Wednesday, May 23, 2001 | 9:56 a.m.
Rich Abajian says his employees work so hard, they wouldn't have time to play on a company baseball, basketball or football team.
Other companies that have sports teams should be thankful they don't have to compete against Abajian's bunch.
"As a matter of fact, if there's another store in town that thinks they have a better athletic group than we do, then they just need to throw it out and see what happens," Odis Allison, operations manager for Findlay Toyota, playfully said while smiling. "How about that?"
Abajian, a former defensive back for Nevada-Reno and former assistant UNLV football coach, is the general manager for Findlay Toyota.
There are at least 10 former athletes now working at the Henderson dealership.
Allison, a former UNLV basketball player and assistant coach, and former major league pitcher Bo Belinsky are among the retired athletes employed by Findlay Toyota.
Within the Findlay Automotive Group, which consists of 15 dealerships across three states, there are even more former athletes on the payroll.
So it's fitting that the new home of the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame is on the second floor of Findlay Toyota. Behind the Saturn on West Sahara, another Findlay dealership, Belinsky and other pros used to give clinics to local kids and youth baseball teams.
Retired athletes become car salesmen or work in the automotive industry for various reasons, but necessity seems to be a common one.
"Most athletes get into the car business, it's more or less out of desperation," Belinsky said. "You don't wake up one day getting out of high school and saying, 'I think I'll become a car salesperson.'
"But with some guys like Rich, he makes it a science. I mean you can make a real good living and profession out of it."
Others agree.
Former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway owns several car dealerships and New York Knicks swingman Latrell Sprewell owns Sprewell Racing, a custom car shop specializing in wheels and high performance tires.
Three-time All-Star first baseman Nate Colbert, who spent the bulk of his major league career with the San Diego Padres, has sold cars at Saturn of West Sahara, and two-time batting champion Bill Madlock has worked in the marketing department at Findlay Toyota.
After Belinsky's eight-year career ended in 1970, he moved to Hawaii and starting selling cars in 1986, after Ed Susihu, the general manager of a Dodge dealership, offered him a job while they were playing golf.
Belinsky discovered what a lucrative job selling cars could be and moved to Las Vegas 11 years ago. In May 1991, he began working at the Saturn on West Sahara before transferring to Findlay Toyota a year ago.
"The things that are important in sports are the same in business: hard work, loyalty, enthusiasm, attitude, focus, setting and achieving goals," Abajian said. "I think if you work in the car business, it's a benefit to have played athletics because to be a good athlete, you had to practice hard, work in the off-season and do a lot of individual preparation."
Cliff Findlay, a sixth-generation Nevadan and president of the Findlay Automotive Group who played basketball at UNLV, turned down an opportunity to play in the NBA for the Portland Trail Blazers to work in his father's car business, which will earn a projected $300 million this year.
Jim DiGuilio, a new car manager at Findlay Toyota, was a punter at Indiana from 1991-94. The two-time first team All-Big 10 selection still holds school records for longest punt and single-game punting average.
Like many collegiate athletes, DiGuilio dreamed of turning pro, but because he blew out his knee before his senior season and admitted to having "an average" final year, he knew he had to find another career.
"Athletics tend to develop certain fundamentals you need to sell," DiGuilio said. "At the risk of sounding like a cliche, it's competitiveness, desire and discipline.
"Those are things sports develop and if you attain a fairly high level at sports, chances are you did certain things to get there. That's the same thing here, it's like going to practice."
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