Jonny Mac on a tractor!
These player endorsements are getting out of hand...
Ah…Jon McGlocklin. NBA champion. The Original Buck. Legendary broadcaster. MACC Fund co-founder. The face of booming* tractor and mower sales in Wisconsin in the 1970s.
Yes, you read that right. It may seem like we’re only now living in the golden age of glamorous endorsements for NBA players, and at the height of some kind of athletes as influencers movement, but I’m here to tell you that it’s nothing new.
Don’t just take my word for it, though, feast your eyes on the evidence!
As we’ve mentioned a couple of times recently, my good buddy Jordan Treske and I are currently deep in research for our documentary podcast series on the Bucks’ 1971 championship and the origins of the franchise. There are so many great stories and details that we can’t wait to share with you next year when the pod is ready, but we’re also going to provide occasional sneak peeks at some of the more low-stakes stuff we find over the next few months here on Substack.
Jonny Mac on a tractor certainly fit that bill, as did the presentation of Wonder Boy of the Year from the beginning of 1971.
For those who don’t know much about original Bucks coach Larry Costello, I’ll tell you right now that he was certainly not the kind of man that you would refer to as Wonder Boy in his presence.
But yes, as a reward for winning Wisconsin Coach of the Year for 1969-70, Costello was presented with a riding mower, and Jonny Trac (Jonny Mac-tor?) came along to witness the big moment.
(Side note: I really appreciate that McGlocklin is in full basketball uniform with the ball under his arm. It adds a nice touch of surreality to the photo. Without him, you’d think this photo was taken in Costello’s yard as the gloriously side-burned man in the suit made the trip to deliver his mower. But with Jonny Mac there, we’re all forced to imagine a scene where the head coach of the soon-to-be NBA champions was presented with a lawn mower on the court at practice.)
Mostly, though, this makes me think of missed sponsorship opportunities. How is a Bucks player not always the face of a world famous tractor brand with Deer(e) in its name? Maybe Fear the Deer isn’t ideal for their messaging. We’d all love Bobby Portis to find avenues to make up for the money he left on the table to stay with the Bucks, though, and I’m sure he could find room in his schedule to split his appearances between BP oil rigs and mowing his lawn at home. Or maybe an outdoorsman like George Hill would be a better fit.
To make it simple, though, all I ask is that we make Bucks endorsements weird again. This alone would be a good reason to bring back Ersan.
* I have no idea if tractor and mower sales boomed in Wisconsin because of Jonny Mac’s pin-up style ads, but I promise we’ll get to the bottom of these cold hard facts by the time you all hear the podcast.