Blogging with the Devils

Bob Moran

Last May, I interviewed former Arizona baseball coach Jerry Kindall for a story. As our conversation concluded, Kindall asked me a question I have heard a lot during the three years that I have covered Arizona State University athletics for the Tribune:

“How is Bob Moran doing? Give him my best.”

That query came from a variety of sources, not just from coaches and officials that Bob once dealt with on a near-daily basis during his years on the ASU beat for this newspaper. It also came from people that talked to him infrequently, such as other coaches, writers or veteran spectators of Sun Devil football practices.

(Kindall, it should be noted for accuracy’s sake, was the Wildcats’ coach while Bob worked at the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson, so they once had a closer working relationship.)

Still, that is an indication of the level of admiration for Bob, who lost his lengthy battle with cancer on Tuesday. He was 55. There will be coverage in Wednesday’s Tribune; I urge you to read it to gain insight on the kind of journalist and man that Bob was.

Every year, the Baseball Writers Association of America selects a recipient of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award, who is honored during Hall-of-Fame induction weekend in Cooperstown, N.Y. If there were a similar award among college football media, Bob would have received it. That’s how big a part of the sport he was for more than a quarter century. That’s how respected he was by his peers.

I have never met a journalist who was more passionate about his assignment than Bob, who was nicknamed “Coach.” Sitting near him in the press box, you could sense the irritation in his voice when he felt that the game wasn’t being played or coached right.

That fiery spirit would help prolong his life after cancer struck. Doctors gave Bob a pessimistic prognosis after his first surgery; the fact that he lasted more than three years after his diagnosis was evidence that he was a fighter.

In fact, when sports editor Bob Romantic offered me the ASU beat after Bob left work, I was convinced that it would be a temporary assignment. I watched cancer ravage my grandfather’s body, so I know how powerful it can be. However, I suppose a part of me instinctively assumed that Bob would beat the disease.

At last year’s College World Series, ASU baseball coach Pat Murphy honored Bob Moran with a cap inscription: “Coach Moran.”

ASU baseball coach Pat Murphy — who, I promise you, is not taking the news of Bob’s death easily — passed Bobby Winkles last season to become the school’s second-most winningest coach. Asked to compare himself to Winkles, who led the Sun Devils to three national championships, Murphy said: “When you name Bobby Winkles and you name Pat Murphy in the same breath, I think that’s not a comparison to be made. It’s embarrassing.”

I was in the room when Murphy said that. And my first reaction was to think of Bob. I have the job Bob once had. Any comparisons beyond that, however, are embarrassing.

After taking over the ASU duties, I paid Bob a visit at his home, to get the lay of the land from him. I had previously done high school sports and general-assignment coverage for the Tribune, so this was my first beat. I mentioned that it was a little overwhelming.

“Aw, don’t worry. You’ll do fine,” Bob said. “You know more about college sports than anyone on our staff.”

Coming from Bob, that comment meant a lot. I aimed to seek Bob’s counsel regularly, but I didn’t make the time. And I’m poorer for that.

Today, everyone that knew Bob Moran wishes they could make time for him.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 4th, 2008 at 1:06 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.