Last September, a few random remnants of the Loose Ends, the last FMC Office Softball Champions in a league which, like FMC, downsized in 1987, got together for a reunion. Lots of old friends were there.”Not pictured is Pete Landon” says the caption from the article in the Ord Leaf, the FMC inhouse weekly newspaper. I loved the Ord Leaf. You could track if FMC was laying off by the number of firearms for sale in the help wanted section.
Peter and I worked at FMC and ended up playing on the Loose Ends. Both of us were imported in – me from the South (San Diego); Peter from the North (Washington) to work in the Reagan defense buildup of the early 80’s. Office softball leagues were the thing to occupy the young workers, a way to build teamwork and promote coopetition between different non-union FMC workers.
FMC’s manufacturing facility on Coleman Avenue across from the airport was above all a union shop. There was a Factory League and an Office League for every sport – and slow pitch softball was king. FMC employed thousands at the time, the largest manufacturer of tracked vehicles (in the free world), here in San Jose.
Peter was my teammate on the Loose Ends who became my study partner when we both went to Santa Clara Leavey School of Business, graduating in 1989. In those days, MBAs at night took four years – it wasn’t trivial – executive MBA programs were yet to be marketed to the hungry populace of Silicon Valley marketing pukes on the make (known as tech professionals looking for advancement through education). MBAs were still earnest then, pure of heart.
Peter and I played softball, each married someone from FMC, started our families, and spent at least two nights a week at Santa Clara University while working full time at FMC. It was a time when I remember working, going to school, or thinking about how I should either be studying or working overtime.
Walking with Peter and his dogs in by Niles Canyon, California – early summer 2018
We studied together for hours, putting together spreadsheets from scratch, learning about cashflow, valuations, and finally, studying the wine industry for our capstone class. When I walk the aisles of CostCo and see the cases of Ravenswood Vintner’s blend for sale, I think of Peter, our team, and our report, evaluating their business plan.
Every Memorial Day Weekend while in school, we watched the Indy 500 together, pretending to work on some project due at the crunch of the end of the school year. After we graduated in 1989, we stayed mildly in touch as we both attempted to safely raise children and coached youth sports. Peter specialized in soccer. I did baseball, softball, and hockey (floor and ice). It was time we could not have purchased with our children, which he treasured as much as I did. With that as our focus, there wasn’t much time to socialize.
Last year or so, we hooked up again and started eating greasy food and walking together along the Alameda Creek in Niles Canyon his four unleashed, and mildly annoying dogs in tow.
Not sure what they loved more; Peter or the salami he dished out. We walked and talked. And talked and walked. He bitched and I moaned. Then I moaned, and he bitched. We called each other assholes for whatever reason we happened to be assholes that day.
I was the only one not begging for salami.
Peter bravely fought cancer for years, and early in 2019, he passed. He walked his dogs until the end and sucked every enjoyable thing out of life he could. He was 62. Peter left behind an awesome family who miss him a bunch and threw him an awesome warm, send off.
So I miss Peter. I think about him whenever I walk and/or eat salami. I think about him every day.
At our Loose Ends reunion in September, I came upon a write-up on how the Loose Ends won the championship. As it turns out, Phil Madison, apparently more obsessive than I, typed up his account of our last game for posterity. I include a pdf below.
I drove home the winning run in the extra-innings championship game that night, after (allegedly) booting a line drive in the top of the ninth. Loose Ends won, Plant 7 lost. We have been Champions since. We will be Champions forever. Champions of the 1986 FMC Office Softball League. Forever. Not even time will take it away from Peter and Pierre, B School Buds Forever.
