Artie, We Are Gonna Miss You So Much

I can proudly say I met Art Donovan twice. The first time was when he sent us an invitation to join his and his wife Dottie’s country club, Valley Country Club in Towson. We went that night and we met him and he was so funny and charming. He was like you had known him all of your life. She was a lovely lady too and it was a fun evening. The second time we were invited to a wedding being held in his country club and before the wedding started, he mingled with some of the guests. Then too, he brought a smile to your face and heart. He was a down to earth man who in his time earned 22,000 dollars as a football player and they in those days did not have lawyers and representatives working on their behalf for contracts and salary increases.

I use to watch him on the Letterman show and he had the audience in stitches with his stories and jokes about himself. He was a down to earth man who happened to stay a celebrity long after his football career ended. He served his country in the Second World War honorably. He was a father to five children and many grandchildren. What a funny grandfather he must have been to those grandkids.

When at the club, he sat at the bar and he talked to everyone who talked to him and when you left you were smiling on the inside and the outside. He never was uppity or stuck-up or in love with his own importance. He is called a mensch which is a good soul from top to bottom.

I am glad I have these thoughts and remembrances of him and because of him; I became a football viewing senior fan.  When my husband went to the game in 1958 which was called the greatest game of all times, Art was surely playing in it, as it made history in the football world.

We will miss you Artie Art Arthur Donovan. You were and will always be a football hero and a friend to all of Baltimore, where you made your home and all of Baltimore, Maryland and the country will never want to forget you. You will live on in your football expertise, your fun loving stories and your good deeds for the community.