From a Cardboard Box to the Yankees Dugout | Willie Alfonso | The Upgrade w Joe Adevai #011

Pastor Joe sits down with his friend and brother in the faith, Chaplain Willie Alfonso, one of the most decorated sports chaplains in American history. Willie grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn with an abusive, alcoholic father, and by age 11 his parents threw him out onto the street after he stood up to protect his mother. What followed was years of living in abandoned buildings and cardboard boxes, addiction to heroin, cocaine, and speedballs, and doing whatever it took to survive. Then God got hold of him, and nothing was ever the same. Willie went on to serve as chaplain to the New York Yankees for 28 years, the Brooklyn Nets for 22 years, the New York Giants for 7 years, and is now campus pastor at Adult Teen Challenge in New Jersey. He did weekly Bible studies in Mariano Rivera's $10 million mansion. He's got a World Series ring and stories that will make your jaw drop. But underneath all of it is a man who is obsessed with one thing: leaving a legacy that points to Jesus. If you've ever felt like your start disqualifies you from a great finish, this episode is for you. It's only up from here.