‘ Like a Big Brother ’
Friends and clients remember the life of Virginia-based sports agent John Mascatello , who died in June at age 61 by LEONARD SHAPIRO
B eth Ann Mascatello used to joke that whenever the phone rang in their Middleburg , Va ., home after 11 p . m ., she and her husband , John , often feared the worst — that one of his long-time clients had gotten himself into yet another mess .
That client was an immensely talented but often troubled golfer nicknamed “ Wild Thing ,” otherwise known as John Daly . Over the last 30 years , they answered plenty of calls — day or night — concerning one of Daly ’ s controversial escapades involving booze , brawls or some other boorish behavior .
Still , Mascatello and his colleagues at Los Angeles-based Wasserman , one of the country ’ s most prestigious entertainment and sports marketing and management firms , continued to represent Daly through thick , though rarely thin .
After all , Mascatello and Bud Martin , his then partner in Cambridge Sports International , the firm they started three decades ago , had signed Daly in 1991 . It was only a few months before the mostly unknown and prodigiously long-hitting player stunned the golf world when he — as the ninth alternate — won the PGA Championship at Crooked Stick outside Indianapolis .. It was only the third major of his career .
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26 V IRGINIA G OLFER | S EPTEMBER / O CTOBER 2021
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