Peter is not somebody who has followed football closely or the program. He played for a while with the Bears, but he said once he left that behind he left that part of his life behind. He went back for one game after his playing days…in 1991. Hasn’t been back since.

I interviewed him for an article a couple months back, and have sent him some videos of his playing days, which is slowly bringing him around to being excited about football again, but beyond passing interest in the Rose Bowl he really hasn’t paid much attention to Oregon since his days there. The more I talk to him though the more I sense that my passion for the program is starting to rub off on him, and he may make it back to Oregon for a game or alumni event this year.

He gave me the helmet as a thank you because he appreciated all the historical work providing him highlights of his days and getting him to re-open this chapter of his life he had closed long ago. We had a long chat and he said “man, I haven’t even thought about this stuff in 20 years…”