Farewell to a Friend: Remembering George Foreman and his ties to RTDNA
By Loren Tobia
When you say the name George Foreman, most people think of the grill. Older people remember him as the heavyweight champion of the world. When I hear his name, I think of a friend, an entrepreneur, a man of faith and family who gave so much for others.
I came to know George through my dear friend Barney Oldfield. Barney was the founder of the Radio Television Digital News Foundation (now the RTDNA Foundation), and one of the most important men in George’s life. Barney was a newspaperman, radio commentator, and expert in public relations. His clients included Ronald Reagan, Elizabeth Taylor and Errol Flynn among others. George Foreman was not Barney’s client, but became his dear friend.
As George told me, he was a wayward, trouble-making boy who had lost his way. In 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson created the U.S. Job Corps with a mission of teaching young people academic and vocational skills. Barney Oldfield was one of the sponsors of the program and that is how the two met. It was an instant connection. Barney and his wife, Vada, loved our country and its youth and wanted to do anything to help people achieve greatness. Barney and Vada saw something special in George.
Barney mentored this 15-year-old troubled boy. As George would say, Barney and Vada helped him out of the gutter. George and Barney became best friends for life. They were together when George won Olympic Gold in 1968. George is remembered for waving that American flag in the ring after the fight; Barney had instilled in him that love of country.
Barney’s skills in public relations also helped George turn his public image from a feared man ultimately into a teddy bear. It was an amazing marketing feat. In fact, part of George’s email address included “big fuzzy.” Barney convinced George that he should establish a scholarship at RTDNA. It made perfect sense for George to name the scholarship in honor of President Johnson. You see, George never forgot the people who helped him. George also established a scholarship for Barney at Oldfield’s alma mater, the University of Nebraska.
People in Tecumseh, Nebraska, where Barney was born, still talk about the day that Barney brought Big George Foreman to town. It was a huge celebration for both men. One of the most difficult calls I had to make was to George in 2003 to tell him that his mentor had passed away. George took time that week to travel to Beverly Hills for a memorial. Later, I sent him Barney’s signature red jacket, which he treasured.
That same year, 2003, I was with George when he was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame. As we sat in his hotel suite, we started discussing how to honor their friendship. He decided to make a significant donation to the RTDNA Foundation to make sure aspiring young journalists would forever get scholarships from the organization — Barney’s vision and George’s. He did this anonymously, as he did most of his giving.
George and I stayed close. When young students won his LBJ yearly scholarship, I would call George so he could tell them congratulations. It was a special moment for George and the winner. George would ask me to send pictures of my grandkids, and we often talked about his. I remember when my father was in the hospital with a knee replacement gone bad with infection, George sent him a signed boxing glove and the message to keep fighting.
George finally lost his own fight, but his giving will live on in the causes he believed in, including the RTNDA Foundation, started by his mentor and lifelong friend Barney Oldfield.
I will miss our friendship, dear George, but you are now resting upstairs in peace.
Loren Tobia is a former news executive and holds the distinction as the longest-serving treasurer in RTDNA history. He retired from that role in 2022.