He was 6ft 3 and could carry a nice amount of weight at that size. He had broad shoulders……a warm smile……strong legs……long arms……a great sense of humor and could make all laugh. He also went on to a short stint in the college tennis circuit at University of Illinois. He was Papa Art to us kids, but to me he was a big dude who embraced athletics to no end. He was the only guy I know that watched every sport on TV……fishing….bowling…..football……boxing……..wrestling……baseball……soccer….etc. He was my grandpa on my mother’s side and a great man he was.

He ultimately gave up tennis to work and help the family out with the finances. I get the impression everyone was chipping in to help pay the bills of where ever he lived as a kid in Chicago. They were not poor, but they didn’t have much. They had three kids and all had some kind of unique talent:

• Arnie was the oldest. Good looking man like superman and dynamite athlete with a muscle bound body like a weight lifter (small one that is….)
• Bonnie was the middle kid. Extremely artistic and very bright
• Lawrence was the youngest and went onto become a Rhode scholar

Papa Art helped coach me through tennis as a young man and I think he had faith in my skills on the court. He was also fun and took us kids places all the time. Man did he love sports and fast food…..perhaps they go good together. He was truly a blast to hang with as a kid and really knew sports at a level that was absurd.

In the end his 6ft 3 frame lay there in a bed to die. I remember it well and made sure I kissed him on the head and held his arm for the last time. It is so hard to forget that gentle giant. We should all be so lucky to know a man like Arthur Baron. Even better we should all spend more time modeling the way we treat others like Art did. He was kind to all and made everyone smile even when it was raining. Man I loved that guy!

By Bradley D. Weisman
bweisman@inthesport.net www.inthesport.net