7 quarterback Steve Beuerlein (always nice). No. 8 quarterback Mark Brunell (also always nice). No. 11 quarterback Andre Ware. No. 12 quarterback Rob Johnson. No. 25 cornerback Mickey Washington. No. 33 running back James Stewart. No. 34 running back Reggie Cobb. No. 36 fullback Ryan Christopherson. Don Davey and Mike Thompson from the Badgers. No. 81 Desmond Howard. A ton of talent.
The Jaguars’ record in 1995 was 4-12. After four pretty close games, all losses, Jacksonville beat the Houston Oilers 17-16 in the Houston Astrodome. Then they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers the following week. I can’t really take credit for their wins, but who knows? The Packers only beat them 24-14.
The Jags made the NFL Playoffs in 1996, 1997, and 1998, becoming the first NFL expansion team to make the playoffs three times in their first four seasons. I don’t know. Maybe it was the meatballs. My softball buddy jerry Wilson ran the food service, and he was damn good at it.
Most people know that the Green Bay Packers trained at Bukolt Park and the college in the 1950’s. Some also remember that the New Orleans Saints scrimmaged the Packers at Goerke Park in the 1990’s. I’m not sure why the Jags only stayed here in Point one year, but it might’ve had something to do with the air conditioning.
For sure, they were here during Stevens Point’s hottest summer in history.
And what a ride it was.
If it wasn’t for the refs, the Jacksonville Jaguars would be in the Super Bowl this year.