`DON'T WAIT TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION. START NOW.' : EX-OLYMPIAN CARRYING TORCH FOR DISABLED.

Byline: Dennis McCarthy 

He carries the message to the streets, where the kids play and dream of being the next Michael Jordan or Shaquille O'Neal.

Dream of being ``The Man.''

In another era, he was The Man. Kids wanted to be him. Men envied him. Women took one look at that chiseled Olympian body and forgot their names.

They still do. Even at age 61 - more than 36 years after he won the Olympic decathlon gold medal in Rome and was considered the best athlete in the world - Rafer Johnson is still turning heads where ever he goes.

But these days, it's the message, not the messenger, that's making kids stop and listen to him.

Rafer Johnson isn't out there shouting the newest mantra of sports - ``Show me the money.''

He's asking these kids - asking all of us for that matter - to show him our hearts instead.

It's the same message this gentle giant has quietly and without much fanfare been delivering for the past 30 years, right after the Kennedy family tapped him to be the strong shoulders that the physically weakest in our society would ride on.

Rafer didn't let them down. The national Special Olympics is stronger and more popular than ever in this country. Rafer Johnson and the message he delivers has gotten us to look beyond the wheelchairs and disabilities to see what really makes a champion.

Not the time on a stopwatch, but the heart inside a body.

Now he's embarking on his second four-year term as president of the Los Angeles Disability Commission, taking to the streets again, quietly and without much fanfare, to broaden the playing field for the disabled in this city.

Putting pressure on the city for better housing and transportation, buildings and curb cuts - pushing farther into every facet of everyday life where the able-bodied live, and the disabled struggle.

Every little victory the commission scores builds on the last one. And when the year 2001 rolls around and his term is up, if Rafer Johnson has anything to say about it - and he does - life in Los Angeles is going to be better and fairer for all the disabled.

Not perfect, but better. Fairer.

``I tell all the young people today, `Don't wait to make a contribution. Start now,' '' Rafer says. ``Volunteer, be proactive, find people in your community who need help. Then, help them.''

He's the old coach lecturing his rookie players, making them realize that with the talent and gifts God gave them comes a responsibility.

And, it has nothing to do with money and ego, and everything to do with heart.

``None of us make it alone in this world,'' Rafer tells a small group of kids Tuesday, accompanying Mayor Richard Riordan and members of the L.A. City Council to a special meeting at Manual Arts High School in South Central L.A.

``My success came because people helped me along the way, not because I was so great,'' he says. ``It hasn't changed. It's going to take all of us working together to help make life better in our society for all people with disabilities.''

He stands back and watches their faces for reaction because Rafer Johnson knows he's up against tougher competition today than he ever faced in his own youth.

Television. Shoe commercials. Athletes so rich and famous, they've become millionaire icons - before they even hit 25. All of them shouting, ``Show me the money

''

Rafer has to convince these kids that there's more than just what they're seeing on TV. There's social responsibility, too. And this can only be learned and taught down here on the streets when they're young.

``If you give a young person a series of choices to be made, you try to load them up with as many positive situations as you can,'' he says, later.

``You need to influence them as much as possible on how these choices should be made. If you do your job right, they listen.''

With that, the man who was The Man in another era smiles, getting that old competitive glint in his eye - the look he carried with him on tracks all over the world in the 1960s, when he was the best athlete in the world.

``We're on the way,'' he says, of the city's disability commission. ``We're not taking `no' for an answer anymore. We're taking stands, and we want answers.''

Rafer Johnson is competing in the decathlon again. He's got four more years to make this city a better place to live for all people with disabilities.

And I wouldn't bet against him.

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PHOTO Rafer Johnson, 61, an Olympic gold medalist in Rome in 1960, has been campaigning for 30 years to assist people with disabilities.

Myung J. Chun/Daily News