Dan Cook, a San Antonio legend whose career
as a sports columnist and broadcaster spanned more than a half-century, died
Thursday after a long illness. He was 81.
Insightful, humorous, colorful and brutally honest, Cook
spent 57 years in the newspaper business — 51 of those at the San Antonio
Express-News — interviewing sports’ greatest legends, from Joe Louis and Jack
Dempsey to Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Paul “Bear” Bryant and Tom Landry.
Cook joined the Express-News on Aug. 14, 1952, as a copy
editor and writer, and became an award-winning columnist and sports editor for
the Evening News.
He was executive sports editor of the Express-News from
1960-75, when he became a full-time columnist.
In addition to print journalism, Cook worked as a
sportscaster at KENS-TV for 44 years, from 1956-2000. It was there in 1978
that Cook uttered the famous phrase, “The opera ain’t over till the fat lady
sings,” which is listed in Bartlett’s “Familiar Quotations.” He later said he
first used the phrase in a column about two years before.
The two jobs helped to create a macho, yet fatherly image
that, coupled with his folksy, shoot-from-the-hip style, made him a South
Texas institution.
“When they write the final history of San Antonio
newspapering, his name will be up at the top,” said Frank A. Bennack Jr., CEO
of the Hearst Corp., vice chairman of the board of directors and chairman of
the executive committee.
Bennack was editor and
publisher of the San Antonio Light from 1967-75, during an era when there were
two daily newspapers in town. He said he made frequent efforts to recruit Cook
from the Express-News because of the loyal following Cook enjoyed all across
South Texas.
“I finally had to buy the (Express-News) to get him,”
Bennack quipped. “Readers loved him. Audiences loved him. He was the genuine
article.”
Former Express-News editor and publisher Charles Kilpatrick,
who knew Cook for m
ore
than 50 years, said his good friend exuded authority.
“People believed that if Dan Cook said it, it must be true,”
Kilpatrick said. “And he wrote in such a way that everyone understood what he
was talking about.”
Cook’s pseudonymous Benjamin P. Broadhind character, a
fast-talking, barroom bettor who served as Cook’s alter ego, became a reader
favorite. Kilpatrick said Cook made Broadhind so lifelike, many people thought
he was a real person.
Cook’s opinions often would get him into trouble. He didn’t
always say or write what was politically correct. As a result, especially in
his early years at the paper, he often received hate mail accusing him of
being a racist.
Kilpatrick said he never tried to censor Cook, who came to
represent the voice of the common man and average fan.
And Cook wasn’t afraid to criticize. In a column during
Roger Maris’ quest to break Babe Ruth’s home-run record in 1961, he ripped the
New York Yankees slugger as “a brooding, immature crybaby who would have been
run out of baseball by the sharp-tongued bench jockeys of Ruth’s day.”
Cook had no explanation for his longevity.
“I’ve never figured it out,” he once said. “All I know is I
outworked a lot of people. I thought they’d fire me after about three years,
and probably should have.”
A book, “The Best of Dan Cook: Collected Columns from 1956
to 1990,” was published in 2001. The first printing of 5,280 copies sold out
in less than a month.
Cook’s work habits still are the stuff of legend around the
Express-News Sports Department. Former sports editor Barry Robinson, now the
newsroom’s director of administration and recruitment, was hired by Cook in
July 1969.
Then, Cook was writing six columns a week, delivering two
sportscasts a day at KENS-TV (in those days the TV station was owned by the
newspaper and KENS stood for Express-News Station) and doing two daily radio
commentaries, in addition to his duties as sports editor.
Robinson marveled at Cook’s output, calling it “nearly super
human.”
As for Cook’s popularity, Robinson had a simple explanation.
“He was going to be the same around Darrell Royal as he was
the beer vendor at the ballpark,” Robinson said, referring to the legendary
former football coach of the Texas Longhorns. “Everybody loved Dan.”
Cook had a chance to go to Chicago and be a syndicated
columnist, Robinson recalls, but stayed because of the “love affair” he had
with the public in San Antonio.
“I think Dan knew it was a special relationship,” Robinson
said, “one that could never happen anywhere else.”
