Pray for Bill Jauss

BenHect and JrShotglass, I respect your responses in appreciation of Rick Telander's role on "The Sportswriters."

We can agree that Rick is a wonderful, skilled journalist and that his affection for the ailing Bill Jauss is admirable.

I simply think a crusty guy needed to fill out that cast.

Meanwhile, we hope Bill is not in pain.

 

The TV show was very good but it came along because of the long running radio show on WGN. Some of my fondest memories are of late Sunday afternoons (4:00-6:00) listening to the Sportswriters with my entire family. We lived in Wisconsin but rarely missed a show. Bentley, Jauss, Gleeson, Joe Mooshil (sp?) a young Terry Boers I believe. The shows were especially fun after another Bear loss. It is always sad when we lose people that played a role in our youth and these crusty old guys sure played a role in mine.

 

Does anyone have an update on Bill's health?

One of my favorite moments as a college journalist was opening the Chicago Tribune the day after a Loyola men's basketball game and reading Bill's story. His first five or six graphs centered around the answer to a question I'd asked. It was a thrill.

I had the chance to talk with him one night in a bar, and he could not have been more gracious. I still have the business card he gave me. Just an incredibly nice person.

 

Didn't know Bill, but a story I did early in my career was with his son Dave, who had been hired that summer to manage the senior league baseball team in Woodstock, about 40 miles from my town. Did a story with Dave, who was then a young guy on the way up -- 21, 22, still a college kid. He told the story of going to his first ball game when he was nine days old, in Comiskey Park, and revealed that his dad was a Tribune sports writer. From what I read on this board, a class act indeed.

 

I'm still trying to figure out what Nepal did wrong.

 

Bumped back to top... Chicago Sun-Times just reported Bill passed at age 81.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/15675078-419/sportswriter-bill-jauss-dies-at-81.html

 

Fred Mitchell:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/chi-longtime-tribune-sportswriter-jauss-dies-at-81-20121010,0,4444321.story

 

Excellent stories and quotes in that tribute by Mitchell.

 

I know they weren't from the same town, but maybe he can interviews Alex Karras when he gets up there.

 

It's amazing thinking back to watching those old shows how much you actually learned about the topics they were talking about - I still don't know how sportswriters talking on TV went from that to whatever they hell they are trying to accomplish today.

RIP Bill.

 

Jauss had a way with coaches, even mean guys like Bobby Knight. They respected his savvy. But I thought he once took it too far with Bo Schembechler. After Michigan lost a bitter game at Iowa, Jauss stood up and said "Bo, why didn't you run the option more?" This was the 1980s. Bo loved the option. He frowned and scowled and I thought "Oh, boy here it comes." Then Bo said: "You're right! We should have!" At this point, I thought we should give Jauss some combination of the Pulitzer and the Heisman. He'd just told Bo how to coach and Bo agreed with him. Bill was one of a kind. One of the great press box guys ever. Beano Cook also died this week. They made college sports fun.