Adversity to Advantage

Earlier this month I received the news that my longtime friend and mentor, Norbert “Nobby” Lewandowski passed away at the age of 89.  Nobby, who never met a stranger, befriended me a decade ago shortly after I moved to northeastern Ohio.  Much of our friendship was forged over the fact that I was from Pittsburgh and Nobby had spent several years in the Pittsburgh Pirate’s farm system in the early 1960s.  This gave him the opportunity to rub shoulders with several of the greats of the game – Roberto Clemente, Bill Mazeroski and Steve Blass (with whom he enjoyed a lifetime friendship).

As a child, Nobby learned to cope with a challenge that he shared with many others, a speech impediment that caused him to stutter.   This may have been one of the things that motivated him to excel in athletics, academics and eventually business.

In addition to his accomplishments on the ballfield, Nobby earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Kent State University and a master’s degree in business from Case Western Reserve University which equipped him for a career in public accounting.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Nobby’s career path was that after selling his accounting firm to his employees in 1992, Nobby embarked on his “encore” career, establishing himself has a sought-after motivational speaker and business coach!

While sharing Nobby’s story recently with my family at dinner, my 8 – year old grandson asked me if I knew who William Hoy was.  Caught totally off guard by the question, I had to admit my ignorance.  

After doing some research I learned that Hoy played center field for the Cincinnati Reds and several other teams from 1888 – 1902.  Afflicted with meningitis at the age of three, Hoy became deaf. While Hoy had numerous accomplishments on the diamond over his career, perhaps his most enduring contribution to America’s pastime may be his influence in the development of the hand signals used by umpires to call balls and strikes as he was unable to hear the actual calls!

The life stories of my friend Nobby, and William Hoy are good reminders that there are always opportunities to turn adversity into advantage and make enduring contributions to society.