The stories about Cook — as well as Cook’s stories — are as
legendary as the man himself.
Blackie Sherrod, who retired in 2003 as sports columnist at
the Dallas Morning News after 60 years in journalism, was perhaps Cook’s best
friend in the business. He and Cook were part of a breed of sportswriter that
lived for the big game and big event, then went to their favorite watering
hole afterward to relive it all.
They helped to form the “Geezers Club” that met once a year
in Dallas and included such newspaper icons as Edwin Pope of the Miami Herald
and Furman Bisher of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Sherrod said Cook was always the life of the party and his
keen wit never failed to make him laugh.
One of his favorite Cook stories came when the two were
covering the Kentucky Derby one year. He said prior to the race, a friend of
theirs approached Cook, an avid bettor, and asked him about one of his
daughters. She wanted to know where he planned to send her to college.
“It all depends on who wins this race,” Cook said.
Cook is survived by his wife, Katy; daughter Marie Gian and
her husband, Mike, of Rockport; son Danny Cook and his wife, Laura, of San
Antonio; daughter Alice Ann Ashton and her fiancé, Doug Beauchamp, of San
Antonio; and three grandchildren, Brad Gian, Dani Parker and Britney Ashton.
A little TRUTH from the late, great GEORGE CARLIN...
So Dawn Murphy announces on our air that she will be pulling for
RUSSIA over the United States in
this Summer's Beijing Olympics.
She's choosing this because the Team USA Women's Basketball Team gave
San Antonio SilverStar Becky
Hammon the shaft, causing Becky to choose to play for Russia in the
Olympics.
Consequently, Dawn has earned the nickname
RED DAWN.
Chris Duel, Emmitt Smith,
Jason Minnix - April 3, 2008
Should Becky Hammon
play for RUSSIA in the
Olympics?
WNBA All-Star Becky
Hammon signs to play with Russia during Beijing Olympics
By Oscar Dixon, AP Sports Writer
WNBA All-Star Becky Hammon will play for Russia at the
Beijing Olympics.
Hammon said Tuesday in a phone
interview with the AP that she signed with the Russian national team Monday,
about two weeks after getting her Russian passport.
The 31-year-old point guard for San
Antonio Silver Stars also plays professionally in Russia. But she is not among
the pool of 29 U.S. players hoping to make the 12-player Olympic roster.
"I'm going where they really want
me and where I have an opportunity to win a medal," said Hammon, a nine-year
WNBA veteran.
The South Dakota native also signed
a three-year extension with the Russian pro team CSKA.
She said she began the passport
application process last year - her first with CSKA. Many WNBA stars who play
overseas have a second passport - Diana Taurasi has an Italian passport; Sue
Bird has an Israeli one - so they're not counted as Americans on the team's
roster.
The 5-foot-6 Hammon averaged 18.8
points and 5.0 assists last season for the Silver Stars.
She said she will head to Russia in
late July after the WNBA shuts its season down for the Olympics. The USA and
Russia may not meet during the Olympics, but the teams play Aug. 4 in the FIBA
Diamond Ball Tournament, a tuneup for Beijing.
"It might be a little awkward at
first," Hammon said. "But when the ball goes up, you just play the game."
Hammon said she struggled to come
to the decision to play for Russia as she ran hundreds of scenarios through her
mind, like marching under the Russian flag in the parade of nations during
opening ceremonies. But she became more comfortable with the idea after
extensive conversations with her parents, Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes and her
agent, Mike Cound.
Cound said under the rules of the
Russian pro league Hammon was eligible for an international passport and to
become a naturalized citizen. And since she had not played for the USA, or any
other country, in a major FIBA-sanctioned international competition, she is able
to play for Russia in the Olympics.
"If I thought there was any
indication that I could play with USA Basketball, I probably wouldn't have done
it," she said. "I feel good (about the decision). If you had asked me a couple
of months ago I would have had mixed emotions.
"But my options were to sit on my
couch and watch the Olympics, or play in the Olympics. It made it an easy
decision."
