BEREA, Ohio -- President Reagan followed a speech to Baldwin-Wallace College students Wednesday with a 15-minute visit to the Cleveland Browns practice session, his first visit to an NFL workout.
Reagan was greeted at the entrance to the Browns' workout facilities by team captains Bernie Kosar, Carl Hairston and Herman Fontenot, and was presented with a football that sported the Browns logo.
The president told the players of once broadcasting an imaginary football game in an effort to land a job in sportscasting, and also threw sidearm passes to tight end Ozzie Newsome and to tackle Rickey Bolden before posing for a picture with the team.
A reporter asked Reagan if his campaigning for Vice President George Bush was helping Bush's efforts, and the Browns players greeted the inquiry with good-natured booing and cries of 'football questions only, please.'
'Time will tell,' said Reagan, whose visit limited the Browns practice to just 30 minutes. 'It's very rewarding to hear the reaction of people I'm talking to.'
After the president and his entourage departed, Bolden was teased over his unexpected moment in the spotlight.
'The ball was right there on the money,' Bolden said. 'The president hit me right on the hands. He might throw better sidearm than Bernie. It was as exciting as catching my first touchdown pass (on a tackle-eligible play at Phoenix Oct. 23). It was an honor to meet somebody like him who's helped so many people.'
Newsome said Reagan 'is the oldest quarterback I've ever caught a pass from.' Kosar, who previously had visited Reagan, said the visit 'was a thrill.'
'It's great that he was able to take the time to stop by,' said Kosar. 'Every player on this team was excited.'
Browns owner Art Modell, a fundraiser for Bush's presidential campaign in Ohio, said the team received a phone call Tuesday from the White House.
'I extended an invitation for the president to come over after his talk and go out on the field,' said Modell, who once hosted former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at a Browns practice. 'When a man's going to be across the street from your place of business, you invite him over.'
The Browns' practice facilities are across the street from Baldwin-Wallace's gymnasium, where Reagan spoke to students.
When asked if Reagan would give any plays to Browns Coach Marty Schottenheimer, Modell saidd, 'There's no room. I've already given Marty all the plays.'
Tim McCarthy, the Secret Service agent shot in the stomach during John Hinckley's assissination attempt on Reagan in March 1981, visited the Browns' dressing room and the nearby media trailer.
McCarthy was accompanied by retired Browns tackle Doug Dieken, now a sportscaster with WEWS-TV in Cleveland. McCarthy and Dieken were teammates at the University of Illinois, where McCarthy was a walk-on wide receiver and defensive back.
Cleveland visits Houston Monday night, and Oilers Coach Jerry Glanville was informed of Reagan's visit to the Browns in a conference call with the media.
'Well Bush, the next president, is going to be here Monday,' said Glanville.
