Los Angeles broadcasting icon Bob Miller announced his retirement today. He
will broadcast the last two games of the regular season.
Thank you for everything, Bob!
***
It's rare when your heroes meet your expectations -- it's rarer still when they exceed them.
Before the season, the Kings, for their 50th anniversary, commissioned me to write a series called
"50 Forgotten Stories." For a long-time fan, it was a dream come true to gain access to Kings alumni.
But I confess -- above all, I was most excited to interview two Hall of Famers in particular: Wayne Gretzky and Bob Miller.
After Thanksgiving, I talked to Bob for the first time. He was everything that people said -- warm, witty, and accommodating. He has a way with putting people at ease.
We were discussing what happened to his predecessor in the booth, Roy Storey. The late Storey called the Kings for just one season in 1972-73, before making way for 44 years of Bob. We agreed that John Wolf, who had been employed by the club in various capacities for four decades, would be the perfect person to ask about Storey.
However, Bob confided that his old friend was sick. This was about a month before John
passed away from cancer.
But Bob offered, "Maybe I could call him and get some information for you. Would that be alright?"
Would that be alright?
Would it be alright for Wayne Gretzky to pass me the puck? Would it be alright for Bob Miller to do my job for me?
***
Before I met Bob, my favorite Bob Miller story appeared in his indispensable memoir,
Tales from the Los Angeles Kings.
He recalled interviewing Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi in the early '60s for WITI-TV. Bob typed a three-page list of questions in preparation.
Lombardi looked over the questions, Bob's crew shot -- and they chatted for about an hour.
Afterwards, Bob's cameraman took the 16-millimeter film to be developed. Because of a light leak in the camera, the entire film was blank.
This was Bob's worst nightmare -- Lombardi was a legendary perfectionist.
An anxious Bob went back to Lombardi. He explained the situation, ready to be berated.
But Lombardi, without a cross word, consented to another hour-long interview.
Bob wrote:
I never realized it at the time, but this was my first lesson in preparation. I truly believe if he hadn't seen that I had spent a lot of time forming the questions, and typing them on paper, he never would have consented to a retake.
As a would-be journalist, this was also my first lesson in preparation in the field. This story has stayed with me in part because of my lack of formal training -- before I took up sports writing, I was a copywriter and a poet. Anecdotes like this were my journalism school.
I believe the most important word in broadcasting -- and probably in any job -- is preparation.
***
Bob's first question before my interview with him was, "Are you writing these down or recording it or what?"
I told him that I was recording.
"I just wanted to go slower if you're writing it all down."
***
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