Bits and Pieces-Post Thanksgiving Edition
A TV bit for a local pro athlete, an award for a Salem volunteer, and a coach back in Europe
Teagan on TV: Former Sprague High School, Oregon State and NFL footballer Teagan Quitoriano is still waiting for his Houston Texans team to record their second win of the season, but he hasn’t waited to get a little media exposure.
Teagan, who snagged a career-best two catches for 20 yards in his team’s 30-15 loss to Miami this weekend, recently did a video feature for the Texans organization. It provides a couple of insights into the young man himself. Take a look if you’d like.
Here is the Youtube video for your viewing pleasure:
He’s the Big Cheese: John Witherspoon of Salem is your average Joe who spends countless hours supporting the kids of the local community—something he has done for about four decades. John—who is better known as Cheeseburger—for an eating exploit he carried out in high school, and for his donation of cheeseburgers to successful Little Leaguers in the 1990s—has been formally honored for his efforts.
The 72-year old Witherspoon received the Spirit of Salem Award from the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce earlier this month. The award is given to those recognized by the Chamber Board as an influential leader.
Cheeseburger efforts as a coach and mentor has influenced an estimated 38,000 kids locally in places that range from Little League baseball to the Boys and Girls Club of Salem.
In 2015, Witherspoon had some major health issues arise. Word of his struggles led to a public funding campaign that raised over $8,000.
Edith Noriega of the Statesman Journal newspaper has written a great story about Cheeseburger. If you subscribe to the SJ, check out the article here: ARTICLE LINK
Oregon football coach returns to Europe: The enigmatic Tom Smythe—who directed Keizer’s McNary High School to a pair of state football championships (1997, 2001)—has left Oregon for Europe again—after earlier vowing to stay put.
The 81-year old Smythe returned home to Oregon in September after coaching a Polish team last season in Europe. He had an apartment in nearby Romania, which he was selling before returning to America.
Smythe got to see the two prep teams he had coached to state titles—McNary and Lakeridge High of Lake Oswego—play each other in September (Lakeridge won 47-0).
In late September, the Coach had a medical event, experiencing shortness of breath and coughing. Doctors told him that an aortic valve replacement that he had done years back was having issues—that the replacement valve was leaking and causing fluid build-up in his lungs.
After almost of week in the hospital, Smythe was released and given several medications for the fluid build-up. He had to return to the hospital in October, but finally got his medications “balanced,” and his health back to normal.
Smythe left for Europe on the first of November, with plans to fly to Romania. Close friends of the coach have not shared anything else since. Smythe has just a cell phone for communication, and has just an email address for communication beyond that at present. He has been unable to access his Facebook page.
This is a story that needs completion. I will be attempting to gather further information for a future update.