I feel a personal connection to this year's two anniversaries of the Heisman trophy--the award presented to the season's best collegiate football player. Fifty years ago, I was a young, first-year, professor at the U. S. Naval Academy. One of my students was a midshipman named Roger Staubach, the recipient of the 1963 Heisman for his heroics as Navy's quarterback. Twenty-five years ago, a fellow wearing America's brightest orange of my alma mater, Oklahoma State University, became the most prolific and exciting running back in the history of football. His name is Barry Sanders. What did the two have in common, besides their excellence on the field and this year celebrating--respectively--their gold and silver anniversaries? Both are classy, humble individuals who let their accomplishments speak for them.
Last night, we watched a young man of a different sort make his acceptance speech. Jameis Winston had, until recently, lived under the cloud of having been accused of rape. After stalling for months, the authorities announced a few days ago that they did not have sufficient evidence to indict him. However, the alleged victim's family has announced that it will continue to press for a different resolution; Winston's problems have not ended. I've watched the Heisman presentations for many years. Each time, I've seen the winner shake the hands of the competitors over whom he has been chosen and praise them in his acceptance speech. Not Winston. Perhaps as a product of his generation, he was only about "me, me, me." A far cry from role models such as Roger Staubach and Barry Sanders.
So, if I'd had a vote for the 2013 Heisman, for whom would I have voted? In first place, Andre Williams; in second place, Keenan Reynolds.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Oklahoma State University Cowboys--So Proud!!
What a week this has been for Oklahoma State athletics! On Tuesday, our top-ten men's basketball team ripped through #11-ranked Memphis by 21 points--putting up 101 points against them. On Friday, our nationally-ranked Cowgirls' basketball squad demolished the University of Southern California by 31 points.
Then came last night. We faced the third-ranked Baylor Bears, with the #1 offense and #10 defense in the country, the top candidate for the Heisman Trophy at quarterback, and ambitions to win the national championship. We ripped them for 49 points and allowed their offense--one which had averaged 61 points per game--a measly 17 points. What a team effort, and what a great job of coaching! If it hadn't been for that horrible day in Morgantown, West Virginia, when our Cowboys went to sleep (and left the fabulous QB Clint Chelf sitting on the bench) and lost our only game of the year, we would be sitting on top of the national rankings today.
Beat OU!
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Helping to commemorate 75th anniversary of Krystallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass"
I feel honored to have been asked to speak about my book and my experiences as one of Europe's "hidden children" at the commemoration of that horrible event known as "Krystallnacht," or "Night of Broken Glass." The following is the announcement of the event--an invitation to all readers to come and join us.
ANNAPOLIS — On Sunday, Nov. 10, at 10:30 a.m., Congregation Kneseth Israel presents an author lecture and book signing by Charles Heller to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Author Charles Heller, will share his riveting adventure and moving recollection of a loving family nearly destroyed by the Nazis. The book, "Prague: My Long Journey Home," is a personal account of a long journey of persecution, struggle and survival in Nazi and Communist controlled Czechoslovakia, and eventual escape from tyranny to freedom in America. A bagel brunch will accompany the event. The cost of the event is $8.
Charles O. Heller’s career has consisted of phases as: engineer, educator, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, management consultant, and author. Today, he is President of Annapolis Capital Group, a management consulting and investment firm. He is the author of two memoirs: "Prague: My Long Journey Home" (2011) and "Name-Droppings: Close Encounters with the Famous and Near-Famous" (2013). He is writing two additional memoirs. Heller is married, has one son and three grandchildren, and resides in Annapolis with his wife Susan. He played Division-I college basketball, as well as club soccer and volleyball; today, he is an avid golfer, skier, boater, hiker, and writer. He is a member of the Annapolis Yacht Club, The Country Club at Woodmore, the CEO Investment Club, Maryland Writers’ Association, Authors Guild, Rotary Club of Annapolis (Paul Harris Fellow), and Omicron Delta Kappa (leadership honor society).
Kristallnacht (“Night of Broken Glass”), was a series of attacks against Jews in Germany and Austria. On Nov. 9–10, 1938 thousands of Jewish homes, shops, schools and synagogues were ransacked and destroyed, leaving the streets covered in pieces of smashed windows—the origin of the name “Night of Broken Glass.” The year 2013 marks the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht.
ANNAPOLIS — On Sunday, Nov. 10, at 10:30 a.m., Congregation Kneseth Israel presents an author lecture and book signing by Charles Heller to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Author Charles Heller, will share his riveting adventure and moving recollection of a loving family nearly destroyed by the Nazis. The book, "Prague: My Long Journey Home," is a personal account of a long journey of persecution, struggle and survival in Nazi and Communist controlled Czechoslovakia, and eventual escape from tyranny to freedom in America. A bagel brunch will accompany the event. The cost of the event is $8.
Charles O. Heller’s career has consisted of phases as: engineer, educator, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, management consultant, and author. Today, he is President of Annapolis Capital Group, a management consulting and investment firm. He is the author of two memoirs: "Prague: My Long Journey Home" (2011) and "Name-Droppings: Close Encounters with the Famous and Near-Famous" (2013). He is writing two additional memoirs. Heller is married, has one son and three grandchildren, and resides in Annapolis with his wife Susan. He played Division-I college basketball, as well as club soccer and volleyball; today, he is an avid golfer, skier, boater, hiker, and writer. He is a member of the Annapolis Yacht Club, The Country Club at Woodmore, the CEO Investment Club, Maryland Writers’ Association, Authors Guild, Rotary Club of Annapolis (Paul Harris Fellow), and Omicron Delta Kappa (leadership honor society).
