Former Dodger Great Facing a Mound of Debt(Steve Garvey)

LA Times ^ | 4/9/2006 | Scott Glover and Matt Lait

[wjersey]

Financial chaos has plagued Steve Garvey for years. As his money problems deepened, he continued to burnish his `Mr. Clean' image.

On a June day in 2003, Paige Bilbrey was on the phone frantically trying to reach her boss, former Los Angeles Dodger great Steve Garvey, at Le Parc Hotel in Paris, where he was attending the French Open tennis tournament.

The matter couldn't wait: Standing in the lobby of Garvey's hilltop mansion outside Park City, Utah, was an employee of the local power company. Pay the overdue bill, the man said, or he'd turn off the lights. The incident wasn't the result of an embarrassing oversight. It was typical of the financial chaos that has reigned in Garvey's life. For years, Garvey and his wife, Candace, have neglected bills large and small, leaving dozens of people who either worked for them or sold them merchandise wondering if they were ever going to get paid.

The Garveys drove luxury cars, shopped in upscale boutiques and traveled extensively even as they were pursued by creditors. Garvey's gardener took him to small claims court to recover $1,773. A mirror installer did the same over $809. A caterer received a court order to seize valuable artwork from the Garveys until they paid her $14,000 bill.

Garvey owes attorneys more than $300,000, according to court records.

Many a former athlete has fallen on hard times, but Garvey — known during his Dodger days as "Mr. Clean" — is different. As his own financial troubles deepened, he continued to cast himself as a principled and accomplished businessman, charging up to $10,000 to give motivational speeches.

[Publius6961]

Sports trailer-park types consider themselves the new aristocracy. A nice delusion and a useful scam, so long as there are enough idiots willing to spend their hard-earned money supporting them.

Isn't free-exchange economics wonderful?

[H. Paul Pressler IV]

Once of Dodger, always a dodger.

[originalbuckeye]

There used to be a bumper sticker in the LA area that said 'Honk if you're carrying Steve Garvey's baby'. I can't believe this guy was known as Mr. Clean. He hasn't had credibility in years!