Ed McCabe- I'm not a football hero.

http://wizbangsports.com/2008/04/ed_mccabe_im_not_a_football_he.

Another story from the wild and wacky world of Florida.

JUPITER -- For years, Ed McCabe has worn the No. 29 jersey of the Oakland Raiders to raise money for charities benefitting sick children and cancer research.

As a volunteer, he organized fund-raising golf tournaments for Palm Beach County's NFL Alumni chapter while passing out autographed photos of No. 29 sprinting down a football field.

Ed McCabe Did volunteer work with NFL Alumni while passing himself off as a former player for the Oakland Raiders.

Jean Fischer, president of the Cancer Alliance, with a signed photo that says, 'Ed McCabe '80 AFC Champs.' McCabe handed out autographed photos at a 2006 event at Jupiter High to benefit the charity.

"Ed McCabe, 29, '80 AFC champs," he signed them.

Thirteen players have worn No. 29 for the Raiders during the team's storied seasons in Oakland and Los Angeles. But Ed McCabe, a local mortgage broker who once peddled BMWs on Okeechobee Boulevard, isn't one of them.

Florida's new cottage industry- You can fool other people into thinking you were a former professional athlete. We had the story of a person who died in central Florida last year who claimed to be former MLB Bill Henry. The real Henry was still alive in Texas.

McCabe fooled people for over a decade. Are people that gullible to believe it was him in the Raiders photo? Take a look at the two photos in this post and share your thoughts.

Today we find out more about the photographs McCabe would autograph.

When Ed McCabe masqueraded as a retired professional football player, he lifted the image of one of the most colorful and controversial characters of the NFL.

McCabe, who organized charity golf tournaments while pretending to be a former Oakland Raider, downloaded a photograph of Bill Romanowski, who played for the Raiders from 2002 to 2003.

Ed McCabe altered a photo of former Oakland Raider linebacker Bill Romanowski, changing the No. 53 to the No. 29 that accompanied his autograph.



McCabe altered the No. 53 to his fantasy league No. 29. And, voilà, Romanowski was transformed into Ed McCabe, who claimed to be a member of the Raiders during their 1980 championship season.

When you're going to steal, steal big my father taught me. McCabe did just that. Romanowski had a quite a reputation when playing in the NFL. It wasn't for being Mr. Nice Guy. Romo promised not to beat up McCabe but did say the whole incident is sad.

I agree. Romanowski also made this nice gesture.

Romanowski said he wants to turn a negative into a positive, and is inviting anyone with a McCabe autographed photo to contact him on his blog (billromanowskiblog.com), and receive a free autographed copy of his book Romo.

Sounds like a good deal to me. The rest of today's Palm Beach Post article is below the fold