So as many people here know, I am working on a biography of the USFL, the long-ago pro football league that kicked some serious ass.
Much of my time right now is spent tracking down former players. One of the absolute best USFLers was Irv Eatman, the former UCLA offensive lineman who spent three years with the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars before moving on to the NFL.
I was given a number for Irv, but it didn’t work. So I desperately turned to Twitter, and sent out a, “Does anyone where where Irv Eatman is?” message a few weeks back.
Well, today I heard from Irv’s daughter Emma, who kindly said she’d help me reach her father. And then, things got pretty weird …
Emma DMed this …
Which I, oddly, misread—and responded in the negative. Because, in fact, I do have a lovely sister in law, Jessica, who will be tying the knot to a super dude named Chris in a few months. Again, not sure what happened, but I was confused. Then Irv’s daughter wrote …
And, after noting how “truly weird” that was, I received a call from Jessica, asking why I was disavowing her as a relative.
So, as it turns out, Irv Eatman—USFL superstud—is the husband of my soon-to-be brother-in-law’s step mother’s daughter.
In other words, “Papa!”
