Four Best to Five Best . . to Seven

On Friday, I tweeted about changing an upcoming column from Four Best Eagles Running Backs – to Five Best – which eventually became “Seven Best Eagles Running Backs” by the time it was ready on Saturday.

And one of my best Twitter buddies Rob@RobW521 replied:

Rob, I knew about his cameo in M*A*S*H – and a whole lot more. As it works out, Woody and I were buddies back during the 1980s.

So here’s some insight on Tom Woodeshick.

Holiday Spa

From 1981 to 1983, I managed the Holiday Spa at 15th and Chestnut streets in Center City – right across the street from City Hall and behind the Clothespin statue. It was a multi-million-dollar facility – state-of-the-art for the early 1980s.

We had everything – progressive resistance equipment, circuit training, and Lifecycles. We had a swimming pool, whirlpool, and sauna. We had an indoor track and aerobics classes – and I made it a point to hire the hottest aerobics girls in the city.

I moved into Center City so I could walk to work.

My apartment was on the 23rd floor of a 24-story building at 13th and Locust. My block had its share of hookers, drug dealers, and gays. In fact, I chose that location because the rent was half as much as it was on the Rittenhouse Square side of Broad Street.

Dirty Frank’s

My hangout was a couple of blocks away – Dirty Frank’s Bar at 13th and Pine streets.  Frank’s – as the regulars called it  ─ was an eclectic bar. To begin with, it was located a block from the University of the Arts, so there were always original oil paintings plastered all over the walls. There were also lots of weird-looking art students with rooster haircuts, piercings, and outlandish outfits.

Other regulars included business professionals, lawyers, politicians, celebrities, and writers. We used to say that on any given night you could run into anyone from Frank Sinatra to an ax-murderer.

My buddy Clark DeLeon, a columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer, was a regular – as was Ben Krass, the owner of Krass Brothers clothing store on South Street. And Ben was usually escorting a couple of hot women in slinky dresses.

If you’re from Philly – and old enough – you should remember Ben’s classic TV commercials. My favorite was when he was laid out in a coffin, and then sprung up and pointed a finger straight at you, and said: “If you gotta go . . . go in a Krass Brothers suit.”

Tom Woodeshick

The night bartender at Dirty Frank’s was Tom Woodeshick – just Woody to his buddies – and Woody and I became friends over the years. We were both coal-crackers from Luzerne County. In fact, we would’ve attended the same high school and played on the same football team if my family hadn’t moved away from that area ─ so our bond was tight.

I’d seen Woody play with the Eagles at Franklin Field many times and admired his toughness. At 6-1 and 225 pounds, he was a hard-nosed sonavabitch who seemingly feared no man.

He played for the Eagles for nine seasons – from 1963 thru 1971. They were lean years for the Eagles, but Woody was a consistent bright spot – giving up his body on every play. Like I said, he was a coal-cracker from Luzerne County.

Woody carried the ball 831 times for the Birds and gained 3,563 yards. He scored 21 TDs rushing and averaged 4.3 yards/carry. He also caught 125 passes for 1,173 yards and 6 TDs.

He wrapped up his career in 1972 with four games with the St. Louis Cardinals – but he never left Philly.

Randall “Tex” Cobb

I went to Dirty Frank’s almost every night. My job was pressure packed. Frank’s provided solace and relief and Woody was a constant fixture and sounding board.

Since Woody was a buddy and a widower, I took one of my young aerobics girls to Frank’s one night and introduced her to Woody. They got along quite well and became an item.

The person who introduced me to Dirty Frank’s was a valuable co-worker and an even more valuable friend. His name was Bill Gaffney. He’s also mentioned here because he was once an aspiring boxer and a former roommate of Randall “Tex” Cobb.

My buddy Bill Gaffney and I went to Frank’s after work on the night of December 11, 1981 – I could be off on the date, but that’s pretty much the way I remember it more than 30 years later. It was a Friday and Randall – his buddies never called him Tex – was throwing a party at his apartment in Jersey.

As soon as Bill and I sat at the bar, Woody set a couple bottles of Bud in front of us. I actually recreate this scene in my first fiction novel Caribbean Queen – which will be published this summer.

Anyway, Bill and I were going to have a quick beer or two, and then drive across the bridge to Randall’s apartment to join the celebration. So Bill made a phone call to Randall – remember, no cell phones back then. Bill used a pay phone and called Randall’s apartment.

Pete Dexter

& the Gray’s Ferry Incident

Randall’s girlfriend Priscilla answered and told Bill that Randall left to meet Pete Dexter at a bar in Southwest Philly. Pete Dexter was a Daily News columnist and he was also Randall’s best buddy. But that’s all we knew. They were at a bar in Southwest Philly. Since nobody had cellphones, we couldn’t track down Randall’s exact whereabouts.

So we sat there, had a few beers, and kept bullshitting with Woody.

But had we been able to locate Randall, Bill and I would’ve found ourselves in the midst of a notorious barroom brawl that came to be known as “The Grays Ferry Incident.”

“The Grays Ferry Incident” will be continued tomorrow as “Randall ‘Tex’ Cobb.”

(On March 15, Danya Henninger wrote an article about Dirty Frank’s past and present. Check it out if you wish.)

Barry Bowe is the author of:

• Born to Be Wild
• 1964 – The Year the Phillies Blew the Pennant
• 12 Best Eagles QBs
• Soon-to-be-published Caribbean Queen