PORT ARTHUR — EDITOR’S NOTE: The following column from the Best of West collection was originally published in the Port Arthur News on Jan. 23, 1987.



LOS ANGELES -- Goose Gonsoulin doesn't have to think about the $36,000 winner's share his old team is playing for in Super Bowl XXI Sunday to appreciate how times have changed.  All it takes is for one of the Denver Broncos' most honored players to look at the $75 price on a Super Bowl ticket.

"I didn't make as much my first exhibition game with the Broncos as a Super Bowl ticket costs at face value," said the former Thomas Jefferson standout.  "Back then, they paid you $50 for exhibition games.  And my signing bonus of $750 was less than scalpers are getting for Super Bowl tickets."

It's important to keep in mind that we're not talking about some guy who played back in the days of the leather helmet.  Gonsoulin, a 1956 graduate of TJ, is only 48.  He patrolled Baylor's secondary at the same time that Don Meredith was throwing passes for SMU, that John David Crow was winning himself a Heisman Trophy at Texas A&M.

The AFL, circa 1960-1966, just wasn't the place for a football player to get rich quick.  Or get rich at all, for that matter.  Especially if he happened to have the misfortune of starting out with one of the league's most shaky franchises.

"I think Denver was probably the cheapest of them all," Gonsoulin reflected.  "All our equipment was hand-me-down stuff from the Canadian League.  Nothing fit.  I played in better equipment at TJ than in my first couple of years with the Broncos."

Things, obviously, have changed for the better in Denver.  They're back for a second crack at the Super Bowl ring.  They're the NFL's premier gate attraction with 129 consecutive sellouts at 76,000-seat Mile High Stadium and their payroll begins with $1 million per year quarterback John Elway.

Gonsoulin, because of the seven years he spent with the organization, continues to closely monitor Bronco fortunes.  And, thanks to the efforts of the team's latest owner Patrick Bowlen, he's been made to feel an integral part of the family.

"He's treated all us old-timers real well," says Gonsoulin, who makes his home in Nederland.  "He's wanting to do whatever it takes to build up some tradition.  I was in Denver for an NFL Alumni Golf Tournament a couple of years ago and he told me to always let him know when I would be in for a game and needed tickets.  I called my marker on the Super Bowl."

Given his place in Bronco history, it's certainly fitting Gonsoulin and wife Nickie be at the Super Bowl as guests of management.  After all, he still holds the team record for most interceptions in a season (11) and shares the record for most interceptions in a game (4).

Gonsoulin's most cherished record, though — most career interceptions (43) — is no more.  The team's current free safety, Steve Foley, moved ahead of him on Sept. 28 when he picked off two passes against New England.  The old record holder just happened to be in the stands at the time.

"When he got the one to tie me. I went down to the field to congratulate him," advised Gonsoulin.  "I wished him good luck and told him I hope gets another one soon.  He got it before the game was over.  Steve impressed when he was quoted as saying it took him a lot longer (11 years) than it did me."

Gonsoulin no longer needs to be No. 1 in the Broncos' record book to have a permanent place among the team's all-time greats.  Within the last three years, the six-time All-AFL choice has been named to Denver's 20-year all-star team, inducted into the Colorado Hall of Fame and was one of four players picked for the franchise's elite Ring of Fame.

The latter, because of its significance, holds a special place in Gonsoulin's heart.  The Ring of Fame was inaugurated in 1984 to honor former players and administrators who played a significant role in Bronco history.

Names of the honorees appear on Mile High Stadium's east stands, just below the third level. Gonsoulin's in the elite company of running back Floyd Little, defensive end Rich Jackson and receiver Lionel Taylor.

"It's quite a thrill to see your name up in the stadium on the 50-yard line like that," he said. "It means a lot when you think there's only four out of the last 25 years. I'll always remember the ceremonies. My family got to stand on the field, and they gave us all beautiful rings. People who see the ring think it's a Super Bowl ring."

Gonsoulin, of course, never had a chance to win a Super Bowl ring. His last year with the Broncos (1966) was the season of the first Super Bowl. He started in the San Francisco 49ers secondary in 1967, but saw his career ended prematurely by a neck injury.

"The closest I've been to a Super Bowl was watching the one where Denver lost to Dallas (Jan., 1978) in New Orleans. I'm just hoping for a different result this time.  We went to the team party after the Dallas loss and everybody was down in the dumps. I'd hate for it to be that way again."

Whether the Broncos win or lose, Gonsoulin said he planned to enjoy being a part of the greatest one-day spectacle in sports. Occasionally thinking his ticket cost more than he made in the Broncos first game won't spoil the good time.

"It'd drive you crazy if you sat around and thought about things like that," he said. "The most money I ever made in a season was $22,000. Players on the losing team will get almost that much ($18,000) for the Super Bowl.  Sure, there are regrets about not playing when the money's so big, but there's nothing I can do about it."

No, and the truth be known, money couldn't buy Goose Gonsoulin the satisfaction of what he achieved, of knowing his name will be there for all to see at Mile High Stadium.

Sports editor Bob West can be e-mailed at rdwest@usa.net.