Chipping in at an all-star benefit

So this is why I took up the game of golf.

Nope, not because I thought someday I would have crushing 300-yard tee shots or laser-like putting from 50 yards out.

Trust me, that’s never going to happen.

No, I took up golf for days like Monday.

Monday was a dream come true.

It started with me being called into service by my boss, Tom Johnson, for a special assignment at the Dove Canyon Golf Course and Country Club.

I met him there to do some, um, behind-the-scenes reporting for the annual Southern California Chapter of the NFL Alumni golf tournament.

So here’s what I uncovered and am able to report.

A team of golfers pays upfront to sponsor the tournament, which benefits NFL charities such as Caring for Kids and the NFL Dire Needs Fund.

What the team members get for their troubles is a day away from the office and the chance to play golf with a former NFL player.

First let me say, I got teamed up with a great bunch of guys.

They would be Ken Purcell, vice president of First American Title, one of the largest sponsors; Ed Halverson, who runs a CPA firm here in Costa Mesa; Frank Gibson, a loan consultant with Mariners Capital and a former assistant football coach at Army; and Michael Jara, president of Silverado Canyon Partners.

No offense to those guys, but the highlight of the day for me was meeting the guy who played with us — NFL Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson.

Dickerson was one of a number of celebrity players, which included Ben Davidson, Mike Horan, Billy Joe Hobert, Efren Herrera, Jeff Severson, Rod McNeil and Marv Fleming.

Those guys are also great.

But since I’ve been old to enough to understand the English language, I’ve been a fan of the Los Angeles, now St. Louis Rams, and Dickerson is a former Ram.

“Hi I’m Eric Dickerson,” he told me as he stretched his arm out for a handshake.

Yeah, like I needed to be told that.

Dickerson was simply in my estimation the greatest Ram running back that ever put on the uniform. And that’s saying a lot considering the greats who have played for that team.

He ran for more than 1,800 yards for three straight years and still holds the NFL record for most yards in a single season, 2,105 in 1984.

And here I was playing golf with him. Well, he was playing golf, I was there for comic relief.

And he even gave me a signed football. Man, what a day.

Thankfully, the guys I played with are all good golfers and they put up with my shanked balls and muffed tee shots.

The tournament director, another former Ram, Mike Lansford, told me later that Monday’s event was a success, but just the beginning.

“Overall, we were very, very pleased,” he said.

Lansford said the tournament, now in its 28th year, is not nearly as big as it used to be. But he and NFL Alumni chapter president Kirk Dodge plan to change all of that.

“We’re going to grow it back to where it used to be,” Lansford said. “We’ve got some huge sponsors that have supported us.”

One of the major sponsors also is our good friend, Newport Beach resident Paul Salata, also known as the big kahuna of Mr. Irrelevant Week and a former NFL player himself.

“We’re proud of the money we make,” Lansford said, noting that it is more difficult to raise money because there is no football team in the Los Angeles area anymore.

But Dodge said that no matter what, the tournament is successful because kids are getting help.

“It would be great if we could make $100,000,” Dodge said. “But the bottom line is every buck we make we give it to youth sports in Orange County.”

I have to say, for this star-struck sports fan, it was definitely worth the time and effort. For those interested in getting involved in the tournament next year please call the NFL Alumni Southern California Chapter at (714) 227-2619.