Jason Minnix, Priest
Holmes, Dawn Murphy, Chris -
April 8, 2008
Chris, David Robinson,
Jason Minnix - April 3, 2008
E-Mail Feedback on the Becky Hammon controversy...
FROM MONICA:
Hi this is Monica and just wanted to
follow up some of what went on yesterday.
I didn't get a chance to to respond to all the questions asked.
1. What would I tell Pat Tillmans family. - I would tell them thank you and
that their son died so people like Becky have the choice and freedom to pursue
their dreams even if those dreams take them beyond our border.
2. What do you tell your kids. You point to #25 and tell them...see that
girl...all her life she has been told you can't succeed. You are too short,
too slow and not good enough but she has never let that stop her and has
worked hard to prove everyone wrong. She has taken what she was given and
made the most of each opportunity. So when someone tells you you can't don't
let that stop you.
You also said your Taliban remarks were tongue and cheek...well you guys reach
a lot of people out there and to compare an athlete...any athlete to a
terriost orgainzation that is responible for the deaths of thouands of
Americans is not only ridiculas but irresponsible. Olympics aside this IS a
basketball you are talking about.
You also brought up Becky being selfish and making this about her. Do you
realize how many times you said the words I don't like this
and it makes ME uncomfortbale? How selfish is that? Who are
any of us to tell a person that is following the rules set up that they
shouldn't do something because it makes ME unhappy? Who is
really being selfish? I find it ironic how many people are saying I
would NEVER do that and yet will never be in a position
to have to make that choice. It's easy to sit back and say that when you
have no chance of ever being in that position.
I don't know about Tim Duncans situation but he chose to play for the US and I
for one am thankful for that. BUT according to the FIBA rules he was able to
do that because he NEVER represented the Virgin Islands in a FIBA sanctioned
international game just like Becky has never been asked to represent the US in
a FIBA sanctioned game.
That is the only reason she is eligable to play of Russia.
The facts are the selections are made by the a commitee that hand picks those
athletes that come with a pedigree. If you look at the players selected all
come from BIG name schools or are being selected in the case of Loree Moore
because their GM..that same GM that traded Becky to SASS is on the selection
committe.
In the case of Kara Lawson....her college coach was Pat Summitt of Tenn..also
on the selection committe. I bring those two up becuase it's that same
position Becky would have been up for and unlike either of them Becky can play
the 1 or 2 guard position.
I respect your position and the position of those like yours but it's hard to
respect they way you went about bringing it to the audience yesterday.
Sincerely,
Monica
FROM LINDA E.
For Becky Hammon to be catching any kind
of heat for choosing to live out her dream is ridiculous. She is an athlete that
will be playing a SPORT for Russia. Have you forgotten that Hakeem Olajuwon
played for Team USA after becoming a citizen? And yes you can bring up how Oh he
lived here and still does, is Becky going to move to Russia? Its a ridiculous
argument, the fact still remains he was a foreign man playing for THE DREAM
TEAM.... and everyone loved it because he was one of the best.
Fact is Team USA has blown Becky Hammon
off. How does Becky Hammon, the WNBA's MVP Runner up last season, an ALLSTAR,
and one of the best in the WNBA not make Team USA??? Its politics. So since Team
USA wont let Becky live out her dream she has had to pursue it where it is
embraced. People are so quick to say "OH MY GOD why would she play for
Russia!!!" But they dont take the time to sit back research her career and stats
and ask why she isnt on Team USA.
You act like this was an easy decision
for her to make. Do you think she would turn down Team USA to play for Russia??
Never. But the fact is that Team USA has favorites and Becky isnt one of them.
Most people that listen to sports radio
are men that could give a sh*t less about female athletes and most likely know
nothing about Becky Hammon and what she has been through to get to where she is
now. So for those men to complain and bitch about how she is a traitor and that
hate that she is doing it and it is unpatriotic is BS. Those same men were
probably cheering when Hakeem was scoring points for the USA... a non-american
player representing the USA. If we are going to turn this into patriotic
propoganda then all players that have foreign passports in order to get more
playing time in other countries need to be ridiculed, all players that are not
americans that have played for Team USA need to be ridiculed and the fans that
cheered them on are hypocrites. If its Team USA keep it that way.
