Last Call For Sole Hangout

SNEAKERS, A SPORTS BAR NEAR THE KINGDOME WITH A COLORFUL HISTORY OF CELEBRITIES AND COLLECTIBLES SINCE IT OPENED IN 1980, WILL CLOSE SATURDAY.

The Seattle sports scene is losing a thin slice of history.

Sneakers, the sliver of a bar near the Kingdome that was on the leading edge of the sports bar industry when it opened in 1980, will close Saturday.

"Our lease was up in February and we've been month-to-month since then," longtime owner Dick Oldham said. "I've been trying to make some capital improvements, but they (landlords) are easing us out and I don't know why."

The two-story building, 15 1/2 feet by 200 feet, is owned by the Kingdome Building Co. Whatever replaces Sneakers, chances are it won't compare.

This is a place with more soul than its celebrity shoe collection.

"A lot of things that have happened in sports in Seattle have happened in Sneakers," Oldham said.

-- This is where Sonic center Jack Sikma had Oldham open early so he and his best man could have a drink just hours before his wedding.

-- It's where quarterback Dave Krieg and his wife Sue came for celebration of his trade from the Seahawks to Kansas City.

-- It's where Mariner Manager Rene Lachemann and his wife Lori came for consolation after he was fired by club owner George Argyros.

-- This is the place Seahawk lineman Reggie McKenzie flew in a chef from Buffalo to teach the kitchen crew how to make zesty Buffalo wings, a house specialty.

-- David Thompson bounced a $40 check here, one day before the Sonics released him. Oldham has it in a frame somewhere.

-- It's where superstitious Mariner pitcher Randy Johnson sat at the same table for lunch every time it was his turn to start.

"Especially after he threw his no-hitter (in 1990), he didn't vary that routine," Oldham said. "He's very intense, almost terrifying. I would just edge toward the table, drop the menu and run like hell."

Oldham took over when the original bar, Stanley's Ticker Tape, went belly up after eight months in 1979.

The bill collectors were in hot pursuit of Oldham's sneakers that year, but bars were changing.

"It was just the right time. They (sport bars) became so specialized after that," Oldham said. "People would talk sports in bars, then they'd put up a TV to watch the games."

Oldham put up 10 TVs all around the bar and in the upstairs restaurant. A ticker tape behind the bar provided updates of scores.

Oldham also established his sneaker and autograph collections. He has shoes from Larry Bird to the San Diego Chicken, from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the ski boots of Phil and Steve Mahre, still attached to their K2s.

He set up blackboards behind the bar for the celebrity patrons to sign. It has grown to 55 blackboards.

One board has signatures of Everest climber Jim Whittaker, President Richard Nixon, Reggie Jackson, Julio Cruz, Fred Brown and Dennis Awtrey.

Ken Griffey Jr. signed, but he was too young at the time to come behind the bar, so the board was brought to him.

There's a conference room in the west corner that Oldham provides for athletes or team executives to relax. Some Mariner front-office decisions have been made there. Seahawk players gathered there to laugh at replacement-player games.

The place has had its share of rowdies. One night, a pugnacious member of the Coast Guard entered with many of the Mariners and Yankee players present. He punched a players' wife, triggering a wild bar-against-one brawl. Oldham got caught with a right cross above his left eyebrow.

The next week Mariner Scott Bradley presented him with boxing gloves.

Those kind of nasty scenes were rare, however. Sneakers has a warm, comfortable feel, much like Cheers.

"There were a lot of tears when I told the staff we were closing," Oldham said, "including some by me."

Oldham would like to see Sneakers reborn somewhere else. He is hanging onto the fixtures and keeping the corporation alive.

"I'd like to see it go on, even if I'm not a part of it. It's like a death in the family," he said, "so many upset people. It's real different knowing it's not here anymore."