BUCKINGHAM — Former San Diego Chargers and New Orleans Saints running back Chuck Muncie, a three-time All-Pro, has been added to the lineup for Saturday”s 11th annual Pepsi Celebrity Quarterback Golf Shootout at Buckingham Golf and Country Club.
That announcement came Tuesday from Shootout founder Greg Bennett, the general manager of Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa.
“He”s living in the Bay Area and he”s excited about coming back up here,” Bennett said of the former Cal star, who has participated in the Shootout in previous years.
Muncie, who played from 1976 to 1984, was one of the top running backs in the NFL in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He joins a star-studded Shootout lineup that includes two members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Oakland Raiders wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff and Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Deacon Jones, as well as future Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, the longtime wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers (the complete list of Shootout stars is at right).
“The helmets are here and the jerseys and footballs are either here or on the way,” Bennett said of the avalanche of Shootout memorabilia that will be available at Konocti Harbor and at Buckingham on Saturday. The morning flight tees off at 8:30 a.m. and the afternoon flight tees off at approximately noon.
“A lot of the celebrities will be coming up here early so that they can enjoy themselves,” Bennett said. “It”s like Big Game week, you can feel the adrenaline flowing as we get closer to Saturday,” Bennett said. “It”s going to be an incredible weekend.”
Bennett said one of the favorite parts of each Shootout — or at least each Shootout that former Raider quarterback great Kenny Stabler is a part of — is the “1 a.m. meeting” that “The Snake” likes to call at Konocti Harbor for fellow Shootout participants and fans.
Many of those fans became acquainted with Stabler and other Raider players of that era during Oakland”s former training days at the old El Rancho Tropicana in Santa Rosa, according to Bennett, and many of them can”t wait to get together with Stabler during his Shootout visits.
“He (Stabler) told me he”s resting up, I guess for the Shootout, but maybe for the 1 a.m. meeting,” Bennett joked. “He has a good time when he”s up here and we love having him.”
The Pool and Pairings Party on Friday night at Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa officially kicks off the Shootout weekend. Amateur golfers will learn at that time which of the NFL stars they have been paired with for Saturday”s tournament at Buckingham.
