The Jets lost an invaluable link to their glory days with the passing of Frank Ramos, their legendary public relations czar who died at age 87 on Tuesday after a short bout with pneumonia.
Ramos was a fixture with the franchise from 1963 to 2002, working under seven owners, seven team presidents, five general managers, 11 full-time coaches and two interim coaches.
From the moment I first started covering the Jets in the late ’80s, I always associated Ramos with the Joe Namath era, having been a significant part of that 1969 Super Bowl III, the only title in franchise history.
He was there when Namath was drafted in 1965 and he was alongside Namath when he delivered the famous Super Bowl guarantee in Miami.
Namath revered Ramos, calling him “a pioneer in the profession.’’
“I’m heartbroken,” Namath said. “He was with me since Day 1. He was special, a special friend, a special teammate if you will. Today is a sad day for the Jets family.”
Current Jets owner Woody Johnson praised Ramos, his first PR director when he bought the team, for his “encyclopedic knowledge’’ of the organization, adding, “Whenever you talked to Frank, you felt like you were getting the true pulse of the Jets. Frank was the glue that held this place together.’’
Ramos hired Roger Goodell as a public relations intern in 1983. Goodell, of course, has gone on to do some big things since.
Goodell, the NFL commissioner since 2006, called Ramos “a Jets and NFL legend.’’
”Frank was a trusted confidant of players, coaches, and executives,’’ Goodell said. “And he never missed a game.”
Ramos, indeed, worked 681 consecutive games during his 39-year run with the team, never missing one. He was so proud of Super Bowl III that he was rarely seen not wearing his Super Bowl ring.
Ramos was probably at his best in the face of crisis — most notably in 1992 when Dennis Byrd broke his neck in a game and was temporarily paralyzed.
The way he handled that crisis with so much outside interest in Byrd, a highly popular player, was a master class in PR.
Doug Miller, now the Saints VP of communications who was Ramos’ assistant for his first 10 years in the business, recalled the Byrd incident.
”Frank wrote the PR crisis handbook for how to handle things,” Miller said. “That was his best work. Anytime anyone has ever said, ‘What’s his biggest moment?’ It wasn’t Super Bowl III. It was that (Byrd) scenario and how he handled it.”
With many professional sports teams, particularly in our competitive market, the relationship between the writers who cover the team and the team’s public relations staff is often a complicated one.
As a writer, you’re always reaching for the best story. And as the PR person, you’re tasked with looking out for what’s best for the team.
Those two agendas often clash, and it was no different with Ramos. We had our moments when agendas didn’t mesh, but he was always fair. And in the years after he retired, I grew to appreciate him and the job he did more.
Several of us who covered the team during Ramos’ tenure had a special moment last year after he received an Award of Excellence at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We chipped in and had a special commemorative box with plaques that featured photos of him and the Jets through the years and presented it to him.
He was so moved by the gesture that he called every one of us who were involved and expressed his appreciation. Each of us had a lengthy conversation with him reminiscing about the old days. I could hear how moved he was through the phone.
When I received the news of his passing Tuesday night, I recalled that conversation I had with him and felt more grateful to have had it.