As you see Tim Duncan, who could have
played for the Virgin Islands, & Hakeem were quick to jump on Team USA and they
welcomed them, as did America. What is the difference? Why cant an AMERICAN
woman pursue her dream where she is welcomed to do so when America wont let her
pursue it here? There is no difference between Becky, Hakeem, or Duncan. It is
all the same situation. It is the opportunity of a lifetime and a dream for so
many athletes since they were young.
And is JR Holden getting any heat for
playing for Russia? I mean this is a guy who couldnt make an NBA squad and has
went to Russia for success and no one seems to care one way or another.
So everyone can sit back on their
couches during the Olympics and either bitch about how "unpatriotic" she is or
they can wake up to reality and be patriotic themselves and say "Damn that
american girl is playing well for the Russians." I know I will be pulling for
Becky to do well and get the entire experience of the Olympics and hopefully
placing somewhere in the medals.
Linda E.
David Edwards 1987-2008
Former Madison football player paralyzed in 2003 dies at 20
Web Posted: 02/28/2008
David Flores
San Antonio Express-News
Bracing for the worst and praying for the best, the mother of paralyzed
former Madison High School football player David Edwards reflected on her son's
life as it flickered late Wednesday morning.
"I don't know what the outcome of this will be, but if God takes my baby
home, I'll be OK with that," Faye Stanton said. "He won't be in a wheelchair
anymore and he'll be in heaven."
Stanton paused briefly before continuing.
"My human side, though, wants my baby back at home," she said. "And I don't
care if he's in a wheelchair."
Edwards, who had been in critical condition since slipping into a coma Monday
night, died less than two hours later at Northeast Methodist Hospital. He would
have turned 21 on Saturday.
Edwards, a quadriplegic since he was injured while making a tackle in a 2003
playoff game, had battled pneumonia and other respiratory problems since the
fall.
He stopped breathing shortly after going to bed Monday night. His mother and
a neighbor performed CPR on him before paramedics arrived at the family's
Northeast Side home.
The paramedics revived Edwards before transporting him to Northeast
Methodist, but Stanton said the complications of the pneumonia were too much for
her son to overcome.
"David's at peace now," Stanton said. "He's not suffering anymore. He was a
gift and an inspiration to everyone he touched. That's what he leaves us."
Cedric Stanton remained with his stepson's body for nearly an hour before
joining the group.
"It's hard to say goodbye but I know he's in a better place," said Stanton,
who married Faye when Edwards was 7. "He was a good young man."
Madison football coach Jim Streety, who visited Edwards one last time
Wednesday morning, maintained a close bond with the former standout defensive
back and his family.
Edwards is also survived by brothers Devin, 19, and Dhaylen, 1, and sisters
Deira, 16; Deandra, 15; and Shyla, 1.
"It's very hard," Devin said. "We're going to miss him a lot, but he left us
a good example of how to live."
Two of Edwards' former teammates, Tony Dillard and Richard Downs, arrived at
the hospital minutes after he died.
"It just hurts," said Dillard, who graduated from Madison in 2005. "He was
doing so well. This caught everybody off guard. Even after he got hurt, he was
the same old David. He never changed. He always had that big smile."
Edwards, who played safety, was a junior when he severed his spinal cord
while tackling Austin Westlake wide receiver Coy Aune on Nov. 15, 2003.
Coy and his mother, Marci, drove from Austin on Tuesday to visit Edwards and
lend support to his family. Marci Aune said she had painted a birthday poster
for Edwards and planned to mail it Wednesday.
Coy Aune, a senior at Texas, and Edwards became good friends and kept in
touch in the years after that dark afternoon at Neptune Field in Austin.
"It's sad for all of us who knew and loved David," Coy Aune said. "It's tough
to deal with because we're going to miss him. I'm happy in a way, because he's
running around and doing all the things he loved to do before he got hurt, but
I'm losing a great friend."
Aune, who went on to play football at UT, said Edwards was a role model
throughout his struggle with paralysis.