Kristallnacht (“Night of Broken Glass”), was a series of attacks against Jews in Germany and Austria. On Nov. 9–10, 1938 thousands of Jewish homes, shops, schools and synagogues were ransacked and destroyed, leaving the streets covered in pieces of smashed windows—the origin of the name “Night of Broken Glass.” The year 2013 marks the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht.
Posted in News on Wednesday, October 30, 2013 12:15 am. | Tags:
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Charles Ota Heller: "Name-droppings: Close Encounters with the Famous ...
Charles Ota Heller: "Name-droppings: Close Encounters with the Famous ...: I'm happy to announce that my newest book is now available, both as a soft-cover (list: $11.99) and an e-book ($2.99), directly from t...
"Name-droppings: Close Encounters with the Famous and Near-Famous" is out!
Bill Clinton (and Monica Lewinsky)
Michael DingmanLarry Doby
Clint Eastwood
Andy Enfield
Jay Geils (and Jack Geils)
Henry Iba
Don Klosterman
Viktor Kožený
Helen O’Connell
Carroll Rosenbloom
Wernher Von Braun
Earl Weaver
Philip Van Horn Weems
Dr. Ruth Westheimer
The following is Abbott Press’ “teaser” about the book:
Captured
in this short, yet unique, memoir are Charles Ota Heller’s myriad encounters
with celebrities from various walks of life—business, politics, sports,
entertainment, science. How did Clint Eastwood spend his Thursday
evenings? What caused one of America’s greatest basketball coaches to scream
the “n-word” at the author? How did Heller become an early witness to the
Clinton-Lewinsky affair? Why did jazz singer Helen O’Connell proposition the
young, innocent Charlie Heller? What led the author to insult the leader of
America’s space program? How did Heller and a TV star/sex therapist develop
immediate rapport? How did the author and the leader of the J. Geils Band
become friends? These are some of the interesting vignettes told by Charles Ota
Heller, a former CEO entrepreneur, educator, venture capitalist, athlete, and
engineer who came to America as an immigrant from Czechoslovakia at the age of
thirteen and who now looks back at a life of chasing the proverbial American
Dream and the famous and near-famous he met along the way.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Lies and more lies in Sports Illustrated
I have been a subscriber and loyal reader of Sports Illustrated since its first year of publication, many years ago. This, despite the fact that I've long resented the magazine's bias against my alma mater, Oklahoma State University. I've written SI many letters to the editors about this bias--some of which they have published. My latest was sent as recently as three weeks ago, immediately after the publication of SI's annual college football preview issue. Although all pre-season polls had OSU ranked either #12 or #13 in the nation and all had us as favorites to win the Big 12 conference, SI chose to omit OSU from the top 25 entirely, and listed four Big 12 teams in the top 25 ranking, ahead of the Cowboys. I was shocked and angry.
But, all that was before the latest--and most incredible--blast against my school. In a five-part expose which began last week, SI accuses our football program of a variety of sins: paying players, tutors taking tests for players, co-eds providing sex to recruits. In gathering their "facts," the writers (one of whom is a huge fan of our rival, University of Oklahoma, and has written a number of anti-OSU stories throughout his career) interviewed a number of former players, most of whom were dismissed from the university or the team for a variety of reasons--and now hold grudges. One example: Herschel Simms, a running back who was thrown out for having stolen money from a teammate. Now, this criminal is one of Sports Illustrated's witnesses against us. ESPN, which has taken up the cause of getting to the bottom of this story, has interviewed a number of clean ex-players from OSU. All of them--such exemplars as Tatum Bell and Brandon Weedon--without exception, deny the stories and say that none of these abuses took place. Now, even some of the men SI quoted are denying that they ever made the accusations.
There is no question that big-time college football is not pure. There is simply too much money in the sport for it to remain clean. It needs reform. And one could also ask: why did OSU admit some of these bad apples whom they eventually dismissed? Every day, we read newspaper stories about college football players around the country in trouble with the law. But, Sports Illustrated should be ashamed for allowing its reporters to print lies about a single university, instead of attempting to right the wrongs with the sport in general. Shame on them!
But, all that was before the latest--and most incredible--blast against my school. In a five-part expose which began last week, SI accuses our football program of a variety of sins: paying players, tutors taking tests for players, co-eds providing sex to recruits. In gathering their "facts," the writers (one of whom is a huge fan of our rival, University of Oklahoma, and has written a number of anti-OSU stories throughout his career) interviewed a number of former players, most of whom were dismissed from the university or the team for a variety of reasons--and now hold grudges. One example: Herschel Simms, a running back who was thrown out for having stolen money from a teammate. Now, this criminal is one of Sports Illustrated's witnesses against us. ESPN, which has taken up the cause of getting to the bottom of this story, has interviewed a number of clean ex-players from OSU. All of them--such exemplars as Tatum Bell and Brandon Weedon--without exception, deny the stories and say that none of these abuses took place. Now, even some of the men SI quoted are denying that they ever made the accusations.
There is no question that big-time college football is not pure. There is simply too much money in the sport for it to remain clean. It needs reform. And one could also ask: why did OSU admit some of these bad apples whom they eventually dismissed? Every day, we read newspaper stories about college football players around the country in trouble with the law. But, Sports Illustrated should be ashamed for allowing its reporters to print lies about a single university, instead of attempting to right the wrongs with the sport in general. Shame on them!
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