On Sunday, the Deseret News’ Brad Rock ended his column about the passing of beloved Jazz announcer Hot Rod Hundley by stating, “... after Alzheimer’s began its march in recent years, he struggled to remember acquaintances. That was the hardest part. Because nobody ever forgot Hot Rod.”
Over the last few days, those words have been proven. From his hometown of Charleston, West Virginia, to the New York Times to other NBA teams, Hundley is being remembered.
The Charleston Daily Mail’s Chuck McGill writes how he picked up a phone to talk about Hundley’s passing, expecting it to be a somber moment, but instead it was filled with laughter.
“Make no mistake, there is great sadness about the loss of Hundley, who died Friday at the age of 80,” writes McGill. “But the clown prince of college basketball, the jester of the hardcourt, didn’t leave those who knew him with anything but fond memories. There might be such a thing as a bad shooting day, but in Hundley’s world, there were no bad days.”
Jazz fans may know Hundley as the broadcaster that called the greatest moments in franchise history, but the people of his hometown remember him for what he did on the basketball court.
The West Virginia Metro News' Allan Taylor recounted a story from Hundley’s playing days at West Virginia University.
“Along with high-scoring games, Hundley delivered entertaining antics, such as rolling the ball up and down his arms or dribbling it off his knees. Late in the 1955 season, upon being advised that he was within two points of the Southern Conference tournament scoring record, Hundley attempted two free throws from behind his back — missing both.”
Those on-the-court antics were again present when Hundley returned to WVU in 2010 to have his number retired. West Virginia Illustrated's Geoff Coytle writes how after Hundley gave a speech to the crowd, they urged for a final shot.
“The fans erupted, chanting, ‘One more shot!’ Hundley obliged, knocking down one of his signature hook shots and in true clown prince fashion, doing a little dance as the cheers rained down from the stands.”
The New York Times did a piece on Hundley’s life and passing mentioning moments that made him such fan favorite.
“His wit was especially evident one night when Utah forward Truck Robinson did not attend an anticipated postgame interview,” Richard Goldstein writes. “Hundley asked his questions anyway, answered them and wound up the ‘interview’ by handing a gift certificate to the invisible Robinson as thanks for his nonappearance.”
The Sacramento Kings’ current TV analyst Jerry Reynolds shared his thoughts on Hundley in a post on the teams’ website.
“I was always amazed at what a nice person he was, he had no ego,” said Reynolds. “Through my career he was just a delightful guy who happened to be very talented, extremely well-liked and you would have never known that he had a history of being a big-time All-American basketball player and an NBA player. I was very fortunate in my early years to get to know Hot Rod. He will be missed.”
The man who replaced Hundley on the Jazz radio broadcasts, David Locke, wrote about his predecessor the night of his passing, saying, “He educated a city about the NBA and then he took us on a joyous ride through the ups and downs of a developing franchise until we peaked in the incredible run to the Finals. Then he kept us on the journey. … There has never been a day when I have (been) the radio voice of the Jazz where I didn’t feel like I was doing Hot Rod’s job. Tonight it was overwhelming.”
Locke also did a podcast where he talked to Phil Johnson, Rickey Green, Darrell Griffith, Ron Boone, Jerry Sloan and Frank Layden, among others about their memories of Hundley.
“He loved to tell stories about what happened years ago, and I loved to listen to them,” Sloan said on the podcast. “He was a funny guy and had a lot of things that was worthwhile for me and my coaching to be honest about it.”
Other links:
— The son of TNT broadcaster Craig Sager announced that his father’s cancer has returned.
— StubHub has sued the Golden State Warriors for conspiring to create an illegal resale market.