Good Samaritan
by Pat Croce

When I was a commentator covering the NBA playoffs for the NBA on NBC, my field producer, Pete Radovich, and I traveled countless miles to report on games in a half-dozen cities. Between the wild crowds and bright lights and intense playoff action, we experienced a lot of down time. And without fail, whether we were in an airport or restaurant or hotel lobby, we would marvel at the courtesy—or lack thereof—of our fellow Americans.

Since Pete and I are such avid people watchers, we turned our observations into a game that we called, “Find Today’s Best Good Samaritan.” It was not as easy as it sounds.

Most days, we’d spy people performing simple tasks like holding the door or assisting with the retrieval of luggage from the overhead compartment. Occasionally we’d see someone engaged in the unusual act of assisting a stranded motorist.

But mostly, we saw men and women whose only concern was protecting their own miniscule space on this third rock from the sun. They were not interested in anything other than to get where they were going, so get out of their way!

One off day, when there was not a Good Samaritan to be found, Pete told me an amazing story of someone who could have been a candidate for Good Samaritan of the Year. He was speaking of his wife, Nancy.

One night, as she waited at JFK Airport for Pete to arrive from a game in Portland, she saw a group of men load their luggage into a van and then quickly pull away. In their wake, Nancy noticed they had left something stranded on the luggage cart. She got out to investigate and realized it was a leather portfolio containing someone’s personal life story: cellular phone, keys, credit cards, a sailor book, airline ticket, and passport.

This oversight was going to be that someone’s personal nightmare.

When Pete arrived, Nancy showed him the portfolio and explained what she had seen. After further examination, Pete concluded that the portfolio’s owner was a 21-year-old Norwegian sailor who was returning home from working on a ship in the Caribbean. He had landed at JFK and was transferring to Newark Airport for his flight to Norway.

Or, at least, that’s what he thought.

Upon even closer inspection, Pete discovered a hidden compartment from which he removed 71 one-hundred-dollar bills—that’s $7,100 in cash! Finders keepers, right?

Pete admitted that, naturally, the thought of keeping the money crossed his mind. They could just return the portfolio’s contents to the airline, which would then track down the sailor and help him get safely home.

As Pete fingered the cash, Nancy painted a picture of a 21-year-old kid who had just lost his entire paycheck and all forms of identity and was stranded in a foreign country with nothing but a world of trouble. Nancy inspired her husband—battle-weary from an extra-long day—to step on the gas and drive to Newark Airport in hopes of finding the lost soul.

Along the way they let their minds wander through the many ways they could spend their newfound treasure. When they arrived at the Scandinavian Airline counter, Pete and Nancy noticed a young man, obviously a wreck, being consoled by his friends.

“Stefan?” Pete said. “I think you forgot something.”

The sailor’s eyes widened like saucers as Pete pulled out the portfolio. “How? Where? I don’t understand….”

After some small talk and an emotional goodbye, Pete and Nancy turned to go.

“Wait!” Stefan said, and thrust a wad of bills into Pete’s reluctant hand. “I insist … and thanks again!”

It was a $1,000. And as of the next morning, it was the best $1,000 that Pete and Nancy ever spent!
PC

About Pat Croce:
Since the 6th grade, when Pat Croce began delivering daily newspapers door-to-door, he has demonstrated a dynamic entrepreneurial spirit. Upon graduation from the University of Pittsburgh in 1977 with a BS in Physical Therapy and certification in Athletic Training, he pioneered the concept of sports medicine. In 1979 he opened the first sports medicine center in the United States with the Haverford Community Hospital Sports Medicine Center. Four years later, he opened Sports Physical Therapists, the first private non-hospital-based sports medicine center in the country. Ten years later, he opened the fortieth center.

Following the highly profitable sale of Sports Physical Therapists to a public company in 1995, Croce focused his entrepreneurial energy and indestructible positive attitude on the purchase of the NBA’s last-place team, the Philadelphia 76ers. During his 5-year tenure as president and minority owner (1996-2001), the team rose from worst to first in the NBA standings and broke franchise records in attendance, revenue, merchandise, and consecutive wins on the way to the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2001.

Croce’s ascension from the training room to the board room, and his remarkable success in the resurrection of the Philadelphia 76ers as a NBA championship contender, inspired NBC Sports’ Chairman Dick Ebersol to call Croce “the architect of one of the NBA’s greatest turnaround stories.”

The entrepreneurial bug bit again when Croce pursued his passion for pirates by building the world’s first authentic pirate museum – Pirate Soul – in Key West, Florida. The museum has received rave reviews from media and press around the globe. The piratical complex was completed when Croce opened the Rum Barrel restaurant/bar next door.

Croce has also tackled television in his high-energy roles as a lively commentator on the NBA on NBC; a Tae Kwon Do expert for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Greece; the host of a nationally syndicated daily TV show, Pat Croce: Moving In, syndicated by Sony Pictures Television; and most recently as a panel judge on ABC’s hit show American Inventor.

Croce has been the proud recipient of the “Entrepreneur of the Year” Award, was a finalist (with Sports Physical Therapists) for the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award, and was featured on the cover of Inc magazine as “The Dale Carnegie of the 21st Century.” He continues to thrive as a serial entrepreneur, funding and launching companies in the fields of fitness, healthcare, spirits, technology, retail, real estate and entertainment.

This story has been reprinted with express permission. Copyright © 2001-2007 Pat Croce & Company - All rights reserved.

Our Thanks…
When I first read this story, I knew right away it would be a “slam dunk” with our members and visitors! It’s stories like this, that show just how powerful Kindness can be! We sincerely thank Pat Croce for allowing us to re-print the story here. His kindness will go a long, long way!

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