The amazing Anita Wheeler
I made a weird reference to Raiderette Anita Wheeler – -in a post about horse racing, me making fun of already weird names — about nine months ago and someone today wrote me back claiming to be Anita, from the 1975 Raiders. Her return address was at Raiders dot org or com. So I don’t know for sure if it was her.
But I will repeat the story: when I was 10 in 1974 and we lived in Saratoga, CA south bay not Peninsula my dad took me to Raiders games. We sat on the twenty but second deck, first row. I used to wait in the players’ parking to get autographs, maybe 30 of them: Blanda, Stabler, Branch, Tatum, Biletnikoff. I have them on Baron Wolman’s book.
I recall that my dad and I would often have binoculars and some guys in their twenties asked to borrow the binocs specifically to look at the cheerleaders. One guy said pretty loud, not to her but not to himself:
I LOVE YOU, ANITA WHEELER!
PS I sent a note back to that address asking for an interview. How have you been, these last 40 years? Did you marry the guy who yelled “I LOVE YOU”?
I’d love to see a photo.
bw
I have a riff about a realtor named Coco Tan (not Silvia Black) selling a house or condo in our hood, north Palo Alto. The space is at 251 Middlefield, at Everett, half mile from here. I want to know if she would be offended, Coco Tan, if I said her name makes her sound colored. In Menlo Park a few weeks ago my classmate Karen Grove got the chief of police to quit or retire early for telling him it was racist to say that Shrimp Boy Chow sounded like a food group. I want to tie in some stuff about Math: types of primes, 251.
Coco Tan (not Sylvia Black)
Also, Mateo Romero, he is a Cochiti from Berkeley who went to Dartmouth, sent a Daughter to Dartmouth, played football for Berkeley High, joined an other wise all black Alpha Phi at Dartmouth and is the plaintiff in the case against the Washington football team –we are suggesting Caribou or Carybads — a little rodent — or about 1.6 million other ideas — talking or texting about Sonny Sixkiller of Washington Huskies also briefly being a Raider. Also, Bret Baird last weekend, with Hans Delannoy, rang the bell of Paly grad Larry Bailey to try to identify the custodian who recorded the 1968 historic Monk concert. Larry played one game in the NFL, for the Falcons and 12 games in the WFL for the Southern Cal team, where his teammates were Darryl Lamonica, Pat Haden, JK McKay and future NFL Palo Altan Art Kuehn.
Anyhow, go Anita!. How about the Washington Santa Anita’s Football Club of Maryland or Virginia For Lovers? Now that’s a horse of a different color.
And 1: I heard an NPR radio show about synanon the drug treatment cult and I wanted to read more or see the movie about raider Art Tatum or Warren Wells — look for the edit, soon enough — whose life was ruined not by the drugs but by the treatment. I’d also like to see the David Shields beast-mode movie.
Andand: I have a photo of myself with 12 49ers Gold Rush, from about a year ago.
Andandand: Sonny 6 never played for the Raiders but he did suit for the Rams in Berkeley against the Raiders on August 18, 1973 and then a bit in the WFL: this is Blanda
Plastic Alto with Mark Weiss 
Hi Mark,
Anyone who waited in the player lot for autographs deserves a response–even if it took 40 years!
First, find a recent photo on Raiders.com (https://www.raiders.com/photos/raiderette-alumni-day-at-the-coliseum), scroll through to #50 and see myself with 3 other alumni from the Raider Glory Years (I am sitting). The Raiders generously invited every Raiderette from 1960’s to present for a Reunion at the Lions game and treated us royally with a pre-game catered ‘tailgate’, game tickets, pre-game performance on-field, and post-game dinner and dancing. What an amazing day and way to say goodbye to our beloved Coliseum where Raider memories echo from the walls and the sound of Bill King exulting “Touchdown Raiders!” lives forever.
Second, I did not marry the guy who yelled “I love you!”–though I often wondered why I never met anyone from the stands considering there were 50,000 plus in attendance each week. It would have been fun to meet him if only to know that someone besides our family was watching what we did and devoted so many hours of practice toward.
Third, after almost a decade cheering for the Raiders (1974 to mid-1983, including the first year in LA) I continued my career as a nurse, married, had children, switched from RN to PTA Mom/Team Mom, etc., and always continued cheering for the Raiders. I was spoiled by a team that won almost every home game and won 2 Super Bowls during my tenure (would have been 3 if I’d stayed throughout 1983).
When the Raiders returned to Oakland we purchased season tickets and went to Super Bowl XXXV–but the Oakland tradition of winning was lacking. Regardless, they are always my team, including now in Las Vegas, and some of my closest friends to this day are girls who cheered with me.
I have wonderful memories of my time as a Raiderette and feel incredibly fortunate to have had the experience. I also hope the Raiders regain their dominating swagger and return to the top of the football standings. In the meantime, the Raiderettes have continued to shine and are a group with whom I am proud to be associated–talented, lovely young women.
Thank you for the fun memory, and thank you for your Raider memories (but what is up with “Andand: I have a photo of myself with 12 49ers Gold Rush, from about a year ago”??!).
~Anita Wheeler
WOW, can’t believe I found this! I wonder if that guy in the stands could have been me? I knew Anita in college and went out a time or two. I figured you were way out of my league so I never pursued, then talked to you at a wedding and realized I blew it. So glad thing went well for you. Dave S
Good lord I went to Junior College with Anita