The Great Ken Iman

Gary Nichols called me tonight to tell me that Ken Iman died last night. His wife came home and he was in the basement dead. He was planning to come to Homecoming this year but he had to cancel. I can hardly remember my adult life without Ken Iman in it--he was in our wedding, came early to eat at Julia's for the rehearsal dinner. He was dating Phyllis then whom he later married. They had four children: Susan, Karen and Rob and I can't remember the other child's name. The marriage did not survive the Rams experience plus the Eagles experience.

Ken came back once and received an award on the field -- He was All-American here --on the same team with Bill Stacy and Gary Nichols and his brother, Norm. He announced on the field that he remembered me when I was Janie Cooper from Charleston and when I was thin. I could have killed that lug of a guy.

He came back once and they did an interview with him and I had to sit beyond the camera and translate for the interviewer. He could not keep his words straight. He said he had been hit too many times and I told him he was stupid from birth.

I feel a little lost tonight. I always knew, when he was a big football star, or when he was a coach for the Eagles that he would be delighted to see me and call me every name in the book. I loved the big guy.