Thank You Bob Miller

It was very dark in the red carpeted corridor that leads into where the Hockey Hall of Fame stage and podium resides. Cameras were flashing everywhere, journalists were moving about with their microphones strongly clinched in their hands, while their camera operators struggled to keep up with them largely due to the oversized (and I’m sure very expensive and heavy) broadcasting video cameras. I was struggling with trying to see if anyone from or that was connected at some point with the Los Angeles Kings’ organization was making their way down towards us, but the chaotic, zoo like atmosphere there was like a heavy fog in the middle of the night. I couldn’t see a thing. I attempted to position myself around this massive giant of a man and his video camera that was blocking my view, which I successfully did, (after actually climbing up and around this guy like a jungle gym), but as soon as I did, I found myself face to face for the first time ever in my life, with the legendary Bob Miller and his lovely wife Judy. And before I could be professional and politely ask Mr. Miller if he could answer some questions about another Kings’ Legend, Rogie Vachon and his induction into the 2016 Hockey Hall of Fame, I instead started my first ever conversation with Bob and Judy with the long time, die-hard Kings’ fan boy reaction of, “HOLY SHIT, IT’S BOB MILLER!” Both Bob and Judy giggled and got a kick out of that.

Now that Bob has announced his retirement last night due to health concerns, I keep thinking back to how fortunate I was to be able to meet, talk to and then get a picture with such an icon of the Kings’ organization and with a man whose voice had been a major part of my life since I was a child. I had first asked him how he was feeling after going through quadruple bypass surgery and he answered that some days are better than others, but he’s feeling a lot better now than he did a few months ago.” I remember feeling so relieved, and thought to myself, “Thank the Hockey Gods.” I was hoping that us Kings’ fans would still have Bob as our play by-play commentator, (along with long time Kings’ color analyst and former player Jim Fox of course), for many years to come. In a cruel twist of fate, it turned out to not be so. Hours before the 2017 All-Star Game was to be played in Los Angeles at the Staples Center, Judy noticed that Bob was acting quite strange and that the right side of his face wasn’t working properly. They called an ambulance right away, (and got some help from the legendary Bobby Orr,) and Bob was rushed to the hospital. He had suffered a mild stroke.

I was dreading Bob Millers’ press conference and major announcement since I first heard about it last Tuesday. I knew what it was going to be about, we all did. I knew what it meant and what was coming, we all did, but I started stressing over it anyway as the clock ticked closer to that day and it’s 3 pm pacific press conference start time.  It was now the beginning of the end of a cherished and important era. Bob Miller was going to retire. Sad, sick to my stomach and emotional, I suddenly felt a tad better when Bob kicked off the press conference with a joke about how he hadn’t seen this many people in this media room before without lots of catering. That got the room laughing, and it made me smile. Even as he’s about to ride off into the sunset, he was making us laugh. Making us smile. Making us entertained and even more so, he was breaking the ice by making us feel more comfortable. In many ways, he was telling us everything was going to be okay.

“Due to four seperate health incidents the last year, quadruple bypass heart surgery, a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), a mild stroke, and a stent placed in my left carotid artery, and with doctor’s advice to slow down, it’s time for me to retire,” Bob announced to the world.

As a Canadian, I grew up with the voices of those from Hockey Night in Canada, or TSN Hockey Night. I became a Kings’ fan during the 1987 first round playoff series between the Kings against the Wayne Gretzky led Edmonton Oilers and have been a fan ever since. Unfortunately, the Hockey Night in Canada crew were calling those games up here, so we didn’t get the Los Angeles feed with Bob Miller doing the actual play by-play, or at least not yet. My first full year as a Kings’ fan was tough due to us not having many Kings’ games broadcasted up here on television, so my Mom was kind enough to get me a subscription to both the Toronto Sun, (for its large sport’s section, which normally is about 20 pages of Toronto Maple Leafs content, and a few paragraphs, (if I’m lucky), of King’s content), and the Hockey News, so I could keep up with the Kings and how they were doing. I would stay up late to 11 pm on a school night, (which is very late when you’re a kid), and would sneak down to the basement where we had this small screened TV, so I could catch the Kings’ highlights without waking (and angering) my parents. Sometimes, they would just be a second or two long, but it was in doing this where I first experienced the voice of Bob Miller and I remembered thinking that he sounded soooo different from what I was used to. I found his voice soothing, like when drinking a mug of sweet, hot chocolate, comfortably by an open fire. I ended up loving how his voice expressed genuine excitement whenever the Kings scored a goal or won a game but he never went overboard with it. He always stayed cool and calm, but got his point across. I became addicted to this voice, and needed more of it.

