Bernie Yuman might work as a personal manager, but he is a devoted fan of the Miami Dolphins right down to his socks. Photo by Gary Thompson.
Talent manager Bernie Yuman has landed big-name clients over the years: Siegfried & Roy, Muhammad Ali and Don Shula.
But he muffed the catch of a lifetime.
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Forty years ago this week, Yuman, then a sophomore in high school, was selling soft drinks in the end zone of Miami's Orange Bowl.
It was a history-making day: The Miami Dolphins' Joe Auer returned the opening kickoff 95 yards, in their franchise debut.
Yuman, in the right place at the right time, caught the ball after the extra point kick.
"First game, first play, first touchdown, first extra point, and I got the ball," recalled Yuman. He's remained such a Dolphins fan that he's made a ritual of wearing aqua and orange socks, the team's colors, every day since that inaugural game, Sept. 2, 1966.
Years later, after the Dolphins' unbeaten 1972 NFL season, a sports memorabilia collector tracked down Yuman after seeing him holding the football in a front-page photo in the Miami News.
"He offered $10,000 for it," said Yuman.
But Yuman had fumbled his chance at a small fortune.
"Hey, I was a kid, and we'd play with the ball in the street. It ended up getting shredded," he said.
Shula, who had dinner with Yuman on Friday at Stack (The Mirage), hasn't let his Dolphins-obsessed friend forget it.
Shula, head coach of the Dolphins from 1970 to 1995, has been repped by Yuman since 1991, when they met at a Siegfried & Roy show here.
THE SCENE AND HEARD
The V Theater ownership dispute was in the hands of lawyers Monday, after an attempt to oust David Saxe as managing partner. Sources said the shows will continue at the Desert Passage venue in the Aladdin. ...
"Ocean's Thirteen" cast members return to Las Vegas in mid-September for about a week, several days longer than the initial plan. Most of the Steven Soderbergh-directed shooting will be out of the Bellagio. ...
Hot spots & cool stuff: Paris Hilton has appearances tonight at the grand opening of Jeff Beacher's Rockhouse (9:30 p.m.) at Imperial Palace and at Pure for her new CD launch party (midnight). The Rockhouse street festival begins at 7 p.m.
SIGHTINGS
Singer Moby and friends, ordering an all-vegan spread at the Venus Pool Club (Caesars) on Monday. ... Singer Willa Ford, who has been dating Ultimate Fighting Championships star Chuck Liddell for a year, practicing for ABC's "Dancing With The Stars" with her partner, Maksim Cherkovsky, at Delgado Dance Studio at West Flamingo and I-215 over the weekend. They are one of 11 couples in the show, which premieres on Sept. 12 (KTNV-TV, Channel 13). ... Adam Levine, frontman for Maroon 5, at Amp salon (Palms) on Monday. ... At "Love" (Mirage) over the weekend: Minnie Driver and illusionist Criss Angel, Wolfgang Puck and family, Victoria Principal and friends, and singer-songwriter Babyface. ... At Monday's VIP reception at the Hilton for Elvis confidant Jerry Schilling, "Me And A Guy Named Elvis" author: local entertainers Clint Holmes, Kelly Clinton, Bill Acosta, Billy Hinsche, Steve Wyrick and Sam Thompson, a commissioner with the Nevada Transportation Services Authority. His sister, Linda Thompson, was Elvis' longtime girlfriend. Also, Elvis impersonator Pete Willcox, who was the voice of Elvis in the "Happy Days" scenes when Fonzie pounded the jukebox for a free play.
THE PUNCH LINE
"Thank you, Billy. You need another job. You have potential as a human being. This may not be right for you. Seriously. Can you focus on other things?" -- Jeremy Piven, to NBC's Billy Bush on the Grammy red carpet, after Bush persisted in asking Piven whether he had seen Jennifer Garner's baby or Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's.
