Welcome to the Hardcore Husky Forums. Folks who are well-known in Cyberland and not that dumb.
Some thoughts on the late Herb Mead
DerekJohnson
Administrator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 65,398 
I heard earlier today that Herb died in April. He was a longtime Husky booster.
Just thought I'd share some memories.
In the summer of 2007 I received a voice message from Herb. He said he had read my book on Don James and loved it. Kim Grinolds gave him my number and Herb wanted to talk to me about helping him with his memoir.
I called him up and introduced myself. He said he wanted to have a meeting to discuss his book. I said well okay how about sometime next week? Perhaps Wednesday?
Herb said, "Wednesday??? I was thinking more like ONE HOUR FROM NOW!!"
(That summed up Herb in a lot of ways).
I was in Herb's office one Sunday morning that fall after a very difficult UW loss. I want to say it was the 48-41 Arizona collapse, but I can't remember for sure. Herb said he wanted to find out what the hell happened. He picked up the phone to call UW OC Tim Lappano.
Mrs. Lappano answered the phone, and Herb began schmoozing and laying on the charm, winking at me from across the desk. A moment later, Tim got on the phone. Herb started gently probing with questions to find out why this odd play call happened, etc. I was quietly in stitches.
Herb also told me a couple years later about tracking down Steve Sarkisian to get answers to something. Sark answered the phone and said "Well Herb you've got me while I'm recruiting in Hawaii. I'm just about to knock on a recruit's door." Herb felt like Sark was feeling pressured by him, so Herb wanted to walk the fine line but still get answers to his questions.
I did help Herb on his book for awhile. But we would start discussing items on the book, and within ten minutes the conversation would switch over to the Huskies and their woes. Or we would reminisce on the good old days. Herb often said, "Johnson! When you and I get together to talk about the Dawgs, we're like a couple of alcoholics at a bar on a Tuesday morning at 10AM. We're hopeless I tell you!"
Over time I came up with something called "The Bullshit Bell". It was an old fashioned bell that Herb had on his desk for some reason. But whenever our discussions went deep into the weeds about the Huskies, I would shake the Bullshit Bell, meaning it was time to get refocused on the book.
Herb and I both knew Dave Hoffmann. I had told Dave about the Bullshit Bell. Hoff laughed and said, "some day the three of us are going to kick back around the desk to talk about the Dawgs, and we're tossing that Bullshit Bell out into the street!"
Unfortunately, that day never occurred.
Just thought I'd share some memories.
In the summer of 2007 I received a voice message from Herb. He said he had read my book on Don James and loved it. Kim Grinolds gave him my number and Herb wanted to talk to me about helping him with his memoir.
I called him up and introduced myself. He said he wanted to have a meeting to discuss his book. I said well okay how about sometime next week? Perhaps Wednesday?
Herb said, "Wednesday??? I was thinking more like ONE HOUR FROM NOW!!"
(That summed up Herb in a lot of ways).
I was in Herb's office one Sunday morning that fall after a very difficult UW loss. I want to say it was the 48-41 Arizona collapse, but I can't remember for sure. Herb said he wanted to find out what the hell happened. He picked up the phone to call UW OC Tim Lappano.
Mrs. Lappano answered the phone, and Herb began schmoozing and laying on the charm, winking at me from across the desk. A moment later, Tim got on the phone. Herb started gently probing with questions to find out why this odd play call happened, etc. I was quietly in stitches.
Herb also told me a couple years later about tracking down Steve Sarkisian to get answers to something. Sark answered the phone and said "Well Herb you've got me while I'm recruiting in Hawaii. I'm just about to knock on a recruit's door." Herb felt like Sark was feeling pressured by him, so Herb wanted to walk the fine line but still get answers to his questions.
I did help Herb on his book for awhile. But we would start discussing items on the book, and within ten minutes the conversation would switch over to the Huskies and their woes. Or we would reminisce on the good old days. Herb often said, "Johnson! When you and I get together to talk about the Dawgs, we're like a couple of alcoholics at a bar on a Tuesday morning at 10AM. We're hopeless I tell you!"
Over time I came up with something called "The Bullshit Bell". It was an old fashioned bell that Herb had on his desk for some reason. But whenever our discussions went deep into the weeds about the Huskies, I would shake the Bullshit Bell, meaning it was time to get refocused on the book.
Herb and I both knew Dave Hoffmann. I had told Dave about the Bullshit Bell. Hoff laughed and said, "some day the three of us are going to kick back around the desk to talk about the Dawgs, and we're tossing that Bullshit Bell out into the street!"
Unfortunately, that day never occurred.
Comments
Found this little gem looking up what he did for a living.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.seattlepi.com/seattlenews/amp/A-look-at-six-financial-backers-of-UW-sports-teams-1266377.php
Doug Glant
Alma mater: Stanford
Big spender: Glant is the chief executive of Pacific Iron and Metal, a South Seattle scrap yard.
Feeding the Dawgs: Glant was once a big-time booster for the Dawgs -- former coach Jim Lambright is his son's godfather. But he's donated just a few thousand dollars a year lately after a falling out with the university.
Riding high: In the glory days, Glant was on the Tyee Club board, crashed at the team hotel and scouted high school players. He even took a turn as the team photographer. "I gave decent money, but that wasn't the big thing. I was an insider. I was close to the program, and I liked it."
A clash of personalities: Glant quit donating big after a confrontation with university brass during a Rose Bowl appearance. As Glant tells it, he was told to take his advice elsewhere and booted out of the team hotel. He hasn't been back since.
Did he mention his son being disassociated from the program?