Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 22, 1993 TAG: 9310220016
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Olderman, who was 31, was an All-ACC guard and played on UVa's first bowl team in the 1984 Peach Bowl. He was suffering from Castleman's Disease, a cancer-like affliction that attacks the lymphatic system.
Virginia head coach George Welsh and other members of his staff visited Olderman at St. Joseph's Hospital before UVa's Sept. 18 game against Georgia Tech and sent him the game ball from the Cavaliers' 35-14 victory.
Olderman was released from the hospital less than a week later, and he recently traveled to Houston to undergo tests at a cancer-research center.
"Maybe I misinterpreted the information I received," said former UVa coach Dick Bestwick, who recruited Olderman, "but it looked like he was getting better."
Olderman was a letterman from 1982-84 and was one of the captains of the 1984 team. He was selected by Kansas City in the fourth round of the NFL draft and started for the Chiefs in 1985.
"I remember seeing him in Kansas City after he made the All-Rookie team and joking with him that he ought to send me 10 percent of his contract," said Bestwick, who is an assistant to Georgia athletic director Vince Dooley.
Olderman later had back problems and was released by Kansas City and Denver. The father of a 9-month-old son, he was working in the real estate business in Atlanta.
"I remember what a competitor he was and how upset he was at being redshirted [in 1980]," Bestwick said. "We had a lot of injuries that year and he found it frustrating that he couldn't help the team."
by CNB