How Robert F. Kennedy’s life and death galvanized an NFL star

That affability made Kennedy a hit on the campaign trail in 1968. He won primaries in Indiana and Nebraska before scoring his biggest victory with a win in California on the night of June 4, 1968. Winning California meant Kennedy could likely force Minnesota senator Eugene McCarthy out of the race and take on vice president Hubert Humphrey directly at that year’s Democratic National Convention. (President Lyndon Johnson had decided not to run for re-election in March of that year.) Roughly five years after the assassination of his brother, President John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy was priming himself to move forward with the dreams JFK once envisioned for this country.

Grier actually had the day off when he decided to drive over to the Ambassador Hotel to see the final results of the California primary. Once he found his way into the candidate’s suite, Grier felt an immense sense of pride as the state turned in favor of Kennedy, who had heavy support from young people, the working class, blacks and Latinos. The joy in the entire room escalated after news spread about the impending victory. Minutes later, Grier was following Kennedy into a crowded service elevator heading toward a press conference on the first floor.

While jammed against an array of supporters, Grier couldn’t help himself. He smiled and jabbed Kennedy in the stomach, just as the senator had done to him during their first encounter in Washington, D.C., months earlier.

“I told him that we got this,” Grier said. “It was in the hole.”

Grier stared intently as Cydnee showed him an array of photos that represented how the RFK school library compared to the Ambassador Hotel ballroom in 1968. The arched ceiling remains in place, but everything else about the room is different today. The stage where Grier and other supporters surrounded Kennedy is now a counter where kids can check out books. The kitchen where Kennedy took his final steps has transformed into a study room. Aside from the ceiling, the only other thing that hadn’t changed in that space was the impact it had on Grier.

“[There were] people all over the place,” Grier said, while scanning the room in hopes of remembering details. “[I was standing] behind Ethel … and then Bobby made a speech.”

It was just around midnight when Kennedy stepped to the podium to celebrate his win. He thanked a variety of campaign advisers, doted on his wife and joked that Grier was on the stage to take care of anybody who didn’t vote for the senator. Grier chuckled at the line, but his focus at that point was sharply on Ethel, who was pregnant with a child who would become Robert and Ethel’s daughter, Rory. Kennedy’s security team had told Grier to be her bodyguard for that evening.

What Grier remembered most vividly about that night was the plan that was in place after Kennedy finished talking. Kennedy was supposed to head to his left when he departed the stage, which is where Grier and Ethel had been standing. Instead, Kennedy and Schrade jumped off the dais and veered right toward the kitchen. Grier maintained that former FBI agent Bill Barry, Kennedy’s head of security, called the audible at the last minute.