The man behind superstar Ken Griffey Jr.
by John Bach
IT IS 2 p.m. ON WEDNESDAY afternoon and Brian Goldberg, A&S '82, has to squeeze one more appointment into an already bulging schedule. This time it's an hour he promised "Horizons" magazine.
Apologizing for his cluttered office on the 43rd floor of Cincinnati's tallest building, he navigates his way around a pile of to-be-signed baseballs and comes to rest behind a desk loaded to capacity with stacks of paperwork, family photos and one rather curious item -- a miniature cereal box featuring Ken Griffey Jr.
Apologizing again, Goldberg holds up the tiny box and explains he really only has 45 minutes for the interview, because he still needs to coordinate the details of the next day's press conference announcing his client's arrival on Wheaties as a Cincinnati Red.
A typical day during the baseball season means something is always in the works and something else is waiting on deck for the agent of one of the most idolized men in the history of sports. An average day at the office will include 50 phone calls. Some of the callers already have endorsement deals -- Nike, General Mills and Pepsi, to name a few. Others hope to put the All-Star center fielder to work pushing their product.
"It does get a little overwhelming at times," Goldberg admits. "It is to Junior's credit that it is like that because of the great player he is and the great citizen he is off the field. He has never gotten into any trouble. I have never had to get him out of any sticky situations."
Indeed an agent's dream: a superstar athlete with strong values and a great smile. Few, even among professional athletes, have the name recognition he has. Basketball had Michael. Hockey had Wayne, and baseball has Junior. "I always knew Kenny was a special player," Goldberg says smiling, "but I never pictured that it would become the big business that it has."
He has plenty to grin about. Every industry has an upper echelon, the pinnacle, the place those in the field aspire to reach. As a politician, it is the president's office. As an actor, it's a Hollywood blockbuster. As a sports agent, it's representing Junior.
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