"After you saw the way he handled what he faced every day, it made your
problems seem insignificant," Aune said.
Edwards overcame the challenges of his life-altering injury to graduate with
his class in spring 2005. He attended classes at San Antonio College last year
before illness forced him to withdraw.
Edwards' death was especially tough on Eddie Canales and his family. Canales
co-founded Gridiron Heroes Spinal Cord Injury Organization in 2003 after his
youngest son, Chris, suffered a paralyzing injury while playing for San Marcos
Baptist Academy in 2001.
Said Chris Canales: "The world lost a good man today. When I'm feeling down,
I always think of David's smile. He will inspire me to go on and he never will
be forgotten."
Services
for David Edwards
Edwards was a junior defensive back at Madison High
when he snapped the fourth vertebra in his neck while making a tackle during
a playoff game against Austin Westlake on Nov. 15, 2003.
He graduated from Madison in 2005 and visited the school and attended
athletic events often after the accident. Said Madison basketball coach John
Valenzuela: 'He's a once-in-a-lifetime student who taught us more than we
could ever teach him.'
Edwards died Wednesday afternoon at the age of 20.
Services are set for 4 p.m. Sunday at Littleton Gymnasium. Other
arrangements are pending.
Donations to help the Edwards family can be sent
to Madison High School, 5005 Stahl Road, 78247.
Tony Romo, you've had some trouble,
The New York Giants just made it double,
Don't worry, be happy,
Take Jessica back to Mexico,
And make her hit her highest note,
Don't worry, be happy,
If sister Ashlee wants to go,
Call up your wingman big T.O.,
The trip will go without a hitch,
As long as he don't want to switch,
Romo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo,
Tony Romo-mo-mo-mo, There's always next year,
Last year it was a bobbled snap,
And this year you'll still take the rap,
Don't worry, be happy,
Forget about Eli Manning,
When you and Jessica are tanning,
Don't worry, be happy,
Even though it didn't go your way,
It could be worse, you could be Nick Lachey,
Watching your ex-wife hit the sack,
With the Cowboys quarterback,
Romo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo,
Tony Romo-mo-mo-mo, There's always next year,
Jerry Jones doesn't find it funny,
Cause he is paying you a load of money,
But even if he set you free,
Your signing bonus is guaranteed,
So don't worry, just be happy,
Romo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo,
Tony Romo-mo-mo-mo, There's always next year ...
Chris, Debora Hanson, Kinky Friedman, Little
Jewford
Sports Illustrated writer S.L. Price has signed a contract
with HarperCollins imprint Ecco to write a book about Mike Coolbaugh, the minor
league baseball player-turned-coach who died this summer at the age of 35 after
being struck in the head by a foul ball, according to Ecco's director of
publicity. The book is based on an article Mr. Price wrote about Coolbaugh for
Sports Illustrated in September.
Ecco publisher Daniel Halpern acquired world rights for the book at auction from
Mr. Price's literary agent Andrew Blauner; it is scheduled for publication in
winter of 2009.
The book, titled Heart of the Game, will be Mr. Price's second with Ecco; his
first was Pitching Around Fidel, a book about sports in Cuba that came out in
1998. His latest, Far Afield, came out this past fall on Lyons Press.
December 15, 2007
My good friend
Henry Iglesias
died early this morning.
I just received a phone call from his wife with the sad news.
He was diagnosed with a brain tumor earlier this year and underwent an
operation that didn't get all of it.
Henry was an outstanding singer, songwriter, musician. He was an even greater
friend. His friendship and love were unconditional. When I was
broke and homeless in Los Angeles in the early-90's, Henry took me in, gave me
his couch and fed me.
He continues to nourish me spiritually.
My wife
Beth and I had booked a flight to go see him the day after Christmas.
Sadly, I'll never see him again - at least not in this world.
His memorial service will be on December 30th, his birthday.
While I grieve, I am also thankful for knowing such an
amazing spirit and having such a true and rare friend.
Henry, I miss you.
I'm sure the Angels are partying with you in Heaven right
now. Save a glass of
The Golden Nectar of The Gods
for me... I'll be there soon.