Moonlighting – Starring Ozzie Smith

Before there was Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd there was Ozzie Smith. While there may be no truth to the rumor that the hit TV show was based on the exploits of the future Hall-of-Fame shortstop, it is indeed a fact that in the summer of 1980, Ozzie Smith was looking for a second gig.

Smith made some bad investments and was on the hook for some serious money. An Associated Press story claimed Smith owed more than $100,000 in unsecured debts and “must find extra income quickly.”

According to Peter Gammons in the Boston Globe, the “bad investments” amounted to Smith possibly living beyond his means by purchasing a house and a Mercedes Benz on his salary of around $72,000 per season.

“You know once a ball player reaches the big leagues, he starts to live differently — like a movie star,” Smith told the Christian Science Monitor. “Certain things are expected of you, and you kind of get caught up in a more expensive life.”

Coming off a 1979 campaign which began with an 0-32 streak and ended with a .211 batting average, Smith asked the Padres for a raise and they declined. But Ozzie still had bills to pay. Like many Americans who need extra cash, he decided to get a second job.

Smith took out a Position Wanted ad in the San Diego Union seeking a part-time job to help him get over the hump financially. He also was considering asking the Padres for about a month off in June and July so he could go to Europe and compete in the Tour De France. Smith’s agent Ed Gottlieb told the media Ozzie had an offer to earn between $25,000 and $100,000 for “competition in Europe.”

Needless to say, the Padres weren’t thrilled about the idea, but Joan Kroc did have an offer. The wife of the Padres owner Ray Kroc told Smith he was welcome to be an assistant gardener on the Kroc Estate. According to Mrs. Kroc, the position came complete with the blessing of the head gardener Luis Torres, in part because Smith was his favorite player.

Fortunately for Ozzie his advertising campaign proved to be a rousing success. He received at least a dozen legitimate offers according to Gottlieb and eventually settled on a job with a Los Angeles company that paid him at least $500 per week plus commission and it didn’t involve picking up a shovel.