Wenatchee’s Jerry Garcia Talks Flag Football, Annual Turkey Bowl

There's no crying in football, but evidently there's plenty of giving.

Jerry "The Window Guy" Garcia, of Wenatchee, is a staunch believer in sports as a vehicle for social good. (Why the avuncular nickname? Garcia is the proprietor of a residential window cleaning service.) For 10 years and counting, he has been head organizer of the Turkey Bowl, an all-ages, five-on-five flag football tournament held on Thanksgiving.

"A Turkey Bowl is where adults, young kids, high school kids can all come together to play the game America loves," Garcia says. "But at the same time, everybody has to donate a brand new toy." Garcia then disperses the freebies among participating schools in the Wenatchee Valley.

Get our free mobile app

This is a precondition for hitting the gridiron. Each player must donate a toy worth $10 or more; it can't be a moth-eaten hand-me-down, bowed by Father Time.

"No cash [donations] at all," Garcia says flatly. "And since I'm a business owner, I actually pay the team captains. It's $300 for the first-place captain and $100 for second place." (The other prize at stake is a piece of bronze donated by Haglund's.)

The rules of Turkey Bowl play are similarly unbreachable. Each team is limited to eight players. Rosters are final and binding; if, for example, you find yourself down a player because someone had to leave during halftime, that's just too bad.

Another disqualifier: tardiness. Anyone who shows up late will be benched. But far from a power-drunk rulemeister, Garcia has good reason to impose the stipulations he does.

Last year, he says, an offensive stud arrived unannounced late in the day. By then the opposing team's defense was exhausted and could not contain the fresh-legged receiver, who scored two explosive touchdowns. Garcia considers this an affront to notions of fair play.

Kickoff is set for 8 a.m. Thursday at Wenatchee High School.