A special day for George Brett, Tom Watson and an honored guest in fight against ALS
Tony Vick couldn’t wait to meet his baseball hero, George Brett.
Brett felt equally honored by the introduction.
These annual meetings bring joy and sadness, as Brett, the Royals legend and Hall of Famer, and golfing great and fellow Kansas City sports icon Tom Watson get to know the honored guest each year at the Joe McGuff ALS Golf Classic at LionsGate.
Vick was diagnosed with ALS in 2017.
“What a great life he’s led,” Brett said of Vick. “He served his country for 16 years, and with this diagnosis, he has a new outlook in life. I want to hear about it.”
Vick, from Warrensburg, his wife, Karen, and family members gathered outside the clubhouse before the golf outing began and told their story.
In 2015, Vick noticed he was losing grip in his right hand when he lifted weights. He saw his family doctor, underwent a bunch of tests and wound up having surgery on his forearm. It didn’t help.
More tests followed, as did a visit to a neurologist and another surgery, but by now Vick was having problems with his left arm and his legs were getting stiff.
Yet another surgery was scheduled, but before that took place, Vick was told he was suffering from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurodegenerative disorder also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
“Most people have heard of Lou Gehrig, and that was, what, 70, 80 years ago?” Vick said. “They have to have a cure for it. That’s when I got the prognosis.
“There wasn’t a cure.”
According to the ALS Therapy Development Institute, most people with ALS live 2-5 years after their first signs of the disease. About 10% will live for 10 or more years.
Vick, 34, who served in the Army and U.S. Air Force Reserves, reaching the rank of master sergeant, has been part of other fund-raising efforts, too. He said he finds comfort in the motto “faith over fear.”
“God’s in control of everything,” Vick said. “He brings it to you. He’s going to bring you through it. We lean on that. What’s meant to happen will happen.”
Both Watson and Brett have been touched by the disease and continue to join others impacted by ALS who are determined to find a cure.
“I’m resolved and have faith there is going to be a breakthrough some time, and it’s going to be in our lifetimes,” Watson said. “Heck, I’m almost 70. I hope it’s in the short term.”
The Kansas City chapter of the ALS Association is named for Keith Worthington, who lived in Prairie Village and was diagnosed in 1973.
Worthington and Brett met and became friends that year, when Brett was called up to the Royals. Worthington died in 1984. Brett never forgot his friend and started the fund-raising golf event, which is now in its 36th year.
In 2004, Watson’s caddie, Bruce Edwards, died from ALS.
“Knowing there is very little chance or almost no chance of survival, that your mind is trapped and your body is deteriorating, to see people go through this is devastating,” Watson said. “There is not enough compassion in the world to give these people who get this damned disease.”
Brett and Watson had a strong connection to the event’s namesake, Joe McGuff, the former editor and sports editor of The Kansas City Star who succumbed to ALS in 2006. Three years earlier, the ALS fund-raiser changed its name from the George Brett Celebrity Golf Tournament in honor of McGuff.
Vick learned about a month ago that he’d be the honored guest on Monday and was thrilled by the news.
“I’m a lifetime Royals fan, and obviously Tom Watson is an amazing golfer,” Vick said. “For them to take their time … it’s awesome.”
Awesome for Brett and Watson, too.
“We say it every year, we’ll be here until the end,” Brett said. “And I really believe when they find a cure for ALS, Kansas City should be very proud of itself.”
This story was originally published May 6, 2019 at 5:13 PM.