After Gretzky was traded to Los Angeles, it became A LOT easier for me to watch the Kings and Bob Miller. Hockey Night in Canada even added a second game every Saturday night after the local Leaf or Montreal game ended at 10 pm est, specifically to showcase Gretzky in LA. Sometimes, but only sometimes, CBC would allow the Kings’ broadcast be used instead of their own, which would finally allow me to experience full games with Bob Miller doing the entire play by-play. After this, there was no one I preferred calling the game, especially for the Kings than the one and only Bob Miller.

Soon after I discovered that one of my classmates, (who I really didn’t get along with at the time), had a giant, black satellite in his backyard, (those things were massive back in the late ’80s, early ’90s). So I did what any die-hard Kings’ fan would do in a dire situation. I pretended to be his friend, just so I could come over and watch hockey games from the west coast on his satellite. In time, he or his father were recording the late Kings’ games for me on VHS (remember those???) so I could watch them the next day and get my Kings’ fix, complete with Miller and Jim Fox calling the games, (for the record, this kid Rob and I, ended up becoming really good friends in the end, even though he was a Quebec fan. Yes a Quebec fan). One game I remember watching specifically around 1991, (which I still have on a VHS tape in the attic somewhere, but no working VHS player to play it in, DOH!), had Bob say at the end of the broadcast, “To all Kings’ fans here and around the world, have a good night.” It blew my 14-year-old mind! “Around the world?” That meant me! He was talking about Kings’ fans like me! I always appreciated him saying that, because it really struck a deep chord with me as a Canadian Kings’ fan who lived so, so far away from Los Angeles. Despite my geographical disadvantage, and loneliness as the only Kings’ fan I knew (at that time). He made me feel like I belonged. Bob made me feel like I was family.

I live in an area, surrounded by die-hard Leaf, Montreal, Detroit, Buffalo, Ottawa and Philadelphia fans, (and Rob the one Quebec fan). A lot of them, are my family and friends, or classmates and co-workers. Sometimes, when I was a teen, my friends would come over to hang out on a Saturday night, I’d have the Kings game on in the background, and if we weren’t playing pool, cards, darts, pro wrestling/UFC, or floor hockey, (boys will be boys), they would sit down with me and watch the game. On so many occasions, these Leaf, Montreal, Detroit, Buffalo and Philly fan friends of mine, all came to respect and be awed by Miller’s gift of calling the game. Why? Because of what I mentioned before, he was so different from what they were used to. He stood right out for all the right reasons.

They were impressed with the soothing calm he had with his voice, his gift of describing the play as it unfolded, but also because he called the game the way that the game should be called! Without hyperbole or nonsense. He called the plays exactly as they went down and they liked that he also told wonderful stories, (the Jack Kent Cooke ones were always a hit, especially to my Leaf friends or cousins, who could relate to what Bob was saying after suffering through the dark Harold Ballard years when he was their owner).

Bob would make us laugh and we’d be entertained, even me when the Kings’ lost, (though I’d still be fuming inside over the loss). They loved how he never over-hyped a player on the Kings, including Gretzky and Luc Robitaille or any players against them. He didn’t over-hype the play unless it was for a special occasion of course, (such as Gretzky breaking Gordie Howe‘s scoring record or when the Kings won the Cup, TWICE!) AND what my friends respected the most was that Bob always, ALWAYS showed respect to the opposing team and players. He gave them praise if they reached a milestone or achievement, and never went out of his way to be overly critical of anyone, friend or foe, (yeah I’m looking at you Brian Hayward and Denis Potvin), Bob always did it with class. He did things the right way.

I thought of all this as Bob was announcing his retirement yesterday. I won’t lie, I was emotional. I got choked up, and couldn’t help but shed a tear or twenty. Bob Miller is family. It will be my 30th anniversary as a Kings’ fan next month and I don’t know a world without Bob Miller regularly calling the play by play for the Kings, and it’s depressing and frightening to think about. I did cheer when he mentioned that he was still going to call the last two games of the regular season for the Kings, back to back, on Saturday, April 8th vs Chicago, and Sunday, April 9th against the Ducks, before he officially rides off in the sunset, but I am still saddened by the news, even though his health should definitely always come first.

I am both dreading AND looking forward to Bob calling those last two games of the Kings for us, for one last time. I am both dreading to hear him finally say good-bye to all of us, but happy that he is going to be able to say good-bye to us. I was even dreading to write this article, but the wonderful memories of growing up while listening to Bob does bring me some comfort, and it felt therapeutic to write about him. He will now spend more time with his wife Judy, a marriage that is inspiring and has lasted for 53 years. He will have more time to be with his children and grand-children, after missing so many important events from their lives due to his many commitments with the Kings. He will have more time to travel the world with Judy, and not have to worry about it conflicting with the team’s schedule. But most of all, he will be healthy and happy, and after 44 seasons, 3,351 games called, (with two to go), a Hockey Hall of Fame and California Sports Hall of Fame induction, a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and two Stanley Cup victories, happiness and being healthy is exactly what this legend has earned and deserves.

 

So win or lose, let’s enjoy these final two games by Bob Miller and let them soak in. Let’s enjoy every second of it, every word he throws our way, every story he decides to tell and let’s celebrate the greatness that is him. I’m sure Bob is still going to be around Los Angeles and the Kingdom and will pop up at the Staples Center from time to time, just to say “Hi,” and hang out. He may even appear at Tip-a King, or some other LA King related events. That’s just how Bob is, and that’s why we love him, but at 78 years old he won’t be around forever, so if you ever find yourself fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to meet him and Judy, please do so or you will always regret that you didn’t. They both are so friendly, witty and easily approachable, plus Bob loves to take photos with the fans and sign autographs. Heck, if you’re really lucky, he might even tell you a great story or two from the days of yore.

Bob Miller mentioned that he was very fortunate to be working in radio and television broadcasting for 57 years, 44 of those years with the Los Angeles Kings’ organization, but I would have to disagree. Bob working for Kings was fate. Something destined in the stars controlled by the Hockey Gods. The fortunate ones were all of us, to have this great man in our lives, on our TV’s, in our arena, in our favorite city, or in our ears, calling the games of our beloved Los Angeles Kings.

And for this, we say, Thank You Bob Miller. Thank you for all of the great memories. Thank you for all of the great stories and for all of times you entertained us. Thank you for giving us hope during the dark years when the team had none to give. Thank you for making us laugh, and laugh and laugh, throughout the years and even during your retirement announcement. Thank you for taking the time to meet with us fans, and for chatting with us, for not brushing us off and for happily letting us take a picture with you, or sign an autograph or two or ten. Thank you Bob for caring about us as much as we care about you.

And thank you most of all for just being who you are Bob, with all your class, your sharp wit, your vast knowledge, your articulate style and damn it, your incredible charm, and personally for allowing this Canadian Kings’ fan, who lived so far away from Los Angeles, always feel like he was family and an important part of the Kingdom. You will always be known as the Voice of our Los Angeles Kings, as well as the true KING of the Kings and that will never change. You will be sorely missed during every single game, and you will be remembered forever because you meant so much to all of us and you did so much for all of us.

In life and through time, many people have come and gone, that’s just the way it goes but the legacy of the truly great ones always find a way to survive the test of time. One day, years upon years, maybe decades and decades upon decades from now, when we all have come and gone, stories will still be told to future generations of Kings’ fans about an honorable and talented man named Bob Miller, who touched the hearts and lives of the entire Kingdom for 44 straight years, and we were the ones blessed enough to have him as our very own.

Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things Los Angeles Kings and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, all the time!

Related Posts

• 
  Sweetwater Valley Earns Berth In SoCal’s Final 10
• 
  Little League All-Star Girl To Play For Oregon Ducks
• 
  Star Of 2013 Little League World Series Dead After Freeway Wreck