Harris’ many sides

When Charles Harris says, “I’ve lived a couple different lives,” he’s probably selling himself short by a few lives, more or less.

There’s the Charles Harris who lived in Chicago until age 11, moved to the Bay Area where he went to high school before moving south and graduating from UC Irvine.

And there’s the Charles Harris who has spent much of his career in sports management, working for the Dodgers, Angels and Ducks, while also having a special connection to sports information departments at the college level.

And there’s the Charles Harris who took the advice of Vin Scully and went to Israel, spending eight years there, learning to speak Hebrew and building a successful marketing and communications company.

And last but not least, there’s the Charles Harris who is just “dad,” father of two children raising his family with his wife in Irvine.

Harris’ resume is long, diverse and interesting, especially considering he is still just 45.

He currently spends his time serving as an adjunct professor and internship coordinator for the Long Beach State Sports Management Program, is a frequent guest lecturer at colleges up and down the west coast, and has developed a website, sportsinfo101.com, a sports business blog created for those interested in working in the sports management industry.

So how did Charles Harris become Charles Harris?

It all started with a stroll to the athletics office when he was a student at UC Irvine in 1983.

“I was writing for the student paper and I discovered in the SID (sports information department) office they got paid to work in sports,” Harris recalled. “So I stumbled into the SID office and asked if they had any jobs. They said no. Any internships? No. So I created the first internship at UCI in media relations.”

By 1985, while still a student at UCI, he worked as a media relations assistant for the Angels under Tim Mead. “I would take my school books to the press box,” Harris said.

After graduating from UCI he used his experience with the Angels and became assistant director of publicity with the Dodgers under Jay Lucas, which in turn led to his eight-year stint in Israel.

Say what?

“I was with the Dodgers and we were on our Friendship Tour to Taiwan,” said Harris, who is Jewish. “We were on a plane ride and Vin Scully told me I should go to Israel, that it was a great trip and he’d been there six times.”

After the strike-shortened 1994 season, Harris resigned from his post with the Dodgers and went to Israel.

“I was going to go for six months and ended up staying eight years,” he said. “I didn’t know anybody and I didn’t know the language. But I took a Hebrew language course that was 41/2 hours a day, and I was speaking Hebrew in two months.”

Harris began consulting for a small firm but soon had acquired enough connections to open up his own agency.

“Technology in the mid-90s was a blossoming sector, but the people I was consulting there were working on typewriters,” Harris said. “Technology was where the money was, and it’s where I created my niche.”

And there still was the Charles Harris who had a deep passion for sports, and particularly baseball. And for a while, he held the rights to market Major League Baseball in Israel, Jordan and Palestinian Territories.

He also joined a fastpitch softball league.

“It was like ‘Field of Dreams,’” he said. “The field was in the middle of nowhere, and all of a sudden there’s these lights shining on an American-type field, and these Israelis are speaking Hebrew while playing softball.”

By 2001, Harris said technology funding began to subside, so it was “just time to come back” to the United States.

He came back to Orange County, and was working as director of corporate communications with the Anaheim Ducks when they reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2003, losing in seven games to New Jersey.

All of his experiences over the years led him to develop sportsinfo101.com, combining his knowledge in technology with his connections in the sports world to provide a source of valuable information.

“I’ve always been asked about working in sports, about how to get into the business, how do you do it,” he said. “This can be a great resource for people who want into the business.”

Harris not only offers his own experience, but regularly features a Q-and-A with sports industry professionals. Past interviews include Fred Claire, former GM of the Dodgers, Jeff Idelson, president of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Bill Robertson, vice president of the Minnesota Wild, Jim Small, vice president with Major League Baseball, and others.

“Marketing is my passion,” Harris said. “You never really know where your passion is going to take you. I’ve been lucky enough to work in college athletics, in professional baseball, professional hockey, and I’m enjoying teaching in Long Beach. Who knows what will happen next.”