Jobs Wanted : Four Ex-CSUN Football Players Share Apartment, Professional Dreams

There is, living under one rather small roof, a Ram, a Rooster and a Cobra. Talk about Animal House.

Remember the old television series, Room 222? Welcome to apartment 222, Lindley House, a jock’s equivalent of a crash pad.

In truth, there are no animals taking up residence here, just four former Cal State Northridge football players living with a collective dream big enough to fill Anaheim Stadium. And, speaking of that 69,000-seat hunk of concrete, wouldn’t it be something to strap on the pads and play there someday?

One of the apartment’s occupants may soon get the chance. In December, Steve Dominic, a 6-foot-5, 265-pound muscle of a man, signed a free-agent contract with the Rams. For the other three--Brian Clark, Mike Kane and Reggie Wauls, all teammates of Dominic’s at Northridge two seasons ago--well, there’s always hope.

Clark, a two-time All-Western Football Conference selection at center, was a starter for the Los Angeles Cobras arena football team last season. Kane starred as a running back for the EuroBowl champion Helsinki Roosters, a professional team from Finland. And Wauls? He is staying in top shape, too, just in case some team needs a linebacker.

“What we have here is a player’s lounge,” Clark says.

The same four men have been roommates for more than three years. The arrangement was borne out of practicality--Lindley House is across the street from North Campus Stadium, CSUN’s home field--but that is not the reason it has survived.

“My roommates are really good guys,” Clark says. “They’re easy to get along with. We’ve had some good times here.”

“We all pretty much have the same interests,” Dominic adds.

He is referring to football, of course. Of the four, Dominic, a defensive tackle, would appear to have the best chance at earning a spot on the roster of a National Football League team. He was a cut by the New York Giants late in training camp last season, but his play attracted the attention of the Rams, who offered him a free-agent contract last November.

Dominic took the bid to the Giants, who matched the offer to retain Dominic’s services. But when the Rams upped the ante, the Giants let him go.

“I feel I’ll have more of an opportunity this year,” said Dominic, who will begin working out in Anaheim later this month. “The Giants were pretty well established on defense already. The Rams have a few positions open.”

Joining Dominic in the Rams’ camp will be Chris Parker, CSUN’s starting quarterback in 1985 and ’86. Parker signed as a free agent three weeks ago but, unlike Dominic, he did very little negotiating. There was no signing bonus, only a standard agreement that says he will be paid according to the length of time he survives the cuts.

Last season, Parker played for the London Capitals of the Budweiser League in England. He was the league’s second-rated passer with 30 touchdowns and only six interceptions. The previous year, Parker had tried out with Winnipeg and Edmonton of the Canadian Football League but failed to earn a trip to training camp.

“You would think my best chance would have been that year,” Parker says. “I was right out of college and pressure situations. Going to Europe and then coming back and signing seems funny to me. I thought I was on my way out and now all of a sudden I’m right there in the limelight and getting my chance.”

Clark had planned to play arena football again this season before the league announced last month that it was suspending operations for a year.

Two weeks ago he attended a tryout session for the Chargers in San Diego. Of the 200 players invited, only two were signed, but Clark was among the few who made every cut but the final one. At the same tryout were five of his former Northridge teammates--wide receiver Charles Collins, outside linebackers Lou Green and Ken Lesure and defensive tackles Dester Stowers and Anthony Birts.

Kane, somewhat surprisingly, still has not received as much as a tryout offer. After rewriting almost all of the Northridge rushing records in 1986, Kane, a Division II All-American, assumed that some type of professional offer would await him.

He was wrong. But after sitting out a year, he played in Finland last season and quickly regained star status. Kane may never play pro football in the U. S., but at least he can say he was the vocal point of an NFL halftime feature.

During intermission of last August’s Rams-Broncos exhibition game in London, highlights of the EuroBowl--Europe’s equivalent of the Super Bowl--were shown. Kane, who rushed for 198 yards and four touchdowns in the game, was the star of the segment.

But since returning home, “it’s been the same old story,” he says.

“I knew they still wouldn’t be breaking down my door,” Kane said of NFL scouts. “I knew I was adding to my credentials, but that’s about all. I’ve done all I can do. Now it’s out of my hands.”

Clark feels much the same way about the chances of attaining his professional goal. “I’m going to keep my fingers crossed,” he says. “If it was meant to be, it’ll happen. If not, life goes on.”

Sounds like an appropriate motto for the team in 222.