- For
a man who shuns the spotlight, Clinton "Speedy" Horton Jr.
felt the glare last week.
Not only did he spend more than 10 hours as labor foreman
at the new Denver Broncos stadium on Tuesday - he also threw
out the first pitch at the Colorado Rockies game.
It wasn't a fastball, and it rolled over home plate. But a
standing ovation from his 800 co-workers in the Coors Field
stands wasn't for his throwing style. They were honoring his
legendary work ethic.
"He'd probably rather be working than getting any attention
by throwing out the first pitch," said Emil Konrath, vice
president and operations manager for Turner Construction, one
of the companies building the new Broncos stadium. "But if
anyone deserved the recognition, it's Speedy." Horton's other
bosses agree.
"He's the man; the best," said Mel Johnson, concrete
superintendent.
"He's the first one to get here and the last one to leave,"
said Charlie Thornton, administrative project engineer.
It took weeks to convince Horton, a 36year employee with
Turner, that a little recognition wouldn't tarnish his humble
image.
"Throwing out the first pitch is something U.S. presidents
do, not me," he said.
Horton arrives at the construction site before 6 a.m. and
makes coffee for the early crew.
By the time most of the workers get there, Horton already
has done one walk- through of the construction site and has a
list of duties ready for his crew of 18 men.
Horton and the laborers do the unglamorous work at the
$364.2 million stadium, including cleaning debris from
restrooms under construction, tearing out concrete that needs
to be replaced and filling propane tanks for the welders.
Horton also volunteers as the main barbecue cook for
employee lunches and tailgate parties.
Those duties keep Horton so busy he even missed a group
employee photograph.
"Speedy figures he's here to help build a new football
stadium and he takes that job seriously," said Matt Sugar,
spokesman for the Metropolitan Football Stadium District.
"Most people take a break now and then, but not Speedy."
Horton, 54, has worked on some of Turner's largest projects.
His most memorable include the 80story Amoco building in
Chicago and supervising a crew of 129 workers during
construction of the United Airlines terminal at O'Hare
International Airport.
"My cousin was working for Turner and I was on vacation and
took him to work one day," Horton recalled. "Turner needed
help, so I decided to work during my vacation." That $3.50 an
hour job turned into his career.
"I never have forgotten that I started out as a labor
worker before I became a foreman," Horton said. "I never ask
someone to do something that I haven't done myself several
times over." Horton moved temporarily to Denver from Kansas
City in 1999 when construction of the new stadium began.
Turner is building the 1.7-million-square-foot stadium in
partnership with Empire and Alvarado construction companies.
The tickets to the Rockies game were given to the 800
stadium workers by Turner, HNTB Sports Architecture, the
Broncos and stadium district. The stadium is nearly 60 percent
completed and is scheduled to open in August.
"A lot of people want to work on this project because they
can tell their children and grandchildren for years that they
helped build the Broncos stadium," Konrath said. "But when a
project gets to this point, we need to do all we can to boost
worker morale. There's other jobs out there and we want to
keep our workers." Horton's wife of 28 years, Leona, was at
the Rockies game to lend her husband support. She still lives
in Kansas City but often visits.
"She's had to get used to me missing holidays because of
the job," Horton said. "I've been called to construction sites
on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve. She
understands." Horton traded his signature khaki shirt and
pants at the construction site for a black cowboy hat and
cowboy boots when he threw out the first pitch. He wears the
tan shirt and pants as a reminder of his poor childhood in a
small town in Louisiana.
Horton's parents, Clinton Sr. and Desiree, raised six
children. His father retired from Turner.
"You know, kids can be mean," Horton recalled. "I had just
one pair of jeans and a T-shirt and I had to wear it every
day. So, I convinced my mother to buy me a khaki shirt and
pants. It became my uniform. I only had one but the kids
didn't know it."
The pride Horton has in his ap pearance carries over to the
work site. He told a worker to clean out the back of a pickup
truck when he saw fast-food wrappers and other litter.
"Just 'cause you're a construction worker doesn't mean you
have to wear dirty clothes," he said. "You need to take pride
in how you look and what you do." Horton also has little
patience for employees who are lazy on the job.
"I learned a long time ago that when I come to work the
only thing I have to sell is myself," he said. "If I do the
job, no matter what kind of bosses I have, I should be OK. If
I ever got fired, I would know it had nothing to do with my
work." But there's no chance Horton would get a pink slip from
Turner.
"We rely on Speedy so much," said Gene Fatur, project
manager. "He usually has things done before you need to ask
him." "Speedy gives us peace of mind because we know we can
trust him," Konrath added. "His work ethic is so great that
I've needed to remind him to slow down." Horton isn't sure
where Turner will send him once the stadium opens. He plans to
work a few more years before retirement.
While he doesn't expect to throw out another first pitch,
tossing something is in Horton's future.
"There's one thing I know for sure I'll do when I retire,"
he said. "I'm throwing out my alarm clock."
