Lyle Alzado in Ames advertising

[TheFugitive]

I was watching an NFL documentary this morning that contained a segment on the late Lyle Alzado.  An all-pro NFL defensive end for fifteen seasons Alzado had the reputation for violent and dirty play.  He was also one of the earliest players to be openly associated with steroid use.  He died of a brain tumor in 1992, which his family says he attributed to his use of steroids.

It reminded me that very briefly in either 1988 or 1989 Lyle Alzado appeared in some of our advertising for Ames.  He was on the circulars, on in-store signage, and in a television ad. It struck me as odd at the time because Alzado had already retired a few years earlier (and was likely very sick with the tumor) and aside from a two-year stint with the Cleveland Browns he played his entire career out west over 1000 miles from any Ames store.  Add to that the fact that he had less than a savory reputation and to me it all made for a very curious choice for our ad spokesman.