Nearly a year ago, early in the process of putting together the Rev. Billy Graham's Cincinnati mission, local organizers met and detailed a list of qualifications for a chairman.

        They were looking for a high-profile personality, but not a controversial one. The core group of ministers, of course, wanted at the head of the mission a person whose past conduct and lifestyle were beyond reproach.

Former Bengal Anthony Munoz listens to the Rev. Billy Graham speak Tuesday during the Rev. Mr. Graham's tour of Paul Brown Stadium. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        They also needed someone who could help bring together a divided black and white Cincinnati.

        “We couldn't think of anybody better than Anthony Munoz,” said the Rev. Damon Lynch Jr., a mission committee vice chairman who was in the meeting.

        Ten months later, organizers say they made the right choice in Mr. Munoz, a Pro Football Hall of Fame member whose Hispanic ethnicity has helped him unify blacks and whites alike behind the mission.

        Mr. Munoz, 43, has lived up to their lofty expectations and made key contributions to the preparation for the Greater Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Billy Graham Mission, which begins its four-day run Thursday night at Paul Brown Stadium.

        If some organizers were satisfied to have a well-liked point man to lend his big name, they've received much more from Mr. Munoz. Even as an unpaid volunteer, he approached his mission role with the same thoroughness that made the former Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman one of the best players in NFL history.

        He has attended two sets of regular meetings, made out-of-town trips to collect information, promoted the mission in the media, appeared in ads, donated his four-digit public speaking fee to the local Graham organization, and done virtually everything else that has been asked of him.

        And he has devoted himself to the mission while organizing his own Anthony Munoz Foundation, which will benefit youths in Cincinnati's most impoverished neighborhoods. Even as the Graham visit grew near, Mr. Munoz played host this past weekend to his first celebrity block party, which included a golf tournament and a youth football camp.

Anthony Munoz lends a stabilizing hand Tuesday to the Rev. Billy Graham as the evangelist welcomes media and others to his tour of Paul Brown Stadium in preparation for his four-day mission, which begins Thursday. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        “Often times, Anthony is associated with a project for his name,” said Jeff Anderson, the Cincinnati mission director who has worked for the Rev. Mr. Graham for 26 years. “The thing about this mission, you can get into it as much as you want. Anthony has jumped into this with both feet.”

        Big feet. Big man (6 feet, 6 inches). Big heart.

        “It really humbled me. I've always been a Billy Graham fan,” Mr. Munoz said. “But I guess the reason I took it so seriously was I have the passion (pastors) have. That's how people's lives will change, through the message Billy Graham will bring.”

        His appreciation for the Rev. Mr. Graham's efforts to win people's souls for Jesus stems from Mr. Munoz's personal Christian conversion in 1978. It was then that he and his wife, DeDe, dedicated their lives to Jesus.

        “My life changed, and it continues to be a process,” said Mr. Munoz, who will give his testimony Thursday night. “The thing I've tried to do, and it's not easy, is try to be consistent in that walk. Last year, out of the blue, they called me to be a part of this, and it's a result of my attempt to be consistent.”

        Said DeDe Munoz: “The truth is Anthony's talent is a gift from God. I think he's trying to say a thank-you.”'

ANTHONY MUNOZ ON ...

• The Rev. Billy Graham: “The neat thing is you see this gentleman, who's starting to look pretty fragile, but when he took the podium (in Fresno, Calif., last fall), there was a transformation in him. That's when you know the power of prayer and the anointing he has. That's why I'm excited about him being here for four days in this city.”     • His hope for the mission: “My hope is the same any time people hear the Gospel message, for changed hearts. That's what I've said all along. You can look at the organization, but when you look at the individual's heart, that's where it happens. Hopefully, we can fill the stadium, and there will be new commitments. And those of us who have been walking that journey, recommitments.”     • Giving his testimony on opening night: “I always get excited when I have that opportunity. Sure, it's different, but I have such a passion for the message. I try to be transparent when I share that. As far as being nervous, no, not yet. Ask me that night. Maybe when I take the podium, my knees will be shaking.”     • His role as mission chairman: “They call me the boss and say they're working for me. But I think that's far from the truth. We're a team. Yeah, I preside over the meetings. But with that group, the job is not that difficult when you have all those individuals sitting there, with the experience and the wisdom.”     • His own Christian faith: “I'm just one beggar trying to lead another.”

        Beside his reputation as a Christian and devoted family man, Mr. Munoz was attractive to the local Graham committee because of his ethnicity. In the aftermath of the April 2001 racial unrest that ripped the city apart, committee members wanted a person who could have a unifying effect.

        “To pull black and white together, we needed to have brown. Anthony kind of stays above the fray,” explained the Rev. Larry Davis, the white pastor of First Baptist Church in Cold Spring, where the idea to invite the Rev. Mr. Graham to the Tristate was born.

        Mr. Munoz said he also is aware of the advantage that comes with his Mexican heritage in working to bridge racial gaps in Greater Cincinnati. His role with the Graham mission has reminded Mr. Munoz of what he and a former Bengals teammate, Max Montoya (also Hispanic), tried to do in the locker room.

        “It was kind of a joke we had in the locker room. Me and Max, we weren't black, we weren't white. We were just trying to bring people together.”

        Mr. Munoz grew up in the southern California city of Ontario, a diverse place. He had close friends who were African-American and white, as well as other Hispanics.

        “I believe that is something God blessed me with,” said Mr. Munoz, whose family has been accepted in overwhelmingly white Mason, where they make their home. “I can also go to Over-the-Rhine (or some other largely black neighborhood) and get a great reception and welcome.

        “The primary thing is my faith. Secondary being the football (celebrity). But, sure, the racial makeup has been a blessing for this whole process.”

        Mr. Munoz had that talent to draw people to him even as a Bengals player from 1980 through 1992. One of his former teammates is Solomon Wilcots, a former defensive back who is now a television sports broadcaster.

        Mr. Munoz is known for an ability — which he says is God-given — to avoid using profanity. Throughout the locker room, Mr. Wilcots said, players would swear — but not near Mr. Munoz.

        “It wasn't fear. It was respect for the way Anthony was walking his walk,” Mr. Wilcots says. “He was never outspoken. He exhibited his beliefs.”

        Shortly after being selected chairman of the Graham mission in Cincinnati, Mr. Munoz called Mr. Wilcots and asked his former teammate to join the organization's general committee as a co-chairman of the student committee.

        “When Anthony Munoz calls and asks, you can't say no,” Mr. Wilcots says.

        Earlier in the spring, the Rev. Mr. Lynch and Mr. Munoz were part of a small Graham contingent that visited all of the region's major media outlets in a three-day period.

        “Everybody knows him wherever he goes,” the Rev. Mr. Lynch said. “The atmosphere is different whenever he walks into a room because he commands that kind of respect.”

        Mr. Munoz said he saw the media visits as an opportunity to promote the Rev. Mr. Graham and his message of Christian salvation.

        “As a member of the Bengals, I had a desire and passion to go out and help the team win,” he said. “I want to be on this team that's about getting people to look at the Gospel message. That's what excited me about going around to the media. Here's a guy who was looked at as a pro football player, but let me share with you something far more significant.”

        Mr. Munoz respects football and the NFL. He was an All-Pro selection for 11 consecutive seasons, played in two Super Bowls, was named to the league's 75th anniversary team as one of the top three offensive tackles, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998.

        He puts his football accomplishments into perspective.

        “Those,” he said, “are for the duration of my life here on earth. This mission is for eternity.”

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