LAS VEGAS – Christian McCaffrey would possibly win Tremendous Bowl LVIII with the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night time, however irrespective of what number of occasions he will get his fingers on the Lombardi Trophy, he'll have a tough time adjusting to New Jersey's wild life and athletic profession. a sports activities legend who used to affectionately name him “Snowball”.
McCaffrey would possibly win 5 Tremendous Bowl rings, however barring one thing fully unexpected in international politics, the famous person operating again won’t ever be recruited by the CIA to assist a Russian athlete defect to the US. That was the state of affairs Honest Garden satisfaction Dave Sime encountered when he was a sprinter within the 1960 Olympics.
Thought of the quickest man alive within the Fifties, Sime gained an Olympic silver medal (and doubtless ought to have gained just a few golds) earlier than hanging up his spikes and embarking on a second profession as a famend eye physician. He handled baseball nice Mickey Mantle, quarterback Bob Griese and former President Richard Nixon at his observe in Miami, the place he had a weekly golf date with longtime NFL coach Don Shula.
In brief, he lived a captivating life. However now, eight years after his loss of life, Dave Sime is thought for one factor above all: he was Christian McCaffrey's grandfather. And his son Scott mentioned by telephone this week that he could be high quality.
“He was very proud,” mentioned Scott Sime, who can also be McCaffrey's uncle. “Christian was nonetheless taking part in in school (at Stanford) and pop was sick on the time, however he watched all of Christian's video games. He referred to as him Snowball as a result of he gained momentum and saved transferring.”
The Tremendous Bowl, with 1000’s of revered media retailers chasing all kinds of angles on the story, will not be one of the best place to dwell out a household historical past. Requested what he remembered about his grandfather on Opening Night time, McCaffrey appeared shocked earlier than responding with probably the most fundamental of scouting experiences: “I bear in mind he was actually quick.”
That's placing it mildly. Sime (rhymes with him, not lime) was born in Paterson and raised in Honest Garden, the place he grew to become a multi-sport star. In fact, it took years earlier than the exploits of a highschool athlete may very well be simply shared all over the world, so the legend of Sim unfold principally by phrase of mouth in North Jersey. It helped that he was being recruited by two dozen faculties, together with an Military assistant coach named Vince Lombardi.
Ron Giaconia, a baseball participant at Passaic Excessive who later performed at Rutgers, remembers being amazed by Sime's pace. “He was one of the best hitter I ever performed towards in highschool or school,” Gianconia mentioned, and whereas Sime went to Duke on a baseball scholarship and in addition performed soccer, it wasn't both sport that made him a world star .
He adopted up with Duke as a result of he as soon as mentioned, “I had nothing to do. Throughout his profession, he broke or broke almost a dozen American or world data, with Sports activities Illustrated calling him “Superman in Spikes” and “one of the vital sensational voice actors of our period. Three gold medals on the 1956 Melbourne Olympics appeared inside attain.
Then got here heartbreak. Sime rode within the groin that 12 months earlier than the Olympic trials, and it was his rival Bobby Morrow—the person who joined him on the quilt of SI—who gained three golds and was named Sportsman of the Yr. Sime had by no means misplaced a race to Morrow earlier than his damage and the “what ifs” haunted him.
“It was actually unhappy, ?” mentioned Scott Sim. “You consider spending 4 years of your life operating and coaching day by day for a race that's solely 10 seconds lengthy, and the results of that may have such an influence in your life. He talked about it typically. He was very upset.”
There was one profit to the damage, nonetheless. Realizing he wanted a profession outdoors of athletics—the Detroit Lions drafted him in 1957, however he turned down the chance—Sime enrolled in Duke medical faculty to review ophthalmology. Nonetheless, he was not fully carried out with athletics, and earlier than the 1960 Video games he once more confirmed himself as top-of-the-line sprinters.
However this time, Uncle Sam needed extra than simply his pace.
“Through the Olympics, he was recruited by the CIA to attempt to persuade Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, the good Soviet lengthy jumper, to defect,” mentioned writer David Maraniss, who wrote in regards to the incident in his bestselling e-book, “Rome 1960: The Olympics That Modified world.” Sime did his half, befriending Ter-Ovanesyan, however the Russian was spooked by a CIA operative assigned to the case.
When he wasn't taking part in spy video games, Sime was as soon as once more cursed with brute luck. He completed the 100 meters in an obvious tie with Germany's Armin Hary in 10.2 seconds, an Olympic file, however Hary chested right down to narrowly beat him by an inch in a controversial photograph end.
Sime had one final shot at Olympic gold, however was once more bitten by a snake. His group gained the 4×100 relay however went house empty-handed when the referees dominated that the relay had been handed outdoors the passing zone.
“The unhappy half is I didn't go to Rome for the silver medal,” Sime instructed Northjersey.com in 2010. “Issues occur in sports activities. You go on. You'll recover from it.”
He threw himself into his medical profession, however not surprisingly, his youngsters additionally turned out to be incredible athletes. Whereas his daughter Lisa was a soccer participant at Stanford, she met and later married a soccer receiver named Ed McCaffrey. All three of their sons additionally grew to become star athletes, however Christian proved to be on one other stage.
If the 49ers win Tremendous Bowl LVIII this weekend, it's attainable their star operating again with roots in New Jersey may find yourself with the MVP trophy. Anybody who is aware of their grandfather's tracks is aware of that pace runs within the household.
MORE FROM STEVE POLITI:
NJ gymnast Livvy Dunne is main a revolution in school sports activities
The untold story of how Rutgers cracked the Large Ten
How a former Rutgers athlete ended up accused of homicide in Tijuana
I've been a Little League bird-flipping menace—and it's time to return clear
The seek for Luther Wright, as soon as NJ's best hoops expertise
I performed Augusta Nationwide and had my very own Masters meltdown
Thanks for counting on us to offer journalism you may belief. Please contemplate supporting us with a subscription.
Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@njadvancemedia.com.
