Mr BioFile Interviews by Scoop Malinowski
By Scoop Malinowski
Status: Assistant coach for St. Louis Cardinals. Major League Baseball outfielder from 1982-1999 for St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland A’s, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox.
DOB: November 2, 1958 In: San Francisco, CA
Ht: 6-1 Wt: 185
Childhood Heroes: My parnts, Hurdice, Jessie.
Hobbies/Interests: Music, working out.
Favorite Movie: The Color Purple.
Childhood Ambition: Fireman… until I learned about baseball.
Early Baseball Memory: Watching a game on TV, sitting on the couch with my dad. I remember asking my dad if they got paid to play baseball. He said, Yeah. I told my dad I was gonna be a baseball player when I grew up (age 6).
First Car: 1963 yellow Chevy Malibu.
Favorite Meal: Steak, chicken.
Favorite Breakfast Cereal: Corn Flakes.
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Mint chocolate.
First Job: Janitorial with with my dad (age 10-11). Everybody would be playing at the playground. My dad would come and beep the horn and we’d be gone (to work).
Greatest Sports Moment: Winning the World Series in 1982 (vs. Milwaukee Brewers). The feeling of elation that there was after the last out.
Closest MLB Friends: Ozzie Smith, Vince Coleman, Terry Pendleton, George Hendrick, Dusty Baker.
Funniest Players Encountered: Floyd Rayford. He was funny. He played with Baltimore and then he came over to us. His humor, he was intelligent, but he was funny. If a guy tried to get on him, he always ended up getting the best of it [smiles]. He got George Hendrick once and I never thought that would happen [smiles].
Favorite Sport Outside Baseball: Football to watch, to play ping pong.
Nicknames: Deno. My name growing up. My middle name is Dean. Nobody knows me as Willie in the Bay area.
Interesting Fact: I’m a real person. People have a tendency to think of athletes as superhuman. I’m real people.
Favorite Vacation Spot: Hawaii.
Future Ambition: To work with kids, hone and teach kids. I enjoy seeing kids learn something, pick up something positive.
Family: Wife, Vivian; daughters, Jessica, Whitney, Nanuashika.
Career Accomplishments: 1985 NL MVP; Won two MLB batting titles and three Gold Gloves; 1982 World Series Champion and four-time All-Star; 2,254 career MLB hits and a career batting average of .295; Playd in four World Series; Last game with St. Louis in 1999 at age 40, he was the third oldest player in MLB history.
