Whenever we lose a legend of the magnitude of a man like Bob Davis, our minds tend to go directly to the iconic calls and great moments he brought to life.
"It's over! The dream is real. The dream is real. Kansas has won the NCAA title!"
"Jayhawks win it in overtime, 75 to 68; KU national champions!"
But on Friday, when I first heard the news about Davis’ passing, my mind went first to the many one-on-one interactions I had with him throughout the years.
I was lucky like that. And I assure you, from the first time I met him to the last time I saw him, I never got over how powerful his voice was and how talking to him in person sounded just like I was talking to the guy I had listened to on the radio all those years.
Bob never had to turn it on for the broadcasts because it was always on. He never had to amp up his tone or dig deeper to call a game because he called games the way he spoke.
About life, about friendship, about storytelling and, of course, about Kansas.
At left, Bob Davis on the air with Greg Gurley; at right, Davis waves to the crowd while being honored at one of his final KU home games at Allen Fieldhouse. [Kansas Athletics photos]
You’ll read a lot of these if you want to. And you should. The story of Bob Davis and his greatness is too grand to be told by but a few. Besides, you’ll likely learn something different and new in each one.
Many knew Bob longer and several knew him better, but what I knew — the legend, the friend, the dad, the fan, the comedian and all the other things that made Bob great — made a profound impact on me.
So, I’m telling mine, too, in hopes that you’ll laugh and smile when you read it the way Bob made so many of us laugh and smile for decades.
Here are a few things and a couple of fun moments that first came to mind when I learned about Bob's passing.
• One of the last times I saw him, after he had retired, came when I went to his house to talk to him about life away from the broadcast. How did he manage? How did he watch games? Was it the same? Better? Worse? How, after doing something for so long, does one suddenly start to do it in a completely different way? I intended to make a story for the paper out of it. But it never came to be. While Bob was kind and accommodating about all of my questions, he wasn't interested in gushing about himself. Instead, he wanted to ask about me and talk sports. We were watching a Royals game while I was there, and the mere presence of baseball on the TV sparked half a dozen stories from his days with the Royals. I could've stayed there all day listening to those stories. And while I always wished I had done that story I sought to do, I also felt fine about not doing it. Because I knew that was probably the way Bob preferred it.
• I always enjoyed hearing Bob's stories about his son, Steven, a fellow-Lawrence High grad — a few years older — and a following-in-the-footsteps broadcaster himself, because of how proud Bob was of Steven. It didn't matter where Steven was or what sport or games he was calling, Bob knew darn near everything about it. Because he cared to. He was insanely proud of Steven, who now calls KU women's games on the radio and does some KU television work, too. And that pride that a father felt in his son means more and hits home for me harder today now that I, myself, am a dad to two daughters, 10 & 2, of whom I'm already enormously proud.
• Here's one about Bob's quick wit and comedic spirit. Not all of those are fit for print. But, boy were they good. This one's OK, though. After spending the week in Maui for the 2015 Maui Invitational, Bob and I were on the same flight home and, as luck would have it, we were in the same row, Bob in one aisle, me in the other, and my girlfriend in the middle. As we got ready to take off, after buckling up and hearing from the flight attendants, Bob leans over and says, "Well, I saw you guys around the island all week, but you never officially introduced me to your wife. I guess you have to now." We weren't married at the time — we are now — and after delicately explaining that to Bob, we all laughed it off and turned our attention to whatever movies, books or music would occupy us for the 6-hour flight back to the mainland. When we got to KC, Bob waited in the gate area for me to get off the plane and quickly pulled me aside to say, "Sorry for stepping (all over myself) back there." His language was a little more colorful than that, but I immediately laughed it off and told him my future wife and I were on the path to marriage and he had nothing to worry about. We still laugh about it to this day, and I'll never forget how genuinely apologetic he was for what he thought was him misspeaking. He hadn't. He rarely did.
Those are just a few of the most memorable moments, among the dinners on the road, lunches in Lawrence and the phone calls telling me 'Job well done.'
Throughout my career, I've worn out my phone and received all kinds of phone calls that I didn't know were coming. Coaches have called, athletes have called, editors have called and readers have called. You never quite know what to expect when you see one of those numbers on the other end of the line. When Bob called, you might not have always known what it was going to be about, but you always knew it was going to be good.
And those calls, like most of my interactions with him, always left me feeling better than I was before I picked up.
Bob was just like that. He had a way about him that always put others first and always seemed so sincere.
He could’ve told stories for days and he certainly liked to. How could he not? He was a master. The wit, recall, timing and tone of each one, big or small, was always on pointe and that was one of the many reasons he went down as one of the best to ever grace the airwaves of a college sports broadcast.
But what always struck me as the most remarkable thing about him was that, even armed with all of those amazing stories, he was always just as happy to ask questions about you and your life. The job. Family. Your own favorite stories. And more.
I cherished it every time. And always will.
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