8601070586 DETROIT FREE PRESS 860213 Thursday, February 13, 1986 METRO FINAL

SPT

1E Photo MITCH ALBOM Copyright (c) 1986, Detroit Free Press WOULD-BE LOAN OFFICER IS PAYING OFF FOR WINGS I get around. I hear stories. I have heard of a one-legged skier and a midget baseball player. I have heard of a boxing promoter with electric hair. I have heard of The Chicken. I have never heard of a hockey player whose career almost ended because his agent died. His agent died? "What happened?" I ask. "Normie was pretty old," the player says. "Normie," I repeat. I am hearing some strange things. I am hearing stories too weird to be lies. I am sitting with Jim Leavins, age 25, and he is telling me how he came to be a Detroit Red Wings defenseman. I am nodding my head. But I'm not sure why. "After Normie passed away there was nobody to contact the teams about me," he says, "so I just went home. To Dinsmore." "Dinsmore?" I ask. "Saskatchewan," he says. "Saskatchewan," I repeat. I have seen a few places. I have seen Texas. I have seen Yugoslavia. I have seen New Jersey from every exit on its turnpike. I have seen Green Bay. I have never seen Dinsmore, Saskatchewan. No. I would have remembered that one. "A big town?" I ask. "Only 450 people," he says. "We have a cafe. The Dinsmore Cafe. And a hotel. The Dinsmore Hotel. And a credit union." "The Dinsmore Credit Union?" I say. "That's right," he says. "I applied for a job there last September." "A job," I repeat. Got the call at YMCA We are talking about Jim Leavins, aren't we? The hockey player? The guy who set up a beautiful goal by Reed Larson Tuesday night against Edmonton? The guy Red Wings coach Brad Park calls "the best puck-handling defenseman on the team" ? That's he, right? That Jim Leavins? "What kind of job?" I ask. "Loan officer," he says. "Loan officer," I repeat. I have heard of a pitcher who plays the saxophone. I have heard of a football player selling flowers. I have heard of a heavyweight champion who is now a priest. I have never heard of a hockey player as a loan officer. I am hearing it now. "Did you take the job?" I ask. "No, that's when I got the phone call," he says. "The phone call," I repeat. The phone call was from Bill Dineen, who coaches the Adirondack Red Wings in the American Hockey League. They needed a defenseman. Dineen remembered Leavins from the latter's college days at the University of Denver. Leavins -- who still lacked an agent outside the spiritual world -- signed for a 15-game tryout. "I wasn't doing anything anyhow," he says. "Right," I say. He stayed with Adirondack a few months. He got $225 a game. The players traveled by bus. Played in Hershey and Glens Falls. He was happy. Then the Red Wings called. They wanted to bring him up. It was a big moment. A thrill of a lifetime. "Where were you when they called?" I ask. "In the YMCA," he says. "The YMCA," I repeat. Found a healthy agent I have heard of schoolyards. I have heard of street corners. I have heard of Hollywood and Vine, where they discover the actors. The YMCA? "We were playing basketball," he says. "Basketball," I repeat. He took the call in the gym. Four hours later he was on a plane to Detroit. The next night he started for the Red Wings against New Jersey. That was a month ago. He has been here since. He has played well. He has found an agent. A younger agent. In good health. The Red Wings are negotiating a new contract for him. "How are the negotiations going?" I ask. "I don't know," he says. "I hope OK." "You hope OK," I repeat. I have heard of quarterbacks in panty hose. I have heard of Dinka tribesmen playing basketball. I have heard of a boxer named Willie the Worm. I have heard of Refrigerators and Spuds. I have heard of The Iron Sheik. I have never heard of a would-be loan officer from Dinsmore, Saskatchewan, who went from his living room to the best puck-handling defenseman on the Detroit Red Wings in less than six months. That is, until now. "This is quite a story," I say. "Thank you," he says. "A real Horatio Alger tale," I say. "Never heard of him," he says. CUTLINE Jim Leavins olumn; Jim Leavins; DRedWings; biography; hockey