Taglianetti's Nutty Cure For Lace Bit

Everyone knows Jaromir Jagr is smooth. But creamy?

Back when Jaromir Jagr was in his early, ridiculously mulleted days in Pittsburgh, he endorsed Jagr Brand Creamy Peanut Butter. The tasty spread was produced by Public Labels Brands, Inc of Pittsburgh, and distributed through several large supermarket chains in western Pennsylvania.

Peter Taglianetti probably kept a few jars of Jagr's PB handy in his locker. A couple years before the creation of the food product, Taglianetti found himself in a sticky situation. During the first round of the 1991 playoffs "Tag" suffered a severe case of lace bite, and couldn't tie his skates tight enough to play in the games. After trying everything from bags of Vaseline to astronaut suit materials, Pittsburgh trainers decided to try slipping a Ziploc baggy of peanut better above the cuts. As nutty as it sounds, it worked like a charm.

And that's not even the strangest story I have on Taglianetti. Another odd ball story comes from Taglianetti's charitable endeavors, which he was very actively involved in. He wasn't the type of athlete who would show up to just charity golf scrambles. Which perhaps explains why on July 4th, 1993 he participated in the World Wrestling Federation's Yokozuna Bodyslam Challenge event. Climbing aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid in New York City's harbor, Taglianetti was unsuccessful in his attempt to body slam pro wrestler Yokozuna in an event that raised $20,000 for charity.

Read the full Peter Taglianetti biography.