I ran across this brief story that was printed in the New York Times in July of 1986 that I thought you might enjoy. How times have changed….
How much is a beard worth? To Bert Blyleven, the Minnesota Twins’ pitcher, $50 a day. The Twins have a rule against beards and have never had a bearded player. So when Blyleven was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the Twins last August, he shaved the beard he had worn for years. Now he misses the beard, saying it was ”a happy thing” during more successful times. According to The Minneapolis Star and Tribune, Blyleven asked Howard Fox, the club president, for permission to grow a beard. Fox said it would cost Blyleven a $50 daily fine to be paid to charities of his choosing. Blyleven agreed and said the money should go to the United Way and to buy Twins tickets for senior citizens. If he keeps the beard until the end of the season, it will cost him $5,000. His salary this year is $1.3 million.