I first met Wayne Walker in the fall of 1981.
I was working as a weekend sports producer at KPIX (Channel 5), where Wayne had been the sports director for seven years.
One Sunday, after he’d done color commentary on a 49ers game at Candlestick Park, he made a surprise visit to the office. I was nervous and wasn’t sure how the 15-year NFL linebacker would react to a 21-year-old making a mess on his desk with stacks of scripts and videotapes.
Turns out I had nothing to worry about.
“Hi, I’m Wayne